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2006-01-12 Historic Preservation Commission MinutesHISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION SUMMARY MINUTES January 12, 2006 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Hall called the meeting of the Edmonds Historic Preservation Commission to order at 3:30 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of City Hall, 121 — 5' Avenue North. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT COMMISSIONERS ABSENT STAFF PRESENT Brian Hall, Chair Barbara Kindness Diane Cunningham, Planning and Dev. Services Rob VanTassell, Vice Chair Jennifer Gerend, Economic Development Director Steve Waite Deborah Binder (arrived at 3:38 p.m.) Norma Bruns Christine Deiner-Karr Michael Plunkett (arrived at 3:40 p.m.) Commissioner Kindness was excused from the meeting. ANNOUNCEMENT OF AGENDA The agenda was amended to add a discussion about the community meetings that are scheduled regarding Neighborhood Business Planning Districts and the Annual Certified Local Government Report. READING/APPROVAL OF MINUTES COMMISSIONER WAITE MOVED THAT THE MINUTES OF DECEMBER 8, 2005 BE APPROVED AS AMENDED. VICE CHAIR VANTASSEL SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Commissioner Binder arrived to the meeting at 3:38 p.m. and Council Member Plunkett arrived at 3:40 p.m. REQUESTS FROM THE AUDIENCE There was no one in the audience. PUBLIC HEARINGS No public hearings were scheduled on the agenda. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business scheduled on the agenda. COMMITTEE REPORTS Registration Committee Vice Chair VanTassell reported that he and Commissioner Deiner-Karr have been working with the owner of the Reliable Flooring Building to schedule a time for them to visit the site and help him fill out the nomination application. He further reported that the Registration Committee has identified three or four residential property owners who have expressed interest in nominating their properties for the Edmonds Register of Historic Places. He summarized that the Registration Committee estimates the nomination process would take between three and six months to complete. Commissioner Waite reported that he recently spoke with the owner of property at 1520 — 9' Avenue North. The home on this property was constructed in 1872, and the property owner seems enthusiastic about the possibility of having it listed on the Register. It was noted that the home, the oldest in Edmonds, is located just outside of the area that was included in the professional survey of historic structures in Edmonds, but it was identified on the list of historic structures prepared by previous Commissioner Marmion. Vice Chair VanTassell and Commissioner Deiner-Karr both indicated a desire for additional clarification from the Commission regarding certain aspects of the nomination process that is outlined on the Commission's flowchart. It was noted that the Commission has already completed the nomination process for the museum and church properties, so they do have some experience from which to draw. The Commission agreed that, in order to be successful, the Registration Committee must assist property owners through the nomination process. They further agreed that it would be helpful to forward nomination applications to the City Council in groups. Vice Chair VanTassell advised that the Registration Committee would work to have the Reliable Flooring application ready for the Commission to review at their March meeting. He further reported that during the next few months, the committee would continue to work through the nomination process with interested property owners. REPORT ON STREETSCAPE STUDY FOR THE 4TH AVENUE CORRIDOR Jennifer Gerend, Edmonds Economic Development Director, reported on the streetscape study that is currently in progress for 41 Avenue (also known as the Arts Corridor). She particularly discussed the concept of converting some of the existing homes on 41 Avenue into restaurants, cafes, and other retail businesses similar to what occurred in Queen Anne, Wallingford, Madison Park, and Phinney Ridge. She suggested that since the property owners on 41 Avenue are already active in the streetscape study, it would be a good time for the Historic Preservation Commission to talk to owners of historic properties about placing their structures on the Edmonds Register of Historic Places. She pointed out that there are currently exceptions in the building code for properties that are on the Edmonds Register of Historic Places, and these could be marketed as incentives to business owners who want to convert existing homes into restaurants or other retail uses. Ms. Gerend encouraged the Commission to carefully review the areas in Seattle and other communities in Puget Sound where homes have been successfully converted into restaurants and other retail businesses and identify what requirement changes would be needed to implement the concept in Edmonds. She also suggested the Commission hold a work session with the Building Official, the Community Services Director, and the Planning Division Manager to talk about the code changes necessary to preserve historic structures and encourage their conversion to other uses. Commissioner Deiner-Karr volunteered to contact the Seattle Historic Preservation Commission to find out if any of the homes in the districts identified by Ms. Gerend are on their register of historic places. CONTINUED COMMITTEE REPORTS Education and Outreach Committee Historic Preservation Commission Minutes January 12, 2006 Page 2 Commissioner Binder asked the Commissioners to provide her with names of businesses she could contact as part of the Committee's fundraising effort. The Commission provided the names of several business owners for Commissioner Binder to contact. She pointed out that participating businesses would be recognized in the Commission's new brochure, and the Education and Outreach Committee has a goal to collect at least $1,000 more. Commissioner Binder asked the Commissioners to review the old walking tour brochure during the next week and send their thoughts to her via email. She said the Education and Outreach Committee is particularly interested in hearing feedback about what historic structures should be included in the new brochure, particularly those that are residential. She emphasized that comments from Commissioners regarding the brochure should be forwarded to her instead of Mr. Chave, since she is working with the designer on behalf of the Commission. Commissioner Binder provided a dry -run copy of the new walking tour brochure that is being created by the Edmonds Arts Commission and pointed out that the Historic Preservation Commission's new walking tour brochure would use a similar footprint. She quickly reviewed the anticipated format and content of the Commission's new brochure. She particularly noted that the brochure would provide an old photograph for each structure on the map to show what they used to look like The Commission