CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM

Department:	Planning and Development Services		Commission Meeting Date:  April 16, 2019
Staff Contact:	Lynne Braddock Zollner, Historic Resources Administrator
Recommendations/Options/Action Requested:
Consider an appeal of the Historic Resources Commission decision, associated with Design Review DR-18-00503, for demolition and new construction for The Hub at Lawrence, 1040 Massachusetts Street, 1041 New Hampshire Street, and the east side of the 1000 block of New Hampshire Street. a. Receive appeal letter. b. Open the hearing and defer to the May 7, 2019 City Commission agenda. ACTION: Open hearing and defer to May 7, 2019.
Executive Summary:		Matthew Gough, on behalf of Core Lawrence Massachusetts LLC, submitted a design review application for the properties located at 1040 Massachusetts Street and 1041 and east side of New Hampshire Street.  This application was heard by the Historic Resources Commission (HRC) at their meeting on March 21, 2019. The HRC denied the Certificate of Appropriateness and determined that the proposed project would encroach on, damage, and destroy the environs of 1047 Massachusetts Street (Watkins Bank Building), 1100 Massachusetts Street (Douglas County Courthouse), and 1040 New Hampshire Street (English Lutheran Church). The HRC also determined that the project did not meet the intent of the Downtown Design Guidelines. According to Section 22-504 of the Conservation of Historic Resources Code, the applicant can file an appeal to the City Commission within fifteen days of the date of notification of the HRC determination for a Certificate of Appropriateness. Chapter 22 requires that the City Commission must act on this request within thirty days of receipt and must hold a public hearing on the appeal.   The applicant can also file an appeal regarding the HRC decision on the Downtown Design Guidelines review within ten working days after the HRC decision has been rendered. The City Commission is the final decision making authority in determining whether a proposed project meets the adopted Downtown Design Guidelines. The applicant filed an appeal of the HRC determinations on April 3, 2019. The applicant also submitted applications for special use permits to allow ground floor dwelling units in the Downtown Commercial District (CD zoning district). The Planning Commission voted to recommend these requests to the City Commission at their meeting on March 27, 2019. These requests are scheduled to be considered by the City Commission on May 7, 2019. In order for the City Commission to review the project in its entirety, staff recommends the commission open the public hearing and continue the public hearing for the appeal of the HRC determinations to the May 7, 2019 City Commission meeting.  A full packet will be provided at that time.
Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor		Not applicable
Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source):		The fiscal impact to the City is $ 0.  This item was not in CIP or any department budget.
Attachments:		Historic Resources Commission Action Letter Notice of Appeal Hearing Letter

Reviewed By: (for CMO use only)

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