City of Charlottesville Department of Neighborhood Development Services Staff Report Joint City Council And Planning Commission Public Hearing Application for Designation of Property as an Individually Protected Property Application Number: ZT-22-00001 and ZM-22-00001 Date of Hearing: July 12, 2022 Project Planner: Brian Haluska, AICP Staff Report prepared by: Jeff Werner, AICP, Preservation and Design Planner Date of Staff Report: June 29, 2022 Applicant: Dairy Holdings, LLC Applicant’s Representative(s): Joe Wregge Current Property Owner: Dairy Holdings, LLC Application Information Property Street Address: 415/415-B 10th Street NW Tax Map & Parcel: 004046000 Total Square Footage/ Acreage Site: Approx. 0.19 acres (8,450 square feet) Comprehensive Plan (General Land Use Plan): General Residential (Sensitive Community Areas) Current Zoning Classification: R-1S (Residential Single-Family Small Lot) Proposed Zoning Classification: B-2 Commercial Overlay District: None (IPP designation requested) Applicant’s Request: Dairy Holdings, LLC requests rezoning to designate as an Individually Protected Property (IPP) an approximately 0.19-acre parcel with three existing structures—referred to as church, parish hall, and rectory--at the NE corner of 10th Street, NW and Grady Avenue. This request would amend City Code Section 34-273(b), designating the parcel an IPP, and City Code Section 34-1, adding to the parcel the overlay of a Minor Architectural Design Control District. Designation of an IPP follows the process for an amendment to the City's zoning ordinance and zoning map, including a public hearing and notification. In reviewing the requested designation, City Council shall consider the recommendations of the Planning Commission and the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) regarding criteria found in City Code Section 34-274. The church, parish hall, and rectory were originally constructed elsewhere and relocated to this site in--or soon after--1939 by the congregation of Trinity Episcopal Church. The church, built in 1910 in Palmyra (Fluvanna County), was disassembled and moved to 10th Street in 1939. According 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 1 to church history, either in 1939 or very soon after, the parish hall and rectory were either moved to 10th Street from other locations or constructed new; however, their origins and dates of construction are uncertain. (Between 1919 and 1939, Trinity was located at what is now a pocket park at intersection of West High Street and Preston Avenue. The acquisition of land for Lane High School and McIntire Road forced the congregation’s move to 10 th Street, leaving behind a church and, possibly, a separate dwelling, which were razed. In 1974, the congregation moved from 10th Street to its present location at 1118 Preston Avenue.) Vicinity Map: Context Map 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 2 Standard of Review – IPP Designation Sec. 34-274. - Additions to and deletions from districts or protected property list. a) City council may, by ordinance, from time to time, designate additional properties and areas for inclusion within a major design control district; remove properties from a major design control district; designate individual buildings, structures or landmarks as protected properties; or remove individual buildings, structure or landmarks from the city's list of protected properties. Any such action shall be undertaken following the rules and procedures applicable to the adoption of amendments to the city's zoning ordinance and zoning map. b) Prior to the adoption of any such ordinance, the city council shall consider the recommendations of the planning commission and the board of architectural review ("BAR") as to the proposed addition, removal or designation. The commission and BAR shall address the following criteria in making their recommendations: [listed below with staff comments inserted] (1) The historic, architectural or cultural significance, if any, of a building, structure or site and whether it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR); Staff Comment: The property is not currently listed on the NRHP or the VLR. In 2020, the City completed an architectural and historical survey of 434 properties within the 10th and Page Neighborhood, which included 415/415-B 10th Street NW and the three structures on the property. The review board of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources recommended the 10th and Page Neighborhood Historic District be eligible for listing on the VLR and NRHP, with Trinity’s former church, parish hall, and rectory identified as contributing resources; however, the buildings were not recommended for individual listing at that time. The church and parish hall are significant for their wood- frame vernacular Gothic architecture as well as for the role Trinity Episcopal Church’s members played in the Charlottesville community in the twentieth century, especially during the City’s local civil rights movement. (2) The association of the building, structure or site with an historic person or event or with a renowned architect or master craftsman; 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 3 Staff Comment: The property contains three structures, but only the history of the church building is clearly known. The building was built in 1910 in Palmyra, Fluvanna County, and was designed by C. Chastain Cocke. Preliminary research identifies Cocke as a contractor and bridge builder in Fluvanna County, but neither his architecture or other buildings are renowned or prominent. The property is associated with those twentieth-century leaders of the City’s African- American community who attended Trinity Episcopal Church and the church itself made significant strides to unite and empower Black Charlottesville residents