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David Cox & Historic Pres. RespRECEIVED David Cox 1401 Henion Street Dubuque, IA 52001 0 ~ HAR 30 ?H t2: ~ 2 Cib' P,'~'~ Office r',..'.- .... JA March 29, 2001 Historic Preservation Commission 13th & Central Dubuque, IA 52001 Dear Commissioners, On March 15, you considered three applications for porch roofs on property I own on Loras Blvd. I understand that my application to replace the existing metal porch roof at 407/409 Loras and my application to add a porch roof to 460/460 1/2 Loras was tabled. I further understand that my request to modify an existing porch roof at 620/628 Loras was denied. Prior to the meeting, I met with city planning to prepare the application. Also, a commission member called with questions regarding my applications prior to the meeting. I understood that my applications met your requirements. Apparently, 1 misunderstood. Two things happened at the meeting that gives me concem regarding your decision process. 1. A commission member made comments regarding "a history of loitering" on the porch located at 407/409 Loras". An implication was made that a nice large porch may encourage more of the same. Was the commission relying on public record (police issued tickets for loitering?), or does the commission have some way of discerning when people are loitering as opposed to socializing on a porch. What does this have to do with my application? 2. A commission member provided pictures of porches on buildings that are similar in design to the buildings I own. These pictures were noted with the architectural design and period. Commission members offered to meet with me to ardve at an acceptable design for my projects: Why doesn't this happen prior to filling out the application? Apparently, I wasted my time touring the neighborhood looking for designs that were historically correct and affordable for the property. Frankly, I think personal tastes and prejudices have entered into the process. I would like the commission to explain, in writing, what the "loitering" issue has to do with my application so I can propedy address the issue. Also, in an effort to avoid wasting more time and to eliminate misunderstandings on my part, I would like a copy of the rules, regulations and/or guidelines that are established for the commission. Please write regarding the location of these regulations. If they are not public record, please inform me as to the cost of having these regulations produced for my review. I wait your response. Sincerely, David A Cox cc: Honorable Mayor Terry Duggan Guy Hemenway City Planning Planning Services Department 50 West 13th Street Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864 Phone (319) 589-4210 Fax 019) 589-4221 April 3, 2001 David Cox 1401 Henion Street Dubuque, IA 52001 RE: Applications reviewed by Historic Preservation Incentives at March 15 Meeting Dear Mr. Cox: This letter responds to your March 29, 2001 letter regarding your applications that were reviewed by Historic Preservation Commission at the March 15, 2001 meeting. I believe that you do not have a clear understanding of the Commission's discussion of your applications, because you were not in attendance and are receiving your information second hand. I would like to help you to understand the Commission's comments regarding your projects, so that we can move forward with their review in a timely manner. In your opening paragraph, you have incorrectly referenced the Commission's action on your three applications for new porches at 407/409 Loras Blvd., 460/4061/2 Loras Blvd., and 620/628 Loras Blvd. The Commission did not deny any of your applications. In fact, the Commission has tabled all three applications. In your second paragraph, you indicated that you met with City Planning staff to prepare the applications. Planning Services staff have indicated that they met briefly with you to review the application process for these projects. Staff also indicated that you appeared to be familiar with the application process, and declined to have staff provide you with assistance in the preparation of the applications. While staff will not prepare applications for you, they can provide you with guidance on the type of information needed. in your second paragraph, you also indicated that perhaps you misunderstood the application requirements. I believe that this may have happened, because your applications are very short, with little or no detail about the proposals. Your project descriptions simply referenced the computer-generated image you enclosed for each property. The applications do not contain information about the ornamentation details, type of construction materials, etc. It is difficult to determine this information from the brief answers on your application forms or from the computer images. This lack of information was the primary reason that each of the porch applications was tabled. David Cox Page 2 of 3 When the Commission reviewed these applications on March 15, Mr. Brad Smith was present to represent you. Mr. Smith did not have with him copies of your applications, so staff provided him with copies. Despite having these copies of your applications, however, Mr. Smith was not able to answer all of the Commission's questions because the applications did not have sufficient detail. To help you provide the Commission with adequate information for these applications, I have asked staff to enclose the draft minutes from our March 15 meeting for your consideration. As indicated, Commissioner Jim Gibbs has offered to meet with you to review each proposal, and offer his suggestions for strengthening each application. Mr. Gibbs can be reached at Remax Realty at 588-3078. I also have asked staff to provide you with a copy of an application that included the type and level of detailed information that the Commission would like to see. As you requested, I have asked staff to provide you with a copy of Chapter 25 of the City Code, which is the Histodc Preservation Ordinance. The standards for review that are referenced in Section 25-10 (pages 25-26 of the enclosed Historic Preservation Ordinance). These standards are federal guidelines, and have been included for your review as well. They are entitled: The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabi/itation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. In your letter, you also identified issues of concern to you regarding the Commission's review process for your applications. I would like to address those issues, so that they are no longer a concern for you. Issue #1 concerned a comment that I made regarding "a history of loitering" on the porch at 407/409 Loras Blvd. I believe that this remark inadvertently has been taken out of context. I think if you review the draft minutes of the March 15 meeting, you will more clearly understand the Commission's discussion of this proposal. Issue #2 concerned pictures of porches on buildings that are similar in style to your properties. Mr. Gibbs took these photos on his own, and brought them to the March 15 meeting to share with you, and then offered to meet with you because you were not in attendance. This is not the Commission's typical course of action; rather, it was Mr. Gibbs' way of trying to supplement the information he found in your applications with more details and examples. David Cox Page 3 of 3 You indicated that you have conducted similar research to prepare the computer images that accompany your application forms. This is the usual course of action for applicants to take prior to submitting an application. If you have conducted such research, then the Commission would like to see this research documented and explained in your applications. I would like to assure you that personal tastes and prejudices are not part of the design review process. The Commission must conduct its reviews in accordance with the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance and with the applicable federal guidelines. The Commission commends you on the improvements that you have made to historic properties on Loras Blvd. We look forward to receiving more information about the three porch applications. Sincerely, Terry Mozena, Chairperson Historic Preservation Commission Enclosures CC The Honorable Mayor and City Council Historic Preservation Commission Michael Van Milligen, City Manager Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager