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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Historic Preservation Commission Minutes 01/14/2019 MINUTES CITY OF AMES HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION CALL TO ORDER: Peter Hallock, Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 6:00PM. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: MOTION: (Minks/Grevstad-Nordbrock) to approve the Agenda for the meeting of February 11, 2019. MOTION PASSED: (6-0) APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JANUARY 14, 2018: MOTION: (Snell/Hovis) to approve the Minutes of the meeting of January 14, 2018. MOTION PASSED: (6-0) ____________________________________________________________________________ PUBLIC FORUM: There were no public comments. ____________________________________________________________________________ DISCUSS INFORMATION TO INCLUDE IN THE 2018 CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT ANNUAL REPORT Eloise Sahlstrom, City Planner, discussed an amendment sent to the Commission in reference to the Certified Local Government Annual Report (CLG Annual Report). She stated there are some necessary items that needed to be addressed in regards to the what the Commission would like to add to the report. The report needs to know what they have done in 2018 and what they would like to accomplish in 2019. She made reference to the draft currently in place and asked the Commission if they had any additions or removals to what is listed. Peter Hallock, Chairperson, replied that he could not think of anything that could be added. What was currently listed seemed appropriate. Ted Grevstad-Nordbrock, Vice Chairperson, asked Staff if the Commission met all the requirements and have doing what they are obligated to do. Ms. Sahlstrom was uncertain but said she believed so. Ms. Sahlstrom asked if there was any previously discussed items, events, or speakers that they knew for certain they would like to accomplish this year. Mr. Hallock stated he liked the idea of bringing in a speaker to discuss the tax credit opportunities for those covered in the historical district. Mr. Grevstad-Nordbrock agreed. Ms. Sahlstrom asked the Commission when they would like to have the speaker present to the Commission. Mr. Hallock thought April or September so Iowa State students could attend. Mr. Grevstad-Nordbrock added that it would also have to be an appropriate time for businesses within the Downtown District to attend as well. 2 Ms. Sahlstrom mentioned that the Downtown Façade Grant has just been released with a February deadline. It may be good to have a speaker sooner so businesses could apply certain tax credits to it. Mr. Hallock stated they should plan on a speaker for the April meeting. Mr. Grevstad-Nordbrock agreed to reach out and make the arrangements. Ms. Sahlstrom said that Staff would work with the City’s public relations team to promote the event. Mr. Grevstad-Nordbrock asked if it was possible to have the proposed meeting and speaker off- site. Ms. Sahlstrom was not certain at this time. She thought that it may be beneficial to have the speaker present in the Council Chambers so it may be recorded and archived. Mr. Grevstad-Nordbrock asked if the regular scheduled date and time for the April meeting would work for property owners who own businesses in the Downtown District. Lisa Hovis, Commission Member, replied that it should work for them. Ms. Sahlstrom asked how many members planned on attending the Preserve Iowa Summit. A majority of the members stated that they planned on going. Ms. Sahlstrom addressed the Commission’s previous comments on the City’s website. Mr. Grevstad-Nordbrock felt that there could be updates to the current webpage such as clearly defined dos and don’ts for those who reside in the Historic District. He also liked the idea of an interactive map to better define what properties are contributing to the Historic District. Mr. Hallock agreed and added that there are aerial maps that identify the Historic District, but doesn’t believe they are available on the website at this time. Ms. Hovis asked about the process on getting the maps on the website. Ms. Sahlstrom said she was unsure, but would begin to look into it. Mr. Grevstad-Nordbrock said it would be interesting to see how many certificates of appropriateness have come through the Commission over the years due to lack of understanding the guidelines by the property owners. This applies greatly to the recent designation of the Downtown District. Property owners there may not know what tax credits they are eligible for or know if they are a contributing property or not. Ms. Sahlstrom asked the Commission to review other city preservation websites and return to Staff with examples of their expectations. Ms. Sahlstrom asked the Commission if they have discussed further on Chapter 31 and the Preservation Plan. Mr. Hallock stated that they had discussed the Preservation Plan in previous months but not recently. It would be a good thing to pursue and possibly reach out to see if there are neighbors that have interest in researching their background for the possibility of being placed on the national historic registry. Ms. Sahlstrom asked if they had gone through the Zoning side of Chapter 31. Commission said they have not yet. Ms. Sahlstrom asked how they would like to proceed with reviewing Chapter 31. 