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Minutes 08-09-10 MINUTES OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, AUGUST 9,2010 AT 5:00 P.M. AT FIRE STATION #2, 2615 W. WOOLBRIGHT AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present: Warren Adams, Chair Barbara Ready, Vice Chair Janet DeVries Eric Jones John McGovern Linda Stabile Ed Breese, Principal Planner Absent: Gaylord Allan Hendricks 1. Call to Order Chair Adams called the meeting to order at 5: 15 p.m. A quorum was present. 2. Approval of Minutes Motion Ms. Stabile moved to accept the minutes. Mr. Jones seconded the motion. Vice Chair Ready clarified the recommended budget. The $106,000 budget used the $45,000 for salaries; $50,000 for matching grants; $5,000 for an intern; and $6,000 for Board operations. The lower budget of $61,000 used $50,000 in grants; $5,000 for an intern; and $6,000 for Board operations. Mr. McGovern discussed color and inquired if it was wise to have a color palette in the plan. He clarified he was not making a suggestion, he was just sharing observations and the minutes accurately depicted the Committee's discussion. Vote There was a vote on the motion. The motion passed. 3. Subcommittee Update on education information Ms. Stabile DeVries provided an update on the education information and advised she delivered the CD to Mr. Leal and referred him to Vice Chair Ready. He advised he 1 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL August 9, 2010 needed a meeting with Vice Chair Ready; however, they had been unable to meet due to scheduling conflicts. Vice Chair Ready anticipated she would be able to meet with him in the near future since her calendar has cleared. Mr. Leal agreed to use City employees as speakers. As to which photographs to use, he had several to choose from and Vice Chair Ready trusted his judgment. He liked three of the four tag lines and the order set by the Committee. He also agreed with the order the Committee provided them. The video was a 30-second presentation using three speakers announcing the items the Committee had already approved. 4. Paint color discussion Mr. Breese distributed language added to section 1 J. He emailed the members and had varying ideas expressed in the responses. Once it was decided on, he would provide it to Legal for review. Any clarifications needed would be brought back to the Committee. Mr. Breese wanted to provide the entire document including color to the Legal Department. Mr. Jones indicated adding paint color was one of the most personal things to be added to a home. It may not be historically appropriate. He was concerned the Committee was too strongly interfering with people's personal choices which may detract residents from being involved in historic preservation. A good ordinance could be destroyed by that provision. Individuals from HaAs complain about having to paint their homes or being limited in their choices. He agreed he did not want garish colors but expressed with the mixed-culture of the City, he thought they risked their efforts by requiring it. The provision could be a burden on the program. He did not want the language to be misinterpreted. The language was weak by use of the word "should". He thought the language should they say "have to" or "don't have to." He did not want to alienate individuals or put them out about historic preservation. Mr. McGovern did not want to stifle any initiative and thought the color issue could be a deal breaker. Vice Chair Ready spoke with Friederike Mittner from West Palm Beach who made comments about the proposed ordinance and she recommended not reviewing paint color. She thought leaving it out was sufficient, especially if it was unenforceable. Ms. Stabile agreed it should be left out. If a home was painted in a color that was too loud, others in the neighborhood would complain. It may remain for a while, but it would go away eventually. Ms. DeVries thought leaving it out was appropriate and they should let people have that freedom. 2 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL August 9,2010 Chair Adams disagreed. He pointed out if the Secretary of the Interior thought it was important enough to include, then the Committee should not ignore it. It was where their direction came from. West Palm Beach may not have anything about color but they have 15 historic districts. Delray Beach, Lake Worth, the City of Miami and St. Augustine all have standards about color. The main reason he wanted color was because they were not telling the Historic Preservation Board or Historic Preservation Planner how to do their jobs. It was subject to their interpretation and up to them how strict or lax they wanted to be. For each application they came across that was an inappropriate color, they had something to fall back on. If they did not include any standards in the guidelines, it could create problems. He did not think they had to come forward for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA.) They would not argue about shades or hues. They just did not want the building painted a primary color. Pastels were okay. West Palm Beach could afford one or two buildings being inappropriate, but not Boynton Beach. The other municipalities had the provision in various ways, some by ordinance and some by application guidelines. If after some time it was not needed, they could take it out. If the general consensus of the Committee was to leave it out, then he was okay with it, but he cautioned them to be careful. Painting was one of the easiest things to change. It was much easier to change than changing a door. There were not many historic structures in Boynton Beach. He was not in favor or color charts, banning colors or banning certain colors; he is in favor of saying there were a few things that they would not want to see, similar to a roof, or door, or any other item. The provision stated the choice should be reviewed with staff. Requiring homeowners to have an approved Certificate of Appropriateness reflected on the matrix was suggested. If nothing was in the Code nothing could be done. Mr. Jones thought they needed language that was mild, but enforceable. Mr. Breese concurred. One of the difficulties with the paint language was it may