HomeMy WebLinkAboutA003 - Council Action Form dated August 28, 2007 ITEM # �Q-
DATE 08/28/07
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: URBAN REVITALIZATION CRITERIA FOR UNIVERSITY IMPACTED
AREA (UTA) WEST
BACKGROUND:
In July 2007, City Council referred to staff a letter from the owners of the properties at
405 and 415 Hayward Avenue requesting tax abatement to support redevelopment of
this former Greek house into the Iowa House Bed and Breakfast. This would require
that the City Council set up a new Urban Revitalization Program.
The Iowa Code allows cities to establish Urban Revitalization Areas when the areas
meet one of the following criteria:
1. Conditions exist that are detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare.
2. Conditions exist that arrest sound growth, retard housing accommodation,
constitute economic or social liability and menace public health, safety, or
welfare.
3. Buildings exist needing preservation or restoration because of age, history,
architecture, or significance.
4. The area has been designated an economic development area.
5. The area has been designated a housing or residential development area.
For areas that meet one or more of these criteria, the City Council has previously
approved eight Urban Revitalization Plans that also fulfill the indicated additional policy
objectives:
1. Commercial Urban Revitalization Plan, which encourages increasing
underrepresented business uses or encourage efficient use of parking areas.
2. Urban Revitalization Sprinkler Retrofitting Plan, which supports fire sprinkler
systems for specified types of uses of existing buildings.
3. Somerset Urban Revitalization Plan, which encourages buildings used for retail
sales and services.
4. South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Plan, which encourages commercial and
mixed-use infill projects with public amenities.
5. Downtown Urban Revitalization Plan, which encourages appropriate historic
styles for fagade improvements.
6. Campustown Urban Revitalization Plan, which encourages parking structures for
new mixed-use buildings and adaptive reuse of older buildings.
7. East University Impacted Urban Revitalization Plan, which encourages
preservation and restoration of Greek houses.
8. North Sheldon Urban Revitalization Plan, which encourages adaptive reuse of
older buildings.
The proposed Iowa House property at 405 and 415 Hayward Avenue is located in the
West University Impacted Area. The City Council has previously adopted the following
policies regarding historic resources in this area:
1 . The City's Land Use Policy Plan supports conservation measures where there is
a "substantial presence of historically and architecturally significant residential
structures . . ."
2. The Sub Area Plan for the University Impacted Area includes a policy for "Using
the Urban Revitalization Program to support investments that preserve and reuse
historic resources through property tax abatement."
Because there was little historic analysis available at the time, the Sub-area Plan for the
University Impacted Area only identified two specific areas where it was most likely that
historic resources occur (see attached map):
• Campustown Urban Revitalization Area
• North Sheldon Urban Revitalization Area
The Urban Revitalization Plans approved by the City Council for these two areas allows
tax abatement for improvements to any building more than 50 years old if 70% of the
exterior is preserved.
The recent research report by Will Page, the Multiple Property Documentation Form for
the Fourth Ward, has identified ten historic contexts that can be associated with historic
properties in the University Impacted Area and surrounding areas of west Ames, and
identifies examples of such properties. These contexts help distinguish historic buildings
from old buildings. The Iowa State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park
Service use these contexts to determine whether specific areas or properties meet the
National Register Evaluation Criteria and are likely to be included in the National
Register of Historic Places.
Given this background, it would be consistent with the City's adopted policies for the
City Council to establish a new program whereby properties within the West University
Impacted Overlay Zoning District are eligible to be designated as an Urban
Revitalization Area if they meet the following criteria:
• Properties are located within the West University Impacted Overlay Zoning
District, and
• The National Park Service has determined that one or more of the properties has
a structure(s) that meets the National Register Evaluation Criteria, and
• Improvements are being made to one of the National Register eligible structures
which preserve 70% or more of the area of existing exterior walls of the structure
and which preserve and/or restore original or historic materials and designs.
It should be noted that State law requires Urban Revitalization Areas to contain two or
more properties.
Should such a program be approved, the City Council would take action on each
request for a new Urban Revitalization Area as it has done for Multiple Family Urban
Revitalization Areas and as it currently does for Commercial Urban Revitalization Areas.
2
After the project is completed, the staff would then review the completed project and
report to the City Council, which takes action annually in February to approve projects in
any of the City's Urban Revitalization Areas as qualifying for tax abatement. The
property owner could request a three-, five- or ten-year abatement schedule.
The property at 405 and 415 Hayward Avenue meets these criteria, based on staff
review of the project through the Development Review Committee process and through
the variance process. (See attached National Park Service letter and project drawings.)
