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2005-12-08 Historic Preservation Commission MinutesHISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES December 8, 2005 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting of the Edmonds Historic Preservation Commission was called to order at 3:30 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of City Hall, 121 — 51 Avenue North. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT COMMISSIONERS ABSENT STAFF PRESENT Stephen Waite, Chair Deborah Binder Rob Chave, Planning and Dev. Services Manager Brian Hall Diane, Cunningham, Planning and Dev. Services Barbara Kindness Norma Bruns OTHERS PRESENT Christine Deiner-Karr Francis Chapin, Arts Commission Michael Plunkett Rob VanTassell Commissioner Binder was excused from the meeting. READING/APPROVAL OF MINUTES COMMISSIONER HALL MOVED THAT THE MINUTES BE APPROVED AS SUBMITTED. COMMISSIONER KINDNESS SECONDED THE MOTION. Chair Waite recalled at the last meeting some Commissioners raised a concern about the need for the Commission and other groups in the City to work better together. He expressed that he has had just the opposite experience. The Historic Preservation Commission has had great opportunities to work with other Commissions in the City. His communications with the Arts group have been very positive, and they have expressed a desire to work with the Commission. Council Member Plunkett asked if Chair Waite wanted the minutes to be altered to reflect a different conversation than the one that was recorded. He pointed out that the recorder listened to the discussion from the meeting to draft the statements in the minutes. Chair Waite clarified that he was not suggesting that the minutes be changed, only that his opinion is different than the one reflected in the minutes. The Commission agreed that the minutes accurately reflect what was said at the meeting. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ANNOUNCEMENT OF AGENDA No changes were made to the agenda as proposed. REQUESTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Chair Waite introduced Francis Chapin, Edmonds Arts Commission. Ms. Chapin said she was present to let the Commission know that they have moved ahead with locating a designer to work on elements for both the Arts Commission and Historic Preservation Commission brochures. She said it is her hope that all the Commissions in the City can work together in a very positive way. She feels the Arts Commission works well with the Historic Preservation Commission, the Sister City Commission, and other entities. Ms. Chapin referred to comments that were previously made by Historic Preservation Commissioners that the Arts Commission does not feel that architecture is a form of art. While they felt that art could include architecture, for the purposes of a tourism brochure on public art, it would be way too much to try and put it all together into one brochure. For their brochure, the Arts Commission will be using funding from tourism promotion funds, and there are specific legal limitations on what the funds can be used for. Creating brochures to attract visitors is one of the uses. When creating a tourism brochure, it is important to make sure it is visually appealing and not overwhelming in the amount of information provided. The Arts Commission felt that creating two companion pieces would result in a much stronger set of materials for tourism purposes than one large brochure. Ms. Chapin thanked the Commissioners who attended the workshop meetings regarding the City's plans for 4t1i Avenue. She encouraged them to continue to participate in the process. The next workshop would be held on January 18' or 19', but no location has been selected. Chair Waite advised that he and Commissioner Deiner-Karr were asked to attend the workshops on behalf of the Commission, and they both are enthusiastic about the consultant's work and what is being proposed. Ms. Chapin pointed out that participation from the public would be a key to the process, and she encouraged the Commissioners to invite and remind others in the community to attend. Commissioner Kindness asked if the Arts Commission has ever considered a three -pronged effort between the Edmonds Museum, the Historic Preservation Commission and the Arts Commission to create a walking brochure as a tourism piece. Ms. Bruns pointed out that the brochure the Commission would be creating in the near future would take the place of the Museum's current walking brochure. Ms. Chapin advised that previous Commissioner LeWarne participated in a number of discussions with representatives from the Museum and the Arts Commission, and the intent was that the Historic Preservation Commission would create a new brochure to replace the existing walking tour brochure. She pointed out that the Parks and Recreation Department is also producing a "Walking for Health Map," that would identify various walks in Edmonds and the length of time it would take to walk each one. She said this map would also identify some of the historical sites and art pieces that are located along the way. It would then refer to the two brochures for more information. She advised that the Arts Commission was approached with the idea of holding an arts contest in March. They agreed that it would be a good idea, and members of the Historic Preservation Commission have agreed to participate, as well. She asked that Commissioners encourage artists they know to enter work in the contest. The show would be held at the Museum and the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation would host the reception. PUBLIC HEARINGS No public hearings were scheduled on the agenda. