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Home My WebLink About2007-12-13 MinutesMINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION A regular meeting of the Fayetteville Historic District Commission was held on December 13, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 111 of the City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain, Fayetteville, Arkansas. ACTION TAKEN Dickson Street Historic District Design Standards Discussion only Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page 2 MEMBERS PRESENT Vince Chadick Cheri Coley Leslie Belden Ethel Goodstein-Murphee STAFF PRESENT Kristina Jones, Long Range Planning Karen Minkel, Long Range Planning MEMBERS ABSENT Rob Merry -Ship Tim Cooper Karon Reese STAFF ABSENT 2 Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page 3 CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chair Goodstein-Murphree at 5:37 p.m. I. Announcements A. Karen Minkel, Senior Long Range Planner, reminded the Commission that Kristina Jones, member of long range planning staff, would be staffing the Historic District Commission (HDC) through February. B. Minkel also announced that the Planning Commission had unanimously approved the White Hangar Local Ordinance District Report and that it had been forwarded to the HDC for public hearing on January 10. Advertisement of the meeting would run for three consecutive weeks beginning the next week and the public would be welcome to comment at the meeting. She stated that if after public input and discussion by the HDC, if there were no recommended changes, the Commission could vote to forward the to City Council for review on February 5. II. Approval of the Minutes MOTION to approve the minutes of November 15, 2007: Leslie Belden SECOND: Cheri Coley VOTE: The vote was unanimous to approve the minutes from the October 11, 2007 meeting, 4-0-0. III. Change to the Order of the Agenda MOTION to discuss new business before old business: Cheri Coley SECOND: Vince Chadick VOTE: The vote was unanimous to discuss new business before old business, 6-0-0. Old Business IV. Dickson Street Historic District Design Standards Chair Goodstein-Murphree stated that staff had drafted design guidelines based on last week's discussion which brings the Commission a step closer to the development of design standards for the proposed Dickson Street Historic District (DSHD). She then invited Karen Minkel give the staff report and staff's recommendation for direction. Minkel read the staff report as follows: Background: The Historic District Commission approved the boundaries for a proposed local commerical historic district on September 13, 2007. These boundaries are identical to the boundaries of the National Register designation of the West Dickson Street 3 Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page 4 Commerical Historic District. The National Register designation is honorary only. The local historic district proposal captures significant historic commercial structures within the downtown, and further protections for these properties would enable the City to retain the character and historic fabric of the downtown. The Historic District Commission has expressed an interest in drafting potential design guidelines before proposing a local ordinance district in order to give property owners and elected and appointed officials a better sense of the regulations and protections that would likely affect the properties. The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Preservation and the City of El Dorado's commercial historic district guidelines served as the basis for the initial draft. In addition, the Commission requested that staff research incentives for property owners within a local historic district. DISCUSSION: The attached guidelines include a discussion of the process for receiving a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic District Comission, an outline of the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and guidelines for addressing the following: 1) Masonry 2) Wood and Siding 3) Metals 4) Pigmented structural glass 5) Paint 6) Roofs 7) Exterior Walls 8) Windows 9) Awnings 10) Entrances 11) Storefronts 12) Utilities retrofit 13) Accessibility considerations 14) Health and safety considerations 15) Energy retrofit 16) Additions 17) Demolition 18) Streetscape The City of El Dorado also included regulations regarding signage, outdoor furniture, landscaping and infill projects. Staff eliminated these items for various reasons. The City of Fayetteville already has fairly strict ordinances regarding signage and outdoor furniture. The Parks Division maintains landscaping within the boundary area, and the Commission previously decided to defer to the Downtown Design Overlay District to regulate infill projects. Staff also researched incentive alternatives for property owners within a local ordinance district. Below are alternatives that are either in current City code or options utilized by other cities and are legally feasible in Fayetteville. 