Noah Johnson Daily Press Residents raise their hands to show their opposition to the proposed historical district in Escanaba named the Ogden Triangle. Several did raise their hands in support, but the majority opposed the plan.

By Noah Johnson

Njohson@dailypress.net

ESCANABA – Residents filled Escanaba City Hall on Monday night to ask questions and voice concerns regarding a proposed historical district. The majority of attendees opposed the district.

The proposal would designate a portion of Escanaba (as seen in the graphic) as a historic district named the Ogden Triangle.

The proposal was first brought up in 2016, after the Central Upper Peninsula Planning and Development (CUPPAD) proposed a historic overlay for the area in the City of Escanaba’s 2016 master plan’s future land use map.

Since then, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC, formerly the Historic District Commission) and former planning and zoning administrators have looked into the historic designation process to preserve historic or unique buildings in the city.

The city could accomplish a historic designation with an overlay, a special zoning district placed atop the existing zoned district.

In previous HPC meetings, residents expressed concerns over the extra rules and regulations that would come with a historical district designation.

Residents in the proposed Ogden Triangle were sent mailers informing them of the forum, encouraging them to come and ask questions.

Residents certainly showed up, as staff needed to add more chairs to accommodate the number of attendees.

Attendees heard from Haley Schriber, a Certified Local Government (CLG) and Community Preservation Coordinator with the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).

Schriber, along with members of the HPC and Escanaba Planning and Zoning Administrator Joseph Walker, who began in the role a few months ago, took questions from residents on what a historical district would mean for the area.

“Tonight is about answering your questions and trying to educate a little bit on what this designation would mean,” Walker said.

Karen Flynn asked if residents could opt out of the designation; Schriber said they could not.

“Within a local historic district, we can’t have what we call donuts holes, so saying one parcel is in, one parcel is out. It’s called a benefit for the entire community, and so, there can’t be people that are in, (and) people that are out. That would be very hard for the city to track,” Schriber said.

Another concern involved remodeling or restoration, as residents pointed out that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to match materials from the early 1900s. Finding contractors that specialize in historic restoration is also difficult in the area.

Schriber explained that any work outside of general maintenance to the exterior would need to be approved by the HPC.

“They would use guidance from the Secretary of the Interior standards and interpret those as appropriate for your community. So it really comes down to how your community wants to apply those guidelines,” Schriber said.

“There doesn’t have to be strict, hard lines of what is allowed and what isn’t allowed. It’s usually on a case-by-case basis.”

She clarified that remodels or new builds do not necessarily have to be built exactly as they were over 100 years ago, but the design would, “Probably be more in the sphere of does it match the scale and design of the neighborhood.”

Darolyn Spannuth asked if a structure was remodeled years ago, would the residents be required to restore it.

“If this district went into effect, that would not mean that everything has to automatically go back to what it was and at the time of construction,” Schriber said.

Terry Reynolds asked if he wanted to demolish his home; could he do so under the designation.

“If you were to demolish your home without going through the proper certificate of approval process, there would be fines,” Schriber explained.

Fines could be up to $5,000.

The interior of a home in the district may be renovated or remodeled without permission of the HPC, with exceptions such as public buildings like a city hall or a library.

“That’s usually more of public spaces rather than private ones unless you’re living in something extremely rare, and it’s usually only exterior,” she said.

Residents also pointed out that the designation would raise their property taxes, and their property values would increase.

Schriber said SHPO offers a tax credit program for residential applicants.

“If you are doing the rehab of your home, you can apply for the tax credit. You’re going to get 25 percent back from your qualifying expenses. And that can really help offset some of those larger costs that, if you have to do some sort of major exterior work,” Schriber said.

John Anthony, whose daughter owns a property in the area, asked if the tax credit applies to those who live out of state but own property in Michigan.

Schriber couldn’t provide a definitive answer, but said she believed non-residents would qualify for the credit.

During the forum, city council member and liaison to the HPC Karen Moore noted the objections and asked Schriber if there was an alternative to the designation that would still preserve historic integrity.

“Another potential avenue could be seeking national register designation, that is known as the more the honorary designation that you can still qualify for tax credits, but then there’s no restrictions as in like a review process that you’d have to go through a certain district commission,” Schriber said.

She added that the national designation is a good stepping stone before moving to the local district designation.

As the conversation continued, multiple residents asked about taking a vote of residents who live in the area.

Walker reiterated that no decisions are being made at this time, and the process of establishing a district is guided by the state, which does not require a vote from the residents. He added that he would need to review the city code to confirm if a vote by residents was required.

According to Public Act 169 of 1970, the local legislative body votes on whether or not to approve the district. This decision comes after several possible lengthy steps, including research, studies, and reports.

After hearing from several residents, Moore said she thought the “extreme stories” and examples from other communities were scaring people away from the idea. She said this is just the beginning of the process, and no decision was being made during the meeting.

“We don’t even have a base. We don’t have anything to go from. We have guidelines, and that’s it. And then it would be up to our study community and the community to decide how you build on the guidelines that fit our community,” Moore said.

Multiple residents spoke up from the crowd, with one person saying the area is not going to become a tourist hub just because of its designation. Another took issue with the term extreme, saying they and other residents are clearly concerned about the proposal, as they would be entrusting a committee to determine what they could and could not do to their property.

Moore said she currently has no opinion either way regarding the designation because she doesn’t know enough yet.

“I can honestly say I do not have an opinion because we haven’t zeroed in on what we want. If we zero in on what we want, then I’ll have an opinion,” Moore said.

After roughly an hour and a half, some residents began leaving before Walker took a pole out of the room to see how many attendees supported forming a commission to look into creating a historic district.

In a packed room, multiple people raised their hands in support. However, when asked for a show of hands of those opposed, the majority of the room raised their hands.

After the poll, the meeting concluded.

While no decision was made, it was clear that the majority of attendees opposed the plan, and did not want to move forward with forming the committee.

Should the HPC decide to move forward with the proposal, it will take a good amount of time before it reaches the city council for a final approval or denial.