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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-11-19-J01zEE Downtown Facade Improvement Program Amendment AGENDA ITEM: CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA CITY COUNCIL MEETING COMMUNICATION MEETING DATE: November 19, 2018 AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of approval of a resolution amending the Downtown Façade Improvement Program FORMAT: Consent SYNOPSIS INCLUDING PRO & CON: The current Downtown Façade Improvement Program includes a process requiring applications to be reviewed with a recommendation provided from the Downtown Design Committee. With the design standards defined and the applications being fairly routine, staff is proposing to discontinue the Downtown Design Committee which will allow applications to be expedited for consideration. The proposed resolution would approve revisions to the Downtown Façade Improvement Program to remove the Downtown Design Committee review process. FISCAL IMPACT INCLUDING COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS: COMMISSION/BOARD/COMMITTEE COMMENT: STAFF REVIEW AND COMMENT: RECOMMENDATION: Staff would recommend approval of the resolution. ATTACHMENTS: I. Proposed Resolution (including revised Façade Improvement Program) PREPARED BY: Brad Deets, Development Services Director REVIEWED BY: PUBLIC NOTICE INFORMATION – NAME OF PUBLICATION: DATE OF PUBLICATION: J1EE THE CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA RESOLUTION 18-____________ RESOLUTION AMENDING THE DOWNTOWN FAÇADE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA WHEREAS, the City of Waukee, Dallas County, State of Iowa, is a duly organized Municipal Organization; AND, WHEREAS, on May 4, 2009, the Waukee City Council approved a downtown master plan (Resolution No. 09-113) as recommended by the 2008 Waukee Comprehensive Plan to further expand the principles and concepts of the comprehensive plan (Resolution No. 08- 200); AND, WHEREAS, on October 24, 2011 the Waukee City Council approved the downtown design guidelines (Resolution No. 11-202) as recommended by the downtown master plan; AND WHEREAS, the City implemented the downtown facade improvement program on March 5, 2012 (Resolution No. 12-50) which encouraged businesses, organizations and property owners located in downtown Waukee to preserve, maintain, and improve the physical appearance of their properties thereby creating an environment that is aesthetically pleasing and assists in facilitating an increase in pedestrian traffic in downtown Waukee as envisioned by the downtown master plan and provided in the downtown design guidelines; AND WHEREAS, that since the program’s implementation the downtown design committee has been required to meet sporadically to evaluate the applications submitted pursuant to the downtown façade improvement program. The sporadic nature and limited frequency of applications under the downtown facade improvement program have led the committee and staff to conclude that applications submitted pursuant to the downtown façade improvement program can be adequately processed through existing Waukee City Staff; AND WHEREAS, as a result, the downtown façade improvement program and its process should be amended to discontinue the downtown design committee in accordance with the recommendation of the committee and City Staff. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City of Waukee City Council that the downtown façade improvement program adopted in Resolution No. 12-50 should be and the same is hereby amended and substituted with the program attached hereto as Exhibit A. Passed by the City Council of the City of Waukee, Iowa, and approved this the ______ day of _________________, 2018. ____________________________ William F. Peard, Mayor Attest: ___________________________________ Rebecca D. Schuett, City Clerk ROLL CALL VOTE AYE NAY ABSENT ABSTAIN Charlie Bottenberg Shelly Hughes Larry R. Lyon Anna Bergman Courtney Clarke 1 Exhibit A THE CITY OF WAUKEE FACADE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM The City of Waukee is committed to fostering an increase in investment and business opportunity in the original downtown area of Waukee. The downtown area has provided an identifiable image of the City’s past and serves as an opportunity to promote community identity into the future. To assist in the continued development of a unified downtown image, the City of Waukee has created a Façade Improvement Program to make financial assistance available to businesses, organizations, and property owners within Downtown Waukee. GOAL: The goal of the Façade Improvement Program is to encourage businesses, organizations, and property owners located in downtown Waukee to preserve, maintain, and improve the physical appearances of their properties thereby creating an environment that is aesthetically pleasing and facilitates an increase in pedestrian traffic in downtown Waukee. OBJECTIVES: 1. Provide matching grants as incentives to facilitate façade improvements 2. Promote façade design that is consistent with the objectives identified in the Downtown Design Guidelines. 3. Ensure that façade designs are sensitive to pedestrian movement, and that the designs contribute and improve the aesthetics of the area. 4. Provide input and advice to help businesses, organizations, and property owners develop design standards that maintain the design integrity of the districts established in the Downtown Design Guidelines. 5. Coordinate the Façade Improvement Program with other economic and business development programs to maximize the impact of improvement efforts. 2 FACADE Improvement Program Eligibility and Guidelines ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: 1. Applicants must be owners of real property that is used for commercial businesses or mixed use (commercial/residential) within the Downtown Area identified in the Downtown Design Guidelines (see attached Downtown Design Guidelines for map). 2. Individual building tenants within the Façade Improvement Program boundaries may apply. Tenants must have written approval from the property owner. 3. Property tax payments must be current. 4. The applicant or agent must possess and provide proof of ownership. 5. All building materials used in improvements to the façade must have a minimum certified life of 30 years. 6. Eligible repairs or improvements shall be to real property and include, but are not limited to: a. Repair to windows, doors, roof, walls, foundation or appropriate architectural elements b. Installation of new doors, windows and appropriate architectural elements. c. Exterior painting d. Removal of inappropriate façade treatment. e. Awnings f. Signage (as a portion of an overall façade improvement project) g. Demolition of existing structures that do not meet the design criteria established in the Downtown Design Guidelines that will lead to the construction of a new structure that complies with the guidelines. GUIDELINES: 1. The amount of Façade Improvement Program matching dollars will be reviewed on a case by case basis. 