11 Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page S Building Permit Fee Waivers: Chapter 159 (B)(11)(a)(iii) of the Unified Development Code states that: Buildings identified and classified as historical buildings or structures by state or local jurisdiction shall be exemptfrom permitfees. Waiving or Reducing Impact Fees: The City currently charges impact fees for water and sewer, fire and police. These fees only apply to new development and would only affect accessory dwelling unit additions to historic residential structures. Property Tax Abatement: Cities such as Dallas and San Antonio suspend property tax payments to the city at current levels for property owners within new local historic districts until the property is sold. This is typically used in an area where you already have a high property tax and you are also forming an historic district in an area, like Argenta in N. Little Rock for example, where many of the buildings are in shambles and there is a concern about gentrification and displacing residents if a Local Ordinance District is established. Revolving Loan Funds: Community Development Block grants, which are issued by the federal government and administered by the City's Community Resources Division, could be used to to begin a loan program for low- to moderate -income households for restoring historic properties. Grant Funding: State Certified Local Government grants can be used for bricks and mortar work . I did look into Ad Valorem tax and the city wouldn't have a say in how that tax is used according to City Attorney Kit Williams. RECOMMENDATION: Planning staff recommends that the Historic District Commission review the draft guidelines section by section and make amendments as necessary. If there are questions, staff can respond tonight or can do further research. Chair Goodstein-Murphree thanked Karen Minkel and proposed that the Commission begin by reviewing the guidelines section by section. She remarked that she had not had an opportunity to redline the materials yet. Commissioner Belden responded that she had read the beginning and only scanned the last of the document, commenting that it was a lot of material to assimilate. She only found a few things she had questions on and they were at the beginning. Chair Goodstein-Murphree asked Belden to start the discussion with her comments. E Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page 6 Commissioner Belden began with discussion of the first page under the exempted improvements paragraph, and asked why we would want to exempt a change in exterior paint color because often it is a significant piece of the history of the property. She had concern that someone might paint something an inappropriate color, though she stated that this is more of a concern in a residential district. Did this come from the El Dorado standards and why did they include this? Chair Goodstein-Murphree recalled that they had discussed this at some point and her instincts told her that when people hear the "historic district" they think "they are not going to let me paint my house the color I want." Maybe we should look at some wording and also think about whether this is something the Commission wants to address. Commissioner Belden mentioned that painted metals were addressed in the guidelines, but she was not sure about masonry. Minkel mentioned that there are paint color guidelines, but that they could possibly be in conflict. Commissioner Belden again expressed concern that if someone wanted to paint something they would paint without consulting the HDC. Commissioner Chadick said that he appreciated Belden's concern but was afraid, especially downtown, that people would be upset if they couldn't paint the color they want, especially if it didn't affect the integrity of the building. He would be willing to give up control over paint color if he could have more say in maintaining the integrity of the building. He didn't want it to be an all or nothing, or a deal breaker. He doesn't want people to seize on the paint color point. Commissioner Belden mentioned, just as example, an individual repainting the old post office and not having to consult the Commission. She has concerns. Chair Goodstein-Murphree stated that it does bring up the issue of appropriate treatment of masonry in a significant building. Commissioner Chadick responded that not only could they paint it inappropriately but they could add on to it or tear parts down, and what he wants to accomplish is to get to a point where they are doing more to preserve these structures. If paint color were included that would be good, but it is important to get something done. Moving to another part, in the framework we use the phrase "Category 1." Shouldn't that be listed as "exempted improvements" and under that, "ordinary maintenance"? He referred to a definition at the back of the regulations for ordinary maintenance and asked if it was intended to included but not be limited to the bullet points listed on page one of the proposed design guidelines. 0 Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page 7 Minkel said that she thought it was just listed to give leeway. Discussion of the definition of "ordinary maintenance" took place. Commissioner Chadick suggested they tighten up their definition of "ordinary maintenance" so that someone could not argue what it included. He then asked if there was a specific definition for fagade. Minkel responded that the Unified Development Code (UDC) has a definition for a "principle fagade". Commissioner Chadick requested that the definition of "principle fagade" match in the UDC and the design standards. Minkel requested that the commission make a formal motion as they go through language changes to be made. Commissioner Belden mentioned how the ordinary maintenance paragraph could be reworded and made a motion to change the wording. Motion: Commissioner Belden made a motion to change the wording of the first phrase of the second paragraph under exempted improvements page one to "work classified as ordinary maintenance will include:" Commissioner Coley seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed with a vote of 4-0-0. Chair Goodstein-Murphree referred back to Commissioner Chadick's