Economic Development Subcommittee

COLUMBIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2019 The Columbia Economic Development Subcommittee will conduct a meeting on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. at the Busby Street Community Center, 1735 Busby Street, Columbia, SC 29203. Prior to entering the meeting please turn all electronic communication devices to the silent, vibrate or off position. All presenters are asked to speak directly into the microphone for recording purposes. CALL TO ORDER DISCUSSION OF CONSTRUCTION STRATEGIES AND GROWTH 1. Proposed Demolition Delay Ordinance - Ms. Amy Moore, Principal Planner for the Planning and Development Services Department ADJOURNMENT Page 1 of 1  1 MEETING DATE: March 5, 2019 DEPARTMENT: Planning and Development Services FROM: Krista Hampton, Director SUBJECT: Proposed Demolition Delay Ordinance - Ms. Amy Moore, Principal Planner for the Planning and Development Services Department FUNDING SOURCE AND ORIGINAL BUDGET AMOUNT: STRATEGIC GOALS: Foster a healthy quality of life, Provide high quality municipal services ATTACHMENTS:  Demo Delay March Memo (PDF) Updated: 2/27/2019 3:28 PM Page 1 Packet Pg. 2  1.a MEMORANDUM TO: Members of the Economic Development Subcommittee From: Amy Moore, Principal Planner Attachment: Demo Delay March Memo (4945 : Proposed Demolition Delay Ordinance) CC: Teresa Wilson, Missy Gentry, Krista Hampton Date: February 26, 2019 RE: Demolition Delay Narrative Descriptions Summary: Below is a narrative description of two options for a demolition delay ordinance as requested by members of the Economic Development Subcommittee at the December 4th meeting. Option A is a summary of the proposal that was presented by staff at the August and October meetings. Option B is a summary of a demolition delay ordinance for individual structures city-wide. Immediately below are a few items included to inform your understanding of both options. Architectural vs. Cultural Significance When determining the significance of a building, two assessments are always made: 1. Is the physical construction of the building representative of an architectural style, such as Queen Anne, Craftsman, Midcentury Modern, etc.? 2. Is this building significantly associated with people, events, or movements in history, such as Woodrow Wilson, the site at which the Columbia chapter of the NAACP was founded, sites associated with the women’s suffrage movement, etc.? Historic Resources/Architectural Survey A historic resources survey or architectural survey (terms are used interchangeably) would produce a list of architecturally significant properties in a given area. According to the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), a historic resources survey is: The process of systematically identifying historic properties within the boundaries of a specific geographical area, documenting their location and physical characteristics, and evaluating their importance within an appropriate historical context. Completing a historic resources survey is a multi-part process that consists of designing the survey’s goals and parameters, conducting research about the survey area, completing fieldwork, data entry and organization, and reporting the findings of the survey. 1 Cultural History A historic resources survey would produce a list of architecturally significant properties in a given area, however, it would NOT produce the cultural history for each parcel. Parcel specific cultural history is determined through archival research using items such as deeds, census records, city directories, oral histories, newspapers, and birth and death records. 1 State of South Carolina Statewide Survey of Historic Properties Manual, page 3, https://scdah.sc.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/Historic%20Preservation%20(SHPO)/Sur vey/Survey%20Manual_Dec2018.pdf Packet Pg. 3  1.a Option A: Demolition Delay Review Applied to Geographic Area Option A identifies geographic areas for application of a demolition delay overlay and, within those areas, if a demolition permit is submitted, the structure would be assessed as to whether it would be subject to a delay period. City Council would apply the original designation of the area, but staff and the DDRC would conduct the review as to whether the structure would be subject to the delay period based upon criteria established in the demolition delay ordinance. The current proposal encompasses City Center, sections of Gervais, Devine, and North Main Streets, as well as Historic Columbia’s Eligible Landmark List, and focuses on areas where significant structures have been identified. All the areas combined encompass approximately Attachment: Demo Delay March Memo (4945 : Proposed Demolition Delay Ordinance) 400 parcels with structures 50 years or older. Considerations: • Focused on areas with previously identified cultural and architectural