be the aspect that turned people against becoming a historic district. Staff spoke with Ms. Mittner and she was glad she did not have to deal with paint colors because they did not want to step on people's toes. Color was a substantive matter. Mr. Breese agreed. If someone painted the dwelling without coming forward, staff could not do anything. There was discussion about what would happen if there was a statement that a change of paint color would not require a Certificate of Appropriateness, but in the absence of information regarding the original paint color, colors appropriate to the period should be used. The question was what would happen if the Historic Preservation Board wanted to call a homeowner in because they painted with a noticeably inappropriate color. Mr. Breese did not know. Without having a Certificate of Appropriateness, the homeowner may not know in advance they could not paint their house that color without creating a problem. 3 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL August 9, 2010 Ms. Stabile referenced Miami. The original colors in Miami were white with bandings of color. Then Horowitz brought in colors, which became acceptable. Color goes through changes. It was suggested for homeowners to buy into the effort, the Committee should make the initiative the least painful. Chair Adams pointed out paint color should be treated the same way as any other aspect of a home, such as a door, a roofline or a window. The first time someone painted with a wrong color and people complained, they would bring up everything else that was regulated and question why color was not. It was possible color could be addressed as a grassroots effort. When an inappropriate color was used, the neighborhood association may bring it forward to put it in the Code. That avenue may be an easier sell. When Mr. Breese worked in Lake Worth, residents indicated they did not move into a Homeowners' Association to have their colors regulated. Technically, a Certificate of Appropriateness was not required. Staff did not see it as a time-consuming task. They could always make their case to the Board; it was a matter of being able to sell it through the Ordinance. There was discussion adding language in Section I, as "compatible with the surrounding properties" may be beneficial. There would be no application of Certificate of Appropriateness for change of paint colors and residents would be advised the paint color should be in line with the other structures in the district. Chair Adams felt if the language was not in the COA, then it should not be mentioned at all. If they did not have to submit for a COA, there was no point in mentioning it. Mr. McGovern expressed the real issues were intuition and aesthetics. Some individuals had no idea of either concept. There were too many Homeowners' Association commandos and they would not want the wrong individuals on the Board. Motion Vice Chair Ready moved to leave color off and strike J. Ms. Stabile seconded the motion. Mr. McGovern, Vice Chair Ready and Ms. Stabile voted affirmatively. Chair Adams voted nay. Ms. Devries abstained and Mr. Jones was undecided. There was a brief discussion. Motion Vice Chair Ready moved to leave paint off and strike J. Ms. Stabile seconded the motion that passed 5 -1 (Chair Adams dissenting.) 4 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL August 9, 2010 5. Schedule of Tasks discussion Mr. Breese distributed a handout and requested the members review the document for any changes. Vice Chair Ready referenced page 1 of the document. She suggested adding the word "the" to the first line of the document to read" . . . to encourage the reuse." Page 3, reword the definition of "object". There was discussion the changes may have been previously reviewed. Mr. Breese agreed to review the document for the changes and bring it back. Vice Chair Ready also agreed to resend the document, which had been reviewed by Ms. Mittner, to Mr. Breese. Discussion turned to the inventory and grants. Most of the grants were matching grants and a certain percentage of them required an in-kind match. Mr. Breese explained if an inventory was needed, the Committee should make a recommendation to the City Commission on how to do so. Mr. McGovern also reminded the members the Boynton Beach Foundation was now available and assistance from them could be unrestricted. The Foundation was now able to receive donations from anyone interested in Historic Preservation. If there was a maior donor interested in Historic Preservation. the Foundation could serve as a possible vehicle to be used for Historic Preservation. It was suggested the Committee put together what they needed. There were two main issues which were to advise what they needed for funding and getting the ordinance moved forward so they could proceed with the property inventory. After that, the design guidelines should work hand-in-hand with the Ordinance. The only other option would be to recruit volunteers or students to do the inventory; otherwise it would be expensive to bring someone onboard to handle the task. The Ordinance could be made effective after the design guidelines were in place. It could be made effective when the design guidelines were created and the provisions would enforce the Ordinance. The Committee could also have stricter guidelines. There was discussion that using volunteers or the Historic Preservation Board, they could f.k:fs.R flesh out the Ordinance with the Guidelines and Recommendations. It would be separate from the Design Guidelines Handbook although the design could be part of them. Chair Adams inquired how far out the Committee was in terms of the Ordinance and what actually exists. Ms. DeVries referenced page 3 or the Ordinance and noted it was about 14 years old. During the 14 years, there were homes that would have become 50 years old so there were more homes that would be added to the list. She indicated they could be looking at an additional 8,000 homes. Rolling Green Ridge consisted of almost all 50s homes. The members discussed the true definition of historic homes would not include tract housing. In reality, Palm Beach Leisureville could be a "district", and if the Committee took those into consideration, there