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