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Safe Community Task Force_Recommendation #40 National Park ServiceTHE CITY OF ` — Dubuque RECEIVED DUB All-America Ci1Y 11 AUG 15 Phi 1 :52 City Clerk's Office Dubuque, IA 2007 TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager SUBJECT: Follow -Up Response to SCTF Recommendation #40 DATE: August 15, 2011 Masterpiece on the Mississippi INTRODUCTION This memo transmits City staff's response to concerns expressed by Terry Mozena regarding the staff recommendation for Safe Community Task Force (SCTF) Recommendation #40: Develop and enforce policies that are consistent with the "preservation briefs" to maintain historic properties. The previously submitted memo on this SCTF recommendation requires clarification of City staff's recommendation. This memo is intended to provide that clarification. BACKGROUND The Technical Preservation Services (TPS) of the National Park Service (NPS) provides information and guidance on the care of historic buildings. TPS helps home owners, preservation professionals, organizations, and government agencies preserve and protect this nation's heritage by providing readily available materials -- guidance pamphlets and books, videos, and NPS web home page - -on preserving, restoring, and rehabilitating historic buildings. Preservation briefs are just one of the publications provided by the TPS. The TPS is one of a number of resources the HPC and City Staff use when advising or reviewing a project. Other standards for review include the City's Architectural Guidelines Manual and the Streetscape and Landscape Guidelines Manual for the Historic Districts, and the Downtown Design Guidelines Manual. All of these documents, including those published by the TPS, are founded on principles outlined in the "Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties ". The City website currently offers links to all the resources listed above, including the TPS. The Secretary of the Interior's Standards are not technical or prescriptive, but are intended to promote responsible preservation practices that help protect cultural 1 C i� Follow -Up Response to SCTF Recommendation #40 resources. For example, they cannot, in and of themselves, be used to make essential decisions about which features of the historic building should be saved and which can be changed. But once a treatment approach is selected, the Standards provide philosophical consistency to the work. The four treatment approaches in the Secretary of the Interior's Standards are Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction. The City's Architectural Guidelines, Landscape Guidelines, and Downtown Design Guidelines Manuals expand on these basic rehabilitation principles as they apply in Dubuque's locally- designated Historic Districts. DISCUSSION City Staff (Planning Services, Building Services, Housing and Community Development, and Legal Services) discussed SCTF recommendation #40: Develop and enforce policies that are consistent with the "preservation briefs" to maintain historic properties. City Staff researched, reviewed and discussed the preservation briefs. City staff believes that the City has implemented SCTF recommendation #40 for many years. Since 1977, the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance has referenced the Secretary of the Interior's Standards to guide design review by the Historic Preservation Commission. The Historic Preservation Commission conducts design reviews in the City's Historic Districts of exterior alterations requiring a building permit and visible from the public way. The Commission does not review interior alterations. The Historic Preservation Commission relies on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and the City's Design Guidelines in conducting design reviews. The TPS publications are, as one might expect, more technical in nature, offering more in depth and detailed information and guidance on the care of historic buildings. TPS publications like the preservation briefs serve as a reference for City staff, Commissioners, property owners, design professionals, and contractors. City staff enforces exterior alterations requiring a building permit that are consistent with preservation briefs in City- designated Historic Districts. As a matter of City policies, preservation briefs that deal with work not requiring a building permit or historic preservation review, such as cleaning a historic building, are referenced in the City's Architectural and Downtown Design Guidelines, thereby providing guidance. City staff also enforces exterior alterations that are consistent with preservation briefs through federally- mandated Section 106 reviews for rehabilitation projects that receive federal funding. Again, as a matter of policy, the guidance provided in the preservation briefs is available and referenced for these projects. 