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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC Agenda Packet 1.28.2021 IOWA CITY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Thursday, January 28, 2021 Electronic Meeting – 5:30 p.m. Zoom Meeting Platform Agenda A) Call to Order B) Roll Call C) Public discussion of anything not on the agenda D) Discussion of Historic Preservation plan priorities and annual work plan E) Commission Information F) Adjournment If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Jessica Bristow, Urban Planning, at 319-356-5243 or at jessica-bristow@iowa-city.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8) An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19. You can participate in the meeting and can comment on an agenda item by going to https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUld-CgpjwoE9dkMGEsngfuxwvo2XJW30r_ to visit the Zoom meeting’s registration page and submit the required information. After registering, you will receive an email message with a link to join the meeting. If you are asked for a meeting or webinar ID, enter the ID number found in the email. If you have no computer or smartphone, or a computer without a microphone, you can call in by phone by dialing (312) 626-6799 and entering the meeting ID 918 0988 7293 when prompted. Providing comment in person is not an option. Thursday January 28, 2021 5:30 p.m. Electronic Zoom Meeting Platform Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission City Hall, 410 E Washington Street, Iowa City. IA. 52240 Memorandum Date: January 25, 2021 To: Historic Preservation Commission From: Kevin Boyd, Chair, Historic Preservation Commission Re: 2021 Work Plan The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) requires the Commission to submit a W ork Plan annually as part of our Certified Local Government agreement. During my time on the commission I’ve sometimes found this process frustrating. It was often a wish list and then the next year we’d review last year’s plan and update for SHPO and a couple things would be accomplished and we’d add several more items. Staff reworked the format last year, a major improvement to the plan. I think the final piece is aligning the work we do or want to do with the broader goals of the City Council as outlined in the Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan intends to foster a more inclusive, just, and sustainable Iowa City by prioritizing the physical, mental, and economic well-being of all residents. • Advance Social Justice, Racial Equity, and Human Rights • Demonstrate Leadership in Climate Action • Strengthen Community Engagement and Intergovernmental Relations • Invest in Public Infrastructure, Facilities and Fiscal Reserves • Foster Healthy Neighborhoods and Affordable Housing Throughout the City • Enhance Community Mobility for All Residents • Promote an Inclusive and Resilient Economy Throughout the City I have long believed the work of our Commission ties directly with much of this work and I suspect many of you do too. As our city leaders are focused on a variety of issues, I thought it was more important than ever to show our work and help folks see the vision of what preservation can do to help advance the goals the City Council has set. Below is a DRAFT work plan that I’d like to use as a discussion point at our meeting. Please don’t let this draft be limiting, come with ideas about preservation. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission City Hall, 410 E Washington Street, Iowa City. IA. 52240 2021 Historic Preservation Work Plan Advance Social Justice, Racial Equity, and Human Rights Recent Accomplishments Civil Rights Grant. This two-part project with grant funding from the National Park Service was completed with the successful listing in the National Register of Historic Places of both the Tate Arms and the Iowa Federation Home. Educational signage and digital online materials were also created. The research and information from the project will continue to be used in future presentations to educate and inform the public Short Term Goal Get clarity from the City Council on staffing a subcommittee charged with telling the full history of Iowa City. Non-response usually means no. But if the City is uninterested in supporting this, we should know. And frankly, so should citizens. And then decide if we want to create an unstaffed subcommittee on our own. Long Term Goal Partner with Parks and Recreation Commission, Public Art Commission, Lucas Farms Neighborhood to make Oak Grove Park a public space that honors the site’s heritage. The park, originally owned by the railroad, was home to many Mexican immigrants who lived in company- owned housing, old boxcars. Many of those immigrants moved into the surrounding neighborhood. When the City sold Elm Grove Park, near the Johnson County Administration Building, it bought the land where Oak Grove Park now sits. The park is currently scheduled for major renovation in 2026 or 2027 which provides plenty of time for us to investigate outside funding sources and develop a community plan that makes it a public space both for the neighborhood but also the City. Demonstrate Leadership in Climate Action Good preservation is about using the least invasive measures first and then working up to removal and replacement only if necessary. This tactic values embodied energy and minimizes construction waste. Ongoing Work One of the fundamental principles of historic preservation is to preserve, reuse, and adapt rather than demolish and create waste. Our work and previous commission’s work has kept immeasurable tons out of landfills. Short Term Goals We need to continue to advocate that embodied energy is worth valuing. Currently the Climate Action Committee does not take this into consideration when the City’s goals. We should continue to advocate to fix this. While what we’ve saved from landfills is immeasurable, embodied energy in existing materials is still measurable. