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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-07-14 CorrespondenceCITY OF IOWA CiTY www.icgov.org CITY COUNCIl, Ernest W. Lehman Mayor July 9, 2004 Ross Wilburn Ma) or Pro T¢,n Ralph Christian Regenia Bailey State Historical Society of Iowa Connie Champion 600 E. Locust Street Bob Eliiott Des Moines, IA 50319 Mike O'Donnell Dee Vanderhoef Dear Mr. Christian; The Iowa City City Council requests that the commercially zoned properties be removed from the National Register of Historic Places registration of the Gilbert- Linn Street Historic District. These properties are: 204 N. Gilbert Street 311 N. Gilbert Street 210 N. Gilbert Street 315 N. Gilbert Street 214 N. Gilbert Street 319 Bloomington Street 230 N Gilbert Street 322 Bloomington Street 219 N. Gilbert Street 404 Bloomington Street 225 N. Gilbert Street 412 Bloomington Street 229 N. Gitbert Street 402 Market Street 305 N. Gilbert Street 410 Market Street 310 N, Gilbert Street The reason for this request is that the Iowa City City Council feels that property owners within this district did not receive adequate public notification from the City regarding this nomination. Respectfully, Ernest W. Lehman Mayor council@iowa-city.org 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Phone: (319) 35645010 Fax: (319) 356-5009 Date: June 29, 2004 To: City Manager and City Council / · From: Karin Franklin, Director, Re: Processes for NRHP nominations Given the recent concern regarding the nomination of areas within the north side for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), it seemed appropriate to review the general process for such nominations and evaluate what happened in this particular case. The process for nomination of a district for the NRHP includes the following steps: · Initial review by the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) of the Iowa City Preservation Plan adopted in 1992 for general guidance on areas of the city to survey and evaluate for historic district or structure eligibility for the National Register. · An architectural historian is hired to conduct a survey and evaluate these areas, determine historic significance and recommend potential historic districts and landmarks. · Application to the State Office of Historic Preservation (SHPO) for a grant to enable the research and preparation needed for a NRHP nomination of the recommended district(s). This application is initiated by the HPC, prepared by HPC staff and sent to the City Council for approval. · A consultant is hired to undertake the research and preparation of the nomination. · A public meeting is held, after notice is given by letter to all property owners in the district, for purposes of informing the owners of the proposed nomination and taking input from the owners. · The consultant completes the research and nomination preparation, refining the boundaries as appropriate according to the research, and presents the draft nomination to the SHPO and the HPC. · A second public meeting is held, after notice is given by letter to all property owners in the proposed district, in which the draft nomination is presented. · The HPC determines if the nominations meet the criteria for listing on the NRHP and makes a recommendation to the State Nominations Review Committee (SNRC) · The HPC chair signs a form on behalf of the Commission, endorsing the draft nomination. The Mayor as the chief elected official of the city also signs this form. The form may also be signed by an architectural historian other than the consultant. · SHPO sets a public hearing for review of the nomination by SRNC and notifies all property owners in the proposed district of the hearing by letter. · SNRC reviews the nomination to determine if the nomination meets the criteria for listing on the NRHP and makes a recommendation to the National Park Service, the federal agency who keeps the National Register. · The National Park Service reviews the nomination and accepts or rejects the district as a National Historic District, thus making all commercial and rental properties eligible for historic preservation tax credits should the owners choose to use them. During the north side district nominations process, there were three points at which there was a divergence from the standard procedures: 1. The Northside Neighborhood Newsletter, which is sent to every address in the Nodh Side including the properties in the proposed district, was used as the notification for the first public meeting on the nominations. 2. An invitation to the Histodc Preservation Awards Ceremony was used as the means of notice for the second public meeting at which the nominations would be discussed. June 30,2004 Page 2 3. The State sent notice of the SNRC public hearing prior to completion of local review. The decisions to use these alternative means of communication--the newsletter and the invitation rather than a letter specific to and exclusively for the district nomination issue--were a consequence of trying to meet the schedule of when the consultant would be in town for other functions and to use the opportunity of the other events to economize on public meeting dates. Obviously, this turned out to be an unwise decision and will not occur with such nominations in the future. Due to a desire to meet the schedule of the SNRC, which meets quarterly, the local review fell out of sync with the State review and was not completed prior to notice being sent to property owners. Since these nominations rarely have an imperative, in the future the staff and consultants will be directed to follow the routine process and coordinate scheduling with the State. There are three things to keep in mind about NRHP districts and nominations: 1. National Register district designation has no regulatory component. 