HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 08/04/2020 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 092, 2020, DESIGNAAgenda Item 8
Item # 8 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY August 4, 2020
City Council
STAFF
Jim Bertolini, Historic Preservation Planner
Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Planner
Brad Yatabe, Legal
SUBJECT
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 092, 2020, Designating the Brawner-McArthur Property, 228 Whedbee
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 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 July 21, 2020, designates the Brawner-McArthur
Property, located at 228 Whedbee Street, as a Fort Collins Landmark. The property is eligible for recognition
as a Landmark due to its significance to Fort Collins under Designation Standard 3, Design/Construction and
their historic integrity. The property is owned by Housing Catalyst, which is seeking Landmark designation to
resolve federal compliance requirements with the State Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation under
the National Historic Preservation Act. Landmarking will facilitate the intended sale of the properties out of the
Housing Catalyst inventory.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommend adoption of Ordinance on Second Reading.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
Council requested additional information to be provided at the July 21 Council meeting. Attached are memos from
staff, Housing Authority, and the Landmark Preservation Commission Chair responding to Council's questions.
(Attachment 2, 3, 4)
ATTACHMENTS
1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, July 21, 2020 (w/o attachments) (PDF)
2. Staff Response to Council (PDF)
3. Housing Catalyst Memo (PDF)
4. LPC Chair Letter Council (PDF)
5. Ordinance No. 092, 2020 (PDF)
Agenda Item 9
Item # 9 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY July 21, 2020
City Council
STAFF
Jim Bertolini, Historic Preservation Planner
Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Planner
Brad Yatabe, Legal
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No. 092, 2020, Designating the Brawner-McArthur Property, 228 Whedbee 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 will 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 designate the Brawner-McArthur Property located at 228 Whedbee Street as a
Fort Collins Landmark. The property is eligible for recognition as a Landmark due to its significance to Fort
Collins under Designation Standard 3, Design/Construction and their historic integrity. The property is owned
by Housing Catalyst, which is seeking Landmark designation to resolve federal compliance requirements with
the State Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation under the National Historic Preservation Act.
Landmarking will facilitate the intended sale of the properties out of the Housing Catalyst inventory.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The property at 228 Whedbee Street is eligible as a Fort Collins Landmark due to the unique example of a
modified Hipped-Roof Box dwelling in the historic area east of downtown Fort Collins. The property is also
currently a contributing resource in the Laurel School Historic District.
The Hipped-Roof Box, along with its design cousin, the Pyramidal Cottage, was a simple house type commonly
built in the late-1800s and early 1900s for working and lower-middle class families. They typically included very
little, if any, stylistic embellishment, usually defined by their distinctive, unbroken hipped roof, usually wood lap
or drop siding, and minimal eave overhangs. In some cases, porches were added which had turned wood porch
posts, and rear or side additions are common in areas that gentrified after initial construction. The Brawner-
McArthur Property is a unique example of this in the east downtown area of Fort Collins, being close to the
historic trolley lines on Whedbee Street and Mountain Avenue, where housing styles were typically more refined
and owned by wealthier Fort Collins residents.
This building includes modifications from the early-twentieth century to convert it to a multi-family rental dwelling,
a rarer adaptation in this portion of the City. The house has been altered since 1909, namely by the installation
and replacement of wood lapboard siding in c.1949, as well as the addition of the south-facing porch between
1943 and 1948. It retains sufficient integrity to convey its significance as a strong example of a modified Hipped
Roof Box residence in east downtown Fort Collins.
ATTACHMENT 1
Agenda Item 9
Item # 9 Page 2
CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS
Recognition of this property as a Fort Collins Landmark enables its owners to qualify for local financial incentive
programs available only to Landmark designated properties. Based upon research conducted by Clarion
Associates, the property will likely see an increase in value following designation. Clarion Associates attributed
this increase to the fact that current and future owners qualify for financial incentives; the appeal of owning a
recognized historic landmark; and the assurance of predictability that design review offers.
BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
At its June 17, 2020, meeting, the Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) adopted a motion on a vote of 8-
0 to recommend that City Council designate the Brawner-McArthur Property as a Fort Collins Landmark in
accordance with City Code Chapter 14, based on the property’s significance under Standard 3,
Design/Construction and its exterior integrity based upon all seven aspects of integrity.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
Public outreach was limited to interaction with the property owner (Housing Catalyst) and presentation/approval
at a regular meeting of the LPC.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Location Map (PDF)
2. Nomination Form (PDF)
3. Landmark Preservation Commission Resolution No. 6 (PDF)
4. Photos (PDF)
MEMORANDUM
Date: July 23, 2020
To: Mayor and Councilmembers
Thru: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager
Caryn Champine, Planning, Development & Transportation Director
Paul Sizemore, Community Development & Neighborhood Services Director
From: Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Manager
Re: Responses to Questions on Landmark Designations of Housing Catalyst
Properties
Introduction
This memo addresses questions raised at the July 21, 2020 City Council Meeting regarding
landmark designation and specifically the designation of three properties owned by Housing
Catalyst. In addition to staff’s response, memorandums from Housing Catalyst and the Landmark
Preservation Commission (LPC) have also been provided.