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business scheduled on the agenda. NEW BUSINESS Election of 2006 Historic Preservation Commission Officers Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 8, 2005 Page 2 Council Member Plunkett advised that he put out an inquiry to the Commission to find out if anyone was interested in running for Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission. Commissioner Hall indicated that he would be willing to serve as Chair of the Commission, and Commissioner VanTassell indicated his willingness to serve as Vice Chair. However, he pointed out that other Commissioners could run for the positions, as well. COMMISSIONER BRUNS MOVED THAT COMMISSIONER VAN TASSELL BE ELECTED AS VICE CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION FOR 2006. COMMISSIONER DEINER-KARR SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COMMISSIONER KINDNESS MOVED THAT THE COMMISSIONER HALL BE ELECTED AS CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION FOR 2006. COMMISSIONER DEINER-KARR SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Commissioner Kindness indicated that she would publish the names of the new Commission Officers in the next news release. COMMITTEE REPORTS Registration Committee (Chair Waite, Commissioner VanTassell, Commissioner Deiner-Karr) The Registration Committee did not provide a report during this portion of the meeting. Education and Outreach Committee (Commissioner Bruns. Commissioner Kindness. Commissioner Binder Commissioner Bruns reported that Commissioner Binder contacted the people in charge of Channel 21, and they are working on getting the Commission's video presentation back on the air by the beginning of 2006. In addition, she said Commissioner Binder requested an update from Commissioner Kindness regarding the mailboxes that were located at the old high school site where the new Edmonds Center for the Arts is being built. Commissioner Kindness said she still needs to meet with Christine Lund, the project manager to gather more information about the mailboxes. Chair Waite pointed out that everything that was located on the old high school site is under the ownership of the Edmonds Public Facilities District. While he and previous Commissioner Marmion visited the high school to designate the historical items, the Commission does not have title to any of the materials. Although the Historic Preservation Commission has put in a formal request for the mailboxes, the Public Facilities District must follow a formal process when disposing of materials. Commissioner Bruns said Commissioner Binder requested a report from Chair Waite regarding the historical plaques. Chair Waite indicated that he does have the information that Commissioner Binder collected from manufacturers of plaques at the Historic Trust Meeting she attended in Oregon. He said the Commission must now research which manufacturer they want to pursue based on pricing and design. However, they first have to know the quantity of plaques they would order. Commissioner Bruns said Commissioner Binder asked her to find out if Mr. Chave received the information she sent him about the National Alliance of Preservation Commission. If so, did staff sign the Commission up to participate? Mr. Chave answered the application has already been sent in. Commissioner Bruns said Commissioner Binder reported to her that the Commission has received donations from the following: Michel Construction -- $250, Edmonds Beacon -- $250, Old Mill Town -- $250, Humanities Washington -- $250, Landau Associates -- $300, Point Edwards -- $250, Windermere Real Estate -- $250, Reliable Flooring -- $250, Caldwell Banker -- $250, Edmonds Art Commission -- $500, City of Edmonds -- $500, Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation (for design of both Arts Commission and Historical Preservation brochures) -- $500. Commissioner Bruns reported that Commissioner Binder is still waiting to hear from five other businesses. Commissioner Hall reported that he contacted three other businesses at the request of Commissioner Binder. He said he anticipates that HWA will provide financial support, as well. Commissioner Bruns summarized that, to date, the Commission has received $3,600 for the new brochure. She noted that Rick Steves has agreed to provide editorial input and Jim Hill, publisher of THE ENTERPRISE, offered help with design Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 8, 2005 Page 3 editing and printing. Commissioner Bruns suggested it would be nice if Rick Steves could be invited to provide the first tour using the new brochure. Commissioner Deiner-Karr said that since the Commission's video presentation is going back on Channel 21, it would be helpful for Commissioner Kindness to mention this in the next news release. Council Member Plunkett asked where the $500 donation from the City of Edmonds would come from. Mr. Chave recalled that early on he indicated that he had some leftover salary money that could be used for brochure design, and that might be what Commissioner Binder is referring to. However, he said he has not confirmed this financial support from the City. Chair Waite asked if donations from the private sector would have conditions placed on them as to what they could be used for. Commissioner Bruns said the expectation would be that the donor's names would be printed on the brochure. Mr. Chave said that, at this time, City staff is depositing the money and keeping track of the donations. Approximately $1,000 should be used for design in 2005, and the balance should be available for printing in 2006. He suggested there should be enough room on the brochure to provide a simple list of who contributed. The Commission commended Commissioner Binder for doing such a good job of obtaining contributions for the new brochure