City Council Meeting Date: May 3, 2022
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Revee Needham, Assistant City Planner
Title
Review and Discuss Land Development Code provisions related to the Heritage Preservation Commission.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council is asked to review and discuss LDC amendment options.
Summary Report:
Based on previous discussions, Council gave direction to further explore potential language amendments to the Land Development Code (LDC) regarding the need for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) on a public property within the Historic District. A Council work session was held on April 12, 2022 with some Heritage Preservation Commission members. A link to the work session is attached. At this meeting, Council gave direction to research how other cities handle COAs and to explore changing the HPC appeals process. Staff presented the information to the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) and Planning Commission (PC).
Research of Peer Cities
Staff reviewed 7 peer cities' after direction from Council. These cities included: Albert Lea, Carver, Chaska, Faribault, Hastings, Red Wing, and Stillwater. All 7 of the peer cities have the appeal of HPC decisions go to Council. 6 of the 7 cities answered staff inquiries and responded that the City owns property within the Historic District and has received a COA before. Select language excerpts and links to the cities' codes can be found in the attachment.
City
Who to Appeal HPC decision to?
Does City own land in Historic District?
Has City received COA before?
Albert Lea
Council
Yes
Yes
Carver
Council
Yes
Yes
Chaska
Council
Faribault
Council
Yes
Yes
Hastings
Council
Yes
Yes
Red Wing
Council
Yes
Yes
Stillwater
Council
Yes
Yes
In addition to peer cities, staff reviewed the sample ordinance available from the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). A link to this ordinance is attached to the staff report. In this ordinance, the appeals bo...
Click here for full text