Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-26-10 Historic Preservation Advisory Board Minutes (2) Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board Minutes – August 26, 2010 Members in attendance: Ryan Olson, Jane Klockman, Lesley Gilmore, Dale Martin, Mark Hufstetler (chair), Lora Dalton, Anne Sherwood, Courtney Kramer (Historic Preservation Officer), Carson Taylor (Commission Liaison), Tim McHarg (Planning Director). I.Call to order at 6:28 pm. II.No minutes to adopt as minutes from the June BHPAB meeting were not sent to the BHPAB. III.No ex parte communication reported between BHPAB members and Commissioners. IV.Introduction of guests: a.CK introduced Anne Owen and Cole Sherwood, applicants for Tax Abatement for Historic Preservation for their project in the Cooper Park Historic District at 404 West Curtiss Street. V.Project Review: a.Anne Owen explained that refinancing the house led to the need to redo the foundation. The rehab project will add a foundation below the entire house, including the existing remodels and porch additions, but will not expand the footprint of the building. Anne explains that CK contacted her about the potential for utilizing the Tax Abatement, and they thought it sounded like a good thing. b.BHPAB questions: i.LG asked about the procedure for lifting the house. 1.Cole Sherman responds that they will lift the building in place, dig out the foundation and additional dirt beneath the building, and set the structure back down. ii.LG asked if they’ll keep the stone foundation rocks 1.CS responded that they might use them for landscaping purposes iii.LG asked if the window wells will be level with grade? 1.AO responds that the window wells will be level with grade. Perhaps they could reuse the foundation stones to build the window wells? iv.LD asked if the house height will remain the same? 1.AO replied that the house’s height would remain unchanged. v.MH asked if any other exterior work will happen at this time? 1.AO: only potential repainting due to the nature of the project. Page 1 c.BHPAB Discussion: i.LG noted that the Standards established in section 3.30.050 C 4 of the Tax Abatement Ordinance require that “If replaced, the exterior of the new foundation shall match the historic foundation in appearance.” LG wonders how the BHPAB can work with an applicant to satisfy that standard? 1.MH suggests some kind of printing or otherwise imitative application be used to mimic the appearance of the historic stone foundation while allowing the new foundation to be installed. d.Motion: i.LG motioned to recommend tax abatement for the property at 404 West Curtis Street on the condition that where the visible foundation is currently stone the new foundation shall have the appearance of rough ashlar foundation stones through whatever means possible, and granting the Historic Preservation Officer discretion in evaluating the mechanism for achieving the appearance of rough ashlar stone on the new foundation. 1.DM seconds 2.Motion Passes e.Discussion examination and justification for BHPAB motion: i.The BHPAB strongly supports the project, individually and collectively. The building will continue to contribute to the Cooper Park Historic District after the project is completed. The condition imposed by the BHPAB is an effort to adhere to previously established guidelines, but the condition can be administered with flexibility on the part of the Historic Preservation Officer given the economic realities of the project. ii.In regards to the condition imposed: 1.About one third of the current foundation is of visible stone 2.Tax abatement rules require replacement of the foundation in the same material, or of evocative appearance in another material such as imitative stone. 3.If commercially available and of minimal additional expense, the property owners will be required to replace the publicly-visible part of the foundation in either stone (façade) or, more likely, in concrete cast or scribed to resemble rough ashlar. This is subject to research, knowledge and assessment of the City Planning Staff. 4.Among board members attending the range of feeling regarding the foundation condition ranged from (apparent) indifference or low priority on the point to strong feeling for honoring this tax abatement requirement and keeping precedence in anticipation of future applications that will be more difficult. Page 2 VI.Chair’s report: a.Feedback from the July commission meeting: i.Minute taking and communicating information seemed to be the most important specific issue. MH noted that the organization structure of the minutes needs to ensure that the minutes are prepared and complete and reflect the intellectual and academic nuances of a conversation. Henceforth Dale has volunteered to prepare a conclusion of bullet points describing and summarizing the discussion. Minutes also need to be written by a member, not city staff. The City Clerk’s office has extended an invitation for a coaching session on taking minutes. 1.RO suggested that 6 months down the road the BHPAB ask the commission to edit and review the minutes and offer constructive criticism. 