during the City’s era of segregation. Rev. Cornelius Dawson, Rev. Henry Mitchell, and George Ferguson were part of the Trinity Church community and all distinguished leaders in Charlottesville’s civil rights movement. Rev. Dawson led Trinity Episcopal Church between 1936 and 1946 and assisted local nurse Daisy Green in founding the Janie Porter Barrett Nursery School, a preschool that first served African-American families and remains Virginia’s longest-operating daycare. Rev. Mitchell helmed the church between 1958 and 1977 and launched the Trinity Program in 1964, which provided Black children with summer camp activities as well as year-round preschool services. Rev. Mitchell was also the first Black president of the Charlottesville school board. George Ferguson was an active congregant at the church and a prominent Black undertaker in Charlottesville. Ferguson led the Charlottesville NAACP as president and campaigned to integrate the University of Virginia hospital. Given Trinity Church’s ties with these three significant leaders and the services that the church itself sponsored, like the Trinity Program, to serve Charlottesville’s Black community during the twentieth century, the three buildings are significant for their association with historic people and events. (3) The overall aesthetic quality of the building, structure or site and whether it is or would be an integral part of an existing design control district; Staff Comment: The three buildings are striking and attractive framed structures that are significantly visible at the busy intersection of 10th Street NW and Preston and Grady avenues. The church building is the most prominent of the three buildings. The wood-frame vernacular Gothic building is articulated with a steep front-end gable roof and inset pointed-arch bargeboard that creates a recess framing a circular window and the front entrance beneath. The building is further complemented by pointed-arch windows that illuminate the sanctuary. 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 4 The former parish hall and rectory, are architecturally simpler than the church building. The parish hall is a one-story gable-roofed wood building with two-over-two sash windows and asbestos siding. The rectory resembles many other early twentieth- century dwellings in Charlottesville: it is a two-story wood house with a front-facing gable roof, one-over-one sash windows, and a gable-roofed front porch. Even though the church possesses more striking visual qualities than the parish hall or rectory, all three buildings complement each other and together are still clearly legible as a mid-twentieth-century church campus. The property is not within an existing City-designated Architectural Design Control (ADC) District. It is ¼-mile east of the Rugby Road-University Circle-Venable Neighborhood ADC District; 1/3-mile north of the Wertland Street and West Main ADC Districts; and within a few blocks of three IPPs. (4) The age and condition of a building or structure; Staff Comment: Only construction date of the church is confidently known: 1910 in Palmyra, VA, then disassembled and moved in 1939. The parish hall and rectory were reportedly relocated from other sites, though possibly constructed as new buildings at 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 5 the present site. A 1937 aerial image (below) of the site suggests that neither building was present at least two years prior to the church being relocated here in in 1939. All three buildings have existed at the present site for 83 years. The present owner recently conducted exterior repairs to the church and parish hall. The buildings are in good to fair condition. (During the July 12, 2022 Planning Commission meeting, the owner’s representative commented that in 2020 the following had been completed on the church and parish hall: misc. repairs and panting of exterior; reglaze the windows; update the MEP systems and equipment; alterations for ADA accessibility; repairs to a foundation wall; and expose the rafters within the parish hall.) 1937 aerial image of site. Parcel highlighted in orange. No buildings present. (https://geoportal.lib.virginia.edu/UVAImageDiscovery/) (5) Whether a building or structure is of old or distinctive design, texture and material; Staff Comment: The vernacular Gothic architectural language employed on the church is relatively uncommon in the city and distinguishes the church from other buildings in Charlottesville. This vernacular Gothic style is conveyed through the pointed-arch bargeboard in the front gable, the circular window on its façade, and the pointed-arch windows on all elevations. Its wood construction is also uncommon for church buildings in the city. (6) The degree to which the distinguishing character, qualities or materials of a building, structure or site have been retained; Staff Comment: The vernacular Gothic architectural language employed at the church is relatively uncommon in the city and distinguishes the church from other buildings in Charlottesville. 