3 Mr. Hallock stated that it would probably be best to divide the chapter up month-by-month. He added that he has asked in previous months for Staff to provide a list of properties that are currently being worked on within the Historic Districts. A large change in the code updates 4-5 years ago was that Staff could review some plans without having to bring them forth to the Comission. Mr. Hallock feels it would be beneficial to have at least a report of what is being reviewed or currently being worked on in the so the Commission is up to date. Ms. Sahlstrom said that, when reviewing previous certificates of appropriateness that were submitted last year, most of those approved have done little or no work on their submittal. She asked if this has been an issue. Mr. Hallock said that this is a good example of why a list from Staff would benefit the Commission. Ms. Sahlstrom agreed and would see what information she could bring back to the Commission. Ms. Sahlstrom added that it may be a good idea to reach out to those who are past the 12 month expiration and see what issues and assistance they may require to finish their work. Mr. Hallock said that this issue would be a good thing to add into Challenges. Commission should receive some sort of tracking to keep informed and accountable to these sorts of situations. Ms. Sahlstrom asked if there were any updates on getting a plaque for the newly designated Downtown District. Ms. Hovis said she did want to pursue it and is currently researching it. An update for the Downtown plaques is slated to be on the March agenda. MOTION: (Grevstad-Nordbrock/Hovis) that Staff investigate the possibility of updating the City website where Citizens have greater access to information in regards to properties within the Historic Districts. MOTION PASSED: (6-0) MOTION: (Grevstad-Nordbrock/Snell) to have Staff present a staff report at every meeting that has work currently being approved or done within the Historic District. MOTION PASSED: (6-0) ____________________________________________________________________________ DISCUSS PLANS FOR THE 2019 HISTORIC PERSERVATION AWARDS PROGRAM Mr. Hallock stated that in 2018 the Commission did not receive any applications for the Awards Program. Ms. Sahlstrom confirmed. Last year, staff sent out information to the lead contact for each historical district neighborhood, but there could be properties that are within the districts that had been recently restored. Mr. Hallock agreed and said that the program is not limited to Historical District homes. He believes that it would be a good idea to continue the awards program for 2019. Mr. Grevstad-Nordbrock asked if the focus was on rehabilitation or preservation. Ms. Sahlstrom listed the categories recognized. 4 Mr. Grevstad-Nordbrock asked the Commission could nominate or could people self-nominate. Ms. Sahlstrom stated she believes it is open for anyone to nominate. Ms. Sahlstrom stated the applications are due by February 22nd. This will allow all the information to be compiled before the March meeting. City Council would then issue the awards in the April. Mr. Grevstad asked if there was a time restriction on how new the rehabilitation has been done. Ms. Sahlstrom said 3 years. Susan Minks, Commission Member, asked if there is a list of previous nominees. Ms. Sahlstrom was uncertain but they could possibly find out. Ms. Minks asked how long these have been awarded. Mr. Hallock stated at least 10 years. The Commission discussed different properties that have been awarded and could qualify in the future. MOTION: (Snell/Hunter) to continue sponsorship for the Historic Preservation Awards Program in 2019 and request staff to send out notification mailers. MOTION PASSED: (6-0) ____________________________________________________________________________ COMMISSION COMMENTS: None STAFF COMMENTS: None __________________________________________________________________________ MOTION TO ADJOURN: MOTION: (Hovis/Snell) to adjourn the meeting. MOTION PASSED: (6-0) The meeting adjourned at 6:49 PM. _________________________________ ____________________________________ Peter Hallock, Chairperson Ben Lievens, Recording Secretary Historic Preservation Commission Department of Planning & Housing 5 S:\Planning.Dep\PLAN_SHR\Council Boards Commissions\HPC\Minutes\2018 Minutes\HPC Minutes 12-10-18.doc