Loading...
Minutes 09-13-10 MINUTES OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 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 Gaylord Allan Hendricks John McGovern Linda Stabile Mike Rumpf, Director, Planning and Zoning Ed Breese, Principal Planner Absent: Eric Jones 1. Call to Order Chair Adams called the meeting to order at 5:12 p.m. A quorum was present. 2. Approval of Minutes The following changes were made to the minutes: Page 5, middle paragraph, change, " . . they could ~ flesh out the Ordinance with. . " Page 1, bottom paragraph, change, "Ms. St3bile DeVries provided an update. . . ." Page 5, middle paragraph, add a sentence to clarify the Foundation was now able to receive donations from anyone interested in historic preservation. If there was a major donor interested in historic preservation, the Foundation could serve as a possible vehicle to be used for historic preservation. Page 3, second paragraph, change, "It was much easier to change th3n changing a door." Motion Vice Chair Ready moved to approve the minutes as amended. Mr. Hendricks seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 1 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Committee Boynton Beach, FL September 13, 2010 3. Subcommittee update on education information Vice Chair Ready advised no progress had been made on the video. Mr. Leal has been extremely busy. It was discussed that when the Historic Preservation Committee was put on the City Commission agenda, they could expedite the video. Mr. Leal works quickly; however, he is swamped with projects. 4. Discussion of National Trust grant The Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee received an $1,100 grant. Vice Chair Ready spoke with Voncile Smith from the Historical Society who advised the Board would meet in a few weeks and would discuss additional funding beyond the match. Once the final figure was known, Mr. Breese would contact the National Trust and let them know the new amount. The Trust requested they be notified if the budget changed. This item was also discussed in greater detail later in the meeting. 5. Schedule of Tasks discussion Mr. Breese distributed a handout and explained the Committee needed to determine what recommendations they were going to provide to the City Commission. The City Attorney reviewed the draft ordinance and made one slight change regarding the Board's composition and appointment. The Committee now had a complete ordinance ready for City Commission review. The members were congratulated on their efforts. 6. Historic designations Ms. DeVries received a map showing existing properties that had local and national historic designations. Updating the inventory to go back 50 years would take a lot of work. She tentatively identified districts which could be designated first. Historic Boynton Heights had six homes identified as having a local designation, but nothing showing as nationally designated. The second area was the original Town of Boynton. Ms. DeVries suggested using the address of the Schoolhouse Children's Museum and searching that area, or using the address by the Magnusen House. That area had one national property which was the Schoolhouse Children's Museum building and about 18 other properties labeled as having local designations. Lake Boynton Estates was another area which was established in the 1920s. The homes were Mission and Spanish-Mediterranean styled homes. Only five homes were left including the Stanley Weaver home which was labeled as possible national designation and the Hartley historic house. 2 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Committee Boynton Beach, FL September 13, 2010 Another area was north of Boynton Beach Boulevard, bordered by Seacrest Boulevard on the west and Federal Highway on the east. There were quite a few original homes there and many older than 50 years old. A survey of Mangrove Walk near St. Mark's Church reflected nothing was listed as having local or national designations, but there were six properties identified for a designation from the 1996 inventory list. Ms. DeVries recommended reviewing the area on the most northern part of the City, east of the highway near Benvenuto's Caterestaurant, north of Gateway and east of Federal Highway. She suggested concentrating on the first three areas. Ms. Stabile recommended including Tradewinds Estates West because she worked with the County who assessed the area and they all agreed it should be a historic district. Old Dixie Highway had a commercial nature before it turned residential but the area was in two jurisdictions. There were about 40 homes there with half in the City and half in the County. Ms. Stabile explained annexation was considered; however, there was no infrastructure there and neither entity wanted to pay to install it. There were three roads without City water and sewer in the area. She expressed it should be placed on the endangered list on the Boynton Beach side. Chair Adams inquired if a grant could pay for the water and sewer upgrades, this way an annexation could go through. There was discussion this could be investigated further. Discussion turned to whether there was a threshold number of properties needed to be in a district in order for it to be eligible or considered for historic property designation. Chair Adams responded not to his