GREEN MOUSE SAYS: This new electronic sign at St. Mary's did not receive a COA from the New Albany Historic Preservation Commission (hint: it's illegal).

There's on little thing ...

The Green Mouse has received a tip from one of his favorite contributors.

No COA (Certificate of Appropriateness) for the big (and consequently illegal) electronic sign at St. Mary's in the East Spring Street historic district. Lots of businesses and churches have been turned down for electronic signage over the years.

Before we continue, let's pile up a few backing facts. First up: yes, it's inside the boundaries of the East Spring Street Historic District.

Next: yes, the New Albany Historic Preservation Commission issues Certificates of Appropriateness for exterior work inside a designated district.

What is a Certificate of Appropriateness?

A Certificate of Appropriateness authorizes the start of any exterior work on a building in a historic district or historic neighborhood, including:

• Demolition of a structure.
• Moving of a structure.
• New construction, including additions to existing structures.
• Exterior changes affecting the appearance of any building or part of a building visible from the public right of way. The exterior changes include walls, windows, porches, roof, siding, fences, light fixtures, steps, paving and signs as well as additions, reconstruction, alteration, or maintenance involving exterior color changes.

How do I know if I need a Certificate of Appropriateness?

Ask before you proceed with exterior work. Contact the NAHPC Administrator at 812-284-4534. You may also consult the “Historic District Design Guidelines City of New Albany.” Design Guidelines are available by contacting the City Plan Department (3rd floor, City County Building), your neighborhood association, the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library or your district’s representative to the NAHPC.

And, speaking of “Historic District Design Guidelines: City of New Albany,” the sub-section about signs is fairly clear.

It's a tad disappointing that as a beneficiary of Super Tuesday's historic preservation largess distribution (and a questionable one, in my estimation), the church didn't follow COA procedures with the new electronic sign.

It will be doubly disappointing if City Hall, after these puffy days of publicly celebrating its preservation credentials, doesn't enforce the rules. After all, unequal enforcement is in many respects worse than no enforcement at all.

But maybe Deaf Gahan gave St. Mary's a "Get Out of COA Free" card. That'd be par for the course in the Chronicles of New Gahania.

Ghost lights for St. Mary's school.

Morning, July 30, 2013.

Senselessness, compounded: And two more trees for good measure.

Also, you have the option to file under senseless atrocities. I'm finally beginning to understand where I went wrong. Last year I asked the city to remove the dead tree in front of my house, and nothing happened. This year, it's clear that if the dead tree were a living tree, and if I planned on adding a steeple to the 1117 ESSNA, then I'd be golden, and all the living trees in front of my house would magically disappear.

In today's fathomless demonstration of City Hall as Paul Bunyon, the point goes well beyond the horrid symbolism of a city with chronic stormwater drainage problems and a leafy canopy crazily depleted by recent weather events, electing to remove healthy trees -- although it's a symbolic catastrophe of epic dimensions.

All the wrong messages are being sent today, messages about the persistent non-transparency of decision-making processes, about focusing attention on isolated objects and mere symptoms rather than egregious in the wider community fabric; a steeple may well be more important than a tree or even seven, but if there is not a mechanism for agreeing on this value, what do we really have at work here, in this place?

Talk about poisoned chalices.

File under: Senseless atrocities.

I counted five stumps. Can anyone remember the last time this city planted a tree?

I'd still rather be here than Texas.

6:40 pm update - Ann has the photos here ... and as she says, it's a mess

I just received a text message with a photo of the steeple at St. Mary's on the corner of Eighth and Spring. The wind's knocked it cockeyed -- still attached, but it appears to be precariously.

That explains the sirens. I'd go look, but there's debris aplenty in the back yard, including tree limbs and two collapsed fence sections.

And yes, I'm very glad we got our dying tree down on Thursday before the Ike remnants hit.