HomeMy WebLinkAboutA002 - Council Action Form dated February 14, 2006 ITEM # t2
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DATE 02/14/06
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: URBAN REVITALIZATION CRITERIA AND URBAN REVITALIZATION
PLANS FOR THE EAST UNIVERSITY IMPACTED AREA
BACKGROUND:
The Sub-Area Plan for the University Impacted Area recognizes that because of its
concentration of Greek houses, the east portion of the University Impacted Area has
characteristics and qualities that make it distinctive from the other parts of the University
Impacted Area. The Sub-Area Plan for the University Impacted Area also identifies this
area as one of the most likely locations of buildings of historic significance, because it
illustrates the documented historic theme of development of housing for students and
faculty around the University through 1941. City Council recently initiated additional
research and documentation to identify these resources. Past and current Greek
students, often the building owners, prefer preserving the existing buildings and
adapting them for continued use. The Plan and proposed zoning text amendments
includes provisions to discourage demolition of Greek houses in this area, unless it can
be shown that there is no economic return from adapting the existing building.
An incentive to encourage and support adaptive reuse of Greek houses would be a
complement to this zoning that discourages demolition. A proposed East University
Impacted Urban Revitalization Area (see map, Attachment A) would provide partial
property tax abatement for Greek houses under the following criteria:
• The existing building will remain substantially intact; and also
• Original or historic materials and designs on the building exterior are preserved
and/or restored.
Greek organizations support both the demolition provision and the Urban Revitalization
Area as a single program to manage these resources in the East University Impacted
Area. Together, these would help them preserve and update the Greek buildings and
thus keep the Greek neighborhood intact. This incentive would also be available for
interior renovation, such as is required to install fire sprinklers as long as the value of
the improvement is more than 5% of the existing building value. Greek residents and
alumni believe that without the support of tax abatement, the zoning provision that
discourages demolition would harm the Greek neighborhood, because it might prevent
certain Greek chapters from continuing if they cannot afford to renovate their house.
As proposed, the tax abatement would be available only to Greek houses or former
Greek houses.
Recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission. At its meeting of May 18,
2005, with a vote of 5-0, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that the
City Council initiate this new Urban Revitalization Area and criteria for eligibility.
Recommendation of the Historic Preservation Commission. At its meeting of May
23, 2005, with a vote of 6-0, the Historic Preservation Commission recommended that
the City Council initiate this new Urban Revitalization Area and criteria for eligibility.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. The City Council can approve the Urban Revitalization Criteria for the East
University Impacted Area, direct staff to prepare an Urban Revitalization Plan for
the East University Impacted Area, and set a date of public hearing of March 28,
2006.
2. The City Council can direct staff to revise the Urban Revitalization Criteria for the
East University Impacted Area, prepare an Urban Revitalization Plan for the East
University Impacted Area, and set a date of public hearing of March 28, 2006.
3. The City Council can deny the Urban Revitalization Criteria for the East
University Impacted Area.
4. The City Council can refer this item back to City staff for additional information.
MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
It is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt
Alternative #1, which is a recommendation that the City Council approve the Urban
Revitalization Criteria for the East University Impacted Area, direct staff to prepare an
Urban Revitalization Plan for the East University Impacted Area, and set a date of public
hearing of March 28, 2006. This new Urban Revitalization Area would help preserve
the distinctive characteristics of this neighborhood by encouraging the adaptive reuse of
the buildings, some of which are likely to be historically and architecturally significant.
These actions will help protect potential resources, while the community researches the
resources and considers establishing local historic districts, National Register Historic
Districts, and other conservation policies for west Ames. After several years, when that
work is completed, these Urban Revitalization Areas and Plans can be changed to
reflect the findings and decisions of that process.
Under this proposal, the approximately seven, smaller properties with non-Greek
multi-family residential uses would not qualify for tax abatement, although the proposed
new zoning would allow their demolition. If area structures were built on any of these
properties, that structure would need to comply with the proposed mandatory design
standards. Staff believes that these standards are sufficient to assure that new
construction will be compatible with the existing neighborhood, which is Council's goal
and policy for this area. Therefore, tax abatement is not necessary for these non-Greek
residences.
Attachments
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