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Landmark Commission Minutes - 02/24/2009MINUTES LANDMARK COMMISSION February 24, 2009 MEMBERS PRESENT: Dianne Thueson, Chairperson ■ Members Marilyn Carper ■ Cindy Cotton ■ Stacie Flood ■ Ron Fox ■ Christy Graham ■ John Kidwell ■ Jim Newsom ■ Pat Sullivan ■ Councilor Charles Elmore ■ Council Liaison David Clark, Director, Community Development ■ Staff Karen Montgomery- Gagne, Planner III ■ ABSENT: Steve Wood ■ I. CALL TO ORDER & INTRODUCTIONS Chairperson Thueson called the Commission meeting to order at 3:05pm, after a quorum of members was obtained. II. REVIEW & APPROVAL OF JANUARY 2009 MEETING MINUTES Chairperson Thueson called for review and approval of the January 13, 2009 meeting minutes. Mr. Ron Fox introduced a motion to approve the minutes as presented and Ms. Sullivan seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Sullivan raised concerns regarding an advertisement for late -night clubs in the downtown district. Members and staff discussed some of the key concerns relating to the January 15' murder outside one of the late- nights clubs. Staff noted the Downtown Wichita Falls Development Inc. (DWFD Inc.) organization is working with the organization's Board members, Mayor, Chief of Police along with business owners to submit a request to City Council to consider limiting the hours of operation for late -night clubs situated in the downtown core /historic district area. 111. APPLICATION FOR LANDMARK NOMINATION — ANDERSON CHAPEL — 612 ROOSEVELT The Landmark Commission addressed this item later in the meeting in case someone representing the application arrived. Chairperson Thueson requested staff provide an overview in the absence of any applicant. Ms. Gagne contacted Mr. Thurman and Rev. Tyson to obtain additional information and clarify the age of the church building. Unfortunately, it was discovered the only portion of the building original to 1921 was the cornerstone. Based on the submittal of a full application even with misunderstanding regarding building age, staff believed the application should be presented to the Landmark Commission for their final consideration. Members reviewed the photos and discussed the church congregation's 100'h anniversary during 2009. Ms. Gagne recalled a request for a landmark nomination form in June /July 2008 for an Eastside church's 100'h anniversary, at the time staff recommended they consider applying for a Texas Landmark Commission February 24, 2009 page 1 Historical Commission information marker. After talking with the applicants there may have been a misunderstanding regarding the appropriate level (City or State) of recognition. Based on the information in the application and phone conversations it appears the original Church building from 1921 (Pecan Street) was torn down and the current building on Roosevelt was constructed in 1968. Members noted in order to be considered for a Landmark designation, the building's architectural character is reviewed and it must be a minimum of 50 -years in age. Mr. Newsom introduced a motion to deny the application and requested the application information be referred to Ms. Lita Watson, Archivist, Wichita County Historical Commission for consideration as a Texas Historical Commission information marker. Mrs. Carper seconded the motion. Chairperson Thueson called for additional discussion, there being none — the motion passed unanimously. Staff noted they would submit a letter to the applicants along with returning their $25 application fee. IV. CLG 2009 GRANT AWARD — PROJECT COMMITTEE & FIRST STEPS Chairperson Thueson indicated she met with staff prior to the Commission meeting to discuss key items for the grant project. Staff provided copies of the grant project (TX -09 -023) notification along with a copy of an agenda item scheduled for City Council consideration on March 3rd appropriating the grant funds ($16,000) and allocation of in -kind ($12,250) along with a local cash match ($3,750) from the general fund. Ms. Thueson requested the Commission members who indicated an interest in the project when the grant was initially being prepared /submitted meet as a subcommittee with a work session monthly. The first work session will be Tuesday, March 10th from 3 -4pm in the Council Conference Room. Ms. Thueson stated two items will be the focus of the work sessions: 1) grant project and 2) review & updates to the Historic Preservation Ordinance and the Design Guidelines. Staff explained with any CLG grant people involved with the project will need to keep track of their 'in -kind' hours spent working, researching and developing the project. Chairperson Thueson noted in -kind time also included fieldwork and driving around locating pertinent historic sites for inclusion in the brochure, etc. Members discussed the grant details and Ms. Cotton asked if the City was providing the local, monetary match and staff noted the City general fund will assist with the match, and if necessary some funds may be utilized from the Convention & Visitor's Bureau 2009 programmed budget. V. REVIEW & DISCUSSION DESIGN REVIEW GUIDELINE REVISION PROJECT Chairperson Thueson referred members to the information in the meeting packets which included reference materials with sections from the City of Grapevine's Design Review Guidelines (table of contents, residential & commercial style guidelines, and window guidelines) and a news article regarding planning for historic preservation. Ms. Thueson explained the Grapevine Design Guidelines provided a very user friendly format and covered many items lacking in our current document. She noted Wichita Falls Guidelines need to be more specific and provide local visual examples of both quality alterations and inappropriate alterations, various architectural features (building styles /periods, window styles, fencing, etc). The Commission discussed the City of Grapevine's format and the majority of members were in favor of mirroring their layout for Wichita Falls document update. Chairperson Thueson requested staff contact the City of Grapevine to find out where they obtained their sketches (internet, Secretary of the Interior standards, etc.) and photos utilized in the document and if there would be a possibility for obtaining permission to utilize them. Chairperson Thueson requested people review & bring their copy of the Historic Preservation Ordinance for discussion at the next work session on March 10th and regular meeting. VI. INVITATION TO CITY BOARD & COMMISSION APPRECIATION LUNCHEON — MARCH 26'h Chairperson Thueson deferred item to