HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 ILPC Annual Report
To: Mayor and Common Council
From: Bryan McCracken, Historic Preservation Planner
Re.: 2016 Annual Report of the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission
Date: March 21, 2017
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, 2015 – September 30, 2016. 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 10/1/15 through 9/30/16, the ILPC heard 36 cases requesting Certificates of
Appropriateness for exterior alterations to locally designated historic properties. Of these, ten
were approved as presented, fourteen were approved with modifications, three were denied, three
were approved at subsequent site visits, and six were delegated to and approved by staff. These
figures represent an 85% approval rate for applications received during the reporting period. Sixty
percent of the cases heard by the ILPC during this period involved minor alterations to the property
in question. Twenty-four percent involved major alterations or additions, five percent involved
demolition proposals, and twelve percent involved new construction.
In addition to the applications reviewed by the Commission, staff reviewed and approved 70 projects at
57 designated properties. Staff level reviews included in-kind roof replacement projects, whole-house
heat pump system installations, and masonry repairs.
Trainings and Workshops
In August 2016, staff organized a retreat for the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission to
discuss historic preservation practices in other communities and reoccurring design issues.
Preservation Planners from the Cities of Binghamton and Rochester attended the meeting to talk
about preservation issues and design challenges in their communities. Staff from Historic Ithaca
also attended to provide prospective on preservation advocacy efforts in the region. The group
engaged in an interesting dialogue about differing preservation priorities and approaches in each
city.
During the reporting period, Commission members David Kramer and Ed Finegan attended a
seminar presented by Historic Ithaca and The New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) on
the Historic Homeowner Tax Credit program in April 2016. Commission member Steven Gibian
attended the “Historic Tax Credit Program and Appropriate Design” seminar, a 1 CEU class,
presented by Preservation Studios on April 28, 2016 and the “heated meetings” training presented
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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by the Community Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. in December 2015. Commission member
Jennifer Minner attended and presented at the Association for Preservation Technologies (APT)
conference in November 2015; attended the Livable Cities Research Convening in Washington, DC
organized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in May 2016; and attended the national
American Planning Association meeting in Phoenix in April 2016 and presented on a Special Issue of
the Journal of the American Planning Association on Historic Preservation, of which she was a co-
editor. Additionally, staff attended the Statewide Preservation Conference in Troy in April 2016.
Other Major Projects Completed or in Progress
In January 2016, the ILPC approved the reconstruction of “The Chapter House” at 400-404 Stewart
Ave in the East Hill Historic District. The Commission also approved the construction of three-and-
one-half story, multi-unit apartment building at 406 Stewart Ave in March 2016. Construction of
these buildings is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2017.
Controversial Cases
As noted in the 2015 Annual Report, the City of Ithaca successfully prosecuted an affirmative
maintenance case against the owners of 102 E. Court St., located in the DeWitt Park Historic
District. Work to repair the severe deterioration was satisfactorily completed in April 2016.
Similarly in March 2016, the City of Ithaca successfully prosecuted an affirmative maintenance case
against the owner of 421 N. Albany St. In addition to paying a substantial fine, the property owner
was ordered to complete the repairs to the property’s badly deteriorated exterior by December 31,
2016. Due to some delays, the repair work will not be completed until March 2017. 421 N. Albany
St was designated as an individual local landmark in 2015 and is historically significant for its
association with the formation of the nation’s first African American collegiate fraternal
organization, Alpha Phi Alpha, in 1906. In 2016, it was included on the Preservation League of New
York State’s list of “Seven to Save,” a biennial list of endangered or threatened historic properties in
New York State, and was also listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
In early January 2016, HOLT/ Travis submitted their preliminary design for the redevelopment of
Old County Library property at 310-314 N. Cayuga St, located in the DeWitt Park Historic District,
and after over a year of meetings, the ILPC issued a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at
their regularly scheduled meeting on February 14, 2017. Throughout the process, the
Commission’s principal concern was the size, scale and m assing of the proposed new building and
how it would relate to other buildings within the historic district. The project site is located in an
area of the historic district that transitions from large-scale civic, religious and educational buildings
to small-scale residential structures. To be compatible with the historic character of this area, the
new building needed to relate to both building scales. The approved building design achieved this
by pulling back from the curbs along N. Cayuga and W. Court Streets and stepping back the third
and fourth stories, visually reducing the building’s perceived size, scale and mass.
In May 2016, the ILPC denied the City’s application to replace red Medina sandstone curb along the
300 and 400 blocks of N Tioga St in the De Witt Park Historic District with granite. A highly durable
material, the sandstone curbs were likely installed when N Tioga St was paved in brick in the early
20th century and are considered a character defining feature of the DeWitt Park Historic District’s
streetscape. When the street was reconstructed in late August/early September, the sandstone
curbs were salvaged, cleaned, and reinstalled. New sandstone for damaged or missing sections of
curb was sourced from a regional salvage company. The reuse of the Medina sandstone curbs did
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not add additional costs to the street replacement project and preserved an important character
defining feature of the historic streetscape.
Other Activities
Staff served on the application review panel for the Preservation League of New York State’s fall
funding round of the “Preserve New York” grant. This competitive grant program, funded in
partnership by the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the
Arts, awards up to $10,000 to municipalities and not-for-profits for historic structure reports,
building condition reports, cultural landscape reports, and cultural resource surveys.
Respectfully submitted,
Bryan McCracken
ILPC Secretary