NORTH BEND — The question seems to be on nearly every community member’s lips these days: How do we fix downtown?

Ideas on how to do exactly that — one developed by the city’s Historic Landmark Commission and another by a local artist — crystallized this week, when they detailed plans to the North Bend City Council to create a historic district and slow the traffic flow.

Commission Chairman Dick Wagner said the more than year-long project sets design standards to create a structured historic district in downtown’s commercial core. But those rules will be voluntary, not mandatory as originally proposed.

Business owners liked the initial idea, but voted against adhering to anything so strict, he said. Ballot recipients — about 50 from Washington Avenue to the bay and on to California Street — either didn’t respond or voted no.

The standards ask owners of historic properties make facade improvements that adhere to the era in which their buildings were built and to construct new buildings in keeping with neighbors. 0This could be accomplished by using a historic color palette and scheme approved by the commission and employing historic era materials when available.

“It’s really the same set of guidelines. Except (they’re) now recommended,” Wagner explained Monday. “Unfortunately, they will be free as property owners to do as they chose. We would just hope they would take a larger view of what historic downtown is all about.”

Newer buildings should resemble those built between 1900 and 1930s.

“There’s a wide variety of looks those buildings could have. We are not in any way suppressing innovation. We are just trying to create a look for downtown in which the buildings, including new buildings, are in harmony with their neighbors,” Wagner said.

Additionally, the boundaries of the district have been expanded to include structures as far south as Vermont Avenue, north to Florida Avenue, west to McPherson Avenue and east to the bay.

“The goals are still the same: to improve the look of downtown, to improve the tax base by increasing the value of the properties to the benefit of the property owners, and to encourage, we hope, economic development (with) a better, more attractive downtown,” Wagner said.

The commission is willing to work with property owners in an advisory capacity.

“We’re not being hard-nosed about it,” he told the council. “In the end, we hope it’s a useful resource for the city and property owners.”

Low interest loans for facade improvements also are available to owners of historic buildings through Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia. Margaret Kirby, the Mid-South Coast Strategy Coordinator for Shorebank, said loans between $5,000 and $35,000 are available and $75,000 remains in the fund.

City Councilor Barry Hayes said Monday he was disappointed that more property owners aren’t jumping on board.

“I just wish there was something else we could do to get them moving,” Hayes said.

City Administrator Jan Willis blamed some reluctance on the part of owners to take out loans on the state of the economy. However, that feeling may change after improvements to the North Bend Hotel are completed. Councilor Larry Garboden agreed, adding that many businesses in the downtown are barely breaking even.

“Right now, these are difficult times,” Willis said.

On Tuesday, Johanna Dillard, the president of the North Bend Downtown Association and owner of Coastal Paper & Supply Inc., said she approves of the Historic Landmark Commission’s efforts.

“I think we need to have a theme and I think we need a standard to set ourselves by,” Dillard said. “If you don’t do that you have a patchwork and you have what we have now and I don’t like it.”