knowledge; however Mr. Breese explained there should be a pretty good percentage but there was no set percentage per se. Mr. Hendricks thought having one of the old churches sign off on the effort would help build support. One of the churches also owned the historic bell. Ms. DeVries explained she had information on the six oldest churches and would bring the information to the next meeting. Chair Adams inquired about starting the process. Mr. Breese explained the grant was for education and flyers to create public awareness. Mr. Rumpf recalled at a prior meeting, there was a voluntary theme they wanted to touch on in the heart of the Ordinance. One item on the task list was the establishment of districts or placement of properties on the local register. The local register did not yet exist. The only list they had was a 1996 inventory with recommendations for local, state and national registration. When the ordinance is passed, unless it specifically referenced the 1996 inventory, it would not have any properties that would fall under the shadow of regulation.The Committee would need to decide what it would apply to. The task list discussed the updated inventory which was a great starting base. The base list was 3 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Committee Boynton Beach, FL September 13, 2010 comprised of homes that were 50 years old. Now there was another set of homes representative of another generation of architecture. The blue homes contained on the map were from the 1996 list and they would have to be individually designated. Mr. Breese recalled it was the intent of the committee not to designate anything the homeowner did not support. Mr. Hendricks agreed it was voluntary and primary education would be the focus to get the owners excited. They would use it as a base. There was a cost and time element involved in designating 16 homes in one area as opposed to designating one district that already had contributing buildings. Having a survey done of the whole district would be more expensive and they may only move forward with only one application instead of 16. The City was creating tools for property owners to use to preserve their property. Mr. Rumpf explained the map used by Ms. DeVries was created as part of the Evaluation and Appraisal Report on historic properties. It did not extend to the Woman's Club which went to 9th Avenue. Chair Adams thought once the Ordinance was created it was appropriate to provide some kind of guidance. He inquired whether the Committee should develop design guidelines. Mr. Breese commented it would be costly to have an outside company do it. Staff could potentially draft the design guidelines if it was part of the Ordinance. It would take time but it would be a cost saver. Vice Chair Ready suggested proceeding with the Ordinance and working on the guidelines simultaneously with one area to be designated. She inquired if they proceeded with the Ordinance whether they could apply to be a Certified Local Government (CLG). Mr. Breese responded they could with the Ordinance and the seating of a Board. She suggested the sooner they did so, the sooner they could qualify as a CLG and for CLG funding. Dialogue followed that design guidelines were needed; however, nothing was yet designated and this could be the first mission of the Board. It was the Historic Preservation Board that ultimately would have the final say on the design guidelines. The Committee members needed to build support. Mr. Hendricks suggested they have something in place to answer questions. Mr. Breese explained staff could put together a list of frequently asked questions and answers, this way the public would have more confidence in them and the process. It was also suggested listing the advantages of the designation to encourage homeowner buy in. There was discussion whether the members wanted to put the Ordinance forward without receiving public input. The first reading of the Ordinance did not allow for public 4 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Committee Boynton Beach, FL September 13, 2010 input but the second reading did. Mr. Hendricks thought it would be better to garner public support first. Mr. Breese again requested the Committee determine what they would recommend to the City Commission. After discussion it was ascertained they wanted a Historic Preservation program and staff member. If they wanted to qualify for funds and have a real program, they needed a person. Delray Beach and West Palm Beach handled their program the same way. Discussion returned to the National Trust and whether they could have the flyers ready before the next meeting. The members needed $2,600 to print and mail the flyers. They received $1,100 and if they could get the Historical Society to commit to $1,500, they could take the first step and conduct the public outreach. They would then have to get approval from the National Trust and then obtain bids for some of the items in order to meet the National Trust requirements. In the meanwhile they would prepare the flyer and put the meeting date on it. The members also discussed holding a town hall meeting at the Woman's Club as opposed to the Library. Dialogue ensued not including the meeting date because the members could mass produce the information. They were working on a 30-second PSA. Mr. Hendricks