Advocacy Alert: Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone REPEAL

Portland City Council to hold workshop on repealing the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone on Monday, June 13

In February, Portland’s planning board recommended that Portland City Council dissolve the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone (MHNCOZ).

The Council will hold a workshop on Monday, June 13 at 5pm to consider this, with a public hearing and vote scheduled for Wednesday, June 22.

The removal of this zone will significantly impact historic resources on Munjoy Hill that are outside the new historic district!

Greater Portland Landmarks strongly believes that evaluation of the MHNCOZ should occur as part of the broader review of the impact of historic preservation to be completed by Place Economics in September 2022, as well as ReCode Phase II and the revision of the R6 design standards.

With these three major reviews coming up, it is premature to pull the MHNCOZ out for review.

If the MHNCOZ is repealed, we would lose:

• Demolition delay, which allows the city, the property owner and the community an opportunity for conversation and study about the best path forward for the property

• Workforce housing incentive specific only to Munjoy Hill

• Opportunity for review in context of ReCode Phase II

We are afraid that removing the Overlay Zone, which was never meant to be temporary, will result in a divided neighborhood – creating two Munjoy Hills – and destroy the cohesive and vibrant neighborhood we know today.

We encourage you to submit public comment as well as contact city councilors and urge them to delay considering this repeal until the MHNCOZ can be evaluated as part of the ReCode process! To submit written public comment, please send an email to publiccomment@portlandmaine.gov (and be sure to include your name and legal address).

• Access the meeting agenda and informational packet

• Read Landmarks comments to City Council

• Find councilor contact information here

Please reach out with any questions about what the repeal could mean for Munjoy Hill or if you would like assistance in crafting your public comment talking points.

Ian Stevenson, Director of Advocacy
istevenson@portlandlandmarks.org
207.774.5561 x102

November Federal Advocacy Alert: Historic Tax Credit Provision

Historic Tax Credit Provisions REMOVED from bill!

View fullsize

Last week, a new iteration of the reconciliation infrastructure bill was released and was significantly reduced in scope, excluding the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) enhancements and many other community development incentives that were in a prior bill.

With a very limited amount of time to influence the legislation and knowledge that the HTC is currently "out" of the bill, now is the time to tell your federal legislators how much HTC improvements mean to you. As we're seeing in the national news, Congress is poised to move forward on infrastructure legislation, including a vehicle that could carry HTC provisions, as early as next week.

For months, Greater Portland Landmarks has joined preservation supporters across the country to advocate for improvements to the federal Historic Tax Credit program. It's critically important that our members of Congress hear from YOU!

How You Can Help

Sign the National Trust Sign-on Letter

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has organized a National Sign-on letter to encourage congressional leadership to include the HTC enhancement provisions in the final bill. Click here to sign the letter.

Continue to Reach Out to Maine’s Members of Congress

Please ask for Historic Tax Credit enhancement provisions, not included in the “Build Back Better” framework, to be included back in the final reconciliation bill.

• Call the Capitol Switchboard to connect with Maine’s Members of Congress: 202.224.3121

• Introduce yourself as a constituent and provide our legislators with a message like:

"The Historic Tax Credit is the single most important tool for historic preservation. Though the HTC provisions were included in the Ways and Means bill in September, HTC provisions were not included in the recent “Build Back Better” bill. Please make sure to include the HTC provisions in the final reconciliation bill. These provisions would benefit projects from Main Street revitalizations to large-scale rehabilitation while also supporting community revitalization and climate change mitigation.”

October Federal Advocacy Alert

Ask your legislators to support the
Historic Tax Credit enhancement provisions included in the infrastructure legislation.

Your outreach will directly determine
how much support HTC provisions will receive in ongoing negotiations.

As you're seeing in the national news, Congress is poised to move forward on infrastructure legislation, including a vehicle that could carry HTC provisions, as early as next week.

For months, Greater Portland Landmarks has joined preservation supporters across the country to advocate for improvements to the federal Historic Tax Credit program. The $3.5 trillion bill recently passed by the House Ways & Means Committee is expected to be significantly reduced in size and scope. It's critically important that your member of Congress hear from you that the HTC provisions included in the Ways & Means reconciliation package remain in the next version of the package.

The following HTC provisions are at risk:

• Temporarily Increasing the HTCs From 20% to 30% for all projects. (Sec. 135301)

• Permanent increase in the rehabilitation credit for small projects. (Sec. 135302)

• Modification of substantial rehabilitation definition. (Sec. 135303)

• Elimination of basis adjustment. (Sec. 135304)

• Modifications of tax-exempt use leasing rules. (Sec. 135305)

• Enabling HTCs to be used for public school buildings. (Sec. 135306)

How can you help?