2.CK suggested that a BHPAB member attend the Commission meeting about items the BHPAB has offered specific advice on. 3.LD notes that this would be good for developing and maintaining a relationship with the commission. 4.TMcH suggested the BHPAB include the opposite side of the argument and include in the minutes why the BHPAB considered and discarded the other options. 5.CT suggested the BHPAB focus the City Commission comments on the culture of the comments and additional depth of discussion. ii.Feedback from members: 1.LD was pleased with how friendly and thoughtful the conversation was 2.DM impressed with the specificity of the conversation 3.MH was surprised with how specific the questions were, and impressed by how they illustrated all the specific things the BHPAB is responsible for 4.DM it seemed like they were interested in particular policies 5.CT expected it to go much more like the DRB meeting. Believes that what the commission needs is a deeper understanding of the why, how and where’s of historic preservation. The BHPAB needs to debunk the myth that the BHPAB wants to save every building. The commission seems to be supportive of the demo by neglect concept, which is promising. The next step might be a tour of the historic districts, illustrating the importance of historic preservation and what happens when it Page 3 is not emphasized. The tour could emulate the Planning Board’s recent tour with the commission. 6.DM notes the importance of including marginal sites as a way of communicating the process to explain why places matter. 7.MH asks how something like that gets arranged? Through the planning department? 8.RO thought that in the interim the BHPAB can brainstorm sites to visit. 9.MH believed such a tour could take about 2 hours and should include existing and potential historic districts. Perhaps planning this should be delegated to the Education and Outreach committee? b.MH noted a reminder for attendance of subcommittee and general meetings c.MH also inquired as to the location of the Historic District signage. We were promised it AGES ago! d.Trying to schedule an architectural tour of historic properties for BHAPB members: i.Anne has asked Thomas Bitnar about hosting ii.Jane mentioned the Neutra house on Sourdough iii.BB’s rehab of the King House is nearing completion and would also be an excellent tour. iv.The BHPAB will try to schedule an architectural tour for their October meeting. VII.Planning and Policy Subcommittee report: a.Lora Dalton (chair) notes the resubmission of a demolition by neglect ordinance. The BHPAB met in August and spent time discussion previous interactions with the commissions on that point. The BHPAB is currently preparing to offer a proposal in September for Demo by neglect. The Planning and Policy group felt that it was important that the Board publicly assist in the presentation of the proposal to the Commission. b.LD noted that the historic sign ordinance has been tabled given the pressure on the BHPAB for the Tax Abatement. c.Next Planning and Policy meeting scheduled for 6:30 pm on August 31 at Mark’s. VIII.Education and Outreach Subcommittee report: a.Ryan Olson (Chair) asked that the minutes reflect an official thanking of Ron Gompertz in his efforts for getting the ad up under the Story und the Stars film series, as well as “Hey cupcakes” for their sponsorship of the August Open House and Bon Ton District Walking Tour. th b.Formalization of the October 30 Cemetery Tour i.Jam Webster will give tour ii.Dale Martin will give a lecture prior to the tour Page 4 iii.Do we want to run an ad for the Cemetery tour? c.Preservation Awards i.Some discussion about the appropriateness of combining the Preservation Awards with the Beautification Awards. CK notes that staff time has been drastically reduced, and combining the awards allows Planning Department staff to properly plan the programs while splitting the workload. The motion to combine awards passes on a 4-3 vote. ii.Award nominations are due September 8 iii.The BHPAB will receive nomination packets in mid-September iv.The BHPAB will do a tour of all of the nominated properties on Sunday, th September 19 st v.The BHPAB will vote on awards on September 21. vi.The Awards ceremony is planned for the evening of November 5, at the Beall Park Center IX.Staff Liaison Report: a.The Montana History Conference is at the end of September. Attendance of the Thursday, September 30 Historic Preservation Commission session is a $25 application fee, and the BHPAB has previously agreed to budget $200 for continuing education of the membership. i.RO makes the motion to authorize a $25 stipend to reimburse attendees of the session. ii.AS seconds iii.Motion passes iv.Lora and Jane will attend the September 30 training in Helena. X.Meeting adjourns at 8:51 pm Action Items:  CK: chase down June BHPAB minutes and July BHPAB/ Commission minutes  CK: get new contact list/ role call list into binder  CK: Press release noting the first tax abatement project approved through Ordinance 1744  CK and Mark: follow up with Clerk on orientation/ minutes session from City Clerk’s office.  CK: follow up with Debbie Arkel- where are the signs?  CK: ads for the cemetery tour?  CK: 2010-2011 BHPAB budget? Page 5