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2006-12-14 Historic Preservation Commission MinutesHISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION SUMMARY MINUTES December 14, 2006 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Hall called the meeting of the Edmonds Historic Preservation Commission to order at 4:00 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of City Hall, 121 — 5' Avenue North. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Brian Hall, Chair Rob VanTassell, Vice Chair Steve Waite Barbara Kindness Deborah Binder (arrived at 4:10 p.m.) Norma Bruns Christine Deiner-Karr Michael Plunkett (arrived at 4:02 p.m.) ANNOUNCEMENT OF AGENDA The agenda was approved as submitted. READING/APPROVAL OF MINUTES STAFF PRESENT Rob Chave, Planning Division Manager (arrived at 4:06 p.m.) Diane Cunningham, Planning and Dev. Services COMMISSIONER KINDNESS MOVED THAT THE COMMISSION APPROVE THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 9, 2006 AS SUBMITTED. COMMISSIONER BRUNS SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. REQUESTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Elizabeth Larmen reported she was successful in her effort to stop Mr. Gregg from influencing his design on Old Mill Town. She said she loves Edmonds and has a background in the historic preservation of buildings. She has lived in several historic districts and was president of two historic preservation organizations and on the board of others. She concluded that she is very interested in making Edmonds a great town where people want to visit and spend money. Council Member Plunkett recalled that in Ms. Larmen's opposition to the proposed Old Mill Town project, she attempted to use the existing code language. However, the City Council determined they could not require the applicant to address historic design based on the current code language. He suggested that Ms. Larmen has some interest in helping the Commission resolve this issue as they work through the design code. Ms. Larmen added that there are very simple solutions to address the problem. PRESENTATION BY LES TONKIN, A PRINCIPAL AT TONKIN, HOYNE AND LOKAN ARCHITECTS, REGARDING HISTORIC DISTRICTS Vice Chair VanTassell introduced Les Tonkin, a principal at Tonkin, Hoyne and Lokan Architects and Urban Design, who does quite a lot of work with historic buildings and has been involved for quite some time with historic preservation in Washington State. Mr. Tonkin was invited to the meeting to talk about his successful experiences with historic preservation in the State. At the invitation of Chair Hall, Mr. Tonkin shared information about his background and experience with historic preservation endeavors. Each of the Commissioners introduced themselves, as well. In addition, Council Member Plunkett reported that at the last City Council Meeting, Council Member Orvis brought forth a motion to direct the Commission to come back to the City Council with a recommendation to deal with all aspects of historic preservation. He also proposed a complete moratorium in the BD-1 zone of Edmonds until the Commission has completed their work. While the Council did not vote to put a moratorium in place, they did approve the motion to direct the Commission to come back with a recommendation on some specific design guidelines to implement the historic preservation provisions in the code. Mr. Tonkin and the Commission specifically discussed the following: • Mr. Tonkin noted that the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) requires a developer to go through a review process, and one of the elements that must be considered is historic preservation. The Commission discussed that the SEPA criteria was not specific enough. • Mr. Tonkin advised that if the Commission is interested in controlling development in an established historic district, they would have to take on the responsibility of reviewing applications based on the established standards. He noted that the Commission might find the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Preservation helpful in this effort. • Mr. Tonkin explained that not all buildings in an historic district are significant. Certain buildings could be demolished if they are considered not contributing. Property owners could change their designation by arguing their case. Commissioner Deiner-Karr expressed the importance of requiring a property owner who demolishes a structure in a historic district to rebuild to meet specific historic design guidelines. • Mr. Tonkin explained that anyone can propose that an area of the City be identified as a national historic district, and this would not have a huge impact on the City's planning and zoning. It would just define an area that people think is historic. However, it would provide incentives for property owners to restore historic buildings as per the standards in order to obtain tax credits and other incentives. He said that if the Commission were successful identifying a national historic district for the downtown area, the next step could be to propose a local historic district concept and some design guidelines for the City Council to consider. • Mr. Tonkin said it would be important that any development activity on properties within a historic district come before the Historic Preservation Commission for review. The Commission could base their review on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Preservation, which are used as guidelines by review boards throughout the country. Mr. Chave said these standards are referenced in the City's code, but they don't necessarily address everything people want to preserve and protect. He said the City Attorney would insist that the standards are predictable enough that someone entering the process would have a clear understanding of what they need to do. • Mr. Tonkin reminded the Commission that designation as a National historic district would provide important incentives to encourage property owners to preserve and restore historic properties, but it would not require property owners to do so. The only way to require a developer to meet certain standards when redeveloping a historic property would be to establish a local historic district. • Mr. Tonkin encouraged the Commission to move forward with the concept of establishing a "Heritage Neighborhood" and then propose some design guidelines for the City Council to consider for adoption. He suggested one of the guidelines should be that the City would use some of the criteria from the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, which are very specific and clear. