To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Vincent Smith, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Jose Cortez, Assistant Planner
TITLE:
Title
Preservation of Qualified Historical Property at 1130 First Street
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Authorize the City Manager, on behalf of the City, to execute the Mills Act Historic Preservation Agreement for the Gordon Building at 1130 First Street.
Body
DISCUSSION:
BACKGROUND
The City has received a request for approval of a Mills Act Contract on a property that is being restored. The Mills Act Contract is requested for the purpose of obtaining financial resources to help off-set the cost of repairs that the owners incurred in their efforts to restore and preserve the subject historic building and for ongoing preservation of the building. No new work is proposed with this request. The Applicant was issued a building permit on January 4, 2019 and was granted a Historic Clearance for such work. The scope of work associated with the Historic Clearance included interior demolition, miscellaneous interior repairs, and exterior repairs including restoration of windows and other defining features. A more detailed description of the work is provided in Section 3 of this report. The work is expected to be completed in the second half of 2020. The full restoration plan is further described in the Project Description and the Restoration Plan, attached as Attachment 2 and Attachment 3, respectively.
MILLS ACT CONTRACT REVIEW
Mills Act: The Mills Act was adopted by the State legislature in 1972. The Mills Act provides a means for an owner to reduce property taxes on a historic property in exchange for an agreement with a local government entity that the owners maintain the property's historic character. The purpose is to encourage the renovation and maintenance of historic properties throughout the State by providing a tax incentive. It is similar to the Williamson Act which encourages the prese...
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