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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Read Before Packet - 3/2/2021 - Memorandum From Karen Mcwilliams And Maren Bzdek Re: Housing Strategic Plan And Historic Preservation Code Requirements: Item 4 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 Historic Preservation Services MEMORANDUM DATE: February 22, 2021 TO: Mayor Troxell and City Councilmembers THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager Caryn Champine, PDT Director Paul Sizemore, Interim CDNS Director FROM: Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Manager Maren Bzdek, Senior Historic Preservation Planner RE: Housing Strategic Plan and Historic Preservation Code Requirements Bottom Line: Our Housing Strategic Plan sets forth a vision for everyone to have healthy, safe, and affordable housing choices. The implementation strategy for the Housing Strategic Plan is framed to use all levers to achieve this goal. This includes optimizing current regulations and removing barriers to implementation. As such, CDNS staff, including the Historic Preservation team, supports analyzing the role, the barriers, and the opportunities our historic preservation requirements may have in advancing our prioritized housing strategies. Maren Bzdek has been serving on the housing strategic plan project team to ensure that this coordination is already underway. Our approach to this assessment is to include it in the scope of the Phase 1 Land Use Code Update. This will enable a complete understanding of opportunities for improvement and allow us to work toward solutions during that process. If a need for more extensive analysis or more complex solutions emerges it would require additional resources to complete that work. Introduction: In response to an inquiry from Council at the February 16, 2021 meeting, the following information on the intersection of historic preservation code requirements with the Housing Strategic Plan is offered. Review of historic preservation code requirements will be part of the update process. Historic Preservation staff has been participating in the housing strategic plan effort in close coordination with other key staff. In addition, the Landmark Preservation Commission was unanimously supportive of the Housing Strategic Plan strategies as presented at their December 16, 2020 meeting, and will continue to provide input through the code engagement process. Areas for Analysis in Land Use Code Audit: Every section of the land use code that impacts housing, including Section 3.4.7 that governs historic resources, will be evaluated for opportunities to optimize implementation of City Plan and the Housing Strategic Plan. Based on our assessments to date, numerous successful examples from our peer communities, and evolving professional guidance on this topic within the field of historic preservation, staff feels confident that we can continue to support historic resources in Fort Collins in a manner that complements our evolving housing needs. Prioritized housing strategies that provide opportunities for analysis regarding historic preservation priorities include: o Barriers to accessory dwelling units (ADUs) o Creation/recalibration of affordable housing incentives o Removing barriers to permitted densities o Providing alternative compliance options to improve upon existing modifications process o Any others that emerge from the community engagement process Next Steps: Historic Preservation staff will serve as subject matter experts during the Phase 1 LUC update process. Attachment: Background/Existing Code ATTACHMENT, P.1 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 Historic Preservation Services Background/Existing Code Requirements Regarding the current influence of Land Use Code Section 3.4.7 Historic and Cultural Resources on achieving housing priorities in the community, the following summarizes the current code provisions: Identification of historic resources: Assessment of historic resources on or near a development site is part of the conceptual review process for all development applications, including those that support our housing strategic goals. The pre- submittal process includes identification of all existing site and regulatory conditions for applicants, including historic resources, and occurs in conjunction with floodplain review, zoning requirements, environmental site assessments, and other applicable conditions. Within 200 feet: Development projects that do not contain historic resources, but that are within 200 feet of historic resources, are subject to building design compatibility standards. These design compatibility standards were revised and adopted by Council in 2019 to create more flexibility and clarity for applicants. On-site, non-designated historic resources : Development sites containing historic resources that are not designated landmarks must either 1) incorporate those resources into the redevelopment plan in a manner that meets the code as written or 2) receive approval for a modification of standards if the project meets one of the four conditions for a modification, for which an affordable housing On-site, designated landmarks: Development projects with designated landmark properties on the proposed development site are subject to Article IV Design Review of Proposed Alterations to Designated Resources in Chapter 14 of the Fort Collins Municipal Code. o The landmark design review process requires evaluation using the Properties, as well as any other adopted standards, such as the Old Town District Design Standards (adopted by Council in 2014). o allows staff and/or the Landmark Preservation Commission to review proposals with other community priorities in mind. They do not pre-empt other code requirements or adopted Council priorities. This allows us to work with property owners and developers to find creative solutions when ATTACHMENT, P.2 necessary, or to embed the landmark design review process into a larger application in a complementary fashion, such as the recent Apex-Haven Apartments project in the HMN District on W. Prospect Road. That project does not technically meet all the standards, but the standards were used to guide the review process while allowing for the densification of the site to move forward. o The Landmark Preservation Commission provides the decision on proposed changes to designated Fort Collins landmarks, even if those changes are associated with a development review application. Demolition, generally speaking, does not meet the standards, but they do allow for sensitively designed additions and other densification of landmark properties, such as accessory dwelling units.