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission City Hall, 410 E Washington Street, Iowa City. IA. 52240 For consideration Remove demolition by right. Rather, show citizens the benefit of keeping the existing building. Would a new structure provide more community value than the existing structure? Right now a property owner can pay $50 to get a permit to demolish any structure outside historic and conservation districts with no review. Many of those demolitions add tons of construction waste to our landfills. When they are replaced with a new but similar structure, is the new building worth the environmental cost of the demolition? Consider restructuring demotion permits more broadly. If we’re serious about climate change, we should be serious about demolition and the waste it produces. The cost to the environment, even considering dumping fees, doesn’t match the $50. Strengthen Community Engagement and Intergovernmental Relations The Commission, as a Certified Local Government, is the place for intergovernmental relations success. We work with SHPO and the National Parks Service, who oversees historic sites across the country. We also are trying to engage cross-departmentally with other commissions where our work overlaps. Ongoing work Annual Historic Preservation Awards: The annual awards highlights successful preservation work within the community and the expertise of contractors and consultants. As one of the Commission’s main forms of community outreach, the awards are a high priority every year and attract an audience of about 100 people. The annual awards have been moved to May to coincide with Preservation Month activities. The awards will require Commission involvement for nominating properties and for work on the awards sub-committee producing the awards. New Commissioner Recruitment: With three open positions, we should recruit new commissioners. Short Term Goals Meeting with Realtors: The first of perhaps an annual meeting with Realtors to help them understand the benefits of historic districts and what the trade-offs are. The Homebuilders often feel like they are the ones who have to tell new property owners about historic districts. Increased Digital online presence: The City has valuable resources and information on historic properties in several different formats. Currently the ability for the public to access this information is dependent upon the format of the information. Digitizing hardcopy information and combining it with existing digital information in a searchable online database would make this information about city history more available for property owners and researchers. The City is considering a revamp of its website, we should try to partner when this happens. Long Term Goals We should discuss as a commission what long term goals might be here. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission City Hall, 410 E Washington Street, Iowa City. IA. 52240 Invest in Public Infrastructure, Facilities and Fiscal Reserves The city assets need care and occasionally reinvestment. Doing a little work along the way helps avoid urgent situations down the road. Recent Accomplishments Three City-owned assets on the National Historic Register became local landmarks: The Old Post Office (now the Senior Center); the Old Settler’s Cabins in City Park, and the Ned Ashton House. The Old Settler’s Cabins were also rehabilitated. Short Term Goals Follow-up on the commission’s request to City Staff on the Montgomery-Butler House. In May 2020 the Commission requested that staff from the Planning Department, Public Works, and Parks help develop a working group to map out the work of this city-owned historic asset. In 1998, as part of a Memorandum of Agreement for the development of the new water plant, the City mothballed the Montgomery/Butler House, a significant historic resource, for roughly $70,000. Summit Street Monument: In 2019 the consultant, Atlas Preservation, completed the “Summit Street Monument Assessment and Conservation Options Plan” that was financed in part through a Certified Local Government Grant. Given the ongoing deterioration of the monument, the Commission will review the options and recommend an appropriate action to City Council. Enhance Community Mobility for All Residents These are largely transit and transportation related goals. Many preservationists are sympathetic to these issues as historic neighborhoods were designed to accommodate pedestrians, transit, and modes of transportation that aren’t car-reliant. The Commission should explore suggestions on how we might engage on this. Foster Healthy Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Throughout the City Many older neighborhoods, that are now historic districts, were designed with mobility, neighborhood commercial nodes, and a variety of housing types in one neighborhood. Ongoing work The core work is protecting healthy neighborhoods. Many of the districts were developed out of a response to unhealthy developments in these areas that motivated the neighborhoods to take action. We help provide stability and provide a platform for reinvestment. Historic Preservation Fund. With the implementation of the fund in FY 2018, the Fund has approved 28 grants or loans improving 25 properties. This is a popular program which has helped property owners maintain the historic character of their properties and has helped keep valuable material out of the landfill. With the FY 2022 budget the Fund is likely to be reduced from its original $40,000 annual funding amount. Fund carryover for projects not completed by the end of the fiscal year is also likely to end. Instead these projects would impact the following year’s funding pool. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission City Hall, 410 E Washington Street, Iowa City. IA. 52240 Be ready to partner with neighborhoods interested in historic preservation. There’s been some interest in the past, particularly the Lucas Farms-Kirkwood Avenue area with reconnaissance surveys and our job is to be ready and willing partners. For Consideration Consider recommending form-based code for areas that are adjacent or are surrounded by historic districts. The exchange between public and developers in form-based code is that the citizens allow for different uses, but get more certainty about community values such as walkability, affordability, and look and feel of the neighborhood. Developers get more flexibility in use for exchange for form. Promote an Inclusive and Resilient Economy Throughout the City Preserving our physical heritage is an asset to an inclusive and resilient economy. Preservation is a tool for economic growth. The preservation work done in our districts is often done by smaller local businesses, and potential for growth opportunities in smart deconstruction and trade development for contractors who have specific skills related to older homes. Short Term Goals Downtown National Register Historic District. This is scheduled to be reviewed by the State Nomination Committee in February. This has been a long-sought goal. For Consideration Revolving loans for tax credits: In talking to Downtown property owners, some of them expressed concern about the timeline of tax credits. They are available on the backend, but often cash is needed up front. The idea would be to create a 12-18 month loan option to bridge the immediate construction needs until project completion when the tax credits are available. Transfer of Development Rights Revisit: The previous council opted to not consider a specific TDR proposal that was developed on a tight timeline. We have had two (or maybe three) new council members since then. A new TDR proposal could be developed without the constraints of making them work for a specific property so they could benefit the whole community. Opt in incentives for local landmarks in commercial zones. One of the challenges I have heard about local landmarks or historic districts with primarily commercial buildings is that the needs of the building may be different than residential properties. Often, more flexibility is needed to make old buildings work. As a city, we can incentivize all kinds of things we value, there’s no reason why commercial landmark properties can’t be part of that mix. Ongoing Administration of Our Work Short Term Goals Update of the College Green Historic District: In 2016, the Commission approved the relocation of the Houser-Metzger House from 422 Iowa Avenue to 623 College Street where the contributing structure had been damaged beyond repair by fire and water. In order for the relocated house to be considered contributing to the Historic District, an amendment to the Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission City Hall, 410 E Washington Street, Iowa City. IA. 52240 National Register-listed district is required as a first step. This amendment will be reviewed by the Commission following revision by staff and the District representative. Update of the Iowa City Preservation Handbook (Maps): The most recent version of the handbook was updated in 2010 and does not include several recent changes and needs to be reviewed for accuracy. Since many properties have changed status (for example, a non- contributing property has become contributing because of siding removal and porch rehabilitation) in the past ten years, the maps, which are the basis for review-type, application of exceptions, and in some cases eligibility of the Historic Preservation Fund, are outdated. The full Commission would review and approve updated maps. For Consideration One of the at-large positions of the commission is reserved for a professional in the industry. In a recent meeting between the Home Builder Association, your chair, and several city staff members, they suggested that one of the at-large positions be designated for a professional builder, tradesperson, or architect (or perhaps preservationist). Frank Wagner served three terms. Quentin Pitzen currently does this work. We could define this at-large position for someone who does this work professionally. Preserve our Physical Heritage Our history belongs to all of us. We owe it to ourselves and future generations of Iowa Citians that we preserve the physical aspects of this history. This work often encompasses multiple areas of the priorities set by Council. Our shared heritage is worth preserving as its own goal. Recent Successes Sanxay-Gilmore House. The University has a plan to move, restore, and use this house. Cochran-Dennis House is now a local landmark. The compromise proposal is before Council soon. Self-starting landmarks: We’ve had several that we’ve helped shepherd through the process. We should continue conversations with interested property owners. And be mindful of opportunities that present themselves. Short Term Goal 2040 Waterfront Drive Intensive Survey: Funded in part through a Certified Local Government Grant, an intensive survey of the property at 2040 Waterfront Drive was completed. The final document will be provided to the Commission and the property owner for their review in the coming months. Long Term Goals Evaluation of Mid-century Modern Housing Stock: Since these properties have reached historic status, Commissions across the country are developing plans for how to evaluate them. In Iowa City, many of the areas where they are concentrated have not been reviewed but could begin with reconnaissance-level surveys in future years.