Landmark Designation and Effective Use of City Resources and the LPC
Landmark designation is a core function of the City’s historic preservation efforts, and
supports Council’s goals and major focus areas identified in the 2020 Strategic Plan:
o Affordability: Provides owners access to equitable funding opportunities for
rehabilitation and repairs; furthers options in housing regardless of income level;
o Equity, inclusion, and diversity: Recognizes important elements of Fort Collins’
history that reflect the lives and culture of all residents, past and present;
o Environmental sustainability: Recognizes that older buildings (20% of Fort
Collins’ buildings) can be made energy efficient through simple, low-cost
rehabilitation; and that their demolition contributes to the loss of embodied
energy, increased landfill waste, and financial, material and energy expenditures
for replacement buildings;
o Community vibrancy: Protects and retains aspects of our community that provide
Fort Collins with its unique character and promotes residents’ sense of
stewardship and belonging.
Landmark designation furthers the action items identified in City Plan’s Historic Resources
Preservation Program Plan and in the 2018 Historic Preservation audit, by “Encouraging the
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ATTACHMENT 2
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designation of historic properties to retain Fort Collins sense of place and to promote the
City’s social, economic and environmental sustainability goals.”
The City has adopted the U.S. Department of the Interior and National Park Service (NPS)
standards for evaluating the eligibility of properties for designation. These Standards regulate
the standards and methodology for determining historic eligibility, evaluating for
significance in one or more of four categories and for retention of integrity against seven
measures The NPS standards require that eligibility be determined by professionals whose
education and training meet federal requirements.
Prior to being presented to Council, an application for designation is first vetted by
professional staff for its ability to meet the NPS standards. Most older building do not have
the requisite levels of significance and integrity to meet the standards for individual
designation. Those that do qualify are brought to the Landmark Preservation Commission
(LPC) for its consideration. The property is then forwarded to Council with LPC’s
recommendation to approve or deny the application.
Economic studies show that historic designation is often associated with a stabilization or
increase in property values relative to comparable non-designated properties, with the
increase being more pronounced for commercial properties than residential. For example,
Clarion Associates, Inc. found that, between 1979 and 2016, the value of buildings in the Old
Town Historic District increased by 629% compared to 279% for immediately surrounding
non-designated buildings. Property values in Denver’s residential landmark districts
increased modestly (238% to 197%) or remained flat relative to non-designated areas, while
Durango saw property values in its historic residential districts rise by only 155% compared
to 199% in non-designated areas.
Housing Catalyst Properties
At Council’s August 4, 2020 meetings, staff is bringing forward for consideration on Second
Reading the landmark designation of three properties, 331 S. Loomis Street, 1016-1018
Morgan Street, and 228 Whedbee Street. As with virtually all designations, these are
voluntary requests by Housing Catalyst. The properties are unusual in that they are subject to
federal oversight due to Housing Catalyst’s relationship with the Department of Housing and
Urban Development.
The primary motivation for designation of the three properties is to meet Housing Catalyst’s
federal Section 18 requirements for continued protection of the properties following sale:
o Landmark designation will maintain the properties’ eligibility for National
Register listing; and will mitigate any adverse effects of their sale by ensuring that
they continue to receive protection from alterations that do not meet the federal
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Properties, adopted by Council
as the City’s standards.
o A benefit of Landmark designation of these properties is that it furthers Housing
Catalyst’s interest in ensuring that the new owners have access to financial
programs to help fund sustainable rehabilitation and repairs.
These three properties are not part of the City’s current Historic Survey Project for
proactively identifying eligible properties. As part of the Section 18 review of the sale,
Housing Catalyst contracted with a professional consulting firm to survey and assess the
historic eligibility of all 44 properties, of which these three were identified as significant. The
properties’ eligibility was confirmed by the State Historic Preservation Office.
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If Council chooses to not designate the properties, Housing Authority and the State Historic
Preservation Office will enter into a process to identify an alternative strategy to maintain the
properties’ eligibility following their sale and protect them from inappropriate alterations in
the future. This will delay Housing Catalyst’s sale.
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M E M O R A N D U M
DATE: July 27, 2020
TO: Fort Collins City Council
FROM: Kristin Fritz, Chief Real Estate Officer, Housing Catalyst
RE: Landmark Designation of Three Public Housing Properties
Housing Catalyst is in the process of applying to the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) for approval to reposition our public housing portfolio to a more
sustainable affordable housing model through HUD’s Section 18 Disposition program. Federal
funding for public housing does not adequately cover the costs of necessary maintenance, and
units have a backlog of capital needs that continues to grow as the properties age. Therefore,
Housing Catalyst is pursuing this repositioning program, which will ultimately allow us to
better provide safe, healthy, and affordable homes now and into the future.
