HomeMy WebLinkAboutConstituent Letter - Read Before Packet - 8/4/2020 - Letter From Meg Dunn, Chair Of The Landmark Preservation Commission Re: August 4, 2020 City Council Agenda Items No. 6, 7, And 8, Landmark Designations Of Housing Catalyst Properties23 July 2020
Re: August 4, 2020 City Council Agenda Items No. 6, 7, and 8, Landmark Designations
of Housing Catalyst Properties
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