Title
Requesting a Planning Commission study of zoning changes to create an historic use variance that would allow the original historic use of a structure in any zoning district.
Body
WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Saint Paul finds that historic use variance ordinances can be used to ensure adaptive re-use of historic structures within all zoning districts in the City, and that preservation and adaptive re-use of historic structures are well-established comprehensive goals of the City; and
WHEREAS, the Council further finds that historic use variance ordinances can contribute to the health, welfare, and safety of the public by preserving, protecting, and perpetuating the value of some of Saint Paul’s treasured historic buildings and sites by providing an historic use for the structure even if it is not currently allowed in that particular zoning district in which the structure or site sits, and serve as a valuable economic development tool; and
WHEREAS, the Historic Preservation Plan, part of the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan and adopted by the City Council on March 11, 2009, includes Policy 5.3 which states as its goal to ”realize the full economic potential of key historic resources by (a) rehabilitating key historic resources to serve as a catalyst for additional development in adjacent areas, and (b) integrate historic properties into new development to strengthen sense of place and provide a link between old and new;” Policy 5.4 which states as its goal to “invest in historic resources along transit corridors as part of a larger neighborhood revitalization and reinvestment strategy;” Policy 5.5 which states as its goal to “develop land use and regulatory incentives to make it easier and more feasible to rehabilitate” historic resources by developing “an ordinance that allows historic variances in order to alleviate undue hardships created by the historic character of designated properties and is consistent with the authority granted by State statute;...
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