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Administrative BriefÝ×Ì Ç ÝÑÓ Ó×Í Í×ÑÒ ×ÒÚÑÎ Ó ß Ì×ÑÒ Ó ÛÓ ÑÎ ß ÒÜË Ó Volume 33, No. 08 March 10, 2011 ADMINISTRATIVE BRIEF FROM DEAN ANDREW DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES/PLANNING Salina's first historic preservation activity occurred when the "A. J. Schwartz House" at 636 East Iron Avenue was nominated to and listed on the National Register of Historic Places by its owner, Ron Richmond, in 1973. A second property, the "Judge John D. Prescott House" at 211 West Prescott Avenue, was listed by its owners, James and Martha Foley, on the National Register in 1976 as part of the celebration of the Nation’s Bicentennial. The City of Salina enacted its first Heritage Conservation Ordinance in 1979 as a result of public reaction to the fate of the "Fred H. Quincy House" at 680 South Santa Fe Avenue. The stately Victorian Stick Style home was built in 1885. Quincy, who occupied the house until 1940, served as a State Senator and was president of the Planters Bank. In 1978, a Salina real estate agent presented the City with a change of zoning application in order to convert the structure into professional offices. Homeowners in the Santa Fe neighborhood strongly opposed the application because of increasing development pressures along the southern edge of the downtown business corridor. Public concern eventually led the Salina Board of Zoning Appeals to deny the request. As a result, the Santa Fe Neighborhood Association was organized and in 1979 the Salina Heritage Commission was established. The original Heritage Conservation Ordinance was adopted on November 27, 1979. The ordinance prescribed the development of a community preservation plan and a seven-member citizen board, the Salina Heritage Commission. A process for design review and a detailed hearing process for the nomination of individual historic properties were established. A systematic survey of all properties within the 1930 Salina city limits was undertaken in 1983 with the assistance of a preservation planning consultant and the State Historic Preservation Office. The results of the survey were compiled in two Historic Resources Inventories that were published in 1984 and 1985. The second inventory report summarized research on 285 of the City’s most significant resources, including parks and monuments. The principal motivation for the enactment of the Heritage Conservation Ordinance was the desire to protect significant historic buildings from demolition or insensitive alterations and to preserve the historic appearance of properties and historic neighborhoods. The ordinance allowed for designation of individual properties as Heritage Conservation Landmarks. By 1990, twelve (12) historic properties had been designated by the City as Heritage Conservation Landmarks. Several of these properties were also nominated by the Heritage Commission and listed on the National Register of Historic Places and its State counterpart, the Register of Historic Kansas Places. The Heritage Conservation Ordinance was amended in 1990 in order to set up a process for the creation of historic districts. The 1990 Conservation Ordinance outlined specific procedures for the designation of individual resources as local landmarks and contiguous groups of historic resources as local historic districts, as well as regulating changes to the exterior appearances of landmarks or structures located within designated historic districts. Design review standards were outlined in the ordinance to guide the Heritage Commission’s review of proposed changes to landmarks and historic district properties. Specific design criteria for exterior alterations to landmark and contributing properties within historic districts is based on the Commission Information Memorandum Page 2 Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, standards used in the management of historic properties by State and Federal Agencies. The design criteria in the 1990 Conservation Ordinance applies to alterations, new construction, demolition and relocation, signage and accessory buildings. The ordinance also provides for an appeals process and a certificate of economic hardship provision. The Salina Conservation Ordinance is similar to ordinances adopted by other Kansas jurisdictions such as Lawrence, Hutchinson, Kansas City and Wichita. Following the adoption of the 1990 ordinance, four (4) separate local historic districts were nominated by their included property owners in 1991 and 1992. The four districts include 24 properties within the 800 Block of S. Santa Fe Avenue nominated by 77% of property owners; 48 properties within the 700 Block of Highland Avenue, nominated by 71% of property owners; 54 properties within the 600-700 Blocks of S. Santa Fe Avenue, nominated by 48% of property owners; and 76 properties within the 400-500 Blocks of S. th 8 Street, the 100-200 Blocks of W. Prescott Avenue and the 600 Block of Highland Avenue, nominated by 51% of property owners. The four districts include 200 residential properties and 2 commercial properties. An additional nine (9) properties have been designated local landmarks since 1990, including the Marymount Administration Building and the former Dunbar Elementary School. Certified Local Government The National Park Service approved the City of Salina for participation in the (CLG) program in 1991. The CLG program is designed to promote the preservation of historically and culturally significant structures, buildings and sites by establishing a partnership between local governments and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Requirements for the program include maintaining an active historic preservation program and a local preservation board whose members meet professional qualifications and expertise in history, architecture, law and closely related fields. The City of Salina entered into a Certified Local Government Agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office in 1996 that allows the Heritage Commission to perform locally all the statutory responsibilities of the State Preservation Officer in the review of projects that directly or indirectly affect properties that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places or Register of Historic Kansas Places. The CLG Agreement was renewed by the City in 2001 and again in 2007. The Heritage Commission must review all exterior and interior projects that affect character-defining features of a National/State Register property before a project may proceed. The character-defining features for a property are identified in the National Register nomination form. The Heritage Commission and administrative staff