would be a lot of them. Ms. DeVries inquired about condominiums and noted Sterling Village was the area's first 5 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL August 9, 2010 condominiums. In Mr. Breese's OpiniOn, condominiums would not be considered historic. The homes would have significant architectural and historical value. The designation was not just because the home was "old". Chair Adams suggested the committee get a rough idea of how many structures could be added to the list. Dialogue followed there could be four or five areas in mind, none of which were tract housing, and the Committee could take small steps. In the future, they could focus on what a truly historic structure would be. It was also noted while Leisureville and Sterling Village were not historically beautiful or architecturally interesting, they were part of Boynton Beach's history. There was discussion a category of "culturally significant" would be added. The 50-year designation was from the National Trust. The National Register applications contain socially, economically, culturally, and other categories. Mr. Breese pointed out those guidelines were from the National Trust, and the Committee was adopting them as part of their Ordinance. There was agreement those areas would not be at the forefront of one's thoughts when the word 'historic" was mentioned. There was a difference between historic and old. Chair Adams suggested focusing on certain aspects and not encompassing all categories at once may result in a more successful Ordinance. When two or three districts were created, others could see the district and it could become a grassroots effort. It was suggested the Committee start with one district that would be significant. It was also noted Delray Beach moved historic homes into historic districts. Ms. DeVries agreed to try to identify and name suggested districts. Members could provide her with other locations. Most of what Ms. DeVries was aware of, as it pertained to historic structures, was the nucleus of the Town of Boynton, Boynton Lakes and 95 south of Boynton Beach Boulevard. She anticipated there would be other areas. There was discussion of the Community Redevelopment Agency moving the Ruth Jones Historic Cottage to the parking lot on the SE corner of 4th Avenue. Chair Adams also noted if a historic structure was moved into a true historic district, they could be eligible for grants. It was noted the Cyr's home was moved from Federal Highway to east of the railroad tracks. There was also discussion the Building Official was taking steps to condemn Harvey Oyer's building. It was known Mr. Oyer applied to the Community Redevelopment Agency for a fa<;ade grant; however, the structure was beyond rehabilitation. There was discussion the Cyr's house was partitioned and made into a multi-family unit. It was noted there were grants available for businesses and multi-family units could fall under that designation. Ms. DeVries left the meeting at 6:44 p.m. 6. Summarize tasks or accomplishments for next meeting Vice Chair Ready emailed the Community Redevelopment Agency Board members before their first budget workshop and provided them with a preview of what they would 6 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL August 9, 2010 be requesting, if they had the optimum budget and barebones budget. She hoped some funding would be budgeted. Ms. DeVries would inform the Committee of her findings regarding identifying historic areas. Mr. Breese requested the members do the same. Vice Chair Ready would coordinate with Mr. Leal regarding the video. She also advised the Mayor recommended they should apply to be put on the City Commission agenda. Chair Adams recommended the members start gathering design guidelines from other cities and provisions from them that may be appropriate for Boynton Beach. One of the documents previously distributed to the members had a listing of areas that had guidelines. He inquired if there were any commercial structures that could be historic. There were some establishments that fit the criteria such as the doll place and structure behind it along Federal Highway. The Pickel building, which was the triangular building by the Woman's Club, was also historic. It was noted the artist who designed the building also installed the stained glass mosaic at the Mausoleum. Some of the churches and City Hall, when it used to be Federal Highway, were historic. 7. Staff comments Mr. Breese reported they applied for a grant and requested $2,000. The award was $1,100. He thought it would be beneficial for a member to re-approach the Historic Preservation Society and inquire if their intent was to provide the $2,000 or they would only be doing a dollar for dollar match. He thought they would want a budget breakdown on the use of the funds. He was approached at a meeting about it and it was suggested the Society be provided with more detail of the expenditures. The budget put together by Chair Adams indicated the $1,100 included the printing costs. The mailing and postage was an additional $1,500. If they were only matching the City's $1,100, they would only have $2,200. He hoped they could get the society to commit $1,500, but he anticipated they would want to know what their intentions were. He suggested the two sided mailer be sent to them. The tri-fold the Committee wanted to use was referenced. Vice Chair Ready indicated they pledged $2.000 and she agreed to check with Voncile Smith and Anne Watts. It was also noted a note of thanks to the Historic Society was appropriate and the committee's website should be included. Mr. Jones clarified he would review the Design Guidelines and use Chair Adams contacts as a starting point for the Committee's Guidelines. He recommended keeping the guidelines as user- friendly as possible. 8. Public comments None. 9. Announce date of next meeting 7 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL August 9, 2010 The next meeting was September 6th which fell on a holiday. After brief discussion there was agreement to meet on September13th. 10. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting properly adjourned at 7 p.m. d.{lth./LuvtL C' j n ^ ~ I j / Catherine Cherry-'P'-Vv~( Recording Secretary 081910 8