A debate over historic preservation in one of Des Moines oldest neighborhoods is dividing neighbors.

The River Bend Neighborhood Association is expected to vote July 25 on whether it will pursue the expansion of a local historic district.

Property owners living in historic districts are required to follow certain architectural guidelines when making repairs or updates to their properties. Things like artificial siding and vinyl windows are typically prohibited.

Those who support the expansion say it is needed to preserve the neighborhood's historic character and to ensure homeowners have access to state and federal tax credits to help pay for historic preservation projects. They argue defending the area's history raises property values and attracts economic development.

Not everyone is on board with the idea. Dozens of residents have attended neighborhood meetings to oppose the plan. They say limiting the materials and styles that homeowners can use drives up renovation costs, making it harder for low-income residents to live in the neighborhood.

Boom to bust, to boom again

Located just north of downtown, the River Bend neighborhood was founded in the 1880s as North Des Moines, a suburb for downtown workers.

The area, which includes many stately Victorian homes, was annexed by Des Moines in 1890.

During the Depression and World War II, many houses were divided into multi-family units to feed a growing need for affordable housing. By 1960, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had declared the area a slum.

Since 1986, when the River Bend Neighborhood Association was formed and started to drive out drug dealers and prostitutes, there has been a grassroots effort to revive the neighborhood to its past prominence.

In 2012, four sections of the neighborhood were classified as a local historic district.

Since then, property values have increased. They were up 6.9 percent in 2013, 10.6 percent in 2015 and 10.3 percent in 2017, according to the Polk County Assessor's Office, which calculates values every two years based on sale prices compared to homes' assessed values.

Investors are buying and rehabilitating dilapidated houses and Sixth Avenue is undergoing a major revitalization.

But the neighborhood still struggles with blight. For every restored home, there are several neglected properties.

It also struggles with poverty. Thirty five percent of residents are below the federal poverty level, according to city documents. The 2010 U.S. Census showed 60 percent of people in the River Bend ZIP code were renters.

Historic district drives up repair costs

When Chris and Sarah Chiaramonte bought their three-story Victorian home in 2015, they had no idea it was a part of a historic district.

The couple wanted to live in the River Bend neighborhood, where Sarah founded a program that draws dozens of children to Bates Park every Tuesday night for a free meal and activities.

“When we lived in West Des Moines it was hard to build relationships with the parents,” she said. “Finally, we decided this is what we want, to live in a diverse neighborhood and have relationships with the people we’re spending all our time with anyway.”

They purchased a fixer-upper on Franklin Avenue for $137,000. The garage roof sagged, the porch teetered and some of the home's wooden windows no longer opened.

The couple bought 40 vinyl windows and began installation. But an hour into their first project, they received a cease and desist order from the city.

Homeowners in local historic districts are required to obtain a "certificate of appropriateness" from the city's Historic Preservation Commission before making any alteration to a home's exterior appearance.

The commission evaluated the Chiaramontes' home and determined its wood windows were original and should be preserved or replaced with windows made from a similar material.

“To replace a wood window is more expensive,” Chris Chiaramonte said. “We ended up selling our vinyl windows for 20 cents on the dollar to somebody random. They were custom-made and we couldn’t return them. We lost a bunch of money.”

Now the couple wants to replace the garage with the sagging roof. The historic preservation commission has told them the new garage must be "carriage house" style to match the era in which their home was built. The Chiaramontes say that will increase the cost of the project by 40 percent, or about $30,000.

They say that expanding River Bend's historic district will leave more struggling families unable to afford to repair their homes.

Protecting history, investment

Breanne Barnum, president of the River Bend Neighborhood Association, says expanding the district will benefit rather than hurt homeowners.

It opens up state and federal tax credits that can cover as much as 45 percent of a homeowner's historic preservation project.

It also encourages landowners to make investments in their properties by ensuring that investment won't be hurt by neighboring properties, she said.

"It allows peace of mind for homeowners who do invest and own property, that a similar investment would happen for their neighbors, which affects their own property values," Barnum said. "If a neighbor decides to take out all windows and put in windows that aren’t in harmony with the history, that hurts my property value."

The River Bend Neighborhood Association's preservation efforts date back to at least the 1990s when it worked to get four areas listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The listing qualifies properties for state and federal tax credits.

The group later commissioned a 100-page history of the properties on Seventh and Eighth streets south of Franklin Avenue and north of College Avenue.

In 2012, the current local historic district was established along Ninth Street from University Avenue to the Des Moines River, and along Arlington and Oakland avenues.

That district gave Des Moines the ability to enforce its historic preservation code. The city can penalize homeowners who make changes that do not conform to its guidelines for historic preservation.

