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Minutes 12-12-11 MINUTES OF THE HISTORIC RESOURCES PRESERVATION BOARD MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011 AT 6:30 P.M. IN CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Dr. Ginger Pedersen, Vice Chair Warren Adams, Historic Resource Michelle Dion (arrived 6 :41) Preservation Planner Paul Gionfriddo Eric Salomonsson Harvey Rosenblum, Alternate ABSENT: Eric Jones, Chair Linda Stabile Barbara Ready, Alternate 1. Pledge of Allegiance Vice Chair Pedersen called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. followed by self introductions. The members then recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 3. Agenda Approval There were no additions or deletions to the agenda. Motion Mr. Gionfriddo moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Salomonsson seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 4. Approval of Minutes Vice Chair Pedersen advised the spelling of her name was incorrect. It should read Pedersen, not Pederson7 She also advised Dougherty House should be spelled Daugherty House. Mr. Gionfriddo commented that on page three, middle of the paragraph under Facade Retention, the sentence beginning "He recommended if the interior of the building damaged beyond repair at a reasonable cost..." sounds contradictory and the sentence structure does not make sense. He suggested rewriting that sentence. There was discussion on the wording and it was changed by Mr. Adams to read "he recommended if the interior of the building was extensively damaged and it Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL December 12, 2011 could be repaired at a reasonable cost, or if it was part of a streetscape, the Board would work with the applicant. Motion Mr. Gionfriddo moved to approve the amended minutes. Mr. Rosenblum seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 4. Communications and Announcements Mr. Adams advised that Chair Jones and Ms. Stabile had notified him they would not be attending the meeting. 5. Old Business: A. Update on the Progress of the Historic Preservation Program Mr. Adams reviewed the various items in progress. He shared the progress with the Certified Local Government application to the State. He spoke to Michael Zimney of the Division of Historical Resources who had looked at the proposed changes to the preservation ordinance ensuring it falls within the guidelines of the CLG application. He required one minor change, which was to add the inclusion of the boundaries of the two national registered properties. The proposed changes would be reviewed by the Director of Planning and then submitted for adoption to the City Commission. While this is ongoing, the CLG application could be submitted to the State. Upon completion of the State's review, the application would be sent to the National Park Service for their final approval, which could take approximately six weeks. However, if the State approved it, the National Park Service would likely approve it as well. Mr. Zimney indicated at that time the review would not take much longer, as the proposed changes to the ordinance had already been reviewed. The other item needing attention was getting an architect on the Board. That was a requirement and was actively being pursued. With regard to the surveys of the properties, every property over 50 years old had to be surveyed for the Florida Master Site File. Work was ongoing and the work of the existing buildings from the 1996 survey was almost completed. The first full subdivision had been surveyed, with approximately 75 Tots, 49 of which are over 50 years old. Mr. Salomonsson assisted Mr. Adams with that survey. The report that goes to the State would be done on a subdivision by subdivision basis. He advised he was trying to do the subdivisions in the order they were created. Once the information was available 2 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL December 12, 2011 and submitted to the State, the information would be used to determine which properties were individually eligible. Mr. Salomonsson commented on his experience assisting with the survey. He learned a lot and encouraged the members to assist, if time permitted, for a valuable learning experience. Mr. Adams added he had 500 numbers from the Florida Master Site File. He was assigning a number to each site that did not have one and would complete the Florida Master Site File form for each site and submit to the State. The State agreed to have one report done for all the sites. The design guidelines work was still ongoing in conjunction with the site survey. Once the buildings were viewed and it was determined what was there, the guidelines would be completed at that time. A PDF file should be available to the Board in the near future. With regard to the permit system, work was ongoing to have it added to the system for review of applications related to historic preservation. Mr. Adams advised he would sign off on any permit applications which could potentially become a historic building. With regard to individual site designations, Mr. Adams advised he had been approached by two homeowners that were interested in designating their properties. The first property was located at 331 NW 1 Avenue. The property was built around 1927. It was a duplex and he was not sure it was built that way or had been altered. The owner claimed the property had always been a duplex. The interior presents itself as most likely being all original. Mr. Adams had a concern that there was one garage and if it was an original duplex, felt there should be two. He felt even if it were converted, it would still qualify for individual designation. The interior of the home had the original flooring, stucco baseboards and fireplace. Mr. Adams offered to assist the owner with the local designation process. The second property was located at 216 SE 3 Street. The City Archivist advised that the owner wanted more information about designation. Upon inspection of the property, it appeared to have been built around 1925. Upon initial inspection, the windows had been replaced. The owner's great - grandfather, M. B. Lyman, founded Lantana and her father was Capt. Kenny Lyman. Her maternal grandmother was Boynton's first town clerk and her maternal grandfather was Boynton's first bridge tender and City Councilperson. The house was owned by the original occupant's family. The property was listed in the Master Site File and was noted in the file as being significant at a local level. 