“Ambiguous rules—such as those that require a renovation to be “compatible with the character of the neighborhood”—can mean anything. Consequently, they often end up meaning whatever politicians say they mean. More than a half-century ago, the U.S. Supreme Court said that any law that requires people to get a permit or a license must specify the criteria for the permit in clear terms, so applicants can know what is or is not allowed. Or, as Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote, “”Prohibition through words that fail to convey what is permitted and what is prohibited for want of appropriate objective standards offends Due Process.””

https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/the-dark-side-of-historic-preservation

Christine Deines, Librarian - One that loves working on old houses fixing them up and serves on the Iowa conservation preservation consortium as a board member. I am pro conservation and pro historic preservation. That’s the absurdity of all of this. However, I am against inefficient inept corrupt government, not doing their jobs and inefficient staff not doing their jobs or improving governmental due processes.