Design District - let's do it

[mikeDOTexe]

Hey all. I've been very interested in helping actualize this proposed Design District for Pahoa. I realize I don't know much of the workings of the CDP here, but think if we put our heads together we can make it happen.

For instance, I hear "Historic Pahoa town" on the radio, but don't know if that's a real "registered" district. According to the PDF available here: http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/hpd/hpregistr.htm, it looks like there are individual buildings in Pahoa that registered, but nothing that shows the town or district.

I sent an email to the Historic Preservation Division and got an informative reply just now. I've bolded items to which I have questions/comments.

quote:

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Dear Mr. Purvis:

The first thing we must do is define the context of "historic". This could be either a popular or official term.

Several of the counties in Hawaii has set up special design districts through use of the zoning codes to maintain the character of special neighborhoods. I would suggest that you check with the County Planning Department for such designations, including their boundaries. Chinatown and the Capitol District on Oahu are examples.

Hawaii has a State Register of historic places that can be individual sites, buildings, or even include districts. To be placed on the Hawaii Register a property owner must submit a nomination application. {MIKE EDIT: http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/forms.htm} The application contains two main sections concentrating on detailed descriptions and significance. Significance can include association with important events, pivital people, outstanding or representative architecture, and potential for adding to our knowledge of significant events. The nomination then goes before the Hawaii State Historic Places Review Board, a group of ten professional volunteers who evaluate the nomination. If the Board OKs the nomination it is placed on the Hawaii Register. The Board can also send the nomination on to the federal level for possible placement on the National Register of Historic Places if the nomination is of more than state-wide significance.

Hawaii law allows the counties to offer discounts on property taxes for homes listed on the Hawaii Register. Federal programs offer commercial properties an investment tax credits. These tax breaks are intended to encourage investment in historic properties for renovation, restoration, and/or adaptive reuse.

Nominations can be for objects, sites, structures, buildings, and districts. Most nominations are for individual parcels, such as a church, but districts such as Honaunau already exist on the Big Island. FYI, the Honokaa community is undertaking the research necessary for a district nomination to the Hawaii Register. This would include the major businesses located in old style buildings along Mamane Street.

I am attaching a list of helpful websites for those interested in historic preservation. Contact me at this email address or via telephone for more information.

Regards,

Ross W. Stephenson, PhD
Architectural Historian
Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division, DLNR
(808) 692-8028

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Looks like I contacted one of the 'good guys'. Before I post the list of links, some notes.

• Will Kenoi's deferred action toward CDP appointees affect our ability to move forward?
  
  
• Somewhere in the links provided by Tiffany Edwards Hunt, I read that getting the Federal historic registration can dampen the effectiveness of local control. I don't have that link, but it's something to remember so we don't push for that nomination.
  
  
• Most importantly, who knows anyone in this Honokaa community? Let's join up and learn from each other.

Here's an image of the flowchart for registering: http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/8950/...istrat.jpg

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links:
LISTING OF HELPFUL HISTORIC PRESERVATION WEBSITES
(UPDATED 03/ 08/2009)

For use of those interested in learning about the Hawaii and National Registers and those considering listing properties on the Registers.

NATIONAL REGISTER

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation: (Examples of government preservation projects): ACHP Case Digest
http://www.achp.gov/casedigest.html

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation: (Laws): Section 106 Regulations Summary
http://www.achp.gov/106summary.html

National Park Service: (Blank) Nomination Forms (MS Word and .pdf versions)
http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/forms.htm

National Park Service: Historic Preservation Tax Incentives
http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/tax/index.htm

National Park Service: How to Complete the National Register Registration Form
http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb16a/

National Park Service: Information and Guidance on Preservation Techniques
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/

National Park Service: Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations
http://www.nps.gov/history/laws.htm

National Park Service: National Register Brochure
http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/brochure/

National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places (Completed) Sample Nominations
http://www.nps.gov/nr/sample_nominations.htm

National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places: National Register Review Checklists
http://www.nps.gov/nr/sample_nominations.htm

National Park Service: Standards for Photographic Submittals
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/policyexpansion.htm

South Carolina Department of Archives and History: (Laws): Section 106 Review of Federal Projects
http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/hpsection106review.htm

West Virginia State Government: (Federal) Historic Preservation Laws at a Glance
http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/preslaws.html

HAWAII STATE REGISTER

Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division: Data Resource Site (Contains office library listings)
http://www6.hawaii.gov/dlnr/shpdgis/

Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division: (Flow chart of) Registration Procedures
http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/hpd/pdfs/regproc.pdf

Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division: Hawaii and National Register of Historic Places Main Page
http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/hpd/hpregister.htm

Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division: (Laws) Chapter 6E: Historic Preservation
http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/hpd/hrs_6_e.htm

Historic Hawaii Foundation: Guide to the Hawaii State Register
http://www.historichawaii.org/HPRC/howto...ISTER.html

Historic Hawaii Foundation: Main Page
http://www.historichawaii.org/Index.html





Hakuna Matata

[Rob Tucker]

Forming a Design District (DD) is separate and independent of the CDP process.