2. National Register district designation does not require local historic district designation to exist or to follow the same boundaries. 3. Once a grant is obtained from the State for the nomination process, district boundaries may only be determined through empirical historical evidence, not by political considerations. If a local historic district is ever considered for these areas of the Northside, properties may be eliminated from those districts at the time of local district designation. No local district designations on the Northside are on the table nor are they being considered by the HPC. It may be prudent in the future to take the time at the beginning of the process to review the proposed boundaries of the district to be nominated for the NRHP, prior to authorization by the Council of the grant request to the State. A public meeting for this purpose could be incorporated into the process during the initial HPC consideration before such a grant application is brought before the Council. We will await Council's direction before making this change in the standard process. Cc Historic Preservation Commission Bob Miklo Shelley McCafferty Marian Karr From: Marc Light [marc-light@uiowa.edu] Sent: Saturday, July 10, 2004 4:12 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: support for the nomination of the North Linn-Gilbert historic district to the National Historic Register Dear City Council, I am very supportive of the nomination of the North Linn-Gilbert historic district to the Natienal Historic Register. Please de not let a few aggressive well-heeled individuals overrun the majority ef owners in this historic district. Sincerely, Harc Light 225 E Davenport Street Page 1 of 1 Marian Kart From: dane Murphy [murphybk@inav.net] Sent: Sunday, July 11,2004 9:39 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Cc: hburford@mchsi.com Subject: Historic designation issue We are writing to go on record as being in favor of the measure giving historic designation to the Near Northside. With all the recent publicity about property owners protesting this measure, we thought you should know that a lot more of us support the designation. Jane Murphy and Mark Brookfield Murphy-Brookfield Books 219 N. Gilbert Iowa City, IA 52245 USA 319-338-3077 phone/fax 7/12/2004 Marian Karr From: Julianne McNalley [julianne-mcnalley@uiowa.edu] Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2004 3:09 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Northside Historic designation Dear City Council members, We have now received two letters from John Kammermeyer exhorting us to express our opinion regarding the Historic designation of our part of the Northside neighborhood. Kaimmermeyer states that the process was in some way not fair or not made widely known to local homeowners, and lists a few homeowners who hope to defeat this new designation. In fact, we did have ample notification of how and when to attend meetings and express our opinions at the appropriate time. We are very pleased that this process is underway, and we feel that the new designation will only help our neighborhood retain the atmosphere and charm that attracted us four years ago. We DO NOT want to see this defeated by a few people who apparently missed the opportunity to state their case when the issue was being discussed. I believe it is critical to the health of our downtown, and therefore ultimately to our entire community, that the character of the Northside homes be preserved and responsible homeownership encouraged. Thank you for not succumbing to the pressure from a few when the majority supports your plan to preserve the historic Northside! Sincerely, Julie McNalley 317 Fairchild Street Marian Karr From: McNalley, Thomas [thomas-mcnalley@uiowa.edu] Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 3:43 PM To: Julianne McNalley; council@iowa-city.org Subject: RE: Northside Historic designation Dear Council members, Please consider my voice to be unison with that of my bride: I wholeheartedly support the Historic designation and urge you to continue taking steps to achieve that end. Please let your actions reflect the wishes of the great majority of property owners in the North End, and also realize what value the historic designation adds to Iowa City as a whole. Thank you, Thomas E. McNalley, M.D. 317 Fairchild St. 319-338-1226 ..... Original Message ..... From: Julianne McNalley [mailto:julianne-mcnalley@uiowa.edu] Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2004 3:09 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Northside