New board's job: preserving the past

Bonita Springs will have another citizen’s advisory board, with this one giving City Council advice on historic preservation.

“It is very important for the history of Bonita Springs,” Councilman Richard Ferreira said.

By a 6-1 vote, the council Wednesday night approved the creation of a separate historic preservation board. The Local Planning Agency was performing that duty in addition to advising on matters like changes to the city code, but LPA members said another board would have more time to devote to historic preservation.

The move does not change the city’s stance toward preservation. Properties can only be designated historic if the property owner voluntarily chooses to do so, meaning the city cannot mandate historic preservation without consent of the property owner.

Mayor Jay Arend voted against creation of the separate board. He said he is worried new advisory members eventually will ask the city to create mandatory historic preservation.

“It’s very personal what a person does with their property, and they shouldn’t have any pressure put on them by the members of this board,” Arend said.

Councilwoman Martha Simons, who wants a stricter historic preservation ordinance, said the new board won’t have any power to force property owners to preserve older buildings.

“There’s no teeth to the ordinance anyhow,” Simons said.

Even though LPA members said they didn’t have time to give to historic preservation issues, Arend said, the old system still was adequate.

“We’re setting up another board that will take more time from our staff,” he said. “What has worked in the past is still working.

“If (the LPA) doesn’t want to take the time, then don’t do it until they have some time where they can do it,” he said.

Councilman John Joyce said he was also apprehensive about creating a separate board but voted in favor of it because it was the LPA making the request.

A city-funded survey of Bonita Springs buildings shows about 300 structures are eligible for historic designation, mostly because they are more than 50 years old.

If a building gets the historic designation, property owners are eligible for a 50 percent reimbursement on renovation. The designation, though, makes it much harder to demolish the structure.