The process to establish a new Urban Revitalization Area is to prepare a Plan and hold
a public hearing, with 30 days published notice and notice to all property owners within
the area, followed by City Council approval of an Urban Revitalization Area by
ordinance and of an Urban Revitalization Plan by resolution.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. The City Council can take the following four actions:
a. Establish a new Urban Revitalization Program for properties within the
West University Impacted Overlay Zoning District with the following
eligibility criteria:
i. Properties are located within the West University Impacted Overlay
Zoning District, and
ii. The National Park Service has determined that one or more of the
properties has a structure(s) that meets the National Register
Evaluation Criteria, and
iii. Improvements are being made to one of the National Register
eligible structures which preserve 70% or more of the area of
existing exterior walls of the structure and which preserve and/or
restore original or historic materials and designs.
b. Determine that the proposed project at 405 and 415 Hayward meets these
criteria
c. Direct staff to prepare an Urban Revitalization Plan for 405 and 415
Hayward Avenue based on these criteria
d. Set a date of public hearing for October 9, 2007
2. The City Council can deny the request for tax abatement for 405 and 415 Hayward
Avenue and make no changes to the current Urban Revitalization Programs of the
City.
3. The City Council can refer the request to staff for further information.
MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
In responding to this referral, staff considered the following elements:
a) changes to the other Urban Revitalization Areas that already exist in the
University area;
b) whether this tax abatement program should be available outside the East and
West University Impacted Overlay Zoning District; and
3
c) whether a qualified person should be able to provide evidence and/or an
expert opinion that a property is associated with one or more historic contexts
that the Multiple Property Documentation Form for the Fourth Ward report
documents, instead of the National Park Service.
Staff concluded that it may be premature to make tax abatement available for large
areas of the community without solid evidence that a given property is historic and a
clear understanding of the impact. The City is just initiating a preservation plan for the
entire community that will help determine how and where to apply various preservation
techniques. The City Council is also considering a grant application to support the cost
of a study to provide evidence that the College Heights area south of the University is
eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. All of this will provide information
and understanding to guide future changes to the Urban Revitalization Programs of the
City.
In the meantime, the City has already adopted specific policies that support tax
abatement as a tool for historic preservation in the University Impacted Areas. Where
the State and Federal agencies have reviewed the evidence and determined that a
property qualifies for the National Register of Historic Places, the City Council should
consider tax abatement.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt
Alternative #1 to take the following actions:
a. Establish a new Urban Revitalization Program for properties within the
West University Impacted Overlay Zoning District with the following
eligibility criteria:
i. Properties are located within the West University Impacted Overlay
Zoning District, and
ii. The National Park Service has determined that one or more of the
properties has a structure(s) that meets the National Register
Evaluation Criteria, and
iii. Improvements are being made to one of the National Register
eligible structures which preserve 70% or more of the area of
existing exterior walls of the structure and which preserve and/or
restore original or historic materials and designs.
b. Determine that the proposed project at 405 and 415 Hayward meets these
criteria
c. Direct staff to prepare an Urban Revitalization Plan for 405 and 415
Hayward Avenue based on these criteria
d. Set a date of public hearing for October 9, 2007
It should be noted that the City Council also directed staff to consider options for
alternative uses for large residential structures such as Greek houses. Staff has
completed research, including how other jurisdictions provide for uses for Greek
houses, and presented a written report to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The
Commission suggested that staff seek reaction to the report from the affected
neighborhoods and from Greek system residents and alumni. Staff will be completing
these activities in September, after which this report will be presented to the City
Council.
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United States Department of the Interior
0 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
�4RCH s 'kg► 1849 C Street,N.W.
Washington,D.C.20240
IN REPLY REFER TO.
July 16,2007
Russ McCullough,Ph.D.
Iowa House Building,L.L.C.
119 Stanton Avenue
P.O.Box 1099
Ames,IA 50014
PROPERTY: Sigma Sigma-Delta Chi Fraternity House,401 Hayward Avenue,Ames,IA 50014
PROJECT NUMBER: 20248
TAXPAYER ID NUMBER: 25-8591518
Dear Mr. McCullough:
The National Park Service has determined that the subject property appears to meet the National Register Criteria for
Evaluation and will likely be listed in the National Register of Historic Places if nominated by the State Historic
Preservation Officer according to the procedures set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. This determination is made in response
to the Historic Preservation Certification Application--Part 1 submitted to this office.
Please be advised that Federal regulations require submission of interior and exterior photographs of the building
before the start of rehabilitation work. No photographs of the interior were submitted with the Part 1 application.
While the four photographs of the exterior of the building are minimally sufficient for us to make this preliminary
determination,these photographs do not provide enough information about the pre-rehabilitation appearance and
condition of the property to evaluate a Part 2 application. Photographs showing the building interior prior to the start
of the rehabilitation as well as additional photographs of the exterior must be submitted,in duplicate,to the State
Historic Preservation Office with the Part 2 application.
Obtaining"certified historic structure"status is the first step in qualifying for.maximum tax benefits under Federal
Laws. These benefits apply only to structures that have either undergone or are about to undergo rehabilitation that
can be certified in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's"Standards for Rehabilitation."
If you have any questions,please call the State Historic Preservation Office or me at(202)354-2028.
Sincerely,
13 4
Anne Grimmer
Technical Preservation Services Branch
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