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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Historic Preservation Commission Minutes 10/10/2011 MINUTES CITY OF AMES HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Date: October 10, 2011 Tom Leslie 2012 Bill Malone 2012 Call to Order: 7:00 p.m. Sharon Wirth, Chairperson 2012 Elaine Dunn, Vice-Chairperson 2013 Place: Ames City Hall *Ryan Newstrom 2014 Council Chambers Roberta Vann 2014 Adjournment: 8:03 p.m. *Absent ______________________________________________________________________________ CALL TO ORDER: Sharon Wirth, Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: MOTION: (Dunn/Malone) to approve the agenda for the meeting of October 10, 2011. MOTION PASSED: 5 - 0 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF August 8, 2011: MOTION: (Leslie/Dunn) to approve the minutes of the meeting of August 8, 2011. MOTION PASSED: 5 - 0 _____________________________________________________________________________ PUBLIC COMMENTS: Michael Thole, 1307 Coconino Road #209, Caitlin Divelbess, 2922 West Street #12, and Amanda Havel, 2917 West Street #6, spoke. They are students at Iowa State University enrolled in Dr. Arvid Osterberg’s Historic Preservation class and have been working on a National Register Nomination for the Ames Public Library. They plan to do a walk-through to document details of the library and photograph both the interior and exterior. They also plan to attend a workshop on October 21 designed to help them complete the nomination form. ______________________________________________________________________________ Presentation of a Walking Tour Brochure for the Old Town Historic District Sharon Wirth distributed copies of the brochure, which was developed by the Historic Old Town Neighborhood Association. It includes a map and photos of many houses in the area, as well as architectural and historical information. Financial support was provided by a grant from the Convention & Visitors Bureau and by the Neighborhood Association. Much of the work was done by volunteers in the neighborhood. Bill Malone commended the group on this community resource. _______________________________________________________________________________ Discussion of National Register Nomination for the Ames Public Library Ms. Wirth stated that Gloria Betcher, former HPC Commission member, and Tom Leslie had previously done the necessary research and submitted a Request for Determination of Eligibility for the Library. When Ms. Wirth spoke with them about moving forward with the Nomination, Mr. Leslie told her there may be ISU students willing to take on the project. Mr. Leslie told the Commission he suggested this project for Dr. Osterberg’s Historic Preservation class. The students who spoke in Public Forum are working on this and plan to get the Nomination ready to submit. 2 Art Weeks, Ames Public Library Director, was present and said the library plans to work with the students on their project. Mr. Thole said they are hoping to present to the State Nominations Review Committee in October. Ray Anderson, planner, shared that there are steps prior to the Review Committee, and it can take several months to get the drafts approved first. The Commission encouraged them in their efforts. ______________________________________________________________________________ Update on Project to Conduct an Intensive Survey of Downtown and Prepare a National Register Nomination for Downtown Mr. Anderson discussed a map of the area to be surveyed. He stated that the first step toward a nomination is the survey, and the project has been awarded to Will Page and Ms. Betcher. This phase is to be completed by January 13. The second phase is the preparation of the nomination. Mr. Anderson described the meetings planned for phase one. The consultants will meet with this Commission twice, Main Street Cultural District three times, and City Council twice. Mr. Anderson said the State Historic Preservation Office needs to review the draft, including at least ten of the site sheets, for a minimum of 30 days. Although SHPO will not review the nomination until October of next year, the documents must be submitted by May. This is dependent on authorization by the City Council to implement phase two. Ms. Wirth asked whether the lengthy process Mr. Anderson described is because it is a district rather than an individual property. He said he thinks the timeframe is the same for all nominations. Bill Malone said that, based on a meeting he attended with the MSCD and Planner Jeff Benson, he thinks the business owners in the area need to be educated on the financial benefits of a listing. Once they are, he is sure they will support the project. ______________________________________________________________________________ Update on Project to Revise Chapter 31of the Municipal Code Mr. Anderson said there was an Historic Resources Development Program grant application made to the State to fund hiring a consultant for the project, but the grant was not awarded to the City. Since the majority of the update will now be done by staff, the scope of work needs to be adjusted. Mr. Anderson asked for the Commission’s view on what the scope should now be. Mr. Anderson referenced the scope of work approved by the City Council in April, 2011. Once the changes are decided on, it will go back before the Council. He said one solution to the loss of a consultant is to