HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 3/21/2023 - 07 - Memorandum From Paul Sizemore, Maren Bzdek, Jim Bertolini Re: Customer Service And Community Input Improvements For Historic Resource Evaluations (Determinations Of Landmark Eligibility)
Community Development & Neighborhood Services
281 North College Avenue
P.O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580
970.416.4250
preservation@fcgov.com
fcgov.com/historicpreservation
Page 1 of 3
Historic Preservation Services
MEMORANDUM
Date: March 15, 2023
To: City Councilmembers
Thru: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager
Caryn Champine, PDT Director
From: Paul Sizemore, CDNS Director
Maren Bzdek, Historic Preservation Services Manager
Jim Bertolini, Senior Historic Preservation Planner
Re: Customer service and community input improvements for historic resource evaluations
(determinations of landmark eligibility)
Bottom line: Determinations of landmark eligibility are one of several categories of routine,
baseline data that is collected about potential development sites in preparation for development
review. Like other site conditions, the presence of historic resources may impact how the land
use code will be applied to a proposed project. Because the timing of historic resource
evaluations is a development application pre-submittal requirement, the related code
requirements outline an administrative process without public noticing and thus City staff
typically doesn’t hear from the general community in these matters unless the staff decision is
appealed to the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) or subsequently to City Council and
the public noticing for upcoming hearings is carried out. Staff has identified several process
improvements to offset a recent concern raised about community input on this City procedure
and its associated customer service components.
Background:
The following are some relevant highlights of our existing processes for receiving public
comment about determinations of landmark eligibility.
Public Noticing for Determinations of Landmark Eligibility: Determinations of
landmark eligibility (DOE), also known as historic resource assessments, require a formal
historic resources survey by a qualified professional historian. Results are provided to the
applicant as baseline site conditions during conceptual review, much like an ecological
characterization study which, unlike a DOE, cannot be appealed. The code does not call
for public noticing during that routine initial process because those assessments are
recognized as technical decisions by professional staff and expert consultants. Staff posts
all DOE results on the City website.
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Appeals of DOEs: Nearly all determinations of landmark eligibility are finalized at the
staff level and are not appealed. In 2022, eighteen (18) historic surveys were completed
related to pending development applications, 9 of which were found to be Eligible for
Landmark designation and subject to historic preservation requirements in the Land Use
Code. Of the eighteen surveys, staff findings for four (4) were appealed related to three
different development applications:
o 1802 N. College Avenue (Eligible, upheld by the HPC and Council)
o 1901 & 1925 Hull Street (Eligible; HPC overturned and determined Not Eligible)
o 825 N. College Avenue (Eligible; HPC modified to just service station Eligible;
same result on remand by Council).
Section 14-23 of the municipal code allows for appeal of those staff determinations of
landmark eligibility to the HPC and ultimately to City Council. Any resident or property
owner in the City may appeal those decisions within fourteen days.
Public Noticing of Appeals: Code requires public noticing for appeals through legal
notice and sign posting. Therefore, other community members may become aware of the
matter and may wish to provide input at that time.
o HP staff works closely with the Neighborhood Services code compliance staff
who post yellow “Historic Review Underway” signs on the property in question
to ensure visibility opportunities are maximized for both pedestrian and vehicular
traffic. More than one sign is placed on certain sites when multiple vantage points
are advantageous (such as the recent Hull Street historic review process, where
signs were placed at two different locations on Hull Street).
o Staff responses to phone calls, emails, and information provided in newsletters
and web pages (provide link) inform the community about how to provide public
comment for DOE items coming before the HPC.
o General inquiries, which typically involve people asking why a sign is posted but
don’t result in comments, are not considered public comment in the record of
information provided to the HPC. When staff members receive phone calls that
include a person sharing an opinion or information, that person is encouraged to
submit the comment formally in writing or at the meeting, or to give permission
for the staff member to take their name, contact info, and notes on the general
nature of their comment so that it can be shared on their behalf.
Next steps:
Our conversations with community members and applicants support our ongoing commitment to
continuous improvement for our codes and processes. There are several near-term adjustments
already in the works that will make our review processes more accessible.
1. Historic Survey Notification: We plan to begin testing the posting of historic review
notices for surveys undertaken due to proposed development at the time that the survey
process begins. Notifications will remain active throughout the historic survey
assessment process (which ranges from 2-8 weeks on average) and through the 14-day
appeal window that follows the staff determination of landmark eligibility. Should the
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survey results be appealed to HPC, the notifications will remain active. As a result,
relevant community-provided information about a posted property’s potential historic
and/or architectural significance can contribute to the evidence used to make the initial
determinations of landmark eligibility as well as for any subsequent appeals to the HPC
and City Council. Although not Code-required, staff hopes to test the effectiveness of this
practice as a public research and engagement tool.
2. Updated Contact Information on Signs: The yellow “Historic Review” signs are
currently in the City’s sign shop receiving updates that will allow for direct connection to
Historic Preservation staff, including phone number and email address for HP staff. In
the past, these signs listed the Building Services switchboard number to connect callers
with a customer service representative who could route their call, but changes to our
staffing structure now make it possible to route those calls directly to the relevant staff.
3. Aligning Weekly Updates and Website Content on Development Review and
Historic Preservation: A “historic surveys underway” category will be added to the
“This Week in Development Review” newsletter. Community members can sign up for
this newsletter by navigating to https://www.fcgov.com/developmentreview/ and clicking
on the “Newsletters” button. We will begin cross posting more information between the
Historic Preservation web pages and the Development Review web pages. Both actions
will draw greater attention to the existing historic survey information on the Historic
Preservation website, which is already available to the community via the "Survey
Notification & Design and Development Review" section on the division home page at
https://www.fcgov.com/historicpreservation.
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