Power Play Imperils Preservation in Louisville

Branden Klayko reports on the Louisville Metro Council's recent passage of, "new rules giving the legislative body final say over all landmarks decisions," overriding a veto by Mayor Greg Fischer.

"[S]purred by the four-year-old landmark designation of Colonial Gardens, a former beer garden built in 1902 alongside one of the city's Olmsted parks," which remains vacant and deteriorating, the new ordinance has preservationists concerned that "the authority of the Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission, an appointed panel of volunteer experts, can be overturned by a political body untrained in historic preservation practices."

"Preservationists maintain that giving a political body the final say over the landmarks process unduly politicizes the process and could lead to illicit campaign contributions from developers," writes Klayko.