In 2016, River Bend resident John Wise replaced a broken vinyl window with a new vinyl window. A neighbor reported him to the city's historic preservation commission, which ordered he replace the new window with a wood window to match the era when his home was built.

Wise appealed his case to the Des Moines City Council, which sided with the commission's ruling.

In March, the city filed a civil infraction against Wise in district court, ordering him to pay a $750 fine. Wise eventually agreed to replace the vinyl window with a wood one by September and the city agreed to drop the fine.

Barnum said when she moved to River Bend in 2009 she knew very little about historic preservation. She works for the Children and Family Urban Movement, a community support group with a presence in the area.

Her real estate agent told her to replace all the windows on her 112-year-old home. But she discovered through the neighborhood association that the historic wooden windows were in great shape.

Barnum said she saved thousands of dollars by restoring her windows instead of buying new.

"Historic preservation is also about sustainability. We have to stop being a throw away society," she said. "Repair what’s good and stop throwing stuff away."

Her husband restores historic homes for a living. He has rehabilitated two homes in the River Bend historic district and recently purchased an eightplex that would be part of the proposed expanded district.

Historic homes present lead threat

River Bend is located in one of four ZIP codes where the Polk County Health Department has detected higher numbers of children with elevated levels of lead in their blood.

Lead poisoning can cause permanent brain damage in young children, who can ingest it through many ways like eating paint chipped from the windows in older homes.

The Victorian home where Jodi Bruce raises her 5-year-old granddaughter, Zi’Leyah, was built in the early 1900s. It's located in the six block area where the River Bend Neighborhood Association wants to expand its historic district.

Replacing antique lead-painted wood windows with vinyl windows is the best way to ensure they are lead-safe, said Laurie Gust, a lead trainer and risk assessor for the Polk County Health Department.

However, historic district guidelines ban vinyl windows, and new wood windows are often too expensive for homeowners. The only option left for some is to paint over the lead paint with lead-free paint.

That's what happened when Bruce contact the Polk County Health Department’s lead abatement program. It offers home fixes to get rid of lead paint at no cost to qualified residents.

Bruce's home is not currently in River Bend's local historic district, but since it is in a national historic district, the county was required to follow federal preservation guidelines. It wet-scraped, washed and repainted Bruce’s windows and wooden siding.

“As long as there is lead in the window, the family is living with risk," Polk County Health Department Director Rick Kozin said. "We can minimize the risk for as long as we can, but if we can’t take out the window we can’t eliminate the risk.”

A sign opposing the local historic district expansion is posted in Bruce’s front yard. Signs are posted in the majority of her neighbor’s yards, too.

“I don’t think it’s fair for someone to come in and tell me what I can and cannot do to my home,” Bruce said. “I will fight them to the end on this.”

Sherman Hill shows potential

Des Moines has three historic districts: River Bend and Sherman Hill, both near downtown, and Owl's Head, located south of Grand Avenue between 28th and 29th streets.

Sherman Hill was placed on the National Historic Registry in 1979 and designated as local historic district in 1982.

Jack Porter, a resident since 1977, credits the historic designation for turning around the neighborhood.

In the 1970s, Porter said red-lining was rampant in Sherman Hill. Banks and insurance companies refused to grant mortgages, he said.

“It didn’t matter how much we made or what color we were,” Porter said. “There definitely was a bias against inner-city neighborhoods.”

The neighborhood started a tour of homes to get people inside the historic homes so they could see past the rough exteriors, Porter said.

“The whole purpose of being in a historic neighborhood is ... to help the homeowner that lives in the neighborhood so it’s not only safe but it’s also continuing to grow in value,” he said.

Chris Chiaramonte said he sees similarities between Sherman Hill and River Bend.

“Ultimately, I know (River Bend residents) don’t like to hear the word Sherman Hill, but in my opinion that’s kind of where it’s headed,” he said.

“I feel like (River Bend) is one of most affordable neighborhoods in city of Des Moines, and all of this historical district stuff is going to make it so it’s not,” he said.

Neighborhood support is first step

River Bend resident Monika Owczarski is collecting signatures of those opposed to the expanded historic district.

“It’s ultimately the City Council who will decide,” she said. “Our next move is to talk with them and make them aware of the widespread opposition in these blocks.”

If the neighborhood association decides to support the expansion, it will write a letter of support detailing the desired boundary changes.

The proposal would first be reviewed by the State Historic Preservation Office, then the city's Historic Preservation Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission, which would make recommendations to the Des Moines City Council.

Breann Bye, a River Bend resident and member of the Historic Preservation Commission, said she’s leaning in favor of the expansion.

“We’ve seen the benefit of the existing local historic district and we’ve seen the appeal of the district with diverse people moving in,” Bye said.

She said the commission looking into ways to support lower-income residents with projects should the district expand.