3 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL December 12, 2011 B. Consideration of Historic Preservation Plan At the last meeting, Mr. Adams advised he was asked to more closely look at preservation plans. He had forwarded online links of preservation plans to each member of the Board. He was tasked to come up with a list of sections that would be contained in a preservation plan. Every plan differs, but there were standard sections contained in every plan. Included would be a statement of goals, which would provide direction to the community and ranks the elements of the program. Secondly, a definition of the historic character of the area would be included. This described the unique character of the community, and formed a part of the design guidelines. Work from the design guidelines could be put into the historic preservation plan. Another section would be a summary of past preservation efforts. This would put the preservation program in context. This also formed a part of the design guidelines. There was a historic resources survey, a process that would ensure all potential landmarks and districts were considered for designation. The survey was in process at the present time. Another section would include the legal basis for historic preservation. This would give the basis for a preservation plan and any ordinances or laws interpreting and applying the goals, objectives and policies of the plan. There would also be a section incorporating preservation with zoning, land use and growth management and would clarify the relationship between preservation and zoning. Additionally, there would be a section defining public sector responsibilities which would define how municipally -owned property would be preserved. A section on historic preservation incentives would also be included in the guidelines. A relationship between preservation and education included outlining a plan for community-wide education on preservation issues and policies, and promote preservation by introducing award programs. There would also be an agenda for future action. This would include timeframes and an action plan for the implementation of goals and strategies. It would set priorities and periodic reviews to look at what was achieved by the specified timeline and determine whether alterations would need to be made. C. Update on Boynton Beach High School The City issued a request for proposals and unfortunately none were received. As instructed by the Board at the last meeting, Mr. Adams advised he had started collecting information for use in any future designation application. He mentioned that he was attempting to organize a visit to the building for the Board sometime around the end of January. He advised that the Board members would be required to sign waivers, wear suits and masks and was instructed that a mid -week visit was preferred. There was discussion about touring the building and what it would accomplish. Mr. Adams advised although there were no further plans from the City to seek bids, the CRA was actively seeking interest from developers. Discussion ensued regarding opinions on use 4 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL December 12, 2011 and the pros and cons of attempting to maintain a historical perspective as opposed to possible retail and work space. D. Update on the HRPB Vacancy Mr. Adams advised the delay of filling the vacancy on the Board was due to a search for an architect to fill the position. An architect would strengthen the CLG application. He asked the members to refer any architects they may know and encourage them to submit an application. The architect could be practicing or retired. Experience in historic preservation was preferred, but not essential. 6. New Business A. Identification of Potential Historic Districts Mr. Adams advised he was asked at the last meeting to review the information in the GIS system to determine if any potential historic districts could be identified. He found five and passed out a review sheet outlining the information that showed historical properties built through the 1940's and 1950's. He explained that at least 50% of the buildings must be contributing. Fifty -one percent of votes from the neighborhood are needed to actually create a district. He reviewed the areas and the percentage of potentially contributing properties. Mr. Adams advised that trying to create districts with properties through the 1940's would be tricky. The numbers he provided are best case scenarios, as not every owner would agree to have their property included. In addition, it was very difficult to convince people that buildings from the 1950's are technically historic. He recommended concentrating on the individual designations to begin with, get a few of them on board and allow them to see the benefits of preservation. After that time, support for the program would be initiated. 7. Other None 8. Comments by members Mr. Salomonsson reiterated to everyone to try to get out and assist with a survey. Possibly a group could go in the morning and do certain sections to help out. Ms. Dion inquired about assisting in properties that had already applied. Mr. Adams replied after the application, the property may need a more thorough inspection. He advised the owner of one property invited the Board to view the property. Ms. Dion advised she 5 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, FL December 12, 2011 would be happy to approach owners and encourage them to allow the Board to consider a historic application for their homes. Mr. Adams advised if anyone notices a property that may be potentially historic, encourage them to contact him. 9. Public comments None 10. Announce date of next meeting The next meeting would be held on January 9, 2012. 11. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was properly adjourned at 7:22 p.m. 1 Ellie Caruso Recording Secretary 6