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2006 Page 2 The Commission directed Council Member Plunkett to report back to the City Council that the Preservation Planning Committee would review options for establishing a national historic district, a local historic district, and/or a heritage neighborhood. The Commission discussed the importance of obtaining sample language from other jurisdictions in the area that have already established historic districts and/or design guidelines for historic preservation. Mr. Chave noted that as part of his review of the downtown area, the consultant, Mark Hinshaw, provided guidelines and pictures that really addressed the historic character of commercial buildings in the downtown. Ms. Larmen indicated that she has already collected a lot of the information the Commission is looking for. She recalled that the City Council directed the Commission to come up with concrete data by which they could legally change the guidelines so that more direction is provided to the Planning Department staff and developers. She agreed to work with the Preservation Planning Committee on this effort. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING ON APPLICATION BY CHESTER AND DELORES CURTIS TO DETERMINE THE ELIGIBILITY OF THE CURTIS HOUSE FOR PLACEMENT ON THE EDMONDS REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES (FILE NUMBER PLN-06-1031 Commissioner Bruns recalled that in her conversation with Paul Roy, she learned that his father-in-law was the original owner of the house, but he did not build it. She said she has no history regarding who the actual builder was. Chair Hall noted the information he obtained from an archived newspaper article showing a house very similar to the Curtis home, which indicates that the house embodies some distinctive architectural characteristics of the time. Commissioner Waite agreed that the home does represent the construction history for the period in which it was built. The Commission discussed that the home has been altered so much that it is getting close to the point that it would not be considered historic anymore. It was noted that once a property is identified on the Edmonds Register of Historic Places, the property owner would not be able to make changes without a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Commission. COMMISSIONER BINDER MOVED TO ESTABLISH THAT THE CURTIS PROPERTY IS ELIGIBLE TO BE PLACED ON THE EDMONDS REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES BECAUSE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER THAT WAS ALTERED, THE EXTERIOR FEATURES (SIDING, WINDOW CONFIGURATION, AND OTHER ORIGINAL ELEMENTS) ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RESIDENTIAL STYLE OF THE PERIOD IN WHICH IT WAS BUILT. IN ADDITION, IT WOULD PRESERVE THE CHARACTER OF THE ORIGINAL NEIGHBORHOOD. COMMISSIONER DEINER-KARR SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COMMITTEE REPORTS Registration Committee Commissioner Binder said the Registration Committee has nothing new to report to the Commission. However, she is working on her report to the City Council in January. Mr. Chave said staff would attempt to forward all of the nominations that were approved by the Commission at their last meeting to the City Council for review at their January 16, 2007 meeting, which is the same date as the Commission's report to the Council. Commissioner Deiner-Karr advised that there are currently three applications waiting for a public hearing, and one has been forwarded to the City Council for consideration. The Commission asked staff to prepare at least one of the applications for a public hearing at the February meeting. Education and Outreach Committee Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2006 Page 3 The Commission selected Option 3 as the preferred Commission logo design. However, Commissioner Waite made some suggestions for slight changes. Commissioner Binder said she talked to a representative from the plaque manufacturing company, who indicated that it would not cost any extra to specify the actual building. The Commission agreed they would like the plaques for the commercial buildings to include names, but no names should be provided on the residential plaques. Commissioner Binder indicated she would provide pricing information at the Commission's next meeting. The Commission agreed they would prepare for their presentation to the City Council at their January 11I meeting. They asked Commissioner Kindness to email a copy of her draft outline to each of the Commissioners. Preservation PlanninLy Committee The Preservation Planning Committee had no new items to report to the Commission. OTHER REPORTS Edmonds South Snohomish County Historical Society Commissioner Bruns announced that the Museum Guild would receive a portion of the proceeds from each Driftwood Theater ticket that is purchased in advance through the Museum Guild. Holmes Corner Commissioner Bruns reported that the South Snohomish County Historical Society appears to be amenable to purchasing one plaque for Holmes Corner. Jim Underhill has researched opportunities for purchasing the plaque, and the estimated cost is about $400. Commissioner Waite reported that Jim Underhill has drafted a letter to the newspaper announcing the new historic signage at Holmes Corner, but he asked him to hold off because the City's Public Works Director has not had an opportunity to make and mount the signs. They have been busy handling emergencies associated with the recent storm. Commission Commentary for the Local Newspapers Commissioner Kindness advised that she submitted a commentary regarding the Historic Preservation Commission to the local newspapers, but she has not seen it published yet. She agreed to contact THE EDMONDS BEACON, THE EVERETT HERALD, and THE ENTERPRISE to find out when the article might be published. NEW BUSINESS Election of Officers for 2007 THE COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY ELECTED COMMISSIONER KINDNESS AS COMMISSIONER CHAIR FOR 2007 AND COMMISSIONER DEINER-KARR AS VICE CHAIR. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2006 Page 4 The Commissioners expressed their thanks and appreciation to Chair Hall for serving as Chair of the Commission for the past year. Commissioner Kindness referred the Commission to the email from Ms. Cunningham regarding a Preserve America grant opportunity. Applications are due by February 14, 2007. She indicated she would research this option to see if it is something the Commission should apply for. HISTORIC PRESERVATION CHAIR COMMENTS Chair Hall thanked the Commission for their cooperation and effort over the past several months as he served as Chair of the Commission. ADJOURNMENT The Commission meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2006 Page 5