The law and codes for a DD already exist in Planning Code (Planning Department- PD).

A good place to start is the PD where there are existing approved DDs for Honokaa, Waimea and Kona. Those plans can serve as a technical model for a Pahoa DD with what ever modifications the residents of Pahoa Village choose to adopt.

If and when a group of Pahoa folks - Mainstreet Pahoa Association for example - put together a draft version of a DD it can be brought forth in a village meeting or go door to door with a petition.

A substantial level of support for a well drafted DD would then be submitted to the PD for review and the the PD would take it to council for approval.

See? Nothing to it.

I tried a couple years ago and no one seemed interested. Now that reality has sunk in there would likely be more support.

[james weatherford]

"Will Kenoi's deferred action toward CDP appointees affect our ability to move forward?"

It does not have to. See below.

"Forming a Design District (DD) is separate and independent of the CDP process."

Really?
The PCDP Implementation Table (p 5-18) identifies as an Action Item, "Initiate Special Desin District designations for the following areas: Volcano Village, Pahoa Town, Kea`au Town, Kurtistown-Mountain View corridor".
The Timetable shows Volcano and Pahoa both in 2008-2012, and the others 2013-1017.
The Lead Responsibility is the Planning Dept and Supporting Responsibility is the Council.
Does the community need to wait? No.
Like several actions identified in the PCDP process, it is not really necessary to wait to initiate. It will be necessary to get a lot of those actions approved by the Planning Dept, Planning Commission, Council, and Mayor.

James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park

[mdd7000]

A Design District could incorporate Form-Based Codes to ensure that all new buildings or remodels would continue to have the "look and feel" of the area.

[Rob Tucker]

The Puna community development Plan has little or nothing to do with the formation of Design Districts except to mention them in the implementation chart.

Nothing prevents people from forming a district except laziness and lack of concern (Ainokea).

[mwalker]

You guys really need to think this through, what kind of business environment do you want? We have the full on "potential historic districts" here in San Diego operating under the same Federal laws that the OP is wanting to use to get you guys going on it. It is one big pain in the as* if you are in business a homeowner or a contractor. Now if you are a Historical Architect it
is a sweet deal because the regulations will require *any* buildings 45 years old or older go through a special historic review so time and money lost again. And the contribution to the community is minimal, very little really. Great make work for Historic Architects on the publics dime, but it gets worse, the City historical Architect will control the design of *any* building 45 years or older. This is how the Federal law is set up, it is one of the most egregious violations of private property rights we see here. NO ONE likes it except for the City, more fees and more crony jobs. We are sooo unhappy with the way the City abuses this many of us are ready to start an investigation documenting the abuses and try and get rid of the department. At first it was reasonable, they would look at a few pictures check a few records and no worries, then it grew, more information was required, then full submittal plan check, even for a window change at the back of the house!!! 2 weeks to a month lost for *ANYTHING* done to a house 45 years old or older, then the fees went up. It all started under the very same Federal laws as discussed here and it grew, and grew, and grew. Check this out, there is a law called the Mills Act and if you are willing to spend a lot of money and let the City control the design you can get a tax break. Oh no! read the fine print, under the Mills Act even after all the expense (employing historical architects and city fees) the City at any time can revoke your tax status!! You guys need a committee for property owners rights NOT more gov't control and getting into your wallet. Pleae, Please, don't do this to your community you will be as sorry as the Owner Builder that can't even do a little of his own plumbing on his own house. They will have code violation people out writing citations to people that paint their older houses without permission THIS IS NO JOKE it will get that bad. Be aware, it will start out as something else and turn into a beast. It will probably start as a community organization of some type then morph into a department at the County. Kill it before it has a chance, once in place you know how it goes. mw http://www.plansandpermit.com

[Rob Tucker]

Mwalker, You are making a lot of assumptions in advance of fact.

A design district need not be anything that you describe unless people want an architectural review committee.
It is possible and practical for a village like Pahoa to simply put forth a plan on what they do not want more than telling everyone what to do.

Of particular local concern is height and scale of corporate signs and logos.... something eminently doable. Pahoa is hardly the kind of place that will be telling people what color to paint their doors.

