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Home My Public Portal About7.E. Update on Historic Preservation in Temple CityAGENDA ITEM ?.E. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DATE: TO: FROM: SUBJECT: MEMORANDUM November 19, 2013 The Honorable City Council Jose E. Pulido, City Manag~ Via: Mark Persico, AICP, C munity Developm;E! Director By : Geoffrey Starns, AICP , Ianning Manager ~ UPDATE ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN TEMPLE CITY RECOMMENDATION: The City Council is requested to receive and file the update on historic preservation and direct staff to make this discussion part of the General Plan 2050 process. BACKGROUND: 1. On October 15, 2013, the City Council requested that the Planning Commission make a recommendation to the City Council on whether or not to proceed with the creation of an historic preservation program (see Attachment "A" for original staff report). 2. On October 22, 2013, the Planning Commission held a workshop on historic preservation. Approximately 30 people attended the workshop. ANALYSIS: At the workshop on October 22, 2013, the attendees were asked to fill out a questionnaire about historic preservation. Of the 12 questionnaires submitted, seven agreed that the City should adopt an historic preservation ordinance, four disagreed , and one had no opinion. Of the people that spoke at the meeting, opinion of whether to have historic preservation was split down the middle. The questionnaire is available on the City's website so those members of the public that missed the workshop still have the opportunity to have their voices heard. Staff is also working on having the questionnaire translated into Mandarin so that more residents have the opportunity to be heard. City Council November 19, 2013 Page 2 of 2 At the conclusion of the workshop, the Planning Commission did not feel they had enough information to make a determination one way or another. The Planning Commission then recommended that the discussion be continued as part of the General Plan 2050 process which will begin in January 2014. Staff will continue to accept the questionnaires and provide them to our general plan consultant. CONCLUSION: Staff requests that the City Council receive and file this update on historic preservation and direct staff to make this discussion part of the General Plan 2050 process as recommended by the Planning Commission. FISCAL IMPACT: This item does not have an impact on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013-14 City Budget. ATTACHMENTS: A. October 15, 2013, City Council Staff Report DATE: TO: FROM: SUBJECT: ATTACHMENT A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM October 15, 2013 The Honorable City Council Jose E. Pulido, City Manage)1:j Via: Mark Persico, AICP, C~munity Development Rirector By: Geoffrey Starns, AICP, Planning Manager ('r· UPDATE ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN TEMPLE CITY RECOMMENDATION: The City Council is requested to receive and file the update on historic preservation in Temple City. BACKGROUND: 1. On June 1, 2010, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 1 0-4670 authorizing staff to apply for a National Trust for Historic Preservation Grant. 2. On August 31, 2010, the City received a $10,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to assist in the preparation of a Historical Resources Survey. The City combined the grant with $35,000 of City funds to prepare the Historic Context Statement and Historical Resources Survey (Survey). 3. On November 16, 2010, the City hired Historic Resources Group (HRG) to draft the Historic Context Statement and prepare the Survey. 4. On May 22, 2012, HRG revised the scope of services which removed the completion of the DPR 523 forms and instead added the preparation of a Draft Historic Preservation Ordinance at staff's request. 5. On May 31, 2012, the City received the Draft Historic Context Statement and Survey. 6. On July 12, 2012, a letter was sent to the owners of the 96 properties identified as potential historic landmarks (Attachment "A"). City Council October 15, 2013 Page 2 of 4 7. On July 26, 2012, a Joint City Council/Planning Commission meeting was held to review the Survey. 8. In September 2013, staff consulted with the California Office of Historic Preservation, our historic preservation consultant (i.e., GPA Consulting), and the City Attorney and determined that the Survey is incomplete for the purpose of determining potential historic resources and which properties would be subject to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Attachment "B"). 9. On September 23, 2013, the owners of the properties identified on the survey were notified (Attachment "C") that their property was no longer subject to CEQA and that they may move forward with any improvements or demolition based upon the zoning and building codes. ANALYSIS: Over the last three years, the City has been working on establishing a historic preservation program. An effective historic preservation program must include the following four elements: 1) Historic preservation goals and policies in the City's General Plan; 2) A historic preservation ordinance that provides the framework for evaluating and designating properties, and a process for potential alterations to those properties; 3) A historic context statement which provides the history of development in the City and identifies property types, property characteristics (i.e., character-defining features) of the various property types, and eligibility and integrity thresholds; and 4) A historic resources survey that identifies and evaluates properties based on the historic context and designation criteria in the historic preservation ordinance (i.e., as well as State and National Register criteria). Elements Completed Thus far, the City has completed two of the four elements necessary to establish an effective historic preservation program in the City (i.e., the historic context statement and the survey were completed as one document). The completed Historic Context Statement provides the history of development in Temple City and a basis for surveying the City for potential historic resources. The Historic Context Statement was then used to complete the Survey. The Survey identified 96 potential historic landmarks, four potential historical points of interest, and one potential conservation area. Towards the end of the Survey project, staff was looking to change the historic City Council October 15, 2013 Page 3 of4 preservation program implementation to facilitate the completion of a Historic Preservation Ordinance. The City's consultant, Historic Resources Group (HRG), was asked to revise their original scope of services to remove the preparation of the State's DPR forms, which is more costly. Instead, the Survey was put into a table format. The savings from the revised scope of services was used to prepare the Draft Historic Preservation Ordinance (Attachment "D"). However, since the joint City Council/ Planning Commission meeting of last year, staff has identified that the Survey is lacking supporting documentation which is normally included in the California Office of Historic Preservation's DPR forms (which evaluate and determine which properties are historic). While 90% of the Survey is still useable, there is no evidence to support the actual evaluation and determination that properties are historic (i.e., an intensive level survey) (Attachment "E") until additional research is conducted and the DPR forms are completed. Next Steps The Survey can still be used as a reconnaissance level survey (i.e., a broader survey that identifies properties and area that merit further research and evaluation and those that don't) which will allow staff to take the data from the survey and complete the DPR 523A forms (refer to Attachment "8" for more information) with minimal work. The survey can then be used as a starting point for completing further research on the 96 properties identified in the survey to properly evaluate them in accordance with State standards. Staff is working to setup the framework and process of a program through the creation of a Historic Preservation Ordinance. An ordinance will provide the process and criteria for properly evaluating properties for historic significance. Only after an ordinance is complete can a survey be used to identify and evaluate properties for historic significance. The City has hired GPA Consulting, Inc. to engage the community in a discussion regarding historic preservation. We are seeking the community's input to determine "what is historic and what should be preserved?" This input is crucial in determining if a Historic Preservation Ordinance should be created and, if so, ensuring any Historic Preservation Ordinance is tailored to the needs of Temple City. The City will be hosting a public workshop and study session before the Planning Commission on October 22, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. Following the .October 22, 2013, meeting staff can better assess if there is still an interest in developing a Historic Preservation Ordinance. CONCLUSION: Staff requests that the City Council receive and file the update on update on historic preservation Temple City. City Council October 15, 2013 Page 4 of 4 FISCAL IMPACT: This item does not have an impact on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013-14 City Budget. ATTACHMENTS: A. July 12, 2012, Letter to Owners of Properties identified in 2012 Historic Resources Survey B. September 18, 2013, Memorandum regarding 2012 Historic Resources Survey C. September 23, 2013, Letter to Owners of Properties identified in 2012 Historic Resources Survey D. Draft Historic Preservation Ordinance E. October 8, 2013 white paper on Historic Resource Surveys in California