announced he also had postcards they could use. The cost to print them was about $150 per thousand both sides, glossy and it may be cheaper to print the postcard. Chair Adams discussed the procedure the City followed for Ordinances and inquired whether they had to statutorily notice property owners within a certain radius of the project. Mr. Rumpf responded they follow the statute or local ordinance requirements regarding public notification; however, the notification usually pertained to variances, Code changes, zoning changes and others. Mr. Rumpf thought it was a step in the right direction. It created public awareness and involvement in the final stages of the ordinance's adoption. It could also avoid the City Commission sending the Ordinance back to the Committee. The notification could result in minor changes but still gain support. Mr. Hendricks commented the process was open to the public and thought posting the information on the web site and having a published piece to the individuals who would be affected was sufficient. It could be a direct mailing. The design guidelines could be discussed at future workshops. Vice Chair Ready suggested moving ahead with a postcard and trying to schedule a meeting. This method would be much cheaper than the tri-fold flyer. The members could place flyers in public buildings, and as many other locations as possible. There were ways to get the word out. The Mayor had announced the Committee had received some funding, but did not mention the meeting date. Additionally, Vice Mayor Ross could mention it at the City Commission meeting. Ms. Stabile thought a grassroots, knock on doors and send out letters and using a door hanger campaign could be beneficial in targeted areas. 5 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Committee Boynton Beach, FL September 13, 2010 Mr. Hendricks thought they could hold an educational meeting hopefully at the Woman's Club if it was free, and if not at the Library. The press could be invited and between the website, the City Commission meetings and other media, they could start to build interest and promote buy in. Phone calls to interested individuals would also be helpful as would placing signs on lawns. Ms. Stabile left the meeting at 6:12 p.m. The Historical Society, Ocean Avenue neighborhood, Save the Old High School proponents and meeting attendees from the public and the Woman's Club could lend support. It was important; however, to be prepared, have answers ready and be willing to combat the naysayers. It cost $900 to rent the Woman's Club. Vice Chair Ready agreed to approach them, and it was suggested they may be able to use the facility after the Historical Society meeting, which was held there. They could also make a presentation to the Historical Society and/or approach Ms. Smith to see how much the Historical Society could contribute. The outline of recommendation topics was reviewed and ranked as follows: 1. Preservation Program 2. Staff Liaison 3. Advisory Board 4. Promotional Information 5. Set architectural Standard 6. Property inventory 7. Designation of districts/properties Mr. Breese recommended identifying some of the options associated with the recommendations so they could be presented to the City Commission. The Committee wanted a full-time staff member. As for designation of districts, usually individuals who want the designation come forward and request it. The planner will help them through the process but they did not make the designation. Mr. Breese commented the Committee needed to provide the rationale for their request and the backing. Each recommendation needed full thought-out support. Chair Adams suggested each member develop a basis for their support. He suggested providing options for their recommendations requesting a full-time planner, a part time planner, then a student intern or a consultant. By that time it was thought the Public Service Announcement would be finished and the Ordinance ready. Then the Committee may be in a position to approach the City Commission. Chair Adams thought it would cost about $10,000 to process the smallest district starting from scratch. 6 Meeting Minutes Historic Preservation Committee Boynton Beach, FL September 13, 2010 Mr. Rumpf suggested consolidating the individual recommendations which could be on a matrix. They could have a subcommittee meeting, or the members could email one another. Mr. McGovern thought it made more sense to discuss staffing and items 3 and 5 of the recommended topics would fall into place. It was noted the City spent $70,000 for a study to create the Foundation. If the program had one staff person, it would allow for consistency. 7. Summarize tasks or accomplishments for next meeting The members would outline their topics, and staff would develop Frequently Asked Questions and have them ready for the next meeting. Information could also be fashioned to identify how much something would cost if a staff member was not hired. 8. Staff comments None. 9. Public comments None. 10. Announce date of next meeting It was noted the next regular meeting would fall on Columbus Day. After discussion it was decided they would meet October 11,2010. 11. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting properly adjourned at 6:39 p.m. (((ltJ~)lJ/~JL (liVJJj~ Catherine Cherry d' Recording Secretary 091410 7