Comment by akoboldfrying

Do you think New York and Florence have those beautiful buildings because their local design review committees had high standards? I don't.

I think aesthetics should nearly always come second to other concerns, except in very specialised cases. For a start, it's largely a matter of personal taste. "Streamlining the design review process" is something I wish was more of a priority where I live. Those rates (local property tax) dollars are much better spent on almost anything else in my opinion.