AgdaPkt 2007-11-05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7A preservation of the subject property in exchange for property tax benefitfage 10 provided by Mills Act contracts. . October 1, 2007: The HRAC conducted a site inspection of the property and recommended approval of the proposed Mills Act Contract program, as revised. (see Attachments 2b and 3). DISCUSSION/ISSUES The historic landmark designation process can be characterized as a three-step process which first involves a recommendation from the HRAC to the Planning Commission. The next step involves a recommendation from the Planning Commission to the City Council and the final action is then taken by the City Council. As is the case for the subject property, individual historic landmark designations can be initiated by the property owner. Generally speaking, the historic designation process involves the evaluation of the "application;" in this case the historic consultant's report (as well as the draft Mills Act Contract proposal), in light of the City's historic designation criteria (see Attachment 4). The City receives numerous inquiries by property owners who seek to designate their property as a historic landmark, not only because of the status associated with the historic designation but also because once designated, landmarked properties become eligible for individual Mills Act Contracts which provide property tax relief benefits. Mills Act contracts are considered by numerous municipalities throughout California as a local preservation incentive which provides yearly tax savings that can be channeled towards the long term maintenance of a property according ,to clear historic rehabilitation standards. This historic preservation program was adopted by the City Council in 1990. Most often, applicants cannot meet the City's designation criteria for landmarking; however, if the City can make the findings that the criteria are met, the property can then qualify for designation as a City landmark and become eligible for a property tax relief contract with the City. The property owner is interested in making a long term commitment towards the appropriate preservation of the subject property and has submitted a 10 year maintenance program, which is the minimum duration for Mills Act Contracts (see Attachment 3). Once approved, each contract is recorded against the title of the subject property and forwarded to the County Assessor's office. In order to insure compliance with the proposed program, staff/HRAC will conduct yearly inspections over the course of the contract. General questions: Q: Why should the City provide property tax relief benefit to this particular building? A: The Historic Preservation Ordinance has very specific criteria that properties must meet in order to be designated as a Historic landmark and thus become eligible for the Mills Act property tax relief program. As a result, a relatively minute number of properties are eligible for this program i.e. out of approximately 16,000 residential parcels only 96 are eligible for this program, (seven Mills Act Contracts have been approved by Redwood City since 1990).