PLEASE WRITE TO Speaker Gifford
Miller TO URGE Him TO Oppose LPC permit Fees and increase lpc budget
DATE
Hon. Gifford Miller
Speaker, New York City Council
336 East 73rd Street, Suite C
New York, NY 10021
Fax: 212/788-7207
e-mail: miller@council.nyc.ny.us
Dear Speaker Miller:
On May 18th, despite wide-spread public opposition,
the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to institute fees for
permit applications. In his testimony before the City Council during
the budget hearings, LPC Chair Robert Tierney stated that the original
fee proposal has been modified based on public opposition and that
the fee structure had been adjusted to not be onerous on smaller
landmark permits. Unfortunately, this misses the point. Preservation
is not a privilege to be paid for. It is a responsibility and duty
that the city requires property owners to assume when they own landmark
properties. The Landmarks Law already has an enforcement component
– insisting on this preservation surcharge is poor public
policy and should not be allowed.
As you are aware, the Landmarks Preservation Commission
is not in control of its fiscal destiny; it is a city agency and
must respond to the needs of the budget that are passed down to
it. In this case, the LPC is being expected to raise an annual revenue
of $1.05 million. These funds will be raised through fees applied
to almost every building permit issued to a designated landmark
property. This means that every interior or exterior renovation
or improvement done within a historic district will cost the resident
more money. Every electrical rewiring, every new kitchen, every
interior alteration in a historic building will cost more money
to property owners. The owners of designated properties already
contribute to the public welfare by maintaining their homes and
businesses to a higher standard. Their efforts have revitalized
neighborhoods across the five boroughs and made them attractive
to residents and tourists alike. To demand that they now pay for
their civic contribution is the antithesis of good government.
Furthermore, this expected revenue is not even going
to benefit the cause of preservation in New York by restoring much-needed
resources to the LPC. Instead, the agency’s resources will
remain at a level which makes it almost impossible to meet the benchmarks
asked of it by the administration. Even though the number of landmark
properties continues to grow, the agency personnel over the past
several years has remained stable or even diminished.
The City Council now has the opportunity to stop
this proposal before it comes into effect. A modification to the
FY 2005 revenue budget would remove the need for the fees, and the
agency would be able to rescind them. But this needs to happen now!
Similarly, a small increase in the expense budget for the agency
would have wide-sweeping beneficial effects to the thousands of
property owners who deal with the LPC annually by allowing the agency
to deal with their applications in a more efficient and timely manner.
Thank you for your consideration in this important
matter.
- Add any personal comments here -
Sincerely,
NAME
FULL ADDRESS
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