Historic designation Dear City Council members, We have now received two letters from John Kammermeyer exhorting us to express our opinion regarding the Historic designation of our part of the Northside neighborhood. Kaumlermeyer states that the process was in some way not fair or not made widely known to local homeowners, and lists a few homeowners who hope to defeat this new designation. In fact, we did have ample notification of how and when to attend meetings and express our opinions at the appropriate time. We are very pleased that this process is underway, and we feel that the new designation will only help our neighborhood retain the atmosphere and charm that attracted us four years ago. We DO NOT want to see this defeated by a few people who apparently missed the opportunity to state their case when the issue was being discussed. I believe it is critical to the health of our downtown, and therefore ultimately to our entire community, that the character of the Northside homes be preserved and responsible homeownership encouraged. Thank you for not succumbing to the pressure from a few when the majority supports your plan to preserve the historic Northside! Sincerely, Julie McNalley ! 317 Fairchild Street Marian Karr From: Mike Haverkamp [mayhem@zeus.ia.net] Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 5:22 PM To: cou n cil@iowa-cibj'.o rg Subject: Historic Districts Dear Iowa City Councilors, I am writing regarding the recent controversy over the Gilbert-Linn Historic District. I have been a proud resident of the newly designated East Jefferson District, for 18 years, working during that time to foster pride in our unique mixed use neighborhood. My views, and more importantly the track record of Iowa City's success of our current historic districts and their aesthetic and economic benefits are well known. I do want to say that I support the current process for designating districts and to respond to the claims of those regarding lack of notification of residents/property owners. Without having the copy of the actual letter I can assure you that I was originally notified of the process to assess the my neighborhood for potential historic districts in a letter over two years ago. This letter invited me to complete a survey form listing any information I had about my residence. I knew this letter would be coming ss I had attended a Northside Neighborhood meeting that spring talking about the survey and the Historic District process and what it meant. The reason I remember the letter so clearly is that it came a week after my yard had been spray painted by the city to mark out parking meters to be put in front of my residence with NO notification at all from the city. When I called to ask about not being notified I was told that a public hearing had been held 9 months previously, but that no notification of that meeting was ever mailed to the property owners. Besides the initial contact I mentioned above I have in my possession the April 23rd letter I received from the city, the Northside Neighborhood Newsletter that lists the meeting, a flier mailed by Friends of Historic Preservation, and a letter from the State Historical Society dated May 3rd about the state hearing. For people to complain that they were never informed is clearly wrong. I read all mail I get from the City of Iowa City, the idea of sending registered letters is absolutely unnecessary. I strongly urge councilors to support the Gilbert-Linn District and to continue to back the Historic Preservation Commission in their vital work to protect the heritage of Iowa City. Sincerely, Mike Haverkamp 109 N. Van Buren St. 337-7180 Marian Karr From: Clausen, Darlene L [darlene-clausen@uiowa.edu] Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 8:17 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Glibert Linn Street historic designation Council members, I strongly support the designation of all the proposed historic districts on the Northside, and even expansion of the one on Gilbert and Linn streets to include all the area around Mercy Hospital. This area is unique in sharing a neighborhood with the hospital nearly as long as both have existed. There are many homeowners in the area who show their pride in living in the neighborhood with continual maintenance and improvements to their homes. I have lived in and owned my home at 508 E. Bloomington for nearly 20 years. Before that I rented on Fairchild and Gilbert. Living on Bloomington has given me the convenience of living close to downtown and to the University. Living here also bestows upon me the responsibility of keeping a definitive border between expansion of downtown and the quiet walkability of neighborhood. Next door to me is beautiful brick house built in the 1890s. My home was built in the 19teens. The 400 block of Bloomington holds some remarkable older buildings serving as residences and as businesses. I would truly miss any of these "unprotected" buildings as much as I would miss the buildings along Gilbert Street. The 600 block of Bloomington is a reminder of what can happen when a large entity can make change without approval of neighbors. The designation of historic preservation