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Old Mill property owners apply to demolish historic structure; planning commission to review for at least one year
Summary
Owners of the Old Mill submitted demolition and conditional‑use materials. Staff briefed council that the planning commission must keep the application pending for at least one year before deciding the conditional‑use item and that a separate certificate of appropriateness for demolition would later require a council decision within 90 days; staff recommended hiring an independent engineer to review applicant studies.
City staff told the Feb. 3 work session that owners of the Old Mill have applied to demolish the structure. The owner supplied engineering and feasibility studies from 2022 and 2024; the city hired an outside firm (Calder Richards) to review the submissions and plans to solicit a third‑party engineer to provide an independent assessment.
Community development director James Fung explained the two parallel review tracks: a planning commission conditional‑use review that must be pending at least one year before a decision, and a later certificate of appropriateness review (for demolition of a historic structure) that the council must decide within a 90‑day window if the applicant applies. Staff said the planning commission will continue public engagement during the review year and will next consider the application at its March 4 meeting; planning packets and applicant studies are posted online.
Council members expressed interest in a city‑commissioned independent engineering review to corroborate or challenge applicant studies and staff said they would issue an RFP or otherwise procure a qualified impartial engineer to verify structural and mitigation claims.
The matter remains in the planning commission process; no council action on demolition has occurred.
