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Home My WebLink About03/12/2025 - Historic Preservation Commission - AGENDA - Work Session03/12/2025 Agenda Page 1 HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION WORK SESSION March 12, 2024, 5:30PM – 10:00PM In person at City Hall, 300 Laporte Avenue This HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION meeting will be available in person at City Hall, 300 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN PERSON: No public comment is allowed during work sessions. Members of the public may join the meeting but will remain muted throughout the duration of the meeting. The public may comment in the regular meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission which will be held in person on April 16, 2025. Information on how to participate is contained in the agenda for the meeting available at: https://www.fcgov.com/cityclerk/boards/historic- preservation Fort Collins is a Certified Local Government (CLG) authorized by the National Park Service and History Colorado based on its compliance with federal and state historic preservation standards. CLG standing requires Fort Collins to maintain a Historic Preservation Commission composed of members of which a minimum of 40% meet federal standards for professional experience from preservation-related disciplines, including, but not limited to, historic architecture, architectural history, archaeology, and urban planning. For more information, see Article III, Division 19 of the Fort Collins Municipal Code. The City of Fort Collins will make reasonable accommodations for access to City services, programs, and activities and will make special communication arrangements for persons with disabilities. Please call 221- 6515 (TDD 224-6001) for assistance. Upon request, the City of Fort Collins will provide language access services for individuals who have limited English proficiency, or auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities, to access City services, programs and activities. Contact 970.221.6515 (V/TDD: Dial 711 for Relay Colorado) for assistance. Please provide 48 hours advance notice when possible. A solicitud, la Ciudad de Fort Collins proporcionará servicios de acceso a idiomas para personas que no dominan el idioma inglés, o ayudas y servicios auxiliares para personas con discapacidad, para que puedan acceder a los servicios, programas y actividades de la Ciudad. Para asistencia, llame al 970.221.6515 (V/TDD: Marque 711 para Relay Colorado). Por favor proporcione 48 horas de aviso previo cuando sea posible. Packet Pg. 1 HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION WORK SESSION March 12, 2025, 5:30PM – 10:00PM Commissioners • CALL TO ORDER • ROLL CALL • BOARD TOPICS 1. HPC Work Plan Progress & Priorities • OTHER BUSINESS • ADJOURNMENT Packet Pg. 2 Board Topic 1, Page 1 DATE: STAFF: March 12, 2025 Maren Bzdek, Historic Preservation Manager WORK SESSION ITEM 1 Historic Preservation Commission SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION HPC Work Plans – 2025 Progress and Priorities EXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Code requires all boards and commissions to file work plans on or before September 30 for the following year. According to the Boards and Commissions Manual, work plans should set out major projects and issues for discussion for the following year. The HPC adopted the attached 2025 work plan at its November 11, 2024 meeting. Consideration of pending priorities associated with the work plan will be a regular work session discussion item. The regular recurrence of this discussion item is intended to provide the Commission with the opportunity to measure ongoing progress and identify action items. Additionally, the following materials on evolving preservation policy as it relates to priorities outlined in the current HPC work plan and/or raised in Mr. Conway’s letter may be helpful for the discussion. •The ACHP advisory report on the federal preservation standards for treatment, released March 1, 2024: https://www.achp.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/StandardsReportWithAppendices.pdf o Recognizes that, when Rehabilitation/adaptive reuse is our goal, how we care for historic places needs to change to reflect current needs related to housing, climate change, and equity. those three core concerns. •Landmarks Illinois’ recent publication, the Relevancy Guidebook: https://www.landmarks.org/introducing- the-relevancy-guidebook/ o This resource was shared with the Colorado community of preservation professionals and Commission members at the 2024 Saving Places conference during the keynote address, and current Fort Collins preservation staff are delving further into the guidebook’s recommendations with the intention to bring specific topics for discussion to the HPC and the community as we anticipate code updates. •Connecting the relevancy of historic preservation work with other pressing needs in the community means that the preservation process needs to be accessible, demystified, and collaborative. Messaging is important in order to set the stage for positive evolution, and the following guide from the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions is particularly helpful. https://www.napcommissions.org/messaging-guide ATTACHMENTS 1.HPC 2025 Work Plan Packet Pg. 3 Work Plan City of Fort Collins HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION 2025 Work Plan The 2025 work plan of the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is based on four primary initiatives that initially emerged at an October 2022 retreat and were again adopted as priorities for the 2024 work plan. The current Commission members have determined these initiatives are of ongoing relevance to their work on behalf of City Council and the Fort Collins community. The HPC also intends to continue the practice, established in the 2024 work plan, of holding monthly discussions to identify associated action items and required resources, to discuss how their proposed work interfaces with ongoing City staff activities, and to take on related tasks according to their individual capacity to contribute. 2025 Work Plan Initiatives These initiatives align with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Impact Agenda, the Colorado Statewide Historic Preservation Plan, and the City of Fort Collins strategic plans and outcome areas. 