Dayton Holds Advisory Vote

DAYTON—The Dayton Historic Preservation Commission held a meeting last week to provide a forum for property owners in the South Side Historic District and the Washington Street Historic District.

Commission members were to answer questions about an advisory ballot asking property owners to state their preferences to the Dayton City Council about the future of the two districts. There were about nine property owners in attendance.

The ballot asks property owners to choose from among three options:

Dissolve the local Dayton Register Historic District

Retain the local Dayton Register Historic District, changing the process to advisory review only

Retain the local Dayton Register Historic District and the existing process for Certificates of Appropriateness

Commissioner Matt Zanger told the audience that the goal is to give a voice to the majority. He also said that if people don’t vote because they like the status quo, they will be disenfranchised.

City council member and south side district homeowner Dain Nysoe asked the commission to clarify “advisory review.” Commissioner Ginny Butler told him that advisory means without authority.

Nysoe expressed the concern that there will be consequences if enough people vote for that option, including dissolution of the district. Zanger agreed and said that if there if there is damage to the contributing nature of a property, tax credits would also be lost.

Zanger told attendees that the DHPC will take the property owners’ votes to the city planning commission for review, and then to city council for final approval. We’ll take it to heart,” he added.

According to City Planner Karen Scharer, 78 ballots were sent out to property owners in the SSHD, and it will take 40 ballots to validate the vote, or 58 for a super majority (75%).

In the WSHD a total of 14 ballots went out and it will take 8 ballots (51%) to validate the vote and 11 ballots for a super majority (75%).

The ballots from the SSHD and from the WSHD will not be combined, and each will be counted separately and there may be different results for their advisory votes to the city council, Scharer said.

If less than 51% of the ballots are returned on the first ballot in either district, ballots will be counted and the results made public. However, no change will be made to that district.

If more than 51% of ballots are returned, and none of the choices receives more than 75% of the vote, a second ballot will be sent out to allow a selection from the top two choices. If there is a second ballot, property owners will receive the results of the first ballot along with the second ballot.

A second ballot would provide an opportunity for those who did not vote for the winner of the first ballot to consider which of the top two choices they prefer. The DHPC does not want to disenfranchise owners who feel strongly about their position on this matter, Scharer said.

If more than 51% of ballots are returned, and one choice receives more than 75% of the vote, then that choice will be considered the consensus of the district and a second ballot will not be offered.

Scharer said one member from city council and one member from the DHPC will review ballot envelopes on April 25 to determine if there are any discrepancies with the outside white return envelopes. If so, the DHPC will contact the owner to verify their return envelope and eliminate any discrepancy(s).

On May 2 one member from city council and two members from the DHPC will review remaining envelopes and count all ballots verified and received, said Scharer.

The vote count will take place at the City Hall at 6 p.m. and the public is welcome to attend, she said.

Results of the first and second ballots will be posted on the City Hall bulletin board, emailed to those signed up, and posted at http://www.ezview.wa.gov under Dayton Historic Preservation Code and Process Project 2016.