Butler's Planning and Zoning Commission discussed an ordinance Wednesday to designate the area around Ritts Park as the city's second historic district, but held off on making a recommendation to City Council until details about the proposal are clarified.

An effort to designate the area as the Ritts Historic and Architectural District — which includes the Koch family-owned Elm Court — began last year when community members proposed changing the neighborhood's zoning to R-1 from R-2, R-3 and C-2.

City Council voted in September 2018 to rezone the area — which includes more than 160 homes — as a historic district with only R-1. The ordinance will regulate what residents are allowed to do, such as repairs or construction, within the district.

R-1 designations set up strict rules that keep houses to single-family usage. R-2 allows for medium-density houses to be split into two-family homes. R-3 allows for one structure to be divided for multiple families.

“This is a prospective ordinance to preserve the existing architectural structures in the district,” Solicitor Tom Breth told the commission at its Wednesday meeting. “This is not intended to impact commercial or vacant property.”

The planning commission will make a recommendation on the matter before it goes to City Council for a vote.

Breth said it has not been put on the council's agenda for consideration, and that the first opportunity would be at the council's next meeting Oct. 24.

But planning commission members said there are revisions and clarifications on the ordinance they want to address before making a decision.

“We need to see any revisions on paper before we send it to the council,” commission Chairman Joe Caparosa said. “I don't think we as a board are in any position to make a recommendation.”

Caparosa said one change the commission wants to see is in the case of duplexes; owners would be given the opportunity to separate out utilities.

Regarding a board made up of five community members to oversee the process, commission members said that language in the ordinance should be clearer. In the ordinance, three members of the board are required to “have resided” in the area for at least five years.

Commission member John Mossman suggested that the language should reflect that board members must have resided in the area for five years, including currently.

Other commission members said they wanted to make sure the area was eligible to be designated as a historic district.

“(There was) originally a question of whether it can be justified as a historic district,” said Mossman, who also lives in the Ritts Park area. “They are all great old houses. I love my old house. But are they justified as a historic district?”

Mossman said he didn't want to go through with the ordinance process only to have the state come back and say it wasn't eligible.

“The decision was we'd go with an ordinance because it's more flexible in terms of designating structures,” Breth said. “There's a diverse difference between a lot of the structures, which is part of the charm of the neighborhood.”

Wednesday's meeting drew a small attendance. Former Butler County Judge Martin O'Brien, an attendee, suggested that the ordinance should be clarified regarding how residents could change the facade of their homes.

Some residents have spoken out against designating the area as a historic district, arguing that it won't do anything to improve the area. Mossman recently told The Eagle the matter has created distrust between some people in the neighborhood toward city government.

Concerns among residents have included whether taxes will go up, whether there will be mandatory zoning regulations to maintain the historic aesthetic of the neighborhood, and whether the city would provide funding for residents to fix their houses should there be additional regulations.

City Councilman Jeff Smith has said taxes wouldn't increase since the designation does not change the assessed value, and that most residents would not have to make changes to their property.

The only other designated historic area in the city is the downtown area that includes parts of Main Street.

At the commission's meeting, Breth told its members that the goal for the ordinance is to “get it right.”

“It's intended to preserve and prevent the erosion of historical structures,” he said of the ordinance. “Is it perfect? No, because everyone has their own individual perspective. This was a balancing act. It's a good first effort for something that will be beneficial to the city.”