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Home My WebLink About2007-09-13 MinutesMINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION A regular meeting of the Fayetteville Historic District Commission was held on September 13, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 111 of the City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain, Fayetteville, Arkansas. ACTION TAKEN Historic District Commission Strategic Plan Approved Historic District Commission September 13, 2007 Page 2 MEMBERS PRESENT Leslie Belden Vince Chadick Cheri Coley Tim Cooper Ethel Goodstein-Murphee Rob Merry -Ship Karon Reese STAFF PRESENT Karen Minkel, Long Range Planning MEMBERS ABSENT STAFF ABSENT 2 Historic District Commission September 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 announced that the next Certified Local Government Meeting would be held in North Little Rock November 8-10 and would include a one -day training for staff and commissioners. A workshop on cemetery preservation was also available for commissioners to attend in Hot Springs on September 29, 2007. B. Ms. Minkel also announced that the 2008 Award Nominations for Historic Preservation were due September 28, 2007. II. Approval of the Minutes MOTION to approve the minutes of May 10, 2007: Vince Chadick SECOND: Cheri Coley VOTE: The vote was unanimous to approve the minutes from the May 10, 2007 meeting, 7-0-0. III. Historic District Commission Strategic Plan for 2007-2008 Karen Minkel, Senior Long Range Planner, outlined four propositions that the Commission could pursue: 1) a Commercial Historic District in the downtown; 2) a Residential Historic District; 3) Evergreen Cemetery; or 4) an individual, City -owned building. She then provided some background for the two new commissioners on the previous year's efforts of the Commission, which had sought to expand the historic district nominated for the National Register by the State Historic Preservation Program Office. Minkel reiterated that a local historic district can be overlayed on a National Register District without seeking a formal signed petition from a majority of the property owners. Commissioner Belden added that the argument has always been that the historic resources are bigger than the State's findings, but she favored pursuing an easier route in order to have something to start with; this would legitimize the Commission. Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree said that rather than an "easy route," it was an opportunity to capitalize on momentum. Commissioner Belden added that the National Register status offers incentives that a local ordinance district does not. 3 Historic District Commission September 13, 2007 Page 4 Commissioner Coley stated that she agreed with Commissioners Belden and Goodstein- Murphree. Commissioner Merry -Ship also expressed his agreement. Commissioner Chadick stated that he tended to agree as well. Preservation should also be about what the Commission could do that modified or added to National Register certification. He would not want to overlay a district simply because the Commission was results -oriented. Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree said that this brought to mind design guidelines, since the National Register status was honorific only. Commissioner Chadick said he was somewhat ignorant about what a National Register would do. If there were no limitations, then he agreed without conditions with Commissioner Belden. Commissioner Reese asked why the original proposed boundaries had been pared down. Commissioner Chadick responded that if the Commissioner overlayed a local ordinance district, then the Commission would not have to seek approval from 50% of the property owners. Commissioner Belden added that the folks from Little Rock had a certain amount of manpower and specified goals. Commissioner Merry -Ship said that the State could come back and add to the initial district later. Commissioner Cooper said that if the Commission did choose to overlay, it would still have to get more than 50% of the property owners' buy -in. Commissioner Merry -Ship asked if there were no incentives for why anyone would choose to overlay. The only thing he'd heard about previously was the 10% tax credit on renovation costs. They received more for Carrell Hall through help from the National Trust. There would be restrictions about things like changing windows, which can make it difficult to turn a project into a viable building. He wasn't sure the local ordinance district was a good carrot until someone gets a tax credit. Commissioner Reese asked what the Commission could offer. Commissioner Chadick responded that the Commission had discussed incentives and thinking outside the box. Some things to consider would be fast-track approval or the waiving of impact fees. 11 Historic District Commission September 13, 2007 Page S Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree added that there was a possibility of a future state tax credit since Arkansas was one of the only states in the region that did not have such a credit. Commissioner Belden said that one incentive, or hazard to some, was how the district would be regulated once one was put in place. She said the Commission would have to careful in how it regulated, encouraging infill that retains historic character and doesn't scare people away, but not make it prohibitive to the point that people wouldn't want to improve their buildings. Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree said that the goal would be to create an ordinance that promotes quality projects. It was a question or protecting valued structures. Commissioner Belden asked if the next step was to discuss the regulations themselves. Minkel said that staff would need clear direction from the Commission in terms of what to include in draft design standards. Commissioner Belden said that previous ordinances addressed all buildings equally. There needed to be a discussion about balancing good infill. Commissioner Merry -Ship added that the Commission would also need to know what Planning staff is doing and be clear about preferences. Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree said that no one wants to see the creation of Disney Main Street. Commissioner Reese said that she was most interested in design standards because she feared the trend of creating buildings that didn't have anything to do with our lives. Just as ranch houses had had a bad reputation, now they were in high demand. Commissioner Belden said that there had to be some criteria that sounded reasonable. Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree stated that it would be worthwhile at the next meeting to make sure everyone had the relevant paperwork and to put together a package of images of the buildings, salient architectural features and what things to protect. Another concern was where the Commission stood on teardowns. Commissioner Reese asked if contributing buildings were not protected. Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree responded that National Register status alone would not protect buildings. Commissioner Reese stated people invested in property along Dickson Street are considering going up. E Historic District Commission September 13, 2007 Page 6 Commissioner Cooper cautioned that the Commission would have to be careful because how much would a local ordinance district be giving them in exchange for some type of height restriction. Commissioner Belden stated that if they wanted the Council to approve a local district, they would have to balance what is good for the community with what is acceptable to property owners. If the character on Dickson Street is no longer there, then property will not be as valuable. Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree added that the numbers of heritage tourism support that statement. Commissioner Reese stated that she loved the character of Dickson Street, but if she owned a building, she might resent someone telling her she couldn't go up six stories. Commissioner Belden said the Commission would have to put something in place that was mostly beneficial to most of the people. Commissioner Reese said that a tax credit was crucial. She also asked if the regulations only affected facades. Commissioner Belden said yes. Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree stated that the face of the building was the principal subject. Motion: Commissioner Belden moved to modify the draft boundaries of the previously proposed local ordinance district and adopt the geographic boundaries of the National Register nomination as a commercial historic district. Commissioner Coley seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion passed 5-0-0. Additional Discussion Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree asked staff if there had been any closure on the August meeting with the West Lafayette neighborhood. Minkel responded that she had not heard from anyone. Commissioner Coley said it seemed like there were not interested in an historic neighborhood designation. Commissioner Cooper added that the neighborhood seemed to be looking for a way to stop the University of Arkansas. 0 Historic District Commission September 13, 2007 Page 7 Commissioner Reese they didn't seem to want control over their properties and that she was astonished because they've had vocal advocates for historic preservation. Commissioner Goodstein-Murphree stated that unless the Commission hear otherwise from property owners, the Commission was not going to take action on the Lafayette neighborhood. MEETING ADJOURNED: 6:38 P.M. 7