Parkside Historic District heads to City Council; board pushes survey plan, grant timeline

The Colorado Springs Historic Preservation Board was told Tuesday that the Parkside Historic District nomination will be presented to City Council at a public hearing on May 27, after the Planning Commission forwarded the nomination unanimously.

The board was also updated on a draft historic resource survey plan that staff said is nearly complete and now undergoing state review and public comment; staff asked board members to submit comments by May 23 and said the plan will come back to the board in June for further consideration.

"The Parkside Historic District is scheduled for a public hearing...planning commission did forward the Parkside District on to city council by a unanimous vote," said Bill Gray, senior planner with the City of Colorado Springs Planning Department. Gray said the draft survey plan has been circulated by OneDrive, will be posted on a public webpage and has been sent to the state for review, a step required by the grant process.

The draft resolution recognizing May as Historic Preservation Month will be on the May 27 City Council agenda, Gray said; staff proposed that the board participate in presenting the resolution and that it recognize two National Register properties — the Dutse Estate and the Morehouse — and the Clark Side historic district. "I would like to have the HP board there, Christine, and possibly have you or 1 of the board members we appoint to present that resolution," Gray said.

Gray raised grant timing in two places during the meeting. In earlier remarks he said, "the state SHF grant funds would be due in the fall. So October 1." Later in the meeting he said the project's grant deadline "is the June" but that the city obtained a grant extension because it took longer to complete the draft plan. Those two statements appeared in separate parts of the meeting transcript; staff did not provide a single consolidated deadline at the meeting.

Board members were also told that the city's Certified Local Government (CLG) coordinator from History Colorado, Lindsay Elling, will attend the board's June meeting to discuss CLG requirements and that the June meeting will include the historic resource survey plan and two design review applications. Staff noted June and July meetings will be held in the City Planning Conference Room because of a special election.

Staff said they had contacted the owner of the property known as the Navajo Hogan to provide information about historic preservation tax credits; the owner told staff he currently does not plan exterior or interior improvements beyond re-opening the property.

Why this matters: a City Council decision on May 27 could formally place Parkside under local historic overlay protections; the survey plan and related grant funding will shape which future neighborhoods and resource types the city prioritizes for more detailed historic surveys.

Next steps noted at the meeting: staff asked board members to submit written comments on the draft survey plan by May 23; the board will review the plan at its June meeting, when the CLG coordinator is scheduled to attend; and the Parkside nomination will be on the City Council agenda for May 27.