To the editor:

When my family and I first moved into Old West Lawrence, some 10 years ago, our intent was to renovate our house. At that time an architect made us aware of the Historic Resources Commission. In the design phase of our renovation project, we had firsthand experience with HRC and the hoops we needed to jump through so that our plans would be approved.

Ultimately, I believed that by complying with various requests, we were helping to ensure the integrity of our neighborhood.

At that time, the commissioners were consistent in their approach, and had a bark and a bite to match. There was comfort in the idea that OWL was protected.

Currently, however, there is a new commission in place, and the bite is definitely not the same. There is a house being built next door to ours, which I don’t believe would have been approved by the former commission.

I would like other property owners to be aware that just because you are within the environs of a property listed on a historic registry, you are not protected from poor design and construction which does not match your neighborhood.

Holli Joyce,

Lawrence