Iowa City council delays decision on cottages

After months of public discussion, gatherings, and committee meetings, the Iowa City Council's formal discussion on the two remaining Dubuque Street cottages will have to wait a few more weeks.

Following close to two hours of public comment Tuesday, the Iowa City Council voted 5-2, with council members Kingsley Botchway and Jim Throgmorton opposed, to continue the public hearing and defer the first reading on Friends of Historic Preservation's request to designate the two remaining cottages as local historic landmarks.

The decision was made after it was clear the council would not reach the necessary supermajority vote required to approve the requested rezoning. The council will pick up the item on Feb. 9, following a consultation with the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.

"We'll all come back and have this conversation again," Mayor Matt Hayek said.

Outside of that, the council members did not share their opinions on the requested designation.

If approved, historic designation requires a Historic Preservation Commission review and approval before any significant changes can be made to the exterior of the properties at 608 and 610 S. Dubuque St. It also allows the property owner to transfer development rights from the cottage sites to other Riverfront Crossings District properties and some zoning exceptions.

Discussion over the three mid-19th century cottages on the 600 block of S. Dubuque Street began late last year when property owner Ted Pacha requested rezoning of the properties while presenting plans detailing mixed-use development on the site.

Members of the public - many of whom addressed the council Tuesday - have picked sides in the cottage discussion, with some arguing for preservation because of the historic value of the cottages, while others say doing so would infringe on Pacha's rights as a property owner.

Rockne Cole, local attorney representing the tenants of 608 and 610 S. Dubuque St., called for preservation, alluding to efforts last year to preserve the historically significant Tate Arms Building on Benton Street, which made use of density bonuses to preserve the building.

"That is the precise balance that our comprehensive plan calls for," Cole said.

Pacha, however, said the requested preservation would impede on his rights as a property owner.

"This isn't about the properties on Dubuque Street, this is about the property owners of Iowa City," he said. "I am extremely worn out by this process."

Most recently, the discussion has grown beyond Iowa City's borders.

On Friday, attorney Michael Pugh, representing the Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association, wrote the council asking that the cottages not be designated historic landmarks because the lost possibilities in development outweigh any 'nostalgic benefit,” according to the letter.

A Tuesday media release from Friends of Historic Preservation states that Preservation Iowa, a statewide historic preservation organization, added the Dubuque Street cottages to the group's 'Iowa's Most Endangered Properties” list.

Last month, the southernmost cottage at 614 S. Dubuque St. was demolished, despite unanimous votes by the city's Historic Preservation Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission recommending historic landmark designation.

Pacha faces three $250 municipal infractions from the city for maintaining structurally unsound buildings - after one of two engineering reports stated the buildings are unsafe - and is in the middle of a temporary injunction request from a local attorney representing the tenants of the remaining two cottages.

A judge has not ruled on the injunction and the first hearing for Pacha's infractions is slated for Feb. 5.