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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09122019 Historic Preservation Minutes City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes September 12, 2019 Volume 3,Page 181 CALL TO ORDER The September 12,2019 regular meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was called to order at 7:32 p.m.by Chair Wolfgang Kurtz. OPENING CEREMONY Wolfgang Kurtz led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Wolfgang Kurtz presiding Cheryl Seese Tanguy Libbrecht Iris Darling Michelle Cobble Sue Ward comprising a quorum of the Commission; and Valerie Kingsland, Library Museum Director Brenda Ballou,City Clerk Excused—None Absent—None Vacancy—One CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING John French was frustrated that some peoples'perceptions of what historic preservation was only included saving buildings,when in fact,he said,preserving history could happen in many ways. French said the Jesse Lee Home was important to this community, and the history of it should be preserved,even if the building was not. He added that there were several other important places in Seward to preserve, including Fort Raymond,the tuberculosis sanatorium, and the Army docks. Tom Swann was interested in the expansion of the downtown historic district. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Darling/Ward) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Kurtz requested to postpone the discussion to revise and approve the second biannual report to council to the next meeting. There was no objection from the commission. City of Seward, Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes September 12, 2019 Volume 3, Page 182 Motion Approved Unanimous Consent There were no items on consent. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS,AND REPORTS 2019 CLG Grant Status by Wolf Kurtz. Liaison Report on Resurrection Bay Historical Society&Rockwell Kent Centennial by Sue Ward. Rockwell Kent Centennial by Doug Capra. PUBLIC HEARINGS—None UNFINISHED BUSINESS Establish or confirm calendar and process for election of Chair& Vice Chair. In response to Kurtz,City Clerk Brenda Ballou said the process for electing a chair and vice chair was to take nominations from the floor and then perform a ballot vote; this process should happen at the first meeting immediately following the new terms. NEW BUSINESS Other New Business Schedule tour through the Brown & Hawkins buildings. The commission scheduled a tour of historic buildings,including the Brown&Hawkins Buildings at 2:00 p.m. and the Cable House at 3:30 p.m., on September 22, 2019. Move to expand Seward's downtown historic district. Kurtz wished to expand the downtown historic district. Motion (Seese/Ward) Propose alterations and/or additions to Seward's historic districts to council and set work sessions. Kurtz referred the commissioners to the colored maps in the packet which delineated the three areas in Seward that were considered to be historic districts: downtown, Jesse Lee, and Two Lakes. He pointed out that one of the maps for the downtown district had a new line indicating the proposed expansion. City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes September 12, 2019 Volume 3,Page 183 Seese supported the idea of expanding the downtown historic district, but did not want to pursue a Two Lakes district expansion at this time. In response to Cobble,Kurtz suggested that the commission wait to see what happens to the Jesse Lee Home before proposing any adjustment to that historic district. Cobble concurred and thought that the Jesse Lee historic district would have to be redefined at some point. In response to Cobble, Kurtz said he determined the expansion lines based on his own knowledge of the history of the structures in those areas. Seese wondered, if HP were to expand the historic district, would P&Z oversee that the appearance of structures in that area were limited to a certain time period. The commission suspended the rules to speak with Toni Swann. Tom Swann said HP and P&Z had already been given direction from council on this topic, and he thought the best approach would be for HP to have a joint work session with the Planning& Zoning Commission. Swann said HP had to be involved because it was historic preservation, but P&Z would be responsible for bringing the action to council. In response to Kurtz, Swann said he thought having a historic overlay would be more appropriate for the businesses rather than residences. Swann was concerned that any standards imposed should not increase the cost of construction for anyone. In response to Kurtz, Swann suggested that a special joint work session between HP and P&Z be scheduled. The commission directed the city clerk to schedule a joint work session with HP and P&Z to discuss creating a second downtown historic district,or expanding the existing downtown historic district. The commission went back on the rules. Appoint committee for the adoption of a historic overlay for the historic district. Seese said,rather than appointing a committee,she wanted to have a joint work session with P&Z to address this topic. Darling said the parameters of what would be proposed in the historic overlay had yet to be determined; a time period had not yet been decided. Kurtz was concerned that expanding the downtown historic business district, on top of instituting additional historic overlay requirements on the same district,would be too burdensome. Darling said Juneau had a good plan that Seward could benefit from reviewing,and offered to obtain it for the commission. Kurtz requested that the topic of the joint work session with P&Z be a discussion of developing a historic overlay rather than a discussion of expanding the district. City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes September 12, 2019 Volume 3, Page 184 Motion (Kurtz/Libbrecht) Appoint a committee to develop suggested parameters and timeframe for a historic overlay, in advance of the joint work session with the Planning & Zoning Commission. The motion was withdrawn with no objection from the commission. The commission scheduled a work session on September 22,2019 at 1:00 p.m. to discuss a historic overlay for the downtown historic business district. Schedule next Jesse Lee Home work session, with formal invitation to council and RBHS. The commission directed the city clerk to inform council that HP would support council holding a public forum to obtain input from citizens on the fate of the Jesse Lee Home,that the commissioners would attend the public forum, and that the commission would support historic preservation of the Jesse Lee Home. Set October and November HP meetings. The commission scheduled a work session on October 10,2019 at 6:00 p.m. followed by a meeting at 7:30 p.m. Libbrecht announced he would be unable to attend the November meeting. Darling announced she would be unable to attend the November meeting. Establish revisions to the HP page on city website, requesting administration's assistance. The commission directed the city clerk to update the commission's web page with current contact information. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Ward was pleased to be moving forward with some big items. Darling noted that Patrick Lewis was in attendance for a while tonight, and wondered whether would be pursuing his interest in joining the commission. Seese said the commission had a lot on its plate. Cobble thanked everyone for attending. City of Seward,Alaska Historic Preservation Commission Minutes September 12, 2019 Volume 3,Page 185 Libbrecht said it was a great meeting,there was a lot going on.He thanked John French for his comments about preserving history in more ways than just saving buildings. Kurtz thanked the commission for their good work. He said the Jesse Lee Home was not a simple topic,but he looked forward to some kind of resolution. CITIZENS COMMENTS John French said a historic overlay already existed,and P&Z had made a zoning overlay.He said the historic district did not have to be regulated through P&Z,but that was how it had been done in the past. COMMISSION AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Kurtz wondered where the records were for the historic overlay. Library Museum Director Valarie Kingsland said there were files at the library for HP, but cautioned that some items had been borrowed over the years and not returned. ADJOURNMENT 1 The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m. la-/ Brenda J. Ballou,i C Wolfgang Ku z City Clerk Chair (City Seal) O '`.* F S E II I • SEAL . •!, _ir . . . 1 ..•4.Q' ..ti.,.f OF A�-P '