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2007-12-13 Historic Preservation Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION SUMMARY MINUTES December 13, 2007 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Kindness called the meeting of the Edmonds Historic Preservation Commission to order at 4:00 p.m. in the 3" Floor Conference Room of City Hall, 121 — 5' Avenue North. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Barbara Kindness, Chair Christine Deiner-Karr, Vice Chair Steve Waite Deborah Binder Norma Bruns Rob VanTassell (arrived at about 4:45 p.m.) Andrew Eccleshal Daniel Kerege Michael Plunkett STAFF PRESENT Mayor Gary Haakensen Rob Chave, Planning Division Manager (arrived at 4:06 p.m.) Diane Cunningham, Planning and Dev. Services Chair Kindness welcomed Commissioners Kerege and Eccleshal as new Commissioners. PRESENTATION BY MAYOR HAAKENSEN Mayor Haakenson recognized Commissioners Binder and Kindness for their service to the Historic Preservation Commission. He also commended and thanked the entire Commission for the progress they have made to further historic preservation in Edmonds. READING/APPROVAL OF MINUTES COMMISSIONER BINDER MOVED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 8, 2007 AS SUBMITTED. COMMMISSIONER WAITE SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ANNOUNCEMENT OF AGENDA The Commission added a discussion regarding possible dates for a workshop. The remainder of the agenda was approved as submitted. REQUESTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Larry Vogel, Edmonds, said he submitted an application to become a member of the Historic Preservation Commission. He shared history about himself, as well as his desire to become involved in local government. He advised that while an employee at Seattle City Light he prepared a presentation regarding the history of Seattle's electrical trolley systems, and he would like to share the presentation with the Commission, as well. PUBLIC HEARING There were no public hearings scheduled on the agenda. COMMITTEE REPORTS Chair Kindness briefly reviewed the responsibilities and activities of the various Commission Committees. The Commission agreed to conduct a workshop discussion to review and rearrange each of the committees at some point in the near future. Registration Committee Vice Chair Deiner-Karr recalled that there are still about a dozen pending property nominations, including some that belong to the City. A letter must still be drafted and sent out asking property owners to indicate their interest in placing their property on the Edmonds Register of Historic Places. She said she hopes to have this letter drafted and sent out by the end of the month. Vice Chair Deiner-Karr recalled that the Commission also previously discussed sending out form letters to owners of property that would qualify for the Register. She also reported that she would be contacting owners of property on the Register regarding the placement of plaques on their properties. The Commission agreed that more Commissioners should be assigned to the Registration Committee to help Vice Chair Deiner-Karr notify property owners. The Commission discussed what could be done to encourage property owners to list their properties on the Register. For the new Commissioners' benefit, they briefly reviewed what has been done to date in this regard. Education and Outreach Committee Chair Kindness reported that an elementary school in Edmonds did a study unit on historic Edmonds. Each of the children did a project, and they were displayed at the Museum. She suggested the Commission announce the projects in their next news release to show that children in the City are aware of its history. Commissioner Bruns recalled that the Museum distributes activity books to children, and they also provide a list of questions for children and adults to answer as they go through the museum. Vice Chair Definer -Karr once again expressed her interest in conducting a historic scavenger hunt for children as part of an upcoming City event, and pointed out this would require support from the local merchants. Commissioner Eccleshall recalled the Commission previously discussed the option of preparing an art print of some of the historic homes in Edmonds. He provided an example of this concept that he prepared for his home town in the United Kingdom. The Commission viewed the sample project and agreed to hold a workshop discussion in the near future to identify 10 or 15 properties that could be included in an art piece. Commissioner Eccleshall offered to prepare the art print free of charge, and suggested it could possibly be sold to raise money for historic preservation. It was noted that perhaps inclusion on the art print could be offered to property owners as an incentive for joining the Register. Preservation Planning Committee Commissioner Waite reported on his recent attendance at the Architectural Design Board (ADB) meeting at which he presented the Commission's comments and recommendations related to the proposed design standards for the BD zone. He shared their comments as follows: Rather than having two Commissioners participate in the ADB review and decision making process when historic properties are involved, the ADB supported the idea of forwarding applications for projects that involve historic structures directly to the Historic Preservation Commission to obtain a certificate of appropriateness. Offering this more streamlined process would provide an incentive to owners of historic properties. The ADB also discussed the concept of routing projects in the BD1 zone through the Historic Preservation Commission for review and recommendations. A Commission designee could then present the Commission's position to the ADB, but would not be a voting member. The ADB was supportive of adopting the building standards presented by the Historic Preservation Commission, with just a few minor changes. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 13, 2007 Page 2 • The ADB agreed the threshold for requiring ADB review of projects in the BD zone should be lower than the SEPA threshold. However, they have yet to decide exactly what the threshold should be. They emphasized the importance of avoiding situations where the review process would be unnecessarily made slower and more complicated. • The ADB felt the Commission's proposed name for the BD zone (Heritage Center) was too vague. They recommended the Commission come up with an alternative name that is more closely associated with the downtown. Mr. Chave provided the one -page summary of the ADB's recommendations, which was presented recently to the Planning Board for consideration. He noted that the ADB did not respond to a number of the Commission's recommendations because they felt they were outside of their purview. He noted that the Planning Board would make the final recommendation to the City Council, so it would be appropriate for the Commission to forward their additional comments to that body as soon as possible. The Commission agreed to discuss the ADB's comments further at their January loth meeting and prepare a response for the Planning Board to consider at their February 131h meeting. Commissioner VanTassell arrived at the meeting at 4:45 p.m. Mr. Chave reported that the draft amendments to the non-conformance standards have been reviewed by the Planning Board and forwarded to the City Council with a recommendation of approval sometime in January. He noted that the Planning Board made some revisions to address the concerns raised by the Historic Preservation Commission. The Commission requested the Preservation Committee review the draft amendments and prepare comments to forward to the City Council. Commissioner Eccleshall reported that he recently met with Commissioners Waite and VanTassell in a brainstorming session to discuss what the Commission could do to change the potential outcome of the property at 555 Main Street. One option would be to approach the owners of the historic properties in the City and ask them to voluntarily offer the properties to the City for purchase at market value when they decide to sell before putting them on the open market. This would allow the City an opportunity to save or control the use of landmark historic structures. Commissioner VanTassell pointed out that the City does not have a compensatory historic preservation program. Until this is changed, the Commission would not likely make significant headway. The Commission agreed it is their responsibility to offer the community an opportunity to debate the issue in the open, recognizing it could impact private property rights. Commissioner Binder agreed to contact Mr. Tate, the owner of property at 555 Main Street, and ask him what his plans are for the property. They further discussed the need for the City to become involved, particularly the Economic Development Director, and consider potential alternatives for using this historic structure rather than tearing it down. Commissioner Waite also agreed to approach the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department regarding the possibility of using park acquisition funds to purchase the property at 555 Main Street. They could also ask the Parks Department to consider the possibility of relocating the home to existing City property. OTHER REPORTS Edmonds South Snohomish County Historical Society Commissioner Bruns reported that Eleanor MulHolland, George Brackett's granddaughter, recently passed away, shortly after reaching her 1001 birthday. She was a docent at the Museum until several months ago. The current exhibit is Needle Art, and the next exhibit will be the History of Jazz in the Seattle Area. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Historic Sites Draft Plaques Agreement Deiner Karr noted that the agreement recently approved by the Commission indicated the City would purchase the plaques, but property owners would be responsible to maintain and/or replace them if damaged or stolen. If a property is removed from the Register, the plaque would be returned to the City. It was decided the agreement was ready for use when locating plaques on properties. NEW BUSINESS Election of 2008 Historic Preservation Commission Officers Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 13, 2007 Page 3 Commissioner Bruns expressed her belief that, in the future, the Commission should appoint a nominating committee to recommend candidates for Commission Officers. Several other Commissioners agreed. THE COMMISSION NOMINATED COMMISSIONER DEINER-KARR TO SERVE AS CHAIR OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION FOR 2008. COMMISSIONER ECCLESHALL MOVED THAT NOMINATIONS BE CLOSED. COMMISSIONER VANTASSELL SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, AND COMMISSIONER DEINER-KARR WAS ELECTED CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION FOR 2008. THE COMMISSION NOMINATED COMMISSIONER VANTASSELL TO SERVE AS VICE CHAIR OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION FOR 2008. THE NOMINATIONS WERE CLOSED, AND THE COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY ELECTED COMMISSIONER VANTASSELL TO SERVE AS VICE CHAIR. Applications for Vacant Commission Positions Chair Kindness announced that the Commission received seven applications for the two vacant Commission positions. The Commission reviewed the City's process for interviewing and appointing new candidates. They agreed to interview the candidates at their January l l' meeting, followed by a workshop meeting on January 22' or January 23rd at 5:00 p.m. The Commission concurred that qualified applicants who are not accepted to fill the vacant positions should be encouraged to participate in the Commission's activities in other ways. HISTORIC PRESERVATION CHAIR COMMENTS Chair Kindness thanked the Commissioners for their hard work in 2007. She indicated she would continue to help the Commission as an off -sight volunteer. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSIONER COMMENTS The Commissioners expressed appreciation to both Commissioners Kindness and Binder for their service on behalf of the Commission and wished them well in their new endeavors. They also welcomed Commissioners Eccleshall and Kerege to the Commission. Commissioner Binder thanked the Commission and said her tenure on the Commission has been a good experience for her. Commissioner VanTassell once again stressed the need for a public discussion about historic properties, the community, private property rights, etc. He suggested this discussion take place in the near future. Larry Bollo thanked the Commission for allowing him to sit in on their meeting. He said it was enlightening and reassuring to see a group so dedicated to preserving the historic character of Edmonds. ADJOURNMENT The Commission meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 13, 2007 Page 4