The tone for the annual meeting of the Spruce Hill Community Association on June 8 was set by the trio handing out two leaflets to SHCA members outside a side door to the University of the Sciences' Griffith Hall, where the meeting was held.

One was a list of "10 Reasons to vote for SHCA to withdraw support from the Historic District nomination and consider establishing a committee to assist blocks in applying for Neighborhood Conservation District status."

The other was a resolution calling on the community association to rescind the earlier action of its board of directors and withdraw support from the nomination of Spruce Hill as a historic district submitted to the Philadelphia Historical Commission.

"The claim that Spruce Hill is...historic is bulls...t." said leafleteer Al Krigman to a meeting attendee.

The meeting was also the setting for the usual yearly duties of electing officers for 2004 and presenting annual awards, and the night's speaker unwittingly kept the preservationist ball rolling until it would be picked up again after his talk.

John Gallery, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, spoke to the community association about "The State of Historic Preservation in Philadelphia" and said the on-again-off-again nature of preservation crises reminded him of the Charles Dickens quote: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Tuesday and Thursday could go well; Monday, Wednesday and Friday could bring new problems, he said. "It's that tension that makes working in the preservation field interesting."

Defining the Alliance as "an advocacy organization that goes before groups to argue for historical preservation, he said the PAGP recently gave preservation awards to such varied groups as the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the Committee of Dignity for the Homeless and the Blue Horizon boxing club.

"That represents the diversity of historic resources we have in Philadelphia," he said.

Among the preservationist successes in the city, Gallery noted, are the Victory Building at 10th and Chestnut Streets, which is well on its way to being restored and the South Philadelphia Naval Home, whose owners, Toll Bros., have plans for restoration this summer. Of those rehabilitation efforts, along with those at the Boyd Movie Theater, and Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, Gallery said, "These are extraordinary accomplishments in extraordinary buildings in Philadelphia."

But there are losses, too, said the PAGP director. He regretted renovations to the Water Works that are degrading its historic character. Overall, though, he said he thought the Philadelphia Historical Commission is doing its job well and "has more thoughtful discussions than other city agencies." Over two years, he added, there was only one Historical Commission ruling that PAGP decided to appeal.

Gallery was more worried about residential development in Center City, where he called the housing climate "rambunctious."

"If a postage stamp sized piece of land becomes available, somebody's trying to put a condominium building on it," he said. The boom is good for the city, he conceded, but he added that "almost every condominium building developer wants to build on a block that has a historically important building on it."

Unfortunately, he continued, the city's regulatory climate is such that "whatever the developer wants, the developer gets."

Among the significant preservationist issues facing the Alliance now, he said, is a building that would sit directly across from City Hall, which would be in violation of an ordinance to keep tall buildings. Also, a 10-story building is planned where a home former Mayor Richardson Dilworth built for himself would be demolished, said Gallery.

And he said preservationist problems are being created by Mayor Street's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative. Historic buildings like other vacant buildings in affected areas are being demolished Gallery said. "Every day historic buildings are being demolished without any discussion...It's appropriate to think more thoughtfully about what we need to do."

Gallery said the Alliance needs to mobilize people interested in preservation and improve the climate for development, but he added, that it's hard to mobilize interest in issues that are not in specific neighborhoods.

Among the Alliance's goals for the next couple of years, he said are: Increasing membership ("The effect of advocacy is having a strong membership," he said); looking at buildings of the 1950's and 60's, which are now old, for preservation worthiness, and recognizing African American architectural history in Philadelphia, much of which is contained in churches. Also, he continued, the Alliance would like to see local tax incentives established for historic properties and would like to build networks between historic districts in different parts of the city to find out how to deal with common issues.

He explained that homeowners can maintain historical integrity of their property with the help of the Alliance. Through their easement program, the Alliance will work on either the interior of exterior of the house in exchange for a tax-deductible charitable donation from the owner.

In response to a question about Neighborhood Conservation Districts that were permitted by a recently passed City Council bill, Gallery said they were created to protect architectural character in a neighborhood that was continuous and worthy of being reflected in new construction. Design guidelines for construction would be approved by the neighborhood itself and would apply to new construction and major renovations to existing buildings, he said. A heated discussion on Neighborhood Conservation Districts (NCDs) dominated the rest of the meeting.

Al Krigman, who had handed out leaflets in support of NCDs before the meeting, moved that the organization rescind the action of the board supporting the designation of Spruce Hill as a Historic District in a letter to the Historical Commission.