We encourage you to reach out and express to our legislators the impact Historic Tax Credits have on economic development and affordable housing creation in Maine communities today! Will you join us?

Call Your Members of Congress (during office hours)! To call the Capitol Switchboard to connect with your House Member and Senators dial (202)-224-3121, then:

Introduce yourself as a constituent!

Then say…

"The Historic Tax Credit is the single most important tool for historic preservation. Unfortunately, it has not been meaningfully improved since the 1980s. Please support and protect the Historic Tax Credit provisions in the House Reconciliation Infrastructure Bill. The provisions included in the House version of the bill would benefit Maine by rehabilitating downtowns and helping to fund affordable housing projects. Plus reusing our existing buildings helps to mitigate climate change. The greenest building is the one already built, so please help us preserve more and preserve better!"

or email them now through their websites:

These projects and more have benefited from the Federal Historic Tax Credit program.

Federal Advocacy Alert

Ask your legislators to support the
Historic Tax Credit enhancement provisions included in the infrastructure legislation.

Your outreach will directly determine
how much support HTC provisions will receive in ongoing negotiations with the Biden Administration.

For months, Greater Portland Landmarks has joined preservation supporters across the country to advocate for improvements to the federal Historic Tax Credit program. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee passed a key piece of infrastructure legislation that will expand and improve a number of community development incentives.

Historic Tax Credit provisions, similar to the House version of the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (HTC-GO/H.R. 2294), were included in the legislation and passed out of committee on a vote of 24 to 19. The following HTC provisions were included in the bill passed out of the Ways and Means Committee:

• Temporarily Increasing the HTC From 20% to 30% for all projects. (Sec. 135301)

• Permanent increase in the rehabilitation credit for small projects. (Sec. 135302)

• Modification of substantial rehabilitation definition. (Sec. 135303)

• Elimination of basis adjustment. (Sec. 135304)

• Modifications of tax-exempt use leasing rules. (Sec. 135305)

• Enabling HTC to be used for public school buildings. (Sec. 135306)

How can you help?

While Senate Democrats are in control of the present phase of negotiations and Maine doesn't have a Democratic Senator, we encourage you to reach out and express to our legislators the impact Historic Tax Credits have on economic development and affordable housing creation in Maine communities today! Will you join us?

Despite strong support in the House, the Biden Administration is currently negotiating with House and Senate leadership to reduce the cost and scope of the bill. All historic tax credit provisions are in jeopardy of reduction or elimination.

March 3rd Meeting of Portland's Historic Preservation Board

PUBLIC HEARING - Eastern Cemetery Marker Replacement

Greater Portland Landmarks supports the retention of historic materials to the greatest extent feasible. We encourage all the stakeholders to consult a stone conservator prior to making a decision on this application to replace the historic table stone and to consider alternative ways to provide supplemental information about the significance of the interred individual to visitors and researchers.
For More Information>>

WORKSHOP - 200 Federal Street

Greater Portland Landmarks concurs with the staff comments, that given the eclectic character of the development’s context and the lack of strong architectural cues to inform the design, there is a greater opportunity for design freedom at this location than might be the case in a more homogeneous context like Exchange Street or Commercial Street. Buildings in the Congress Street Historic District are significant for their eclecticism of scale, construction era, architectural style, and materials. The openness of proposed three-story base stands in stark contrast to the foreboding character of the bases at One City Center, Two Monument Square, and even 400 Congress Street. The base will have the most immediate visual impact on pedestrians. We encourage the board to carefully consider the details of this portion of the building and the small pocket park as the design progress in order to enliven the pedestrian experience in this area.

Tonight we express our support for the overall massing, and the visual moves the design team has used to break down the mass when seem from a distance. We thank the applicant for the variety of views they have used to illustrate the visual impact of the proposed building on various historic landmarks, parks, and historic areas.
For More Information>>

WORKSHOP - 275 State Street

The applicant wants to remove the exterior fire escape that was added in the late 20th century.

Landmarks concurs with the staff report findings that the removal of the added fire escape provides an opportunity to return key elements of this Colonial Revival residential structure to its documented appearance. The 1924 tax photo of the building should set the direction for any replacement work and help to guide decisions where design modifications are necessary.

For More Information>>

How Can You Provide Public Comment in a Portland City Council Meeting?

