Historic preservation: Asking the candidates
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Our city is fortunate to have such a diverse, extensive collection of historic resources that make our community special, many of which have been highlighted over the years in these articles. Our historic downtown and neighborhoods are the destinations they are today because of the vision, commitment, effort, investment, and oversight of many over decades. This is not something we can take for granted as we look towards the future. Preserving our city’s special character will continue to take vision, commitment, effort, investment, and oversight by city officials and residents.
With the election only two days away, the Foundation thought it would be helpful to voters to know how the candidates view historic preservation. Please note that as a not-for-profit 501(c)3, the Foundation cannot endorse any particular candidate for elected office. Every City Council candidate was contacted. County Supervisors were not asked to participate. Below are the verbatim answers that were received from candidates.
1 Our city has a large number of carriage buildings and barns/ stables that contribute to our architectural heritage that have fallen into disrepair, sometimes because current zoning prevents the property owners from adaptively reusing the structures. What is your solution to prevent the continued disrepair of these important historic accessory structures? Mark Baker, Mayoral Candidate: Addressing not only carriage houses and/ or out-buildings needs the concerted effort of not only the Preservation Foundation as advocates, but also the Land Use boards, Zoning review but leadership from the Mayor’s office to be a conduit to communication and goal setting. It may be possible that some of these properties could be fashioned to address workforce housing/ first homeowner possibilities. We have pride in our community so want to maintain historic properties where possible and to make those properties, tax paying and not fall into disrepair or become eyesores. Meg Kelly, Mayoral Candidate: I would like the city to partner with the Preservation Foundation to host workshops for residents, and possibly bring them together with designers and builders. I would explore the availability of grant funding to support restoration projects for these types of structures. And I would also suggest that the Unified Development Ordinance could include considerations for historic preservation of accessory structures. John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Candidate: The City’s carriage buildings and barns and stables represent our architectural heritage. The City stands to benefit from a proactive partnership with City stakeholders to ensure that the uses for these buildings meet the neighborhood’s expectations and the City’s land use policies. The future of these structures lies in our ability to come together as a community to decide what is best for the neighborhood, the City and the integrity of the structure itself. The great thing about Saratoga Springs is our ability to collectively promote public private partnerships that further the goals of historical preservation. Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance Candidate: I really don’t have a good solution for this well-known problem. I’m hoping that our recent zombie property grant will help us to map these properties and then move forward with a plan to maintain them. Don Braim, Commissioner of Public Safety Candidate: It may be necessary to revisit those Zoning laws to find solutions to this issue while continuing to salvage those properties of concern. In the mean-time the current Code Enforcement Department should be encouraged to be helpful in eliminating or minimizing the further decline and disrepair of those structures you referenced. Peter Martin, Commissioner of Public Safety Candidate: The Comprehensive Plan that our city council adopted in 2015 provides that the city should continue efforts to establish creative mechanisms to protect historic properties in all areas of the community. That plan also provides that we should ensure consistency among various local governmental policies that affect the community’s historic resources. The city will be amending our zoning and land use codes to comply with this Comprehensive Plan in the near future. The codes should allow the conversion of carriage houses and stables in certain neighborhoods, where appropriate, to be used for housing – particularly affordable work force housing. Perhaps a density bonus could be granted if the owners agreed to standards of affordability and preservation.