But President Nancy Roth said she didn't want to have a vote by such a small sample of neighborhood residents. She explained that the SHCA board of directors had sent a poll to all members asking them if they wanted to create a historic district for Spruce Hill. Included with the poll was a letter explaining why the board supported a historical district designation But SHCA member Tony West said the board didn't give those opposed to a Historical District a chance to express their views. And Krigman added that the poll's cover letter explaining the board's position was biased. "That letter was so biased and so prejudicial it invalidates anything..." that was learned by the poll, he said. West said the board is not offering the SHCA membership the opportunity to consider arguments against the case.

But Roth pointed out that it is still early in the procedure to determine whether a Neighborhood District designation will be conferred. "There is an entire process that has not yet begun," she said. "Spruce Hill has been supporting the nomination for years." "Do we need to find out if the neighborhood's still supportive," Roth asked. "The best way to find out is to do a poll of the entire membership."

Barry Grossbach, the association's out-going executive vice president, said, "I understand the passions involved in this. I also understand that whatever Spruce Hill does, the results will not be representative of the neighborhood."

"You [SHCA] only represent two percent of Spruce Hill residents," Krigman said. "So the association really can't win. It would be far more democratic to poll the entire residents of Spruce Hill."

Of Krigman's motion to rescind the board's support of a historic district for Spruce Hill, Grossbach said supporters of Neighborhood Conservation Districts would be deceiving themselves if they thought a vote taken at the annual meeting would settle anything when it was not previously announced that such a vote would even be taken.

He called such a vote "self-serving," adding "people did not come to this meeting with the knowledge that such a vote would be taken. Any vote you take here has to be recognized for what it is."

But West said in a democracy more than one vote can be taken. "Just because a vote is taken today doesn't mean other votes can't be taken." "The process has not even started," said Grossbach. "We've just submitted the application."

A motion by Roth to table the discussion on the matter and have the board take up the discussion at the next board meeting in September was approved by the membership.

But after the meeting, Krigman said, "They didn't want this to come to a vote...They really quashed the question, ignored the motion. "It wasn't meant to be a question for the board. It was meant to be a question for the general membership. She says it will be discussed by the board that already has an opinion that may be different from the membership," Krigman said. "The Historical Commission is proceeding under the notion the community supports the application."

He said there is strong opposition to the Historic District nomination among people who are aware of the alternative, but he acknowledged there are also people who strongly support it.

Of the heated discussion, Roth said after the session, "I think there will be lots of time to discuss and debate once the process begins."

Before Gallery's talk, an election for Spruce Hill's 2004 officers was held and annual awards were handed out.

As ballots for the election were about to be marked, Barry Grossbach moved that the entire slate be accepted by acclamation because there were no challengers to the list of candidates offered by the organization. The motion was unanimously accepted.

Officers elected to 2004 posts were: Nancy Roth, president; Cynthia Roberts, Executive vice president; Matt Wolfe, first vice president; Mamie Young, second vice president; Tanya Seaman, third vice president; Dorothy Charbonnier, secretary, and Jim Lilly, treasurer. Also elected, as directors with terms expiring in 2005 were Bob Behr, Ed Halligan and Angel Pizarro.

Directors elected to terms expiring in 2006 were: Diane Adler, Amanda Benner, Pauline Borkon, Fran Byers, Brett Feldman, Dan Garofalo and Abby Gray. Other directors elected to term expiring in 2006 were: Barry Grossbach, Ben Jacobs, Keally McBride, Stephen McCoubrey, Mark Mills, Derek Riddle, Jackie Waiters and Alison Williams.

Five awards were also given to residents and businesses in the community.

The Larry Sutton Award for Lifetime Service, named for a former SHCA president, who died prematurely, in honor of his lifetime service to the organization, is given to a person who has worked for SHCA then moved away.

It was awarded this year to Kate Stover, who had been a contributing member of SHCA for a long time, then moved away, but continues to help the organization.

"This is as fabulous place to live," Stover said. "I still love the neighborhood a lot and will continue to support it."

The Shining Star Award is for a relative newcomer to the neighborhood in recognition of service to the community. This year it went to three honorees: two businesses, the Green Line Cafe at 43rd and Baltimore and The Rx Restaurant at 45th and Spruce for the value of their enterprises to the community, and to resident Dolly Charbonnier, a new member of SHCA, for her dogged volunteerism to the organization.

The Neighborhood Service award was bestowed upon Bill Burrison for "outstanding service in community theater." A playwright, Burrison pens dramas for many occasions and produces them with his small local theater troupe.

The Celestine Thompson Award recognizes leadership in the community on a block level. This year it went to Cynthia Roberts for her revitalization of a network of communication among block leaders. The Maxine W. Smith Award for improvement at the block level was given to the residents of the block of Spruce Street between 42nd Street and St. Marks Square Street for their outstanding spirit of restoration."