In their current status as public housing, properties are owned by HUD and are considered
protected from any “adverse effects,” which includes any negative impact or alteration to the
characteristics of a home with historical significance. HUD wants to ensure that historic homes
remain protected even as ownership changes. One of the best methods of doing so is to
designate them as historic landmarks, which guarantees adequate City and State review of
physical changes to the homes. A potential concern from Housing Catalyst has been whether
the proposed designation would add future cost or burden to the future low-income
homeowner and/or possibly contribute to the ongoing affordability of the properties. The
properties that have been identified for designation as historic landmarks are 331 S. Loomis,
228 Whedbee, and 1016/1018 Morgan. Both City of Fort Collins and Colorado State Historic
Preservation Office staff agree that this is the best approach for future protection of these
homes.
At the July 21, 2020 meeting, City Council inquired about Housing Catalyst’s financial incentive
in repositioning its public housing. This repositioning is an opportunity to both preserve
existing affordable housing and develop additional affordable units with business models and
management methods that are more sustainable and better serve our residents. Housing
Catalyst will use the proceeds from the disposition to rehabilitate existing Housing Catalyst-
owned affordable housing properties, as well as to develop additional affordable units. In
addition, Housing Catalyst will be selling a portion of its public housing portfolio (44 units) to
Elevation Community Land Trust (ECLT), a non-profit organization that creates and preserves
affordable housing through homeownership opportunities. ECLT purchases homes in need of
rehabilitation, updates them, and then offers them for sale as an affordable homeownership
option for families earning 80% of the area median income or less.
If you have any further questions, please contact me at kfritz@housingcatalyst.com or (970)
416-2938.
ATTACHMENT 3
23 July 2020
Dear Mayor and City Council Members,
I’m pleased to have this opportunity to share my ever-growing understanding of the role
and purpose of the Landmark Preservation Commission in helping to shape and add
value to our community. I’d like to first address our purpose, and then dive a little more
specifically into how the three properties brought before you most recently fit into that
overall purpose. And I want to be clear that this is my take on the LPC’s purpose based
on the description in the Municipal Code (in Ch. 14) as well what I’ve gleaned from
being on the commission for 6 ½ years. But I do hope to have a response from the
entire LPC following our next work session.
The overarching purpose of the LPC is to oversee the identification, surveying,
designation, preservation and protection of historic sites across Fort Collins. And we
particularly want to make sure that these historic sites not only tell the stories of
important people such as Franklin Avery, Abner Loomis, and other wealthy landowners,
but we also want to be sure to preserve the sites that speak to the lives of the less-
wealthy, the indigenous, the immigrant, and the middle-class. In addition, our
landmarked properties should tell the story of our community’s growth and development
through the decades. In other words, our goal is for our historic places to tell the breadth
of our city’s story over time and across socio-economic class. We recognize that all of
these stories are integral to who we are today. We also recognize that preserving these
older properties has substantial positive environmental, economic, and social impacts
upon our community as well.
With that in mind, none of these three properties that have been brought before the
council are particularly stunning in terms of beauty. Nor are they associated with any
rich or particularly prestigious historical figures. But they do all embody the working-
class lives of former residents. And they do all embody architectural styles that speak to
the life and times of the people who designed, built, and lived in them. And unlike many
of our older properties today, these three examples still have a level of integrity that
speaks authentically to their original manufacture, which makes them prime candidates
for designation.
I would be happy to come speak to the council further if you would desire. And as I said,
I hope to have feedback for you from the entire LPC as soon as possible.
I appreciate all the work you do for our community. Thank you.
- Meg Dunn, Chair of the LPC
ATTACHMENT 4
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ORDINANCE NO. 092, 2020
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
DESIGNATING THE BRAWNER-MCARTHUR PROPERTY, 228 WHEDBEE 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 17, 2020, the Landmark Preservation
Commission (the “Commission”) determined that the Brawner-McArthur Property, 228
Whedbee 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 high degree of all seven standards of integrity under City Code Section 14-
22(b)(1-7), and for the Property’s significance to Fort Collins under Standard of Significance 3,
Design/Construction, contained in City Code Section 14-22(a)(1) and 14-22(a)(3); 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 in accordance
with the Commission’s determinations referenced above; 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:
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S ½ OF LOT 8, BLOCK 162, FORT COLLINS (1873)
ALSO HISTORICALLY KNOWN AS 228 WHEDBEE STREET,
CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COUNTY OF LARIMER, STATE OF COLORADO
is hereby 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 21st day of
July, A.D. 2020, and to be presented for final passage on the 4th of August, A.D. 2020.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 4th of August, A.D. 2020.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk