The Mandan City Commission held a first reading of ordinances that will create Mandan's "look" for decades to come.

Jason Krebsbach, representing Mandan's Architectural Review Commission, presented the city commission with proposed ordinances at Tuesday's meeting.

The ordinances deal with building design standards and landscaping in the community's most prominent areas. These areas include the existing Gateway districts along Highways 1806, 10 and 6 and Interstate 94, and the newly created Downtown Core and Downtown Fringe districts.

The review commission was created earlier this year to establish guidelines for buildings as the downtown area is redeveloped through remediation efforts of the diesel fuel contamination cleanup.

Krebsbach said that the MARC drew information from other cities, which had handled similar issues, pulling together what the MARC member felt were the best design standards to incorporate into Mandan.

"We held a public meeting and though there wasn't a great turnout, we did have a number of people and commission members who provided input. This has all led to the creation of two ordinances on the Gateway, Downtown Core and Downtown Fringe districts," Krebsbach said. "These establish design standards for buildings and what they should look like, along with landscaping."

The commission unanimously approved the first reading, which now opens a public comment period before the hearing that will accompany the second reading and possible adoption of the ordinances.

"The goal of the standards is to really maintain the density of the downtown historic core and how it looks," Krebsbach said. "The review commission held a discussion on the needs of a theme for Mandan, but feels Mandan already has that theme. It's the historic look of which the Lewis and Clark hotel is a good example. That's what Mandan should look like."

Mayor Ken LaMont said he was impressed by the work and praised the MARC, saying the city owed the group a debt of gratitude.

Paige Larson, a contractor in the Bismarck-Mandan area, said he understood why the commission has done what it did with the ordinances, but had some concerns.

"One thing I would like to see changed is the applicability, basically pertaining to projects that are valued at $5,000 and up," Larson said. "What I'm looking at is a situation coming up with the M&H building. It's a block building and under these ordinances you wouldn't be allowed to just repaint, you'd have to change the face of the building."

Krebsbach agreed that any such project would have to come to the review commission. "As the ordinances are written right now, if you want to repaint, you have to come see us," Krebsbach said.

LaMont said that the commission was willing to work with existing buildings by providing special use permits and grandfathering businesses in, but it would have to be reviewed.

"It's not a big problem. But if you want to change a window, do anything, you might have to redo the whole building," Larson said.

Krebsbach said that the ordinances are in a public comment period and that's why the first reading was held.

"This was a tough issue for us. How could we improve aesthetics without becoming a burden? How do we allow some materials and not others?" Krebsbach said.

"We know that concrete block can be done beautifully, but it can also be done poorly. How do we address this? How specific do we want to be?"

LaMont told Larson it appeared the MARC would be willing to listen and encouraged the contractor to attend their meetings ,which have been held on a weekly basis on Monday's starting at 1:30 p.m. at city hall.

At the city commission's next regular meeting, the MARC will give a more detailed presentation on the design standards.

"It's still just a process and not a done deal," Krebsbach said.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarck-tribune.com.)