Historic Pres InitiativesPlanning Services Department
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864
Phone (319) 589-~210
Fax (319) 5894221
February 12, 2001
The Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Dubuque
50 W. 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
RE: Recommended Initiatives to support Historic Preservation in Dubuque
Dear Mayor and City Council Members:
This letter transmits the recommendations of the Historic Preservation Commission and the
Preservation Task Force to support historic preservation in Dubuque. Commission and Task
Force members will be available to answer questions when the City Council considers these
initiatives at your February 19, 2001 meeting. The initiatives are highlighted below, with more
extensive information on each recommendation provided in the enclosed summary.
1. Expand the Urban Revitalization Program to include all historic districts.
2. Ask the State Legislature to amend the Iowa Code pertaining to appeals of HPC actions
to the City Council, to provide an alternate mechanism for appeals.
3. Direct the HPC to work with the Dubuque Area Board of Realtors to:
· provide information for potential purchasers of property within a historic district
regarding historic preservation regulations and incentives, and
· include information on the purchase agreement form, the abstract and the deed that the
property is in a historic district.
4. Direct the HPC to form a Historic Preservation Forum to fund or provide historic
preservation services beyond the City, through partnerships with local organizations.
The Historic Preservation Commission and the Preservation Task Force recommend that the
City Council adopt the recommended initiatives to support historic preservation in Dubuque.
Sincerely,
Terry Mozena, Chairperson
Historic Preservation Commission
Enclosures
Service People Integrity Responsibilit~r Innovation Teamwork
DISCUSSION OF RECOMMENDED INITIATIVES
TO SUPPORT HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Review by the City Council on February 19, 2001
The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and Preservation Task Force identified
possible initiatives that would support historic preservation in Dubuque, The recommended
initiative is shown in bold text, followed by a rationale for the recommendation.
Recommendation #1: Expand the existing Urban Revitalization Program to include all
historic districts.
Presently, only the West 11th Street and Jackson Park Historic Districts are part of the
Urban Revitalization Program. This program offers a property tax exemption for interior
and exterior improvements that increase the tax assessment, and in turn the property
taxes, for the residential property in older neighborhoods. Owners may receive a ten-year
exemption from the property tax increase due to the improvements. Maintenance is not
included in this program. An expansion of the Urban Revitalization Program to include all
historic districts in this program would encourage long term property maintenance in these
older neighborhoods.
Recommendation #2: Ask the State Legislature to amend Section 303.34 of the Iowa
Code pertaining to appeals of HPC actions to the City Council, to provide an alternate
mechanism for appeals.
The City Council indicated that the appeal process needs to be revised, and that a different
process needs to be available. Under State law, however, there is no other process.
Section 303.34 of the Iowa Code describes the appeal process; it is the same as in the
City's Historic Preservation Ordinance. In both codes, an aggrieved party may appeal the
Commission's action to the City Council, and then on to district court. The City Council
and the district court have to consider whether the Commission exercised its powers and
followed the guidelines established by law and ordinance, and whether the Commission's
action was "patently arbitrary and capricious".
Given the wording of the State Code, it is not possible for the City Council to decline to
hear any appeals from HPC actions. To have a different appeal process, State law must be
changed. We believe that the City Council should ask the State Legislature to amend
Section 303.34 of the Iowa Code, to provide an alternate mechanism for appeals, by
adding this item to your list of 2001 Legislative Issues.
Alternate mechanisms to propose to the Legislature are: to allow the City Council to
decline to hear any appeals from HPC actions, for another governmental body to hear
appeals, or for these appeals to be made directly to district court.
Another way to potentially reduce the number of HPC appeals to the City Council is to
amend the ordinance to add a Preservation Alternatives step (see Recommended
Amendments to the Historic Preservation Ordinance). This step provides a mechanism to
investigate alternative strategies such as financing, tax incentives, grant research, or
alternative rehabilitation techniques materials or methods. We believe this new step would
enable the HPC and staff to work in partnership with applicants to explore other options,
which would help reduce the number of appeals to the City Council.
Recommendation #3: Direct the HPC to work with the Dubuque Area Board of Realtors to:
· provide information for potential purchasers of property within a historic district
regarding historic preservation regulations and incentives, and
· include information on the purchase agreement form, the abstract and the deed that
the property is in a historic district.
As a result of public input, the HPC identified the need to take additional steps to inform
property owners and potential purchasers in historic districts about the existence of
historic districts, and the regulations governing these districts.
We discussed that this issue might be addressed in part if the City established a
partnership with the Dubuque Area Board of Realtors. Through this partnership, the HPC
would work with the Board of Realtors to have them provide a brochure or detailed
information about historic preservation incentives and regulations for potential purchasers
of property within a historic district. The HPC also would work with the Board of Realtors
to add a disclosure line to the purchase agreement form, the abstract and the deed
identifying the property as being located in a historic district.
Recommendation #4: Form a Historic Preservation Forum to fund or provide historic
preservation services beyond the City, through partnerships with local historic preservation
organizations.
The purpose of a Historic Preservation Forum would be to foster the cultural, educational,
economic and general welfare of the public through the protection, enhancement and
perpetuation of historic districts, sites and structures. These goals would be achieved
through technical assistance teams, preservation resource center educational initiatives and
neighborhood planning and advocacy. The Historic Preservation Forum would be a
partnership for preservation comprised of the groups represented on the Preservation Task
Force, as well as others.
Icarstens/wp/Council/hpinifiatlves .sum .doc