2 Follow -Up Response to SCTF Recommendation #40 Mr. Mozena references a property at 500 Hill Street in which cleaning techniques not recommended by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, the City's Design Guidelines, or the TPS preservation briefs were employed. City staff was able to advise the owner, but not enforce the recommended cleaning techniques for historic properties because this property is not in a City- designated Historic District. Expansion of this level of enforcement to all historic areas (see attached map) and /or citywide will be a significant impact on the workload of both Planning Services and Building Services staff. The number of properties subject to regulations would increase from approximately 700 in the City's Historic Districts (shown in yellow on the attached map) into nearly 5,000 in the other historic areas where the City has conducted phased historic /architectural surveys /evaluations. Additional funding likely will be needed. RECOMMENDATION City Staff's recommendation in the previously- submitted memo was to not follow the preservation briefs because they are in contrary to the adopted boarded up windows and doors ordinance. This recommendation should have been more specific in its wording. City staff's recommendation is clarified that the City should not follow preservation brief #31 only. City staff found that adoption of preservation brief #31 for mothballing of historic properties would be in contrary to SCTF recommendation #39: Create an ordinance prohibiting the boarding of windows and doors facing streets. Preservation brief #31 encourages the boarding up of windows and doors. On February 22, 2011, the City Council reviewed and adopted an ordinance that prohibited the boarding up of windows and doors. City staff believes that the City has implemented SCTF recommendation #40: Develop and enforce policies that are consistent with the "preservation briefs" to maintain historic properties, as a matter of City policy in local Historic Districts and federally- funded rehabilitation projects for many years. City staff recommends that the City should continue to utilize these technical publications as a reference and a guide, with the exception of preservation brief #31. Attachment cc: Rich Russell, Building Services Manager David Harris, Housing and Community Development Director Crenna Brumwell, Assistant City Attorney Phyllis Russell, ICMA Management Fellow F:\ USERS \Mrettenb \WP \SAVE \SCTF \Memo SCTF #40 follow up MVM.doc 3 Masterpiece an the Mississippi Historic Districts \ I` Historic Areas Conservation Districts Historic Millwork District PUD Conservation Planning Areas (8/15/2011) Kevin Firnstahl - Monday's meeting Page 1 From: "Terry Mozena" <TMozena @premierbanking.com> To: "Mike Van Milligen" <ctymgr @cityofdubuque.org >, "David Resnick" <dresnic... CC: "Carstens, Laura" <Lcarsten @cityofdubuque.org >, "Chris Olson" <chris @fou... Date: 8/12/2011 2:36 PM Subject: Monday's meeting Dear Mayor and Council Members, As I read through your agenda I saw the item below and saw the associated letter from Laura to the city manager and feel that there needs to be some clarification concerning the National Park Service Preservation Briefs....nowhere in those 47 briefs do I see where they "encourage boarding up windows" as was stated in the Ietter...(unless I missed it). Preservation Brief 31 discusses moth balling properties When all means of finding a productive use for a historic building have been exhausted or when funds are not currently available to put a deteriorating structure into a useable condition, it may be necessary to close up the building temporarily to protect it from the weather as well as to secure it from vandalism. This process, known as mothballing, can be a necessary and effective means of protecting the building while planning the property's future, or raising money for a preservation, rehabilitation or restoration project. If a vacant property has been declared unsafe by building officials, stabilization and mothballing may be the only way to protect it from demolition." I am in total agreement that no windows or doors should be boarded up, as it leads to deterioration of our community. There are 47 Preservation Briefs that would be a wonderful tool for our community, why disregard all of them because of a concern for brief #31? I would like to see this motion tabled for more discussion and input from the Historic Preservation Commission. Last summer I watched someone sand blast the bricks on 500 Hill street, and totally ruined the bricks on a wonderful historic property that is at least 100 years old..I contacted the city as soon as I saw what they were doing. The city employee went up there and advised them of the mistake they were making but had no way to stop them..lf we had the Preservation Briefs ordinance we could have stopped them and saved that building...Brief 6 states" "Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible." Abrasive