I was there as well and it was quite clearly a few residents trying to force their tastes on the neighborhood.

Aside from the procedure of this being total BS, I object to many tenants of the bill itself.

First of all, most of it is irrelevant as zoning does or could dictate the same requirements. That said, the following provisions need to be removed in my opinion.

3 (b) The height restriction of 22 ft to the cornice line. I wouldn't mind this if there was an exception if a certain % of the houses on the block already exceeded that height.

4 (a) .1 - The requirement that a building with a frontage of more than 20ft have the facade broken into multiple planes and roofline variations. This is an attempt to dictate architectural design and is inappropriate.

4 (a) .3 - The banning of security grills. If a neighbor feels unsafe and deems them appropriate that should be their right.

4 (a) .10 (a-d) - Materials - This entire section should be stripped out of this bill. No one should have the right to dictate the materials that be used on private property. I don't like vinyl siding but if someone wants to use it so be it. Banning stucco, cement board, etc is an attempt to require all housing be brick. Trying to require the rear of someone's house match the front facade in certain cases is also ridiculous, as is dictating materials for the surface of a parking lot. Furthermore, it disgusted me that during their powerpoint slideshow they had the audacity to point out several houses and declare them "not appropriate for our neighborhood" simply because they did not like the architectural design or the modern materials used on the facades.

6 (a) .2 - Materials in commercial/industrial spaces - this bill requires that all industrial/commercial buildings use materials "consistent" with the nearby residential structures. ie - more brick. Commercial buildings need not, and probably should not be made to appear like a residential structure.

There are a number of other minor details that I object to, but these are the biggest. I really think that the materials restrictions must be removed.