discussed whether or not the new brochure should include historic sites where original structures have been removed. They agreed that, in most cases, the walking tour should only include properties where the historic structures still exist. However, Commissioner Binder suggested it would be helpful to identify the location of the old Bishop Hotel to illustrate how recently it was torn down and what it was replaced with. She pointed out that this could help people living in Edmonds understand what has been lost. Commissioner Hall pointed out that May is "National Historic Preservation Month." He suggested it might be appropriate for the Commission to considering holding their next public outreach meeting sometime in May. He asked that the Education and Outreach Committee consider possible dates and what the focus of the meeting should be. Preservation Planning Committee Commissioner Plunkett reported that, as per the Commission's request, he reviewed the list of Comprehensive Plan amendments that were previously submitted by the Commission. He recalled that the intent of this assignment was to remind the Commission of the proposed amendments that were adopted in the City's Comprehensive Plan, those that were considered by City staff to be ill advised, and those that were put off until 2006. He referred to a list he prepared of all the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments and noted that it identifies the status of each one. He suggested that it would be appropriate for the Preservation Planning Committee to review each of the proposed amendments that were considered by staff to be ill-advised. The Committee's feedback could help the Commission determine whether or not they want to pursue these code amendments further. Staff could provide input as part of this review process, as well. The Commission agreed that the Preservation Planning Committee should move forward with their review of the Comprehensive Plan amendments as suggested by Council Member Plunkett. Commissioner Waite reported that the City is currently in the process of rewriting their Development Code, so this is a good time for the Commission to consider possible incentives that would make it more feasible and/or beneficial for owners of historic properties to rehabilitate their properties. He said he has contacted several individuals from the City of Seattle to learn more about what they did to adopt ordinances to implement this concept. He said he plans to work with City of Edmonds staff to address the issue, using ideas from other communities. He added that it would also be helpful to obtain any information Commissioner Deiner-Karr learns from her contact with the Seattle Historic Preservation Commission about how they addressed the concept of adaptive reuse of historic structures. The Commission discussed the process they should use to consider possible development code amendments to address historic preservation issues. The Commission agreed that Commissioner Waite should work with staff and lead the Commission through the process. Commissioner Waite asked that staff notify him of future meetings with the consultants and when the Commission must be prepared to provide their input. In the meantime, he said he would continue to research what needs to be done. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes January 12, 2006 Page 3 ARTS CORRIDOR SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT Council Member Plunkett suggested that the Commission has an excellent opportunity to address the concept of adaptive reuse of historic structures as part of the current 4r' Avenue Study. He pointed out that the Commission previously recommended a Comprehensive Plan amendment regarding the adaptive reuse concept, but staff indicated that it would be ill advised to adopt it. The Commission agreed that Council Member Plunkett should act as the lead in reviewing the concept of adaptive reuse of historic structures. Once he has completed his initial research, Commissioners Waite and VanTassell would work with him to discuss the issue with staff. Commissioner Deiner-Karr advised that the Arts Corridor Subcommittee would provide a report to the Commission in February after the January 10 meeting. NEW BUSINESS Upcoming Grant Applications Chair Hall referred the Commission to the information that was recently provided by the State Historic Preservation Officer regarding their next cycle of grant opportunities. Before the next meeting, he asked that all Commissioners consider what projects they might want to submit a grant application for. He particularly asked that the Education and Outreach Committee consider whether or not it would be appropriate to submit a grant application to fund the brochure project. Commissioner Binder said it would also be appropriate to request grant funding to support future public forums or a series of walking tours. Chair Hall agreed to contact Mr. Chave to obtain the score sheet showing what projects are suitable for grant funding. He noted that another obvious project for grant funding would be the extension of the survey. Chair Hall summarized that the Commission should decide which grants to apply for by the end of their next meeting since grant applications must be submitted by April. Certified Local Government — Annual Report and Review Commissioner Binder referred to the email the Commissioners recently received regarding the Annual Certified Local Government (CLG) Report that must be submitted to the State. Chair Hall advised that staff has already submitted the report. Meeting Minutes The Commission agreed that an executive summary format should be used for future meeting minutes. For more detailed information a person could listen to the tape recording. Council Member Plunkett suggested that the Commission request feedback from Mr. Chave about whether an executive summary format would be sufficient when the Commission is dealing with quasi-judicial land use issues. Community Meetings Regarding Neighborhood Business District Planning Commissioner Deiner-Karr suggested the Commissioner designate individuals to attend the Five Corners and Firdale Neighborhood Business District Planning community meetings. She indicated that she could attend the Five Corners meeting on behalf of the Commission, and Commissioner Binder agreed to attend the Firdale Village meeting. Council Member Plunkett clarified that, rather than historic preservation, the neighborhood business district planning concept would call for the removing old structures to make room for new development. HISTORIC PRESERVATION CHAIR COMMENTS Chair Hall did not provide any additional comments during this portion of the meeting. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Historic Preservation Commission Minutes January 12, 2006 Page 4 None of the Commissioners provided comments during this portion of the meeting. ADJOURNMENT The Commission meeting was adjourned at 5:07 p.m. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes January 12, 2006 Page 5