HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 ILPC Annual Report
Date: 01/17/2016
To: Svante Myrick, Mayor
Cc: Ithaca Common Council
From: Bryan McCracken, Historic Preservation Planner
Re.: 2015 Annual Report of the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission
As required by §73-6 of the City Municipal Code, I am pleased to submit the following report
concerning the activities of the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission for the period October
1, 2014 – September 30, 2015. This reporting period is stipulated by the New York State Office of
Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for Certified Local Government programs.
During the period 10/1/14 through 9/30/15, the ILPC heard 47 cases requesting Certificates of
Appropriateness for exterior alterations to locally designated historic properties. Of these, twenty-
seven were approved as presented, fifteen were approved with modifications, one was denied and
four were approved at the staff level. These figures represent a 98% approval rate for applications
received during the year.
Seventy-nine percent of the cases heard by the ILPC during this period involved minor alterations to
the property in question. Twelve percent involved major alterations or additions, seven percent
involved a proposal to demolish, and two percent involved new construction.
Changes During the Period
In January 2015, Jennifer Minner, PhD. was appointed to the ILPC to fill the vacancy created by the
departure of Commission member Christine O’Malley. There are currently no vacancies on the
Commission. Ms. Minner holds a PhD in Community and Regional Planning from the University of
Texas at Austin, a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Portland State University
and a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Washington – Seattle. She has served on a
preservation commission in Olympia, WA and was a project manager for the creation of a historical
survey web tool for the City of Austin’s Historic Preservation Office. She has significant academic
and professional experience in historic preservation. She is currently an Assistant Professor of City
and Regional Planning at Cornell University in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning.
Trainings and Workshops
Commission member, David Kramer, participated in the two-part “Facilitating Effective
Participation in Public Meetings” training presented by the Tompkins County Council of
Governments (TCCOG) and the Community Dispute Resolution Center (CDRC) on November 14 and
CITY OF ITHACA
108 East Green Street — 3rd Floor Ithaca, New York 14850-5690
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
JOANN CORNISH, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
PHYLLISA A. DeSARNO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Telephone: Planning & Development – 607-274-6550 Community
Development/IURA – 607-274-6559
Email: dgrunder@cityofithaca.org Email: iura@cityofithaca.org
Fax: 607-274-6558 Fax: 607-274-6558
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December 18, 2014. Commission member, Steve Gibian, attended the Traditional Millwork
Conference held by Historic Ithaca at the Hangar Theater on February 28, 2015. Commission
member, Katelin Olson, attended the Landmarks of Western NY Conference held in Geneva, NY in
May 2015.
Historic Inventory Work
In February 2014 the ILPC recommended designation of a portion of W State St/MLK Jr Blvd. as a
local historic district and the residence at 421 N. Albany St, known as the Dennis-Newton House, as
an individual local landmark. The nominations for the Downtown West Historic District and the
Dennis-Newton House were approved by Common Council in April 2015.
Other Major Projects Completed or in Progress
In January 2015, the ILPC approved the construction of a new, multi-unit apartment building in the
East Hill Historic District. Completed in August 2015, the three-story building contains 6, three-
bedroom apartments.
In April 2015 a fire severely damaged 400-404 Stewart Ave, the Chapter House, and completely
destroyed 406 Stewart Ave. While the property owner, project architects, and the Building Division
believed the remaining Chapter House structure could be salvaged, an intensive investigation of the
site by a structural engineer revealed that the fire caused significantly more structural damage than
originally thought. This damage was exacerbated by the building’s exposure to the elements
throughout the summer. The ILPC approved the demolition of the remaining structure in August
2015 and will be reviewing plans for the redevelopment of 400-404 and 406 Stewart Ave early in
2016.
Controversial Cases
In February 2015, a settlement was reached between the City and the owners of 102 E. Court St. in
the DeWitt Park Historic District, who failed to comply with several orders from the Acting Building
Commissioner to remedy the severely deteriorated and unsafe condition of portions of the
residence. The owner was required to remedy all code violations and repair all deteriorated
exterior features. After receiving the necessary approvals from the Building Division and ILPC in
April 2015, work to rehabilitate the porch, damaged windows and altered chimney began in May
and should be completed by February 1, 2016.
In April 2015, the ILPC denied the City’s application to replace a section of stone sidewalk in the
East Hill Historic District with concrete. It was determined that only a replacement in-kind, replacing
the deteriorated stone with new stone, would be appropriate for this section of sidewalk. As
sidewalks are considered a City-owned improvement, the Common Council under Section 228-12 of
the City’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance had the right to review this decision to determine if
the required ILPC action was “prudent and feasible in light of potentially conflicting public
interests.” In May the Common Council voted to uphold the ILPC determination that the stone
sidewalks should be replaced in kind.
Respectfully submitted,
Bryan McCracken
ILPC Secretary