2. If there are concurrent applications requesting grant awards in excess of the available funds, projects will be ranked by City Staff in order of conformance to the Downtown Design Guidelines and in terms of providing the most significant impact to the vision for downtown established in the Downtown Master Plan. 3. All improvements must be consistent with the Downtown Design Guidelines (see attached). TERMS: 1. In order to receive Façade Improvement Program funds, the application must present true and accurate records of all actual bills paid for construction and installation related to the improvements. 2. Annual grant fund contribution provided by the City of Waukee 3 3. Maximum grant award of $7,500 permitted per project annually. 4. The grant award shall not exceed 50% of the total cost of the improvement(s) to the façade(s). 5. The Waukee City Council, after a positive recommendation from City staff, may award separately at its own discretion a maximum of $1,000 to a project as an additional fund to cover costs for design services or streetscape improvements adjacent to a project. 6. Applicants are required to receive a minimum of 3 bids from separate licensed contractors related to the work requesting use of grant funding. The applicant will also be required to accept the lowest bid encompassing all required improvements proposed in the application. 7. Grant awards are provided as a reimbursement after all associated work on an application has been completed and required documentation of costs has been reviewed. 8. For buildings with multiple tenants or land uses, one application may be made for each tenant or land use of a building. 9. No portion of work started or materials purchased prior to an official notification of funding award will qualify as matching funds toward a project. 10. Each grant recipient agrees to continued maintenance of the façade repair or improvement. 11. The City of Waukee assumes no liability for any work that is done pursuant to the Façade Improvement Program. The applicant agrees to hold The City of Waukee harmless from all liability for any claims. PROCESSING GRANT REQUESTS: Each grant application is reviewed by City staff prior to the application being presented to the City Council. Applicants should expect grant applications will take at least one month prior to review by the Waukee City Council. Final approval and disbursement of monies takes place after the project is complete. 1. Applicant obtains a Façade Improvement Program Grant application from the Development Services Department at Waukee City Hall, 230 W. Hickman Road, Waukee, Iowa 50263. 2. Applicant completes the application and returns it to the Development Services Department for initial review. The application is accompanied by a cost estimate, from a licensed contractor, related to the façade improvement project. A general site plan indicating the location of improvements in relation to surrounding properties and scaled elevation drawings of all proposed improvements must also be submitted. 3. The planning staff in the Development Services Department performs an initial review of application. Staff notifies applicant of initial review findings. If initial review is favorable, staff notifies applicant of proposed meeting at which City Council will take action. 4. The project is presented to the City Council and the Council decides whether to approve or reject the proposal, based on City staff’s recommendation. 5. For projects receiving approval from the City Council, the applicant retains a licensed contractor within 90 days who will complete the façade improvement project within 6 months of approval. If before construction, or at the time of construction, any deviation from the plan presented to the City Council is anticipated, the applicant must contact the Development Services Department 4 before work on the change is started. Also, it should not be assumed that if actual costs are higher than estimated at the time of application that City Council will increase the amount of the grant. 6. Once the project is completed, it is the responsibility of the applicant to notify the Development Services Department so that the final review process can begin. City staff will make a review of the completed project to insure all aspects of the job are in compliance with the approved scope of work. If all aspects of the job are in compliance, City staff will make a recommendation to the City Council to release the funds awarded to the project and direct the Finance Department to begin the disbursement process. The Finance Department will collect receipts from the applicant and will arrange for disbursement. 7. In the case that City staff does not recommend release of funds upon its final review of the application for disbursement, the matter may still be presented to the City Council who will make a final determination regarding approval of the grant and the amount of funds to disburse, which cannot exceed the amount awarded to the project. This decision will be considered final with no option for appeal. The City Council retains the right to give special consideration to applications that do not fit entirely within the program guidelines. The City Council will not discriminate with respect to age, race, gender, religion, creed, national origin or physical ability in its consideration of façade improvement grant applications. 5 Development Services Department 230 W. Hickman Road Waukee, IA 50263 Phone: (515) 978-9533 Fax: (515) 987-1845 Facade Improvement Program Application Date: _____________________ APPLICANT INFORMATION Applicant Name: ___________________________________________________________ Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ___________________________________________________________ Phone Number: (W) ________________________ (H) __________________________ Fax Number: ___________________________________________________________ Property Address: ___________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ___________________________________________________________ SITE INFORMATION Present Land Use: ___________________________________________________________ Proposed Land Use: ___________________________________________________________ Legal Description: ___________________________________________________________ Current Zoning: ___________________________________________________________ PROJECT INFORMATON Briefly describe the proposed façade improvement and timeframe: ___________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Estimated cost of total project: $ _____________________ Grant Funds Requested: $ _____________________ Check the following that apply: □ Site Plan Provided/Attached □ Elevations Provided/Attached □ Itemized List of Costs Associated with Project Provided NOTE: If leaseholder is authorized to act as the property owner’s agent in this grant application and to renovate the property’s façade, property owner must provide an attached notarized letter of authorization on official letterhead stating such authorization. I hereby state that I have reviewed and consent to abide completely by the guidelines, terms and conditions of the City of Waukee Façade Improvement Program. 6 ________________________________________ ______________ Applicant signature Date ________________________________________ ______________ Owner’s Signature (if different from applicant) Date