1.Support Building an Equitable, Affordable, and Vibrant Community •Provide feedback and ideas for the following staff-led initiatives: o share local history and elevate appreciation of historic building stock that provides affordable housing for the community o prioritize inclusion to tell a more accurate and comprehensive story of our community o encourage emphasis on the history of individual Fort Collins neighborhoods to help residents learn about and appreciate where they live o Incorporate the City’s land acknowledgement statement into HPC meetings. 2.Grow a Collaborative and Inclusive Network through Improved Public Engagement •Assist staff with formal presentations and informal engagement activities such as tabling at community events, focusing first on the key interest groups of cultural and heritage non-profits, realtors, construction and building trades, and developers as well as youth K-12 education while also considering opportunities to bring preservation information to general community events of broader interest •Engage with and empower the participation, self-advocacy, and storytelling of underrepresented groups who are not typically connected to historic preservation work •Interact more closely and strategically with other Boards and Commissions •Help staff to identify new stakeholders and partner organizations to work on shared goals •Network with community contacts and encourage City Clerk’s Office and City Council to recruit and appoint new HPC members who are representative of our community’s demographic diversity •Identify opportunities for ongoing recognition of excellence in historic rehabilitation projects and advocacy efforts, including participation in the annual Friends of Preservation Awards selection process and “spot awards” for projects throughout the year 3.Strengthen Connection to Climate Resilience Work •Use HPC work sessions and other educational outlets led by HPC members to educate residents and contractors about value and passive energy performance of pre-WWII building stock and material conservation/embodied energy, as well as methods for maintaining and improving ongoing energy performance of historic buildings BOARD TOPIC 1, ATTACHMENT 1 Packet Pg. 4 • Provide feedback to staff on conceptual design of effective graphics and information flyers that describe and illustrate the comparative effects of mechanical demolition versus adaptive reuse/rehabilitation of buildings and deconstruction and provide lists of local resources • Provide comments for City’s effort to consider a future deconstruction ordinance that is connected to a regional network of participants 4. Develop Modernized and Expanded Tools for Historic Preservation • Engage a younger demographic with connections to emerging professionals in graduate programs and emerging digital tools • Support effort to create new and more numerous tools for recognizing historic places and learning about their history (including on site signage, online content, and interactive activities such as walking tours) • Participate in staff-led effort to evaluate, address, and strengthen incentives and financial support programs to encourage and support local landmarks • Provide ideas to staff for new information and helpful resources to add to City’s website 5. Provide Subject Matter Expertise and Formal Participation in Preservation Code and Policy Updates • Assist City staff and community stakeholders in the comparative evaluation of proposed updates to Fort Collins code requirements and administrative procedures, specifically (but not limited to) the categories of treatment of historic resources on development sites, applications for demolition, non-owner-initiated requests for landmark designation, and the possibility of adding cultural importance as an additional significance criterion for landmark eligibility. • Participate in public engagement efforts to gather community input for proposed updates. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) Purpose and Overview: • The HPC, established in 1968, is a nine-member quasi-judicial body. Per Certified Local Government (CLG) requirements, the City must demonstrate an ongoing effort to maintain at least 40% of the membership with professional expertise in history, archaeology, anthropology, architectural history, architecture or landscape architecture, real estate, or law. Currently, that expertise is represented on the Fort Collins HPC by 8 of the 8 appointed members (100%) as follows: o Architecture (Jeff Gaines); Historic Architecture/Architectural History (Jim Rose); History and related disciplines (Jenna Edwards, Margo Carlock, Chris Conway); Archaeology (Bonnie Gibson); Building Trades (David Woodlee); Planning (Aaron Hull). • The HPC performs the CLG responsibilities for the City of Fort Collins: o Enables the City to administer preservation regulations on behalf of the state/federal governments; residents to receive 25% Colorado State Tax Credits for Historic Preservation; and City to receive CLG grants for training, surveys, building preservation, and education o Requires enforcement of state/local legislation for the designation and protection of historic properties consistent with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards; requires on-going historic survey. • The HPC is the final decision-maker on: o Exterior alterations to properties designated as Fort Collins Landmarks o Determinations of eligibility for Fort Collins Landmark designation; and allocation of Landmark Rehabilitation Loan funds when competitive rounds are required • The HPC makes formal recommendations: o To Council on Fort Collins Landmark designations and matters of policy related to historic preservation and land use; to the Colorado State Review Board on nominations of Fort Collins properties to the National and State Registers of Historic Places o To the Planning and Zoning Commission, Hearing Officers, and City staff on design compatibility of developments adjacent to and/or containing historic resources, as well as proposed treatment plans for adaptive reuse of those historic resources. • The HPC proactively addresses barriers that perpetuate inequality, to help minimize impacts to historically under-represented and under-resourced communities; and directly supports the City's goals of sustaining an environment where residents and visitors feel welcomed, safe, and valued. BOARD TOPIC 1, ATTACHMENT 1 Packet Pg. 5