Council committee: Reducing city parking-space requirement might help save historic church

In a move to reduce the number of parking spaces required outside of businesses, a City Council committee this week discussed how such a reduction at the new Physicians' Clinic of Iowa medical facility might help save a historic church nearby.

At a meeting Monday evening, City Council member Monica Vernon, the chairwoman of the council's Development Committee, noted that St. Luke's Hospital had purchased the vacant First Christian Church, 840 Third Ave. SE, with a possible plan to demolish it to create a surface parking lot with 56 parking spots for the new PCI medical building going up nearby.

City officials reported to the committee that PCI's development plan calls for 1,021 parking spaces, and Vernon suggested that the city change the city parking-space standard to lessen the parking the city requires of the PCI development by at least 56 spaces. The church, as a result, might survive, she said.

Current city regulations require a medical mall facility like PCI's to provide 7 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of space, but the city's Community Development Department now is recommending that the number of spaces be reduced to 5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of space. In fact, PCI obtained a variance from the current city requirements so much of their parking requirements for its new facility is at the 5-space level.

Vernon asked why not reduce the requirement below 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet, and at least far enough below to eliminate the need to demolish the First Christian Church for additional PCI parking?

Council member Pat Shey, who has spoken against the church demolition in the past, joked that the city set the new standard at the number of spaces per 1,000 square feet that equals the number that would equate to 56 fewer spaces than the 1,021 that PCI is now planning for its new medical building on 10th Street SE.

Brad Larson, a city planner, said the city now computes the parking requirement differently for different pieces of a medical development, and he said the requirement was 4 spaces for the square footage of the pharmacy area in the PCI development. He said some cities have a requirement of 3.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet of space for medical facilities.

The city is looking to reduce the required number of parking spaces outside of some businesses because it senses that too often, businesses are required to build parking lots that are too big. Right-sized parking lots mean less pavement and more grass, less stormwater runoff and less cost to builders.

At its Monday meeting, the council's Development Committee discussed parking even as it was addressing a list of the city's 11 most "endangered" historic properties, a list compiled by the city's Historic Preservation Commission that includes the First Christian Church near the PCI development.

Christine Butterfield, the city's community development director, said saving some historic properties can become a "significant" challenge for properties that sit vacant over time.

Maura Pilcher, chairwoman of the Historic Preservation Commission, noted that some historic properties that had been at the top of commission's endangered list have been demolished, though Butterfield noted that the two of those - two worker cottages near the former Sinclair packing plant - came down because they were an imminent threat to public safety.

Vernon told Pilcher that it was incorrect to put the flood-damaged Louis Sullivan-designed bank at 101 Third Ave. SW on an endangered list since the City Council has said since the 2008 flood that it will insist that the bank building be preserved. Pilcher said endangered lists often include "low-hanging fruit" or buildings apt to be preserved so a community can enjoy some preservation victories.

Another of the 11 endangered buildings is the former Link-Belt/Speeder industrial plant at 1201 Sixth St. SW, which has been home to the city's Public Works Department in recent years. The City Council has decided to demolish the building to make way for a new Public Works building, though the council is looking to see if some part of the most architecturally significant piece of the existing building might be incorporated into the new building.

Other buildings on the Historic Preservation Commission's endangered list are: a group of flood-damaged buildings in the 100 and 200 blocks of Third Avenue SW near the Sullivan-designed bank; the Knutson Building, 525 H St. SW; a former fire station at Fifth Street and E Avenue NW; the former First Baptist Church, 1200 Second Ave. SE; a fire station at 1424 B Ave. NE, which the city is going to sell; the Great Furniture Mart Building, 600 First St. SE; the Luther Brewer house at 847 Fourth Ave. SE; and several buildings, including Grant Wood's boyhood home, 318 14th St. NE, near Coe College.

Council members Vernon and Poe said they'd like to see Harrison Elementary School, 1310 11th St. NW, put on the endangered list.