City Council Minutes 2011 07 12 SP

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City Council Meeting Minutes July 12, 2011 Page 8 of 10 Principal Planner McCartney explained the ballot language specifies the use of the tax is for the old town district and downtown. Miners Field is outside the district. Peter Stewart, HPC member, confirmed the Miners Field is outside the district and noted the HPC is limited in terms of what they could offer with respect to incentives. Councilor Muckle asked how many demolitions applications were received. Principal Planner McCartney outlined the history since 2005: 57 applications reviewed, 13 structures received a stay, and 37 structures were demolished. Demolition requests not demolished (16 with 7 receiving a stay). The structures, which have been demolished (37 with 4 receiving a stay). The structures part of a PUD not demolished (5 with 2 receiving a stay). Councilor Muckle favored having the permits tied to the applicant and not the property. Rick Brew, DELO, Inc, asked if the property owners are required to justify their projects. Susan Loo, PC member, suggested investigating how other communities address these situations. Laurel Tofte, HPC member, stated it is not HPC's intent to prohibit any property owner from developing or modifying their property. CONSIDERATION OF DEMOLITION REVIEW AND THE PUD PROCESS Rob Lathrop, LRC member, did not favor including the demolition process in the PUD and noted all of the information about the process is provided. He stated an application process through a body, which does not have rules or regulation, is very subjective. Michael Koertje, HPC member, explained there are a number of purposes for the stay, including taking advantage of the Historic Preservation Funds. A stay could assist the owner to ascertain whether the structure can be maintained on site and redeveloped without landmarking. He stated the HPC takes demolitions and stays very seriously. He noted not many stays were approved by the HPC and partial demolitions have been stayed to discuss alterations to the structure. Planning Director Russ provided the following statistics: 66% of the demolition applications were released at subcommittee; 9% were released at the hearing and 25% received the stay. Peter Stewart, HPC member, explained a PUD review requires City Council approval on the redevelopment of properties and the HPC can only make recommendations to the Planning Commission or to the City Council. He stated other cities have discovered it does not make sense to scrape off properties to make room for new developments. He suggests it is in the interest of the City and community to couple these items together.