I'm not too fearful of Pahoa adopting SoCal architectural review standards.

[Bob Orts]

I think some are confusing legal "Design Standards District" with Historical Districts" and with unofficial by agreement "Design Districts".

The legally designated design standards are usually written into law that requires a specific designated area to build, design and maintain the appearance of an area to an approved standard. Typically you see this when an area is trying to maintain the flavor of the area by having it look a certain way. It doesn’t stop people from building, just that they need to make it blend with what is around them. You will see this in places trying to maintain a colonial look, a European town look, a southwest feel, or a rustic image. The rules can be simple or detailed, all depends.

Official Design Standards are so common place, many people don't realize they exist in their community. But usually the range of the design is very broad resulting in many different types of buildings that although have many similarities, are still unique and diverse enough to give the impression there isn't any design standard. The most common reason to go this route is to ensure the existing flavor is maintained in the face of potential unbridled development.

A legally designated Historic District is a beast unto itself. Unless you know what you’re stepping into, I don't recommend anyone go this route haphazardly.

I would say that Historical Districts usually have the most opposition because many people, who want it, do not realize the extent of the control. Builder/developers and even individuals who lived in historic districts know that many aspects of the property are in other people's hands. Even the little things like the color of your blinds could come into the game.

An unofficial design district isn't written into law but is more an agreement of property owners to maintain a certain feel of the area. The problem with these unofficial design districts are, there are legal ways to opt out and build what is normally permitted by zoning. The successful unofficial districts maintain the feel they are after because everyone knows it’s in their best interest to do so. Fortunately, there can be deed restricts, there could be an association that works with builders/developers to keep the feeling, and there is usually no advantage to a builder/developer to buck the image.

Unofficial design districts are as simple to form as the property owners agree upon. The simpler the intent, the simpler to get agreement. Go too far and you could have property owners torpedo the idea. Once established, it's easier to work on closing any gaps by consensus, but over reach at the start and you could end up with nothing. Most official design standards were born from these unofficial districts. Once people accept the need to maintain the area a certain way for the betterment of all, they have little objection to going formal.

Probably the hardest aspect of any design district is setting the boundaries. Making sure what needs to be included is included and not mistakenly believe that something not part of the district won't impact it. You see this most often when a business areas has a design standard but exempted residential from it. One day a specific flavor is splattered when some glass and vibrant Santa Barbara colored townhouse development goes up right in the middle of your Hawaii plantation look district. Make sure you cover the bases.

[mwalker]

I was reading Historic, really here in San Diego dealing with the historic issues even with the typical southern california mass produced stucco tract house will give you post traumatic syndrome. Community Association design guidelines make sense, watch out for the beast.

[mwalker]

quote:

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Originally posted by mwalker

You guys really need to think this through, what kind of business environment do you want? We have the full on "potential historic districts" here in San Diego operating under the same Federal laws that the OP is wanting to use to get you guys going on it. It is one big pain in the as* if you are in business a homeowner or a contractor. Now if you are a Historical Architect it
is a sweet deal because the regulations will require *any* buildings 45 years old or older go through a special historic review so time and money lost again. And the contribution to the community is minimal, very little really. Great make work for Historic Architects on the publics dime, but it gets worse, the City historical Architect will control the design of *any* building 45 years or older. This is how the Federal law is set up, it is one of the most egregious violations of private property rights we see here. NO ONE likes it except for the City, more fees and more crony jobs. We are sooo unhappy with the way the City abuses this many of us are ready to start an investigation documenting the abuses and try and get rid of the department. At first it was reasonable, they would look at a few pictures check a few records and no worries, then it grew, more information was required, then full submittal plan check, even for a window change at the back of the house!!! 2 weeks to a month lost for *ANYTHING* done to a house 45 years old or older, then the fees went up. It all started under the very same Federal laws as discussed here and it grew, and grew, and grew. Check this out, there is a law called the Mills Act and if you are willing to spend a lot of money and let the City control the design you can get a tax break. Oh no! read the fine print, under the Mills Act even after all the expense (employing historical architects and city fees) the City at any time can revoke your tax status!! You guys need a committee for property owners rights NOT more gov't control and getting into your wallet. Pleae, Please, don't do this to your community you will be as sorry as the Owner Builder that can't even do a little of his own plumbing on his own house. They will have code violation people out writing citations to people that paint their older houses without permission THIS IS NO JOKE it will get that bad. Be aware, it will start out as something else and turn into a beast. It will probably start as a community organization of some type then morph into a department at the County. Kill it before it has a chance, once in place you know how it goes. mw

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