Folsom officials hope to streamline Historic District Commission issues

Folsom officials worked this week to streamline smaller projects around Sutter Street by skipping Historic District Commission review. The Folsom Community Development Department wants to move certain time-consuming commission tasks to director-level approval, Director Pam Johns said in a recent report. "The process to get a project in front of the Historic District Commission for consideration has become expensive and time-consuming," said Associate Planner Josh Kinkade. The extra layer of red tape includes a detailed staff report, city attorney review, publication and distribution, public notices and holding the meeting itself with commissioners, staff and city attorney present. "Given current staff resources, this process typically takes two or more months, even for small projects," said Johns. Officials hope to modify the municipal code to allow less scrutiny for small, relatively minor projects and fixes. The effort also includes further limiting the height, size and setback requirements for accessory buildings, staff said. Outside of the Historic District, residence design review is decided by the community development director and only goes before the Planning Commission if the director's decision is appealed, officials explained. Home additions that don't need a building permit, as well as minor residential modifications, are exempt from design review outside of the Historic District. Sign permits also go to the director. Demolitions outside of the Historic District as well don't need Planning Commission approval. "While this process is valuable for large projects, there have been many questions from staff, the commission, applicants and the public as to why this amount of staff time and public resources should be spent on small projects," Johns said. Folsom staff noticed several times that some folks in the Historic District are not getting permits "at all" for accessory buildings, demolitions and signs. "Throughout the years, applicants have stated that the time it takes to get these permits through the process – versus the cost of the work itself – discourages them from obtaining the proper planning entitlements," the report states. In turn, when planning entitlements are avoided, the corresponding building and demolition permits are avoided, leading to safety and aesthetic concerns. To help cover staff costs during a budget shortfall, the City Council recently approved increases in user fees for all historic development applications. But staff believe the increase for smaller projects may further discourage applicants from going through the process. For example, the new fee for Historic District design review is $400 for existing homes and $800 for new ones. For commercial buildings, the cost is now $5,100 for new projects and $2,210 for existing ones. With the failure of the Measure G tax initiative, officials don't expect much expansion of the department's limited resources for both current projects and important code updates. "As a result, bringing more minor projects to the director level should free up time and resources," Johns said. The commission unanimously voted Wednesday, Aug. 6 to continue the item to the next meeting on Sept. 3 to allow time to fully consider public comments submitted later in the process, said Folsom Spokesperson Christine Brainerd. The commission also directed staff to address additional areas of concern in more detail.