use the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines to Rehabilitating Historic Properties to determine if a project will encroach upon, damage or destroy the listed property. The Kansas Historic Preservation Act, enacted in 1977, also requires the review of exterior projects within the environs of a listed historic property. The “environs” includes any property that is within 500 feet of the boundary of the State or National Register property. The Standards and Guidelines for Evaluating the Effect of Projects on Environs, 1998are used as the basis for environs review. Copies of the Secretary of Interior’s Standards and Standards and Guidelines for Evaluating Projects on Environs are available at the City Development Services Department. Should the Heritage Commission determine that a proposed project will encroach upon, damage or destroy a listed historic property or its environs, notice of this determination will be provided to the SHPO. In administrative review, if an adverse finding is made, it must be referred to the Heritage Commission. Any determination by the Commission that a project will encroach upon, damage or destroy any historic property or its environs may be appealed to the Salina City Commission. In those instances where the decision of the City Commission is contrary to the findings of the Heritage Commission the project shall not proceed until the City Commission has made a determination that there is no feasible or prudent alternative to the proposal and that the proposal includes all possible planning to minimize harm to the listed historic property. Commission Information Memorandum Page 3 To date eleven (11) properties within the Salina city limits have been approved for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The City of Salina, under the Certified Local Government Agreement, must comment on and provide a recommendation to the State Historic Preservation Officer on the eligibility of any local property nominated to the National Register. Properties listed on the National Register are automatically placed on the Register of Historic K ansas Places. The most recent Salina properties placed on the National Register include Pioneer Presidents’ Place, the H. D. Lee Hardware Buildings and Christ Cathedral. Listing properties on the State and National Register make the properties eligible to receive State and Federal Tax Credits for qualified restoration and rehabilitation activities. An amendment to Salina’s Conservation Ordinance was approved by the Salina City Commission in 1997 that added a new Heritage Conservation District designation. The Conservation District designation provides protection for non-contiguous buildings or structures identified in the 1985 Historic Resources Inventory as “significant historic resources” from demolition or relocation without review by the Heritage Commission. While many of Salina’s significant historic properties are already designated as National/State Register properties or local landmarks, the Conservation District designation includes properties that are not local landmarks and are not within designated historic districts. Examples of designated conservation properties within the city include Oakdale School, St. John’s Hospital and the United Building. When the Heritage Conservation District was proposed for adoption in 1997, a letter of notification was sent to those 231 property owners whose property the proposed conservation designation would directly affect. The Salina Regional Health Center asked that the former Chapel Funeral Home at 337 South Santa Fe and the former St. John’s Hospital at 139 N. Penn not be included in the Conservation District. The City Commission deleted the Chapel Funeral Home (which is currently the site of a SRHC parking lot) from the list of Conservation properties but included the former St. John’s Hospital on the list of designated Conservation District properties. No other objections were received. The purpose of the Conservation District is to retain and enhance significant non-designated properties that contribute to the character of the City and to encourage their adaptation for reuse. New construction is not discouraged, provided primary emphasis is given to t he preservation of existing historic resources. The Conservation District Ordinance provides a review process for demolition or relocation only. Alterations or additions are not reviewed under the ordinance. The proposed demolition of the former Hawthorne Elementary School was reviewed by the Heritage Commission because it was a designated Conservation District property. In 2006, staff proposed combining the demolition review criteria in Section 42-464, which is applicable to designated landmarks, with the demolition review criteria in Section 42-469.5 which is applicable to Conservation District properties into a single, uniform set of demolition review criteria for designated historic properties. This proposal was endorsed by the Heritage Commission and Planning Commission but was never adopted by the City Commission. MONDAY’S MEETING Enclosed are other items on the agenda. If any Commissioner has questions or cannot attend the meeting, please contact me. Jason A. Gage, City Manager Commission Information Memorandum Page 4 Salina Heritage Commission Heritage Conservation Landmark Designations Resource Date designated 1.Sampson-Litowich House, 683 S. Santa Fe December 17, 1984 2. Missouri Pacific Depot, 352 N. Santa Fe March 18, 1985 3. Charles Schwartz House, 630 E. Iron Ave. April 14, 1985 Masonic Temple, 336 S. Santa Fe 4. * August 18, 1986 th Flanders-Lee House, 200 S. 7 Street 5. * September 15, 1986 Prescott-Foley House, 211 W. Prescott 6. * December 21, 1987 Smoky Hill Museum, 211 W. Iron 7. * June 6, 1988 th 8. Ezra Dow House, 238 S. 10 Street November 14, 1988 th 9. Saline County Courthouse, 245 N. 9 November 14, 1988 10. C.E. Robinson House, 850 S. Santa Fe November 14, 1988 Stiefel Theatre, 153 S. Santa Fe* 11. * November 13, 1989 Sheldon-Nelson House, 100 Mount Barbara 12. * May 14, 1990 13. Marymount Administration Building, 2035 E. Iron November 30, 1996 th 14. First Christian Church, 201 S. 8 February 21, 1997 15. Former Dunbar Elementary School, 509 E. Elm September 5, 1998 16. Graybill Filling Station, 212 E. Iron (Historic Sign) December 10, 1999 17. Memorial Hall, 410 W. Ash March 3, 2000 18. Oakdale Park Gates, 600 Oakdale Drive March 3, 2000 19. Endiron House, 100 S. College March 9, 2001 20. Oakdale Elementary School, 811 E. Iron (Historic Sign) August 20, 2001 21. Garlitz Carpenter Shop, 205 N. Front December 30, 2005 * Indicates properties also listed on the National and State Register of Historic Places