Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/04/2017

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URBAN HISTORIC SITES Name Oreo Factory Richfield Mansion 5th Street Church Existing Build- ing Tsf* 200 13 15 *Tsf= thousands of square feet Existing FAR 0.31 0.4o 0.18 Incentives for Maintenance Stone, brick, log, or wood frame structures of- ten have high maintenance and upkeep costs. This is particularly true of rural buildings or where disinvestment has already occurred. The absence of insulation and obsolete heat- ing, air conditioning, kitchen, and bath facili- ties are also potential costs associated with preservation. These costs may be addressed by a change in use; if not, other incentives are needed to encourage landowners to invest. The question becomes how much of an incen- tive should be provided. Incentives can in- clude an increase of density on the property or transferable development rights (TDR). If this cannot be worked out before a district is cre- ated or a property designated, incorporate a process in the regulations to guide the historic board in evaluating the need for incentives on a case -by -case basis. Provide what is needed and don't offer too little or too much. See the sidebar on page 5 for an example. Zoned TDR 0.44 1.00 2.50 Site Area Tsf (Existing Build- ing Tsf / Exist- ing FAR) 645 32.5 83.3 SCATTERED -SITE PRESERVATION Preserving individual historic structures and sites located outside of historic districts pres- ents a distinct set of challenges. For these properties, existing development densities may be far below permissible densities for their zoning districts, and carefully calibrated incentives are necessary to gain landowner support for preservation. Urban Historic Structures A common problem in urbanized areas is that individual historic structures often have floor areas well below the maximum permissible floor area or density of their zoning districts. For example, a historic structure with only 15 percent of the maximum floor area permitted creates a strong economic argument for de- molition and redevelopment. The historic site is burdened by higher maintenance costs and less income potential compared to neighbor- ing properties. TDR is the ideal tool for this Maximum Floor Area (Site Area x Zoned FAR) TDRs (Maximum Floor Area — Existing building Tsf) 283.9 83.9 32.5 19.5 208.3 193.3 situation, as upheld by the Supreme Court in Penn Central Transp. Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S.1o4, 98 S. Ct. 2646, 57 L. Ed. 2d 631 (1978). The table above illustrates how this system would work in a hypothetical com- munity. The TDRs available are determined by subtracting the existing floor area of the site from the maximum permitted by the zoning. The measurements are in thousands of square feet, so one TDR is based on 1,00o square feet. To ensure a willing buyer and willing seller, the purchaser would be able to build 1,10o feet for each TDR. Historic Sites Historic sites require a different focus. The preservation of the historic buildings is only part of the job. Just preserving the buildings ignores their function and the setting for which they were built and robs visitors of the purpose and context of the historic site. Many 0 Left: A historic building (e.g., a plantation, homestead, leading citizen's home, or historic event). Middle: A historic building with important landscape and gardens. Right: A site with multiple historic buildings (e.g., farm, ranch, or plantation with multiple outbuildings). ZONINGPRACTICE 4.17 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 6