program. Mr. Chave reported that he and Ms. Chapin would meet with the brochure designer next week to provide enough information to get started. They need to provide preliminary ideas for content and a map of where the historic sites are located in the downtown. He asked if a Commissioner would like to attend the meeting, as well. Commissioner Bruns said the Museum already has a walking tour brochure that could be used as a reference. Mr. Chave suggested that the new brochure should provide a map with numbers identifying the various historic sites, and text and a photograph could be provided for each one. The Commission agreed that Mr. Chave should take the lead on working with the designer, using the comments provided by the Commission. They agreed that Commissioner Binder should work with Mr. Chave, since she has done all the work on the brochure up to this point. Commissioner Bruns said she would be happy to participate, as well. Preservation Planning Committee (Council Member Plunkett, Commissioner Hall, Chair Waite) Commissioner Hall said the Preservation Planning Committee Report would be provided during the Commission's discussion on Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives. Arts Corridor Committee (Chair Waite. Commissioner Deiner-Karr Commissioner Deiner-Karr reported that she and Chair Waite attended the last meeting regarding the 4' Avenue Arts Corridor. She said she appreciated that the consultants provided a lot of pictures and designs alternatives. She said the participants' choices regarding the alternatives were fairly evident by the end of the meeting, and she anticipates attending the next meeting to see what the consultants come up with. She reported that some people were very concerned about what the outcome would be. Chair Waite explained that the City's consultant presented four major charettes, and each one had three designs internal to it. Since a historic element was a common thread in all of the alternatives, he suggested it would be appropriate for the Commission to pursue the process and provide input in the future. Commissioner Hall asked if the Arts Corridor Committee was able to identify what role the Historic Preservation Commission could play in the process. Chair Waite said there has not been an opportunity up to this point for organizations to provide input. Mr. Chave said the formal process would include a review by both the Planning Board and the City Council. Rather than wait for the public hearings, he suggested the Committee contact Ms. Chapin about the best way for the Commission to provide their input regarding the alternatives that are on the table. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 8, 2005 Page 4 Commissioner VanTassell said there were some specific designations for some buildings and not others, and it would be important to understand how they decided which buildings to include. He suggested the Historic Preservation Commission should have some input during the selection process. Chair Waite said the current plans are lose, and a very generic urban planning concept was utilized. Again, Mr. Chave suggested the Committee speak with Ms. Chapin about the timing of the project and what products would be available for review by specific dates. Once some concrete designs have been distributed by the consultants, it would be appropriate for the Commission to provide their input prior to the public hearings. WORK SESSION ON STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Commissioner Hall advised that the Preservation Planning Committee has been working to finalize the draft 2006 Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives document that was circulated amongst the Commissioners. He reviewed that the document pulls together information that was discussed previously by the Commission. Since the last meeting, he updated the document to include the comments provided by the various Commissioners. He referred the Commission to Pages 5 and 6 of the document, which lists objectives and planned action items for each of the Committees. Commissioner Hall explained that, in addition to identifying goals and objectives for 2006, the document was intended to allow them to take a step back and look at what the Commission was created to do. He pulled items from the Comprehensive Plan, the ordinance and the Bola Report. He said the document was also intended to provide continuity from a historical perspective by looking at what has been achieved and what they must do now. He suggested that the Commission review each section of the document and provide comments and ideas. Commissioner Hall said that the language in Purpose and Mission Sections was taken from the ordinance and from the various brochures that have been created. Commissioner Hall noted that some important things were included in the Comprehensive Plan that clearly identify what the Commission should be doing over the next year. The Commission has been working to address some of the goals, but others need work. For example, more work should be done to address Item B.2, which states that incentives encouraging the adaptive use of historic buildings should be integrated into the City codes and development standards. On the other hand, the Commission has made significant progress towards Item BA, which states that written and visual aids should be made available for sites listed on the City's register of historic places to promote public awareness and recognition of the value of these resources. He pointed out that the brochure would address this specific item. Commissioner Hall specifically referred to a series of recommendations that were part of the Bola Report, and noted that one of the goals identified in the Comprehensive Plan is to develop the