Historic Preservation Commission Agenda and Packet 2019 03 18

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Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes February 18, 2019 Page 4 of 13 including the restoration of the landmarked section of the property and the additions they want to make. Dickinson asked what the amount for new construction was. Selvoski replied that staff and the subcommittee had talked about an amount between $15 and 25,000. Haley stated that she thought the new construction grant for residential structures would be appealing. At the same time, the Commission had gotten the most public resistance for paying for new construction with the existing new construction grants. Klemme asked if it would be possible to only offer new construction grants if the applicant was also doing preservation work. Dickinson stated that his home was an example of preserving the front of a structure while doing an addition on the back. His grant covered the work specific to restoration, preservation, and rehabilitation, but none for new construction. He thought the new construction grant for residential properties felt a little weird, though he did understand that it was meant to incentivize involvement in the program. Klemme suggested that applicants should have to do both — preservation and new construction. The only way we will give you money to do your addition is if you promise us that you will do work on the landmarked home. Dickinson stated that he would be more excited about offering the potential for an additional $15,000 for work that the Commission did not normally cover, like doing work on wood floors inside, for example. Zuccaro replied that current new construction grants had language governing the character of the additions, as well. Ulm stated that $15,000 was an appropriate amount. Thomas asked how much incentivizing the City needed to do to encourage people to preserve their homes rather than raze them. He thought that some incentive on new construction would be beneficial, but it should not be too much since the investment in the existing structure should not be overshadowed. Dickinson responded that the Commission had the authority to review changes landmarked homes anyway. Thomas noted that the Commission did not review anything inside the buildings.