staff, Ms. Gagne explained the City of Wichita Falls is hosting an appreciation luncheon for all City Council appointed Board & Commission members on Landmark Commission February 24, 2009 page 2 Thursday, March 26 between noon and 1 pm at MPEC (Room #5) to recognize their volunteer contributions. Speaking for the Landmark Commission's contributions, Ms. Gagne noted they have accomplished many important projects over the past 5 years (CLG grant - preservation video, major update to the Design Guidelines /Landmark nomination process) as community volunteers and should be recognized for their contributions. Staff encouraged all Commission members to attend the event and requested names of those available to submit to the City Clerk's office for a preliminary estimate. Approximately seven members indicated they'd be able to attend the luncheon. VII. OTHER BUSINESS: a) West Floral Heights Historic District update Ms. Carper, current President, West Floral Heights Neighborhood Association, informed Commission members the Association would like to obtain the brick pavers removed from 10`h Street for community projects within the Historic District as part the celebration of West Floral Heights 100`h anniversary during 2009. Members asked how the neighborhood would utilize the bricks. Ms. Cotton & Ms. Carper responded ideally the brick pavers could be used a base for a Historic District entry sign, brick sidewalk at the 10'' Street median park, etc. Councilor Elmore noted the original bricks that remained from the original City View School building were utilized to make a sign for the school. Ms. Cotton expressed appreciation for the 10`h Street resurfacing but would prefer to keep the original brick pavers for specific projects within the neighborhood — the bricks are both historic and valuable to this particular neighborhood. Councilor Elmore was delighted with the Association's pending brick request for City Council and liked the idea of using the bricks within their original neighborhood. Commission members discussed the request and Mr. Kidwell introduced a motion that the Landmark Commission recommend the West Floral Heights Historic District & Neighborhood Association obtain the 10`h Street brick pavers from the City of Wichita Falls for reuse within the designated Historic District. Ms. Flood seconded the motion. Motion passed with unanimous support. Planning staff indicated an endorsement letter would be submitted on behalf of the Landmark Commission outlining their recommendation to City Council. b) Update THC 106 Review Letter — 1626 Collins Ms. Gagne provided a brief overview regarding the THC's request for additional information regarding the structure(house) at 1626 Collins and the City's response. Ms. Gagne added if any federal funds are utilized in a project that may result in demolition of a structure it must be determined by the State Historic Preservation Officer whether it is eligible for historic desgination. The City received a letter of determination on February 9th from THC who declared the structure at 1626 Collins "Not Eligible" for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Mr. Newsom inquired about ownership — City vs. private? Staff noted it was private ownership but the review was triggered because the property was on Code Enforcement's public hearing list for proposed demolitions. c) Newsletter and Periodical update — Staff provided copies of recent preservation publications. Ms. Gagne inquired if any members were still missing The Medallion publication from THC. Councilor Elmore indicated he requested to be added to the publication mailing list and staff called to verify his mailing address. Members not receiving the State's publication included: Ms. Cotton, Ms. Carper, Mr. Newsom, Ms. Sullivan and Ms. Graham. Staff noted they would submit the on -line requests to begin receiving the publication. d) Questions regarding proposed work session on March 10`h — Mr. Newsom suggested considering whether this was a feasible time to expand the downtown Depot Square Historic District. He noted numerous Commission members were involved with the first Landmark Commission February 24, 2009 page 3 and second District expansion and with continued interest for downtown revitalization it was important to consider additional buildings for designation. Councilor Elmore' asked' what the boundaries are for the Depot District. Staff and Chairperson Thueson explained the downtown District essentially includes both sides of Ohio Street from 5'h to 8'h Streets, the Railroad Museum (91h /tracks) and portions of Indiana at 5'h Street and 7'h Street. Chairperson Thueson suggested it may be helpful to organize a field visit to review the buildings downtown for potential addition to the District. Members were in favor of organizing a field visit prior to contacting downtown property owners about District expansion. Chairperson Thueson noted it is important to also be proactive with preservation not just reactive through review of design applications. The ultimate long- term goals of the Commission include increasing the number of historic resources — landmark sites. Mr. Newsom suggested asking the Downtown Wichita Falls Development group if they would like to submit a proposal for an expanded Downtown Historic District. Staff indicated they would mention the idea to Cynthia Laney with DWFD, Inc. e) Other Items: Councilor Elmore stated he would be submitting another mural proposal for placement on the B & C Printing Building (situated in the Depot Square Historic District) within the next few months. Members discussed this idea and noted the Commission was in the beginning stages of revising the Design Guidelines in order to address the issue of painting murals on historically designated buildings. Ms. Graham announced the sad end for the former YWCA building at 801 Burnett as it was demolished by the First Baptist Church the week of Feb. 23`d, 2009. Ms. Sullivan announced the DWFD, Inc. organization is trying to bring in highly- sought after speaker — John Schallert for a regional seminar. Ms. Graham highlighted the Austin School Lofts received their Certificate of Occupancy for the 2nd & 3`d floors (17 units) with a final total of 25 residential units. VIII. ADJOURN The Commission adjourned the meeting at 3:41 pm. The next regular Landmark Commission meeting will be March 24, 2009 at 3pm with a work session on March 10'h at 3pm. ianne Thueson, Chairperson '� - 6_� _01 Date j RcCE;VEi� !T I CI-rY CI_ F ? "'S LtiFr C;F j Date = a0 9 i By JT.� - - - - -- Landmark Commission February 24, 2009 page 4