The Portland City Council is meeting remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. City Council meetings as always are live-streamed, but you cannot provide public comment unless you use ZOOM! Landmarks will share the February 1st ZOOM meeting link and telephone numbers as soon as the meeting agenda is posted. Written public comment can continue to be submitted to the City Council via email.

Below are the steps and protocols for attending and participating in a city meeting using ZOOM. Please note that virtual participation in a meeting does not require a camera, but will require audio/speakers to listen to the meeting, as well as a microphone or telephone to participate in the public comment period of the meeting.

During the meeting, the Council will open up public comment on an agenda item. If you wish to speak you must “raise your hand” by selecting the hand icon (see below) on your computer screen or by dialing *9 on your phone. Only raise your hand when public comment is announced by the moderator. Raising your hand puts you in a queue to speak. If you decide not to speak, you can tap the icon again to lower your hand.

Use the hand icon to raise your hand in order to speak during public comment.

When it is your turn to speak, the moderator will call your name or, if you are using your phone, call out the last few digits of your phone number. You will be prompted to “unmute” yourself. Either select the unmute button on your computer screen (see below), or if you are calling in on your phone, dial *6.

When the moderator calls on you to speak, you will see a small screen similar to this appear, select “Unmute” to speak.

You will then have three minutes to speak. Please begin by stating your name and place of residence for the record. It can be helpful to write down beforehand what you want to say – or make notes on the points you’d like to make - so that you are sure to be able to have time for all you want to say. As you near the end of your three minutes, the moderator will give you a 30 second warning so you can wrap up your comments. At the end of your time, you will then be muted by the moderator.  

---

If you haven’t used ZOOM before, here are the steps to join a meeting:

When joining a city meeting, type in the meeting ID # into the box, then click join.

To join the meeting using ZOOM on your computer:

1.       Click the internet link to the meeting or when in the ZOOM app, select ‘join a meeting” and enter the meeting ID when prompted (see above). The meeting ID is a 9 to 11 digit number provided on the meeting agenda listed next to “Webinar ID”.

2.       You maybe asked to enter your name, then prompted to join the meeting by tapping “join”. *Note your microphone will be muted automatically when you join the meeting.

If your computer does not have a microphone, you can call in on your phone. To dial in by phone:

1.       Dial the “Dial-In by Phone” number provided on the meeting agenda.

2.       You will be prompted to enter the meeting ID. The meeting ID is a 9 to 11 digit number provided on the agenda listed next to “Webinar ID”.

3.       You may be prompted to enter your unique participant ID. If so, just press # to skip this step.

4.       Once you have joined the meeting the following commands can be entered using your phone's key pad while in the Zoom meeting:

*6 - Toggle mute/unmute

*9 - Raise hand

If you have trouble and the moderator cannot hear you or you do not unmute yourself when called upon, the moderator will disable you temporarily and lower your raised hand, allowing the next person “in line” to speak. This will give you a chance to fix any difficulties. If you are skipped over due to technical difficulties that have been resolved, raise your hand again if you still wish to speak, and you will be added back into the queue by the moderator.

To leave the meeting, just select “Leave Meeting.”

More information on ZOOM and participating in a Portland virtual city meeting is available here!

Support the Munjoy Hill Historic District: Email City Council

The Portland City Council will hold a vote on the proposed Munjoy Hill Historic District on Monday, February 1! We need you to email Mayor Snyder and the City Council before the meeting - there are 3 new Councilors who have not heard your support!

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Copy these email addresses into the TO: line of your email: ksnyder@portlandmaine.gov, pali@portlandmaine.gov, tchong@portlandmaine.gov, mdion@portlandmaine.gov, afournier@portlandmaine.gov, Azarro@portlandmaine.gov, nmm@portlandmaine.gov, bsr@portlandmaine.gov, sthibodeau@portlandmaine.gov, planningboard@portlandmaine.gov
 

Use the SUBJECT: Please support the Munjoy Hill Historic District!

State your name & place of residence, and copy this message (or add your own personalized message):

Mayor Snyder and City Councilors,
I urge you to support the proposed Munjoy Hill Historic District. The district will protect those properties that reflect the unique history of the hill and its residents for the last 180 years, including immigrants from Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, Africa, and the Caribbean. The district will also support sustainability and affordable housing goals established in the City’s 2017 comprehensive plan.