bring in outside experts on specific topics to help Council, HPC, staff, and homeowners understand what is happening with preservation in other communities. Mr. Leslie stated that in general he agrees with the current document. He asked about the wording in item 1 and suggested that bullets two and three should both read “Are inconsistent with…” He also proposed that the language be less ambiguous when discussing sustainability issues. His suggestion was to add the phrase “including integration with current LEED standards.” Mr. Anderson pointed out that item 2A references potential future commercial districts, which would mean developing design guidelines for commercial properties. This would be a major task. Ms. 3 Wirth said she is not sure that needs to stay in. Mr. Malone agreed that it could come out. Ms. Wirth said it seems the choices are to reduce the scope of work or to extend the project over a longer timeframe. She said she would prefer the scope reduction because there is a lot of interest in the district at looking at newer building materials as soon as possible. Roberta Vann asked whether there was work that could be done by volunteers, Commission members, or students. Mr. Anderson said an intern in the Planning office is checking with other cities to see what their guidelines are, and will be analyzing the results. Ms. Wirth asked whether the cities the intern is looking at are all within Iowa. Mr. Anderson said the cities are in Iowa and beyond. Mr. Leslie said it would be good to get input from contractors to find out what they would like to see happen with the chapter. Mr. Anderson said the planners will seek input from a variety of interested parties. He said this will likely be an extensive process. Ms. Wirth said she wants people to understand the plan is not to throw out Chapter 31, but to look at reviewing it with certain goals in mind. Mr. Leslie said he thinks the other items listed would all need to be addressed. Ms. Wirth suggested that 2B (on landscaping) also be deleted because it is a large project and not as pressing. Mr. Leslie disagreed, pointing out that it came up for both Roosevelt School and the Adams House. He said there is not a need for a lot of work on the issue, but topics like view corridors and the question of what constitutes historic vegetation should be addressed. Ms. Vann said she thinks landscaping is neglected in town. Mr. Malone said that, in a limited resource environment, there should be a focus on getting the most bang for the buck. Ms. Wirth said perhaps there could be a grant application made in the future for this issue to be addressed on its own. Ms. Wirth asked how much staff time will be allowed by the Council now that there is no grant for a consultant. Mr. Anderson stated there is no set amount; however, the revisions will take quite a lot of time. Ms. Wirth asked whether he and Steve Osguthorpe, Planning Director, had made a decision on the timeframe for the project without a consultant. Mr. Anderson said they were waiting to see what focus the Commission wanted to take on the scope of work. Mr. Leslie said he thought it would be helpful to know which items staff or consultants thought were the larger time commitments. Mr. Anderson said he does not see anything on the list which will be quick. Mr. Leslie suggested that 2J (about graphics and diagrams) is going to require a large commitment of time and money and it could be done later. Ms. Wirth asked if there is a projected date to get this on the Council agenda. Mr. Anderson said there had not been a specific date set, but staff would like to get it on there soon. Mr. Leslie suggested staff rate the items as to the projected amount of time, and the Commission rate the items in terms of which are most important. Mr. Malone said it might be helpful if staff made suggestions about what should be included, and give options to vote on. MOTION: (Leslie/Vann) to refer this back to staff requesting input, using a ranking system, on what is achievable given the budget. The Commission requests a report back at their November meeting. There was a discussion of when this might go to Council if a decision is delayed by HPC. 4 Ms. Wirth suggested there also be a ranking from staff on the importance of each item. MOTION PASSED: 5 - 0 ______________________________________________________________________________ COMMISSION COMMENTS: Ms. Wirth checked that all Commission members have received the emails she has been forwarding from Paula Mohr with SHPO. Everyone confirmed they had. ______________________________________________________________________________ STAFF COMMENTS: Mr. Anderson mentioned that Darrek Orwig, former Commission member, has resigned because he has moved out of Ames. The Mayor will be seeking to fill that position. Mr. Anderson said he is attending the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference in Buffalo, NY next week. He hopes to get some new information to bring back to the Commission. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTION TO ADJOURN: MOTION: (Leslie/Malone) to adjourn the meeting. MOTION PASSED: 5 - 0 The meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m. _______________________________ _______________________________ Sharon Wirth, Chairperson Tami Moen, Recording Secretary Historic Preservation Commission Department of Planning & Housing S:\PLAN_SHR\Council Boards Commissions\HPC\Minutes\2011 Minutes\Minutes-10-10-11.doc