Bola Report into the historic preservation plan. The Preservation Planning Committee is working on this project. Commissioner Hall asked Council Member Plunkett to provide him with a list of the Comprehensive Plan items he previously compiled. He suggested it would be appropriate to revisit this list and determine whether the items should be included in the Commission's new preservation plan. Council Member Plunkett pointed out that the items listed (Item B.1 through B.7) were inserted into the Comprehensive Plan in 2005. While a longer list of 16 changes was initially presented to the City Council, some were not accepted. He said he would provide a list of the original 16 proposed changes. Mr. Chave said the Comprehensive Plan mentions historic preservation in more locations than just those identified in the document prepared by Commissioner Hall. All sections related to historic preservation should be considered when writing a Preservation Plan. Council Member Plunkett reviewed that early in 2005 the Historic Preservation Commission reviewed the items that were presented to the City Council as proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments. The items included in the document created by Commissioner Hall represent the ones that were recommended by the Planning Commission and approved by the City Council. Mr. Chave explained that there are a number of policies already in the Comprehensive Plan related to historic preservation, and there is also a historic preservation section of the cultural design element. Some of the amendments changed the existing language, and some amendments were related to new sections in the Downtown Plan element, etc. Some of the items in the longer list raised new issues and had not really gone through a public review process. The intent was to adopt all of the changes that already had a basis elsewhere in the plan, but those that represented new ideas were set Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 8, 2005 Page 5 aside until the next Comprehensive Plan amendment process. These should be brought forward in a larger Historic Preservation Plan element for the Comprehensive Plan, and the Preservation Planning Committee has been charged with the responsibility of creating the draft plan. Mr. Chave said the intent is to have a centralized location for the Comprehensive Plan goals and objectives that are related to historic preservation. Commissioner Hall commented that the Comprehensive Plan amendments that were approved in 2005 were done so quickly that he didn't have a clear understanding of the process. He suggested that it would be more appropriate for the Commission to approach the issue early so the Commission has ample opportunity to discuss the proposed changes. Mr. Chave said the Commission could create their own timeline for the Historic Preservation Plan. When the document is ready, staff would move it forward to the Planning Board and the City Council for public review and final approval. However, he noted that Comprehensive Plan amendments can only take place once a year. Commissioner Hall referred to Page 3, which represents his attempt to compile all of the Commission's activities to date. Mr. Chave suggested that a new item should be added after Item 7 to recognize that the Bola Report was completed by the consultant in September of 2004. Mr. Chave explained that when Bola Report was initially completed, the consultant did some additional work on her own time to finalize the look of the report. Commissioner Hall suggested that once the consultant has completed the finishing touches on the report, it should be forwarded to the State for review in preparation of the Commission submitting grant applications. Mr. Chave reminded the Commission that by the end of the month the City must forward a report to the State on their Certified Local Government activities, and it would be nice to include a copy of the final report. The Commission agreed this would be appropriate. Council Member Plunkett referred to Action Item 3 of the Education and Outreach Committee, which makes reference to contacting owners of historic properties. He suggested that this goal should be given to the Registration Committee. Commissioner Deiner-Karr recalled that this goal was related to the concept of having a gathering of perspective property owner, and then sending out status updates to keep them informed about what is happening. She pointed out that the purpose of the Registration Committee is to get property owners interested in historic preservation. The purpose of the Education and Outreach Committee is to keep people interested and engaged in the concept of historic preservation. The Commission agreed to move Action Item 3 to the Registration Committee's list of action items. They further agreed to add a sentence onto Action Item 2 to read, "Any specific contacts made should be passed on to the Registration Committee." Mr. Chave suggested that perhaps the Education and Outreach Committee could send out a quarterly newsletter to the list of property owners to remind them about the historic preservation program. The Commission agreed that a new Action Item 3 should be added to read, "Maintain contact with owners of historic properties." They further agreed that the Committee should determine the best method for accomplishing the goal. The Commission agreed that acronyms used in the document should be clearly defined, and references made to specific assignments in the Preservation Planning Committee Section should be deleted. Council Member Plunkett referred to Action Item 4 of the Preservation Planning Committee, and pointed out that the inventory has already been expanded. They have the professional inventory of the downtown properties and then