Hundreds of units of affordable housing, as well as new market rate units, have been built in Portland’s existing historic districts in the last five years. Portland’s historic districts provide access to federal and state Historic Tax Credits, significant funding for challenging housing projects. Reusing and improving our existing building stock will also significantly help meet our goals to cut carbon emissions, reducing the need for the manufacture and transportation of new building materials - as well as reducing the amount of building demolition materials that enter our waste stream. 

Please vote to support the district. Thank you.

SEND before noon on Friday, 1/29!

GET THE FACTS ON THE MUNJOY HILL HISTORIC DISTRICT:

See Landmarks’ comments to City Council for the 2/1 meeting and vote.

Read more about the proposed historic district here.

Learn about how historic districts positively impact affordable housing.

Advocacy in December

It is a busy meeting week in Portland! There will be a City Council workshop on Wednesday to set goals for the Council in 2021. There will also be Planning Board, Historic Preservation Board, and Public Art meetings this wek. Read on to learn more about the projects that are expected to be discussed this week:

Portland Planning Board meeting - Tuesday, December 15th @6PM

A rendering of the redeveloped hospital building from Spring Street.

The redevelopment of 148 State Street, the current Mercy Hospital building, will be on the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting. The planning board will hold a public hearing on a proposal to rezone the hospital parcels from R6 to B3, a zone change that would accommodate denser housing on the site and some small scale commercial uses in the lower floors of the existing hospital building that would be challenging to reuse as residential. The rezoning request by the applicant was expanded at the request of city staff to include the mostly non-residential buildings on the opposite side of State Street, including St. Luke’s Church, the State Street Church, and Landmarks’ former offices at 165 State Street. Below is Landmarks’ statement for the public hearing on Tuesday.

Mercy Hospital's history began in 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic. Tonight, over 100 years later in the midst of yet another pandemic, we are discussing the redevelopment of the iconic hospital building on State Street built by the Sisters of Mercy during World War II from 1941-1943. Greater Portland Landmarks is pleased to support the redevelopment of the Mercy Hospital parcels and the proposed rezoning, which we believe will bring new life to the two historic buildings and provide much needed new housing and care facility beds in Portland. The proposed redevelopment project is an excellent example of how historic districts and buildings can accommodate new housing, particularly affordable housing. The proposed rezoning will also provide greater flexibility for the reuse of other non-residential historic buildings on State Street if they too should need to be redeveloped sometime in the future. 

The rezoning of the Mercy Hospital parcels is only the first step in the process of the site's redevelopment. We are hopeful, given the renderings thus far, that the proposed new construction and site features will be designed to knit together the fabric of the neighborhood along Winter, Gray, and State Streets.  Street trees, building details, and pedestrian transitions between the sidewalk and buildings entrances will be important design elements to consider as the site is developed so that the new buildings will fit within the context of the historic neighborhood. We look forward to the project progressing through the Historic Preservation Board and Site Plan Reviews and to its successful redevelopment as Mercy Hospital consolidates its functions to its Fore River campus. - Greater Portland Landmarks 12/15/2020

Join the zoom meeting or contact the Planning Board at planning@portlandmaine.gov

---

Portland Historic Preservation Board Meeting - Wednesday, December 16th at 5PM

There are three items on the Board’s agenda this week. The Westin Hotel on High Street, the hotel under construction at 1 Center Street and the building at 110 Exchange Street are all proposing rooftop additions.

Join the zoom meeting

A proposed new residential unit atop the building at 110 Exchange Street.

A proposed deck on the rooftop of the Westin Hotel.

---

Portland Public Art Meeting - Wednesday, December 16th at 4PM

The Public Art Committee is expected to discuss the final renderings of the Congress Square Plaza public art piece and the status of the process of the Bramhall Square redesign. While no images were included with the agenda, if any are posted during the meeting, we will update the blog and share them with you!

Join the zoom meeting

---

City Council Workshop - Wednesday, December 16th at 5PM

Meeting agenda

Join the zoom meeting

10 Facts about the proposed Munjoy Hill Historic District

For nearly three years, the historic designation process has yielded a tremendous amount of information and prompted passionate discussion. These conversations have also revealed misconceptions and misinformation about the Munjoy Hill Historic District.

View fullsize

As the district heads to a city council vote, we’re here to clear things up with some of the most important facts about the proposed District.

1.      The Munjoy Hill Historic District was initiated by Portland City Council and city staff in June 2018 in response to residents concerned about development pressure, and to fulfill preservation, sustainability, and affordable housing goals central to Portland’s Comprehensive Plan.