cleaning methods are responsible for causing a great deal of damage to historic building materials. To prevent indiscriminate use of these potentially harmful techniques, this brief has been prepared to explain abrasive cleaning methods, how they can be physically and aesthetically destructive to historic building materials, and why they generally are not acceptable preservation treatments for historic structures. There are alternative, less harsh means of cleaning and removing paint and stains from historic buildings. However, careful testing should precede general cleaning to assure that the method selected will not have an adverse effect on the building materials. A historic building is irreplaceable, and should be cleaned using only the "gentlest means possible" to best preserve it. Please see the following link to the briefs http: / /www.nps.gov/ history/hps /tps /briefs /presbhom.htm I believe that adopting these briefs as standards for our community will only enhance it. 12. Safe Community Task Force City Manager recommending that the City not adopt the preservation briefs of the National Park Service. Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve Thanks for taking time to consider this opinion. Terry L. Mozena Commercial Loan Officer Premier Bank Expect the Best 8/15/2011) Kevin Firnstahl - Monday's meeting Page 2 563/588.1000 563/690.0070 Fax www.premierbanking.com <http: / /www.premierbanking.com> Downtown: Premier Bank 140 W. 9th Street Dubuque, IA 52001 0 Premier Bank asks you to please consider the environment before printing this email. This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e- mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E -mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error -free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required please request a hard -copy. Masterpiece on the Mississippi TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Safe Community Task Force Recommendation #40 DATE: August 9, 2011 Dubuque tzttri All-America City 111 I 2007 Planning Services Manager Laura Carstens is recommending that the City not adopt the preservation briefs of the National Park Service. I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council approval. Michael C. Va Milligen MCVM:jh Attachment cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager Masterpiece on the Mississippi TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager --S-Q.! SUBJECT: SCTF Recommendation # 40 DATE: July 25, 2011 Dubuque kred AN4AnedcaCity 1 1 1 1 1 2007 INTRODUCTION This memo is to provide an update on the progress done for Item #40 of the Safe Communities Task Force (SCTF) recommendations. SCTF Recommendation #40 Develop and enforce policies consistent with the preservation briefs to maintain historic properties. BACKGROUND The Technical Preservation Services (TPS) of the National Park Service (NPS) provides information and guidance on the care of historic buildings. TPS helps home owners, preservation professionals, organizations, and government agencies preserve and protect this nation's heritage by providing readily available materials -- guidance pamphlets and books, videos, and NPS web home page - -on preserving, restoring, and rehabilitating historic buildings. Preservation briefs are just one of the publications provided by the TPS. The TPS is one of a number of resources the HPC and City Staff use when advising or reviewing a project. Other standards for review include the Architectural Guidelines Manual and the Streetscape and Landscape Guidelines Manual for the Historic Districts, and the Downtown Design Guidelines Manual. AU documents, including those published by the TPS, are founded on principles outlined in the "Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties ". The City website currently offers links to all the resources listed above, including the TPS. DISCUSSION City Staff (Planning Services, Building Services, Housing and Community Development, and Legal Services) met to discuss the SCTF recommendation. City Staff researched, SCTF Recommendation # 40 reviewed and discussed the preservation briefs. They found that adoption of preservation briefs would be in contrary to SCTF recommendation # 39 - Create an ordinance prohibiting the boarding of windows and doors facing streets. The preservation briefs encourage the boarding up of windows and doors. On February 22, 2011, the City Council reviewed and adopted an ordinance that prohibited the boarding up of windows and doors. RECOMMENDATION The City Staff's recommendation is to not follow the preservation briefs because they are in contrary to the adopted boarded up windows and doors ordinance. cc: Rich Russell, Building Services Manager David Harris, Housing and Community Development Director Crenna Brumwell, Assistant City Attorney Phyllis Russell, ICMA Management Fellow F: \USERS \LCARSTEN \WP \COUNCIL \SCTF REC #40 MEMO.doc 2