comments regarding the phrase "but not limited to" to be discussed further. Commissioner Chadick responded that he wasn't ready to make a formal motion but he wanted to better understand what "ordinary maintenance" was and if the definition on page twenty nine of the standards should say "maintain" instead of "upgrade" as it does in page one. Chair Goodstein-Murphree agreed that there was an inconsistency between the two words and that "upgrade" described an improvement whereas "maintain" better fit what they were trying to say. Motion: Commissioner Belden made a motion to change the definition of "Ordinary Maintenance" on page 29 to state "ORDINARY MAINTENANCE — Those 7 Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page 8 improvements, which do not change but simply maintain a structure." Commissioner Coley seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed with a vote of 4-0-0. Commissioner Chadick discussed wording to improve the definition of "ordinary maintenance" on page one and suggested the following "Ordinary Maintenance: Ordinary maintenance contemplates repairs (improvements) that do not change the exterior appearance of the fagade but only seek to maintain the structure. Ordinary maintenance includes repairs that do not significantly alter the exterior of the building but are necessary to remove unsafe or dangerous conditions." The next sentence would be modified to say "Ordinary maintenance includes the following activities:" He then asked the Commission if they thought the list of items classified as ordinary maintenance should be all inclusive. Chair Goodstein-Murphree responded by asking if anyone could envision a procedure that might be perceived as ordinary maintenance but might be detrimental to the building. Commissioner Belden gave an example of replacing a damaged door, which wouldn't be included in the list. Commissioner Chadick stated that light fixtures wouldn't be exempt either. He went on to say that if a person asked if an item wasn't on the list would it be exempted, to which the response of the Commission might be "is it a repair that doesn't change the exterior appearance?" Chair Goodstein-Murphree noted that there appeared to be two levels of maintenance. One group of these could be classified as activities, particularly in an historic district, that affect health, safety and welfare. The other would apply to appearance, for example, like replacing exterior trim, or changing paint color. Commissioner Belden requested that the commission get some examples from other historic districts of exempted improvements. Chair Goodstein-Murphree asked staff to look into historic districts, such as Rogers, to see what ranges of items appear under exempted improvements. Commissioner Chadick suggested that they remove the bullet points from the document until they have an opportunity to look more closely at the document. If later on the commission wants to come back and add in exempted improvements to be included they could do so. Chair Goodstein-Murphree acknowledged that staff requested motions as the HDC went through the document, but asked if the commission and staff would be comfortable with doing an initial read through the document to check for inconsistencies and any lacking information. After that they could go back and do a more detailed second reading. Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page 9 Commissioner Chadick agreed with Chair Goodstein-Murphree, but suggested that, for purposes of walking out tonight, they could have a working document by having two paragraphs. Motion: Commissioner Chadick made a motion to amend the language on page one under "Exempted Improvements" to read as follows: "Ordinary Maintenance: Ordinary maintenance contemplates repairs (i.e. improvements) that do not change the exterior appearance of the fagade but only seek to maintain the structure. Ordinary maintenance includes repairs that do not significantly alter the exterior appearance of the building but are necessary to remove unsafe or dangerous conditions." Continuing on I would move to take out the paragraph in its entirety with the bullet points and then leave unchanged the final paragraph, the one that begins "The Historic District Commission..." Commissioner Belden seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed with a vote of 4-0-0. Commissioner Belden remarked that pages one and two use the terms "Certificate of Appropriateness" and "Certificate of Approval' interchangeably and that it is confusing. She felt that Appropriateness was the correct term. Chair Goodstein-Murphree agreed and added that Appropriateness sounded more palatable. Commissioner Coley thought that it sounded less threatening. Motion: Commissioner Belden made a motion to change the bold-faced sub -heads on pages one and two that respectively say "Procedure for Obtaining a Certificate of Approval' and "Processing a Certificate of Approval" to read "Certificate of Appropriateness." Commissioner Coley seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed with a vote of 4-0-0. Chair Goodstein-Murphree asked staff to double check the wording for "approval' and "appropriateness" to ensure that it was correct. Commissioner Belden opened up discussion about item one, page three under "Basis for Determination." The commissioners agreed that the sentence was confusing. They discussed the role of the commission of that as a body engaged in a fair and just evaluation of applications that is based on the authorizing ordinance. Motion: Commissioner Belden made a motion to amend that language on item one, page three under "Basis for Determination" to read "The commission relies on the authorizing 0 Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page 10 ordinance that established the historic district commission to provide the basis for evaluating applications." Commissioner Chadick seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed with a vote of 4-0-0. Chair Goodstein-Murphree suggested they look at item two on the same page and possibly tighten up the language. Commissioner Chadick commented that it was going to take much more time to go through the entire document. Chair Goodstein-Murphree agreed and stated that, with no disrespect to staff, twenty- four hours wasn't enough turn -around to be able to digest the document. She suggested that, for the February meeting, the commissioners could mark-up the draft design guidelines and give them back to staff to cut and paste together. Commissioner Belden added that the commissioners could get the comments back to staff by the January HDC meeting; staff could compile the comments, including who made each comment by each item and then get them back to the commissioners for the February meeting. Chair Goodstein-Murphree said that it could be a synthesis of all remarks compiled into one document and returned to the commission two weeks prior to the February meeting. Commissioner Belden stated they could beef up the definitions. Chair Goodstein-Murphree responded that she had an architectural dictionary that could be used. Commissioner Chadick said that he would review the "wills" and the "shalls." Commissioner Belden offered to look at demolitions, rehabs and major additions. Chair Goodstein-Murphree suggested that Commissioner Cooper could look at procedures in from the practice (architecture) point of view, and that Commissioner Coley had an eye for items concerning the public constituency. Commissioners Reese and Merry -Ship could contribute their unique perspectives to the review process. She then asked Kristina Jones if she needed any clarification in terms of the commission's goals between now and the meetings in January and February. Kristina Jones replied that she would make changes to the items that were motioned during the meeting that evening. The commissioners would make their comments electronically or manually and get those back to her by the January 10 meeting. She said that staff would communicate this information to the commissioners that were not present this evening and mention that everyone would review the document using their particular strong -suit. 10 Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page I1 Commissioner Belden added that Commissioner Merry -Ship should look at it in terms of what the developers are going to see and what they could absolutely not live with. Commissioner Chadick responded that in addition to demolitions, he might want to take a look at the exemptions incentive too. Commissioner Belden said that Commissioner Reese, being a realtor would have insight into what property owners might be fearful of. She said that we want this to be good for the building owners, not the "aesthetic police." Chair Goodstein-Murphree agreed and said that this goes back to the point that Vince always makes "carrots, not sticks," and we present a vision that having a good preservation policy is not burdensome, and is good for the property owners economically. Commissioner Belden referred to the "carrots" or incentives that Karen spoke of in the staff report, and requested they look into those further. She thought it might be a good idea to have that list ready for the January public hearing in order to begin to educate the public. Chair Goodstein-Murphree replied that it might be too much to bring that up along with the White Hangar public hearing, but it might be appropriate to have that information available when the ordinance goes to City Council. Commissioner Belden brought up the fact that there are some incentives listed already in place. Commissioner Chadick commented that one of the frequently used government tools is property tax abatement, which is often used in a large retail store at a mall or for a manufacturing employer. But in terms of downtown Fayetteville, what we are doing is trying to develop an aesthetic and people want to come and spend their dollars. For every dollar the city doesn't get in property tax abatements if this is implemented, we could get more in return for people wanting to come down and enjoy the beauty of it and spend their money. Commissioner Belden recalled a conference she had attended where she learned of a city trying to establish an historic district. They cited the suspension of property taxes as the key to its successful establishment. She stated that if what you are giving in return is better than what you are taking away, then I am all for it. We might want to ask how we could write that in at some point. Commissioner Chadick responded that staff has gone the first step by finding lawful alternatives, and that this isn't being abandoned. But that it is a difficult time to talk about relinquishing revenues. Chair Goodstein-Murphree referred back to commissioner Belden's comment on having incentive information prepared for the public and requested that staff possibly 11 Historic District Commission December 13, 2007 Page 12 look further into the research done with Dallas and San Antonio, what the tax abatement looks like and economically how those districts are doing in terms of producing other revenues in absence of the tax. Commissioner Chadick suggested looking into the senior discount incentive, or possibly borrowing the language from that incentive. MEETING ADJOURNED: 7:00 P.M. 12