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 6 The completeness of the church campus is also a distinguishing quality of the site; together, the church building, parish hall, and rectory all served essential purposes for a functioning church in the twentieth century. All three buildings were critical to Trinity Episcopal Church operations and together, still contribute to the site’s historic character. (7) Whether a building or structure, or any of its features, represents an infrequent or the first or last remaining example of a particular detail or type of architecture in the city; Staff Comment: The church and parish hall are rare surviving examples of wood church buildings within Charlottesville city limits. Most of the City’s surviving churches built before 1960 are masonry (brick or concrete block). Of the City’s landmark church buildings that are historically associated with Charlottesville’s African-American community, most are masonry: Mt. Zion Baptist Church (105 Ridge Street, constructed 1884), First Baptist Church [also Delevan Baptist Church] (632 West Main Street, constructed 1877), Ebenezer Baptist Church (113 6th Street NW, constructed 1894, rebuilt 1907), and Church of God in Christ (132 Rosser Avenue East, constructed 1947). Within the City, staff identified only two other surviving wood churches built before 1960: the Woolen Mills Chapel (1819 E. Market Street, constructed 1887) and the former Bethel Baptist Church building (501 Commerce Street, constructed 1920). Given the rarity of wood churches in Charlottesville, the church and parish hall at 415 10th Street merit protection. From the 2020 survey: This site has been the location of a neighborhood religious organization for over fifty years. The architecture of both the dwelling and the church building complex is one of the few intact examples of a mid-20th century African American religious landscape in Charlottesville. While, some of the original fabric has been altered on the parish house and the church annex, the chapel remains intact. The value of Trinity Episcopal lies in its role as a community gathering place and house of worship serving the 10th and Page neighborhood and the larger city of Charlottesville. (8) Whether a building or structure is part of a geographically definable area within which there exists a significant concentration or continuity of buildings or structures that are linked by past events or, aesthetically, by plan or physical development, or within which there exist a number of buildings or structures separated geographically but linked by association or history. Staff Comment: The buildings lie at the NE corner of the historically working-class, predominately African American neighborhood known as 10th and Page. The church was culturally and historically an integral part of that neighborhood, more so than representing an aesthetic or architectural relationship to the neighborhood. The property is also linked to other landmark church buildings historically associated with Charlottesville’s Black community. Of these, three are within City-designated Architectural 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 7 Design Control Districts and one is designated an Individually Protected Property: Mt. Zion Baptist Church (105 Ridge Street, constructed 1884), First Baptist Church [also Delevan Baptist Church] (632 West Main Street, constructed 1877), Ebenezer Baptist Church (113 6th Street NW, constructed 1894, rebuilt 1907), and Church of God in Christ (132 Rosser Avenue East, IPP, constructed 1947). Standard of Review – Rezoning The Planning Commission must make an advisory recommendation to the City Council. Council may amend the zoning district classification of this property upon finding that the proposed amendment would serve the interests of “public necessity, convenience, general welfare, or good zoning practice.” To advise Council, the Planning should evaluate: 1) Whether the proposed amendment conforms to the general guidelines and policies contained in the comprehensive plan; Staff Comment: The IPP designation is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. From Chapter 4 - Land Use, Urban Form, And Historic & Cultural Preservation: • Goal 3. Balance Conservation and Preservation With Change: Protect and enhance the existing distinct identities of the city’s neighborhoods and places while promoting and prioritizing infill development, housing options, a mix of uses, and sustainable reuse in our community. • Goal 6. Design Excellence: Continue Charlottesville’s history of architectural and design excellence by maintaining traditional urban design features and valuing historic resources while encouraging creative, context-sensitive, contemporary planning and design that supports the goals of the Comprehensive Plan. • Goal 8. Expand Understanding and Recognition Of Community History And Culture: Identify ways to expand the understanding, presentation, and interpretation of the varied histories, cultures, and experiences of the city’s residents and neighborhoods. • Goal 11. Historic Resource Protection: Provide effective protection of Charlottesville’s historic resources, including through recognition and incentives. o Strategy 11.1 Preserve historic resources through education and collaboration focused on maintaining our neighborhoods’ core historic fabric (while encouraging reuse of structures), our major routes of tourism, and our public spaces. o Strategy 11.2 When appropriate, consider neighborhoods or areas for designation as local historic districts (either Architectural Design Control Districts or Historic Conservation Districts), and consider Individually Protected Property designations, based on architectural and historic survey results. 2) Whether the proposed amendment will further the purposes of this chapter and the general welfare of the entire community; 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 8 Staff Comment: No longer used by an active congregation—though that is permitted by the requested B-2 zoning—the former Trinity Episcopal Church is an important cultural and historical landmark for the City and especially for the surrounding neighborhoods. During the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, Trinity’s clergy and congregation were leaders in the City’s Civil Rights movement. Historically, this parcel anchored the NE corner of the 10th and Page Neighborhood, where the residential character transitioned to commercial/industrial employment center along Preston Avenue, such as the City Laundry, Monticello Dairy, and several automobile service businesses. 