a much larger one that was compiled by previous Commissioner Marmion. He questioned the intent of Action Item 4 and why it was not assigned to the Registration Committee. Mr. Chave explained that the term "survey" should be differentiated from the term "inventory." The inventory compiled by previous Commissioner Marmion was a listing that did not judge the merit and value of any of the properties. A survey would include a formal process to analyze and differentiate the value of each property. He felt a survey of the properties outside the downtown core would be an appropriate goal for the Preservation Planning Committee. Council Member Plunkett suggested that changing "inventory" to "professional survey" would make the intent of Action Item 4 clearer. The remainder of the Commission concurred. Council Member Plunkett suggested that Action Item 2 of the Preservation Planning Committee be deleted since the City would be re -writing their development code, including the section related to non -conforming buildings. Mr. Chave advised that part of the City's effort to re -write the development code would involve a close review of the non -conforming rules, and the Historic Preservation Commission should be involved in this process. Since the issue is already on the agenda to be addressed in the next few years, he suggested the Commission probably doesn't need to spend a lot of time discussing the concept of creating a conservation district. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 8, 2005 Page 6 Council Member Plunkett suggested that Action Item 2 be changed to read. "Development Code Re -Write: As the City works through the re -write of the development code, the Commission could work to ensure that historic preservation issues such as non -conforming and districts, be monitored and considered at all times." The remainder of the Commission concurred with the change. In addition, they agreed to change the language in Action Item 3 to read, "Continue to research incentives to see if more local incentives are needed. Commissioner Kindness suggested that Action Item 4 of the Preservation Planning Committee be more specific to identify a timeline for expanding the inventory and which parts of the City should be included in the expanded work. She pointed out that the City has an initial list of 1,000 properties that are more than 50 years old, but only those in the downtown core were included in the survey. The Commission agreed that Action Item 4 should be changed to read, "Expand Inventory: Expand the inventory beyond the downtown core. Identify the next phase for the survey and investigate opportunities for grant funding." Commissioner Hall said that he would finalize the 2006 Draft Strategic Plan and distribute the new drafts to each of the Commissioners. Mr. Chave advised that he would stamp the document as draft, but forward it to the State. This would allow the Commission to make appropriate changes in the future. HISTORIC PRESERVATION CHAIR COMMENTS Chair Waite thanked Commissioner Hall for all of his hard work in putting together the 2006 goals and objectives. Mr. Chave suggested that the Commission consider the opportunity to provide a formal report to the City Council to update them on their activities. He pointed out that the City's match requirement for the historic inventory survey was substantial, and it was difficult to get consultants interested in the project because of the tight funding. They might have even more trouble the next time around. He suggested that in addition to reporting about all of the benefits that resulted from the survey and the Commission's work, they should put the Council on notice that matching funds from the City would be very helpful. He summarized that without some monetary funds to match, grant funding would be difficult to obtain. HISTORIC PRESERVATION MEMBER COMMENTS Commissioner Bruns said she didn't mean to create a large discussion as a result of comments she made at the previous meeting about the need for all of the groups within the City to work together. However, she expressed her belief that sometimes there are too many different brochures distributed throughout the community. Council Member Plunkett thanked Chair Waite for his work throughout the past year. He did an excellent job of transitioning the Commission into full running mode. This was a difficult task. Council Member Plunkett suggested that the Education and Outreach Committee give some consideration and consultation with Mr. Chave about a plan to give a report before the City Council. Perhaps they could put an outline together for the Commission's consideration in the near future. He suggested that the documents created by Commissioner Hall would be a great place to start. Council Member Deiner-Karr reported that she created an Edmonds Historic Preservation Commission email box, which provides an opportunity for the Commission to have a central place for providing and managing information that goes out to the media. Commissioner VanTassell also thanked Chair Waite and said he looks forward to serving as the Commission's vice chair in 2006. He said he is excited to work with other Commissioners to get the Reliable Flooring Building on the Register soon. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 8, 2005 Page 7 Commissioner Hall thanked Chair Waite for his service and said he is excited about the progress the Commission has made. He thanked the Commission for extending their vote of confidence in his ability to serve as Chair. He reminded them to forward their comments regarding the 2006 Strategic Plan document as soon as possible. ADJOURNMENT The Commission meeting was adjourned at 5:17 p.m. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 8, 2005 Page 8