resources. Many of these areas are adjacent to established historic districts with known cultural history that provides context for these areas. • Basic architectural surveying of these areas is already complete. • City staff, with the help of Historic Columbia, has begun more detailed research into cultural history. • Area is a manageable size for staff to field and respond to inquiries. • Does not capture all potential resources in the City. • Cultural research will need to be conducted on a case by case basis (true for either option). • Property owners do not necessarily know whether their property is subject to regulation until a demolition permit is requested. Packet Pg. 4  1.a Option B: Demolition Delay Applied to Individual Structures Option B would apply demolition delay review to individual buildings, as opposed to all eligible buildings within a geographic area. Similar to Option A, the criteria for determining whether a building should be subject to demolition review would be in the ordinance, but the process of designating each structure would be vested with City Council with staff and Planning Commission acting in an advisory capacity. Although proposed to be implemented in a phased manner, this option would require additional historic resources surveys to identify areas for consideration. For a city-wide survey, staff has estimated that there are approximately 20,000 structures City-wide that meet the age criteria and would need to be surveyed. It is estimated that a historic resources survey of this number of parcels would Attachment: Demo Delay March Memo (4945 : Proposed Demolition Delay Ordinance) cost between $285,000-$312,500 and take a consulting firm a minimum one to two years (based on a recently completed architectural survey of approximately 1,200 parcels in District 1 and estimates received from a consulting firm). Significant thought needs to be given to how review would be handled prior to survey completion. It is likely that a survey of this magnitude would be handled in a phased process. If demolition is not reviewed from the beginning of the survey process, it is likely that some significant resources will be lost. Considerations: • Captures more significant resources. • Applies equally to the entire City. • Cultural research will need to be conducted on a case by case basis (true for either option). • Survey would take a significant amount of resources, time to complete, and staff time to complete. • Property owners are noticed that their property is subject to a demolition delay review. • Depending on the number of resources identified for application in each phase, additional staff resources would be required. Staff has estimated that between 60-80 buildings per year would meet the age requirement and require a cursory review. Of those 60-80 properties, between 12-14 properties per year would likely require a higher level of review. Packet Pg. 5  1.a Option A: Geographic Area vs. Option B: Applied to Individual Structures Option A Option B $285,000-$312,500 Survey Cost $0* (projected) 1-2 years Survey time 200+ hours** (projected) minimum 175 hours*** City Staff time 100+ hours** (projected) Attachment: Demo Delay March Memo (4945 : Proposed Demolition Delay Ordinance) Number of Parcels in the Determined Area 2,500 45,500 Estimated Number of Resources 50 years and older 400 20,000 Known Number of Resources with Potential Review 173 unknown Number of Demolitions of Buildings 50 years and older 8 173 Number of Demolitions in which demolition delay would have applied within the last two years 2 33 *No additional cost other than staff time **Staff time 100 hours, Historic Columbia donated time, approximately 100 hours, includes architectural & some cultural research to date ***Estimated time to manage resources survey, conduct public meetings, and for procurement Packet Pg. 6  1.a Option A: Geographic Area and Demolition Review Estimates Total Full Buildings Number Demolition Year Demo 50 years Potentially Type Permits and Older Reviewed* 2018 Residential 1 1 0 2018 Commercial 3 3 1 Attachment: Demo Delay March Memo (4945 : Proposed Demolition Delay Ordinance) 2018 Total 4 4 1 2017 Residential 2 2 0 2017 Commercial 6 2 1 2017 Total 8 4 1 2017/2018 Total 12 8 2 Average/year 6 4 1 *Architecturally significant only Option B: Individual Structures and Demolition Review Estimates Buildings 50 Number Demolition Total Full Demo Year years and Potentially Type Permits Older Reviewed* 2018 Commercial 19 11 1 2018 Residential 35 31 7 2018 Total 54 42 8 2017 Commercial 65 54 8 2017 Residential 86 77 17 2017** Total 155 131 25 2017/2018 Total 209 173 33 Average/Year 104.5 86.5 16.5 *Architecturally significant only. **2014-2016—between 90 and 100 full demolition permits per year. 2017—Higher than average likely due to 2015 flood & process for FEMA/insurance funding/assessments 2018—lower than average Packet Pg. 7