2 Recently, concerns have been expressed about the design, mass and scale of infill development in and around the city’s core historic district. Do you share those concerns? If you do, what steps should the city take to improve the design of new development projects? Mark Baker, Mayoral Candidate: We are experiencing the challenges of our own successes; high-density infill of the central business core, creating more residential units in the center city. I have some concerns and personal opinions on the recent in-fill development; not worth more than anyone else’s thoughts. But these projects have been vetted through the Land Use Boards--legitimate, legal process. To address future development/redevelopment and the issue of scope, mass and scale of the future will need to be orchestrated by all vested partners in a unified conversation--Community, Mayor, Land Use Board, Zoning, Preservation and interested neighborhood members in the affected areas. When working in unison great things can be accomplished; not end in litigation. Meg Kelly, Mayoral Candidate: Currently we have land use boards that oversee the design, mass and scale of projects. These boards are comprised of professionals who sit on the Design Review, Planning, and Zoning Boards. The appointments to these boards are made by the Mayor. Maximizing economic development in the downtown core is vital to maintaining its success. I believe that the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) is the approach to address transition zones from commercial to residential, and to improve the overall design of new projects in and around the city’s historic district. John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Candidate: There needs to be a balance of infill development in and around the City’s core historic district. Development and preservation need to be balanced, but receptive to the overall goal of economic sustainability. We all need to be open to discussion and positive discourse in promoting community economic stability while preserving those historical districts that form the basis of our community livelihood. Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance Candidate: I am in favor of developing vacant parcels with buildings and architecture that reflects the surrounding neighborhood. Infill is an efficient method of strengthening communities, and it is particularly effective at making use of public infrastructures already in place such as sewer, water, and gas. Of course, infill may lead to over-development of individual parcels, a natural consequence of the drive for profits. Increasing the population of a given area without addressing the ability of that area to absorb it is a major concern. So, to this potential problem, neighborhood revitalization, such as modern sidewalks and streetscaping may also be a part of community infill projects. In some cases, redevelopment may be called for, and repurposing existing properties to meet a current need is always a possibility. Preserving the historic flavor of a given neighborhood slated for an infill project is of paramount importance. Redevelopment should always be as unobtrusive as practicable, and the surrounding communities’ concerns should be addressed and acted upon. Don Braim, Commissioner of Public Safety Candidate: The city should encourage, through its approval process boards, the necessity to design projects that are respectful of the architectural décor of any particular area. New projects need to easily transition themselves into the local architecture of the proposed project site. Peter Martin, Commissioner of Public Safety Candidate: In 2001, the city developed “A Working Plan for Historic Preservation in Saratoga Springs.” The vision statement of this plan states: The community desires to protect its attractiveness for the long term by marrying historic preservation to development in a way that allows the buildings of the past to be carefully maintained and fully utilized. These irreplaceable assets provide the visual benchmarks by which new additions to the community will be judged. The expectation is that new buildings will contribute to the beauty and integrity of the city and complement those built in the past. I agree with this vision. The city should never allow the structural integrity of historic buildings to be compromised for new construction. Recently in Schenectady, a historic building was lost because a neighbor compromised its foundation during the construction of a new building. Our building department should be sensitive to threats of this type.
3 Many areas of the city have buildings that detract from their neighborhoods because they are not being properly maintained by their owners. What measures do you think the city should take to address this situation? Mark Baker, Mayoral Candidate: Property management and up-keep is a simple effort of direct, candid communication with property owners, consistent enforcement and the specific immediate follow-up on fees/fines. Process is not to be punitive but a productive effort in getting the effected properties cleanedup, attractive and back to being a positive part of this award winning city. Meg Kelly, Mayoral Candidate: Vacant and unmaintained properties are addressed through Code Enforcement in the Department of Public Safety. For low-moderate income homeowners, there are funding sources in place through city grant and loan programs repairs and renovations, and federal funds available through block grant funds, which are administered by the city’s Community Development planner in the Planning Department. John Franck, Commissioner of Accounts Candidate: The City continues to make a concerted outreach effort to dialogue with property owners that may be absent or unrealistic about the maintenance of their property form a community perspective. A great deal of communication is occurring between the City Attorney’s Office, Building and Zoning Department, Fire Department and Code Enforcement. City Council continues to provide resources as requested to address the maintenance issues in a positive proactive framework. Sometimes, it takes more time than we might like, but it is important to understand that each of us as homeowners and community members have life issues that may preclude us from doing what needs to be done for property management. Assisting community members in compliance is a positive way of trying to remediate the situation before harsher measures are taken. Michele Madigan, Commissioner of Finance Candidate: The main measure the city can take is through the code enforcement under the Department of Public Safety. They do have the ability to issue citations if an owner is allowing their property to fall into complete disrepair. Don Braim, Commissioner of Public Safety Candidate: It starts with enhanced Code Enforcement. Every effort should be made to encourage property owners to maintain their respective property to a satisfactory level. Reports of non-compliance should be met with a timely response from the Office of Code Enforcement. Peter Martin, Commissioner of Public Safety Candidate: Our city’s Code Enforcement Office (a part of the Public Safety Department) should be given the staffing and the tools to deal with this problem. In some neighborhoods, derelict buildings create a fire hazard for themselves and for neighbors. They are also subject to infestation and can be a threat to public health. During the last year, our city took advantage of a grant made available through the NYS Attorney General’s office to create a program and registry of abandoned “Zombie Properties”. The City should vigorously follow up on these great efforts to further control these dangerous buildings. As we amend our codes, in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan, we should consider empowering Code Enforcement to discourage demolition of historic structures by neglect.
The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation believes that preserving our unique historic downtown and residential neighborhoods plays a critical role in attracting new residents, visitors, and businesses to our community, which directly contributes to the overall high quality of life and economic success of Saratoga Springs. The candidates were asked additional questions so if you are interested in learning more about the candidates and their views please visit our website www.saratogapreservation.org. Hope you find this information helpful when you vote.