3) Whether there is a need and justification for the change; and Staff Comment: IPP designation is an overlay and will not impact the underlying zoning or the uses allowed by it. BAR approval is required for certain demolition, new construction, and alterations associated with an IPP, thus the designation is reasonable and appropriate as a method to further protect the character and integrity of this property. 4) When pertaining to a change in the zoning district classification of property, the effect of the proposed change, if any, on the property itself, on surrounding property, and on public services and facilities. Staff Comment: IPP designation is an overlay and will not impact the underlying zoning or the uses allowed by it. Public Comments Received: Community Meeting Required by Z.O. Sec. 34-41(c)(2) and the Community Engagement meeting Requirements during the COVID -19 Emergency approved by City Council on July 20, 2020 On April 27, 2022 the applicant held a community meeting at the Brick Cellar inside Dairy Market at 946 Grady Avenue at 6:00 pm. Ten members of the public attended the meeting. The meeting was recorded and is available to the public through the developer. Several members of the public stated their preference that the owner seek historic designation of the Subject Property to ensure the building on the site would remain. On June 10, 2022 the City’s Historic Resources Committee sent to the Planning Commission and City Council a letter requesting they “initiate the process necessary to establish 415 10th Street, NW, as a locally designated historic property, with the church, parish hall, and rectory as contributing structures.” Note: At its July 19, 2022 meeting the City’s Board of Architectural review will the proposed IPP and make a recommendation to Council, per Sec. 34-274. Additions to and deletions from districts or protected property list. 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 9 Staff Recommendation: The Planning Commission should recommend, based on the criteria found in Section 34-274, that it is appropriate for Council to amend Code Sec. 34-273 the add this parcel to the list of IPPs and to amend the Zoning Map to designate this parcel as an IPP, with the church, parish hall, and rectory as contributing structures. Suggested Motions: 1. “I move to recommend that City Council approve ZT-22-00001 and ZM-22-00001 amending and reenacting the Zoning Map incorporated within Section 34-1 of the Charlottesville City Code, 1990, as amended, by the rezoning of 415/415-B 10th Street NW (Parcel 4-46) to add a historic overlay district designation to the property, and also amending and reenacting Section 34-273 of the Charlottesville City Code, 1990 as amended, to add this property to the City’s list of Individually Protected Properties. Or 2. “I move to recommend that City Council deny the petitions (ZT-22-00001 and ZM-22- 00001) to rezone this property as an Individually Protected Property.” Attachments: 1. Zoning text amendment ZT22-00001 – Proposed language 2. City’s 1981 Historical Survey of 415 10th Street NW. 3. VDHR VCRIS documentation from the 2020 survey. 4. Photos and maps. Other citations for additional reference: • Trinity Episcopal Church: Our History. https://trinityepiscopalcville.org/about-us/our-history/ • 106 Group, April 2020. [VDHR] Preliminary Information Form for 10th and Page Historic District. • 106 Group, June 2020. Reconnaissance Architectural History Survey Of The 10th And Page Neighborhood: Charlottesville, Virginia. • Brennan, Eryn, 2012. Religious Communities in Transition: Three African-American Churches in Preston Heights. 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 10 Attachment 1 Sec. 34-273. - Individually protected properties. […] (b) Following is a list of landmarks, buildings and structures outside the city's major design control districts, which are deemed by city council to be of special historic, cultural, or architectural value (each, individually, a "Protected Property"). Each parcel containing a protected property is hereby designated a minor design control district. […] 71.1 414/415-B Tenth [10th] Street, NW Tax Map 4 Parcel 46 Note: The number 71.1 is used to maintain the alphabetical order of the IPP list. 415 10th IPP – ZT and ZM (June 29, 2022) 11 415 10th Street, NW (2019/2020 survey) 415 10th Street, NW (2019/2020 survey) 415 10th Street, NW (2019/2020 survey) 415 10th Street, NW (2019/2020 survey) 415 10th Street, NW (2019/2020 survey) 415 10th Street, NW (2019/2020 survey) Attachment 4: Photos and maps for 415 10th St NW IPP - July 12, 2022 Page 1 of 5 1920 location of Trinity Episcopal Church: 213 W. High Street City GIS 1920 Sanborn Map Note: This is the location of the congregation in 1920. This building was reportedly razed after the congregation relocated to 10th Street. Attachment 4: Photos and maps for 415 10th St NW IPP - July 12, 2022 Page 2 of 5 c1937 location of Trinity Episcopal Church: 213 W. High Street 1937 https://geoportal.lib.virginia.edu/UVAImageDiscovery/ 1937 https://geoportal.lib.virginia.edu/UVAImageDiscovery/ City GIS Attachment 4: Photos and maps for 415 10th St NW IPP - July 12, 2022 Page 3 of 5 1957 former location of Trinity Episcopal Church: 213 W. High Street 1957 https://geoportal.lib.virginia.edu/UVAImageDiscovery/ Images not at same scale 1957 location of Trinity Episcopal Church on 10th Street, NW 1957 https://geoportal.lib.virginia.edu/UVAImageDiscovery/ Attachment 4: Photos and maps for 415 10th St NW IPP - July 12, 2022 Page 4 of 5 1920 Sanborn Map at 10th Street and Grady Avenue Grady Ave City GIS (current) 10th Street Grady Ave 1920 Sanborn Map 10th St NW Attachment 4: Photos and maps for 415 10th St NW IPP - July 12, 2022 Page 5 of 5 c1960 Sanborn Map at 10th Street and Grady Avenue Grady Ave City GIS (current) 10th Street Grady Ave c1960 Sanborn Map 10th St NW