district would allow the approval of change in a formal manner. Any demolition and new building would require approval by the Historic Preservation Committee of plans drawn up before the plans are put in place. As it stands today, I receive no notification of Mercy plans. In the last 4 years, I have learned I need to constantly keep up with changes as buildings go down and parking lots go in. I have little voice in expressing the way I feel about my street. Having the Historic Preservation Commission review plans before changes are made that could drastically alter the streetscape is important to me in protecting the neighborhood I have lived in for 25 years. Designation of the area along Gilbert Street from Market to Fairchild Street as an Historic Preservation District is a wonderful start to assuring growth is monitored and in keeping with the livability of the area. I know there is opposition to the designation of Historic status along Gilbert Street by some neighbors on the grounds that they received no notification. I know of three notifications in the Northside Newsletter. * The first notice was in February 2003 with an announcement that the city received a grant to hire a preservation consultant for the areas in particular. * The second was in September 2003 announcing to those in the proposed districts and other interested persons a meeting to be held on Oct 13, 2003. * The third notice was in May 2004 describing what in means to be a part of an historic district. The May description was a repeat of the Sept 2003 description. In addition letters were sent directly to property owners. I have talked with owners who received them. ! Please listen to the voices of those who have worked long and hard at protecting these neighborhoods. Help to dispel the myth that historic preservation is a restriction of rights rather than a champion of rights. Thank you, Darlene Clausen 508 E. Bloomington Iowa City, IA phone: 338-8175 Marian Karr From: kay schneider [kaysbatiks@iopener. net] Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 7:08 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: support Gilbert/Linn Historic District I support the Gilbert/Linn Historic District and proud that my house is included in it. Catherine Schneider 317 Church St. Iowa city Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Wally Plahutnik [zinguy@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 7:14 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Gilbert/Linn Historic District Iowa City Council, We SUPPORT the plan to identify the Gilbert/Linn Street area as an historic district. As property owners we encourage you to support this measure, as well. Thank you, Victoria Walton & Wally Plahutnik 430 N. Gilbert Street Iowa City, Iowa Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers! 7/13/2004 Marian Karr From: Patdcia A Eckhardt [peckhardt@juno.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 8:09 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: GilbeWLinn Historic District TO members of the City Council RE the Gilbert/Linn Historic District Dear Members of the City Council, Please support the creation of the Gilbert/Linn Historic District as a National Register District and a local historic district. This neighborhood is filled with beautiful houses and interesting history. It is one of'Iowa City's oldest neighborhoods. Please help us preserve it. I have lived in the neighborhood for 34 years, and I have always wanted the neighborhood to be an historic district. Its location near the downtown and the University is one of its benefits and pleasures, but it has made it vulnerable over the years to developers and other individuals who want to profit at the expense of the collective benefit of the residents. I want this neighborhood to have the benefits of Historic Preservation. Historic Preservation is a true zoning issue. Property owners together with the city government work together to accomplish what cannot be accomplished by an individual or small group of individuals alone. A local historic district provides the mechanism by which the wants and needs of various parties within the neighborhood can be mitigated. We need you to help us protect and preserve our historic neighborhood. Please help us now by supporting the creation of the Gilbert/Linn Historic District. Sincerely, Patricia Eckhardt 514 N. Linn Street Iowa City, Iowa 52245 The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Marian Karr From: meredith.sewell@act.org Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 11:28 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: GilbertJLinn Historic District Council Members: As a home owner in the Northside neighborhood I wish to express my strong support for the Gilbert/Linn historic district. My home is not in the designated area but I feel this historic designation will benefit the entire area. Over the past 8 years I have witnessed well maintained single family homes change hands to landlords and tenants who have allowed properties to he trashed within months. I feel this designation will help preserve a vital, economically diverse neighborhood filled with diverse architecture. Historic Preservation