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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/21/2021 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 109, 2021, DESIGNA Agenda Item 7 Item # 7 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY September 21, 2021 City Council STAFF Jim Bertolini, Historic Preservation Planner Claire Havelda, Legal SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 109, 2021, Designating the Thomas Property, 308 Cherry Street, F ort Collins, Colorado, as a Fort Collins Landmark Pursuant to Chapter 14 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This item is a quasi-judicial matter and if it is considered on the discussion agenda, it will be considered in accordance with Section 1(f) of the Council’s Rules of Meeting Procedures adopted in Resolution 2019 -064. This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on September 7, 2021, requests City Landmark designation for the property at 308 Cherry Street. In cooperation with the property owner, City staff and the Historic Preservation Commission have determined the property to be eligible for designation under Standard 1, Events/Trends for the property's association with Black/African American history in Fort Collins . The owner is requesting designation, which will provide protection of the property's exterior and access to financial incentives for historic property owners. If designated, this would be the first property in Fort Collins to be recognized and protected for association with Black/African American history. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary (w/o attachments) (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 109, 2021 (PDF) Agenda Item 11 Item # 11 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY September 7, 2021 City Council STAFF Jim Bertolini, Historic Preservation Planner Claire Havelda, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 109, 2021, Designating the Thomas Property, 308 Cherry Street, Fort Collins, Colorado, as a Fort Collins Landmark Pursuant to Chapter 14 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This item is a quasi-judicial matter and if it is considered on the discussion agenda, it wi ll be considered in accordance with Section 1(f) of the Council’s Rules of Meeting Procedures adopted in Resolution 2019 -064. The purpose of this item is to request City Landmark designation for the property at 308 Cherry Street. In cooperation with the property owner, City staff and the Historic Preservation Commission have determined the property to be eligible for designation under Standard 1, Events/Trends for the property's association with Black/African American history in Fort Collins. The owner is requesting designation, which will provide protection of the property's exterior and access to financial incentives for historic property owners. If designated, this would be the first property in Fort Collins to be recognized and protected for association with Black/African American history. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The Thomas Property at 308 Cherry Street is significant under Standard 1, Events/Trends as a significant reflection of Black/African American life in Fort Collins, and the experiences of Virgil Thomas. Virgil Thomas was the first Black graduate of Fort Collins High School and an accomplished local athlete in football, softball, and boxing. This property, built in 1904, served as the Thomas family home from approximately 1933 to 1940, coinciding with Virgil Thomas’ attendance at Fort Collins High School between 1937 and 1940. Most Black families who lived in Fort Collins before 1950 lived in the blocks immediately west and north of Washington Park at Mason and Maple Streets. The Thomas’ were typical of these pioneering African American families, working in service industries and participating in civic life, while facing a community at the same time t olerant of, but discriminatory against, people of color. This residence was the home of the family during Virgil Thomas’ attendance at Fort Collins High School, becoming the first Black graduate of that institution, and during his time as the starting pitcher for the Fort Collins Mutual Reserves softball club. Virgil Thomas left Fort Collins to attend Wilberforce College in Ohio in 1940 and his parents moved down the street to 316 Cherry later that year. The overall number of residences reflecting the first chapter of Black life in Fort Collins was limited, and only a few remain today. The house at 308 Cherry is a significant surviving example of a property that reflects the early Black life and experiences in Fort Collins, including Black residents like Vir gil G. Thomas. If designated, this property would be the first property associated with Black/African American history in Fort Collins to be designated and protected as a City Landmark. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 11 Item # 11 Page 2 Designation as a Fort Collins Landmark qualifies property owners for certain financial incentives funded by the City, and allows private property owners to leverage State tax incentives for repairs and modifications that meet national preservation standards. These include a 0% interest revolving loa n program and Design Assistance mini-grant program through the City and the Colorado State Historic Tax Credits. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION At its June 16, 2021, regular meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) adopted a motion by a vote of 7-0 (1 vacancy, 1 absence) to recommend Council designate the Thomas Property as a Fort Collins Landmark in accordance with City Code Chapter 14, based on the property’s significance under Standard 1, Events/Trends, and its historic integrity under five critical aspects. PUBLIC OUTREACH Specific to this nomination request, public outreach was limited to interaction with the property owner, and invitations to participate in the nomination process to both the Black/African American Cultural Center at Colorado State University, and to Fort Collins High School. This nomination request from the owner resulted directly from Historic Preservation Services outreach to property owners of significant properties in Fort Collins related to African American history in January of 2021. During that month, Historic Preservation released a website and walking tour providing an introductory narrative about Black/African American history in the City and identifying known properties with significance to that story. Outreach to property owners of those places was part of a collaboration among several City divisions including Neighborhood Services, and CSU’s Black/African American Cultural Center which coordinates the community’s commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Black History Month. ATTACHMENTS 1. Location Map (PDF) 2. Historic Preservation Commission Resolution 2, 2021 (PDF) 3. Landmark Nomination (PDF) ORDINANCE NO. 109, 2021 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS DESIGNATING THE THOMAS PROPERTY, 308 CHERRY STREET, FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, AS A FORT COLLINS LANDMARK PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 14 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS WHEREAS, pursuant to City Code Section 14-1, the City Council has established a public policy encouraging the protection, enhancement and perpetuation of historic landmarks within the City; and WHEREAS, by resolution adopted on June 16, 2021, the Historic Preservation Commission (the “Commission”) determined that the Thomas Property, 308 Cherry Street, in Fort Collins, as more specifically described in the legal description below (the “Property”), is eligible for landmark designation pursuant to City Code Chapter 14, Article II, for the property’s significance to Fort Collins under Standard of Significance 1, Events/Trends for association with Black/African American History in Fort Collins, contained in City Code Section 14- 22(a)(1) and 14-22(a)(3) and strong integrity under five critical standards of integrity under City Code Section 14-22(b)(1-7); and WHEREAS, the Commission further determined that designation of the Property will advance the policies and purposes set forth in City Code Sections 14 -1 and 14-2 in a manner and extent sufficient to justify designation; and WHEREAS, the Commission recommends that the City Council designate the Property as a Fort Collins landmark; and WHEREAS, the owner of the Property has consented to such landmark designation and desires to protect the Property; and WHEREAS, such landmark designation will preserve the Property’s significance to the community; and WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the recommendation of the Commission and desires to follow such recommendation and designate the Property as a landmark; and WHEREAS, designation of the Property as a landmark is necessary for the prosperity, civic pride, and welfare of the public. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That the Property located in the City of Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado, described as follows, to wit: BEGINNING 100 FT WEST OF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER, BLOCK 44, FORT COLLINS, THENCE NORTH 190 FT; THENCE WEST 50 FT; THENCE SOUTH 190 FT; THENCE EAST 50 FT TO BEGINNING AND ALSO PARCEL DESCRIBED AS BEGINNING AT SOUTHEAST CORNER BLOCK 44, THENCE WEST 100 FT; THENCE NORTH 190 FT; THENCE WEST 50 FT; THENCE NORTH 27 3/12 FT MORE OR LESS TO RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY; THENCE SOUTHEASTERLY; ALSO KNOWN BY STREET AND NUMBER AS 308 CHERRY STREET, CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COUNTY OF LARIMER, STATE OF COLORADO be designated as a Fort Collins Landmark in accordance with City Code Chapter 14. Section 3. That alterations, additions and other changes to the buildings and structures located upon the Property will be reviewed for compliance with City Code Chapter 14, Article IV, as currently enacted or hereafter amended. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 7th day of September, A.D. 2021, and to be presented for final passage on the 21st of September, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Interim City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 21st of September, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Interim City Clerk