(Source: City of Portland Staff Memo July 1, 2020: While the zoning amendments, demolition delay ordinance and revised R6 design standards and design review process were adopted by the Council in June, the Council was not yet in a position to make a financial decision on staff's proposal to create a historic district on Munjoy Hill. As staff explained, Portland's historic preservation ordinance requires that detailed documentation and analysis be conducted in order to delineate district boundaries and make the case for designation. As of June 2018, staff was simply seeking the Council's general support for moving forward with consideration of a district. With the Council's support, the work got underway late last summer.)

2.      More than 80% of public comments received by the city so far are IN FAVOR of the proposed District. (Source: Public Comment Received To Date)

3.      The proposed district protects buildings that reflect the story of Portland’s most historically diverse neighborhood. Over the past 180 years, the Hill has been home to a robust Black community and immigrants from Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean – the District will preserve the stories of communities underrepresented in Portland’s other historic designations. (Source: Munjoy Hill Historic District Development & Context Statement April 2019)

The buildings on Munjoy Hill represent several major periods of significance (1850s-1930s) in Portland’s development and history:

View fullsize

• Expansion of the Eastern Waterfront

• Rebuilding after the Great Fire of 1866

• Turn of the 20th century Immigration                      

• Portland’s Black History 

4.      Historic designation is NOT a factor included in property valuation, and historic districts have no impact on property taxes. (Source: City of Portland Tax Assessor Chris Huff)

5.      Portland’s Historic Preservation ordinance does NOT place costly or onerous requirements on homeowners. The regulations are much looser than in many other cities – nobody’s going to regulate your paint colors! Only exterior changes visible from the street are regulated, in-kind replacements of modern materials are allowed, and the ordinance doesn’t apply to interior changes or building use. Decks, garages, and solar panels have all been approved. (Source: Portland Historic Preservation Program FAQ)

View fullsize

• See more recently approved projects from the proposed Munjoy Hill Historic District

View fullsize

Population Density in Portland’s Historic Districts

6.      New housing and increased density is possible in historic districts - 46% of Portland’s new housing units added in the past five years were built in an area subject to Historic Preservation Board review. Accessory dwelling units, additions, new units within existing buildings, and new infill housing are allowed in local historic districts. Portland’s historic districts include some of the city’s densest neighborhoods. (Source: Portland, Maine Population Density, 2018 American Community Survey, US Census Bureau)

• Click here to read the Standards for Review of New Construction in Portland’s Historic Preservation Ordinance.

• Click here to learn more about housing and community development in Portland.

7.      Historic Districts support affordable housing. Demolition and building new is expensive, and older housing stock is rarely replaced with affordable units.

View fullsize

8.      Historic districts make buildings eligible for state and federal tax credits that make many affordable housing projects possible. Greater Portland Landmarks, along with other organizations across the country, are advocating for technical changes to tax credit programs that will make them easier to pair with low-income housing tax credits.

• Click here to read the new Maine Historic Tax Credit Economic Impacts Report.

• Click here to read 24 Reasons Historic Preservation is Good for Your Community from PlaceEconomics.

9.      Building reuse fights climate change and supports local and state sustainability goals. Reuse is greener than demolition and new construction - it takes an average of 20-30 years for a new energy efficient building to compensate for the initial carbon impacts from construction. (Source: The Greenest Building: Qualifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse)

10.      The Munjoy Hill Conservation Overlay District is a separate land use tool that was implemented in 2018 with the intention that it would work in conjunction with a future historic district. As with most new zoning, the city will audit the overlay and make adjustments, probably as part of the planned city-wide zoning re-write, known as ReCode Phase II. (Source: ReCode Portland)

How to Participate in the Munjoy Hill Historic District Virtual Public Meeting

Join the zoom meeting via this link.

When prompted, use your full name to register as an attendee. You will never be seen on video, you will only be heard when the moderator allows you to speak.

You can also call in to the meeting with your phone to speak. Use the phone number 312-626-6799 and follow the prompts. The webinar ID is 841 4318 1611 and the passcode is 861430.

When public comment opens on a specific agenda item, the moderator will announce it. To indicate you want to speak, you will "raise your hand" - click the raise your hand button (depending on your device, it will be at the bottom of the screen or in the upper right).

The moderator or chair will recognize you and ask you by name to unmute your microphone. A small window will pop up. Select the unmute option. You will have three minutes to speak. We suggest writing notes beforehand to read! When you are finished, you can click mute to mute yourself or the moderator will can turn off your mic after 3 minutes.

That's it! To leave the meeting, you can click "leave meeting".