of this area will benefit the entire Iowa City community. Please vote for this historic designation. This neighborhood needs your help to keep it a positive environment. Meredith Sewell 420 Fairchild Street Iowa City, Iowa 52245 337-6177 Marian Karr From: sfutrell [sfutrell@mchsi.com] Sent." Tuesday, July 13, 2004 12:28 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Cc: beth.foster@dca.state.ia.us; shelley-mccafferty@iowa-city.org Subject: Iowa City historic district support Dear Iowa City Council, We own and live in our house at 311 Fairchild Street in Iowa City. Like many of our neighbors, we are pleased and thrilled that our house and neighborhood have been selected to be part of the National Register of Historic Places. We hope that will also lead quickly to the designation of a local historic district. Our house is an 1896 single-family home in a mixed owner-occupied and rental residential neighborhood. We make an effort to maintain the property in good condition, and have recently had major renovation work done on the garage/outbuilding to stabilize and paint it. We are long-time Iowa City residents, and for the past 30 years have lived in various older neighborhoods, including the Longfellow and Northside, where we own property. Part of what we enjoy and believe is unique and attractive about Iowa City are its older neighborhoods and the well-preserved homes available to both renters and potential homeowners. We have been contacted by a small group of property owners who oppose the historic designation; however, they do not offer any real arguments against it, and we do not share their concerns. The main issue seemed to be that they were not notified of the designation. We received three separate mailings in April, May and June from the State Historical Society as well as the City of Iowa City, which answered all of our questions, and provided more than adequate notice. We are happy to support the proposed designation, and believe it will enhance and help to maintain our historic neighborhood while in no way inhibiting property owners from using the properties as they were intended. Please continue to support the recommendation of the State and National Register Nominations Review Committees, the State Historical Society of Iowa, and Friends of Historic Preservation, and designate our house and neighborhood as a local historic district. Thank you for your consideration, and for all of your efforts on behalf of Iowa City. Sincerely, Susan Futrell and Will Jennings 311 Fairchild St. Iowa City, IA 52245 319-337-7770 cc: Friends of Historic Preservation State Historical Society of Iowa Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Tama Baldwin [tamabaldwin@hotmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 5:25 PM To: council@iowa-city,org Subject: Northside Historic Preservation Dear Council Members, Nine summers ago this July I bought a house in the six hundred block of North Linn Street in Iowa City. Though I had found several lovely homes that [ might have purchased in the Iowa City/Coralville area, I kept returning to the Northside during my search. I loved the vibrancy of the downtown area. I loved and still love the diversity of my neighbors. I adored and continue to adore the historic architecture that has miraculously survived decades of short-sighted progress. These are among the reasons I continue to reside on Linn Street. These are among the reasons ! strongly support the nomination of our home and our neighborhood to the National Historic Registry. Each year I join friends on the Parade of Homes--partly out of curiosity, partly out of my interest in issues of community development. While I am sometimes wowed by what ! see--particularly the new homes made by the hands of builders who maintain a dedication to lasting craftsmanship--I am always happy to return to my 1870 prairie home, a home that though modest is unlike any other. Each year I have become more deeply convinced that "intelligent" community development must embrace historic preservation--to protect neighborhoods like the Northside is to provide a link between the past and the future. I'm grateful the Council exists to hear and consider the voices of the community. I appreciate your time in considering my own. Sincerely, Tama Baldwin 629 North Linn Street Iowa City, Iowa 52245 (319)341-9477 7/14/2004 Marian Karr From: Carol de Saint Victor [carol-desaintvictor@uiowa.edu] Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 9:43 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: north side historical preservation Council Hembers: I urge you to support the designatien of the northside as a histeric district. I have lived in my h©me at 332 E. Davenport fer 31 years. I would like to continue to live in my home as leng as I am physically capable. But when the time comes--and it will-when I must mere, I would hepe te sell my house with the pretectien te it and the neighborheod of the principles of preservation that historic designation would provide. Otherwise, I fear the northside will in time be a nelghberhoed of absentee landlords, whose main interest is, understandably, financial. Carel de Saint Victor 332 E. Davenpert 351-4211