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Minutes 02-13-12 MINUTES OF THE HISTORIC RESOURCES PRESERVATION BOARD HELD ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2012 AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Eric Jones, Chair Warren Adams, Historic Resource Dr. Ginger Pedersen, Vice Chair Preservation Planner Roger Cope Ed Breese, Principal Planner Michelle Dion Eric Salomonsson Linda Stabile Barbara Ready, Alternate Harvey Rosenblum, Alternate ABSENT: Paul Gionfriddo 1. Pledge of Allegiance Chair Jones called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. and welcomed the newest member, Roger Cope. Self- introductions were made followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 2. Agenda Approval There were no additions or deletions to the agenda. Motion Ms. Stabile moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Salomonsson seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 3. Approval of Minutes Warren Adams, Historic Preservation Planner, had several changes to the January 9, 2012 minutes. On page two, second to the last paragraph, "Mr. Adams explained the purpose of the photographs were solely to provide the layout and content of the ms's guideline's details. Also on page three, under New Business, first paragraph, last sentence should read, "If the home was built as a duplex, it would be a unique example Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida February 13, 2012 of the style not ire. In addition, on page four, second paragraph, "He and Chair genes covered 60 properties in one day should be Mr. Salomonsson. Motion Ms. Stabile moved to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Salomonsson and unanimously approved. 4. Communications and Announcements Mr. Adams informed the Board that he met with Janet DeVries, the City Archivist and she mentioned the Magical History Tours and a repeat History Bus Tour of Boynton Beach. These are two proposed ninety minute narrated bus tours of Boynton Beach sponsored by the Friends of Boynton Beach City Library. The tour would be for portions of Boynton Beach from a historic perspective. Seating was limited and the cost was $20.00. The first tour would be east of I -95 on March 7 and the second tour would be west of I -95 on March 21 Both tours are 9:30 a.m. — 11:00 a.m. Mr. Adams also advised that the April meeting of the Historical Society had been rescheduled to April 16 Ms. Ready wanted to invite everyone to the Arts Commission reception on Thursday, February 23 in the Library featuring the Fibre Art display. 5. Old Business A. Update on the Progress of the Historic Preservation Program Mr. Adams reviewed the ongoing items. With regard to the CLG application, it should be ready for submittal this week. The proposed Board Rules of Procedure and Amendments to the Historic Preservation section of the Land Development Regulations were in the process of being reviewed by the City, prior to final adoption. However, it was decided to submit the application on the premise that the Rules of Procedure and Amendments would be accepted by the City Commission. This would speed things up tremendously. He requested the Board review the Proposed Rules of Procedures and Amendments to the Land Development Regulation that were emailed for the March meeting. He would like a motion to recommend approval to the City Commission to adopt both the Land Development Regulations and the Rules of Procedures at that meeting. Once the Division of Historical Resource has the CLG application, it should take approximately two months to go through the system. 2 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida February 13, 2012 With regard to the survey of the properties in the City, the survey work was ongoing. Mr. Adams advised he met with archeology students at Florida Atlantic University to discuss possible internships where the students would assist with the survey. They would do the survey work, but he would review every property and would make the determination if the property had historical significance or the potential to be significant. Mr. Adams updated the Board on the Design Guidelines. Another section was forwarded to the Board for comments. The photographs and drawings would most likely change. With regard to the Ad Valorem Tax Incentive Program, Mr. Adams sent a draft interlocal agreement to the County attorney for comment and he made some minor changes. The draft was being sent to the City attorney for his comments. After that, it would be held until the CLG was received. Once that was received, the interlocal agreement could be finalized and the program could begin. Mr. Adams advised the high school visit would take place on February 29 Originally, the requirements were that a doctor's note would be necessary to ensure a respirator could be worn. The requirement has been waived and a dust mask and protective suit would be all that would be required. If anyone refused to wear these items, a waiver would have to be signed. If this building did or did not get added to the local registry, the Board would be asked for their opinion on what the interior was like. B. Potential Designation of 331 NW 1 Avenue Mr. Adams visited the house again on January 30 Kendall Harris, a former resident of the house, was there. He provided a great deal of information as far as what had changed on the house. As far as he remembered, the house had always been a duplex and the only mission style in the City. The current owner had done a great deal of restoration work and had retained a lot of the original interior characteristics. The other side was being leased and as soon as Mr. Adams received permission to go in, he would survey that side also. Ms. Ready praised Mr. Adams on the great work being done on the CLG application and how fast it was progressing. 6. New Business A. 413 East Ocean Avenue 3 I Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida February 13, 2012 Mr. Adams advised this property was in very poor condition. The property had only three walls standing. It was built by the Oyer family but declared unsafe and due to be demolished. Harvey Oyer appealed to the Building Board of Adjustment and Appeals and his permit was renewed for six additional months. During that time, the building would have to be enclosed with four walls and a roof. Mr. Oyer indicated he would consider rebuilding the structure if the work was eligible for the Tax Incentive Program. The issue was the Tax Incentive Program would not be in place until the CLG application was approved and then the Interlocal Agreement with the County. Mr. Adams had a concern with designating this property as it stood. However, he spoke to the Preservations Planners in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach and they both agreed that this building would potentially be eligible for designation and the historic tax credit program. Mr. Adams explained how the determination was made on the Master Site File and the benefits of designating the property. This information was for information only as Mr. Oyer had not decided what he would do with the building. B. 700 Casa Loma Boulevard, Boynton Beach Marina This property was owned by the CRA who wanted to demolish the property. The Palm Beach County Commission stayed the demolition as there was a report the structure may have been historic. However, the building record from the City archives suggests the building was built in 1969 and the Property Appraiser card had a construction date of 1971. The aerial photographs from 1968 do not show the structure which proved the building was not there. Therefore, the structure is not 50 years old and would not be recommended for designation. He would inform the CRA. Motion Ms. Stabile moved to not designate this building as historic, but provide documentation. Mr. Salomonsson seconded the motion that unanimously passed. C. Bride of Christ Tabernacle, 202 NE 11 Avenue An application was received for the demolition of these existing structures and construction of a new Church and parking. There are three structures on the site which were the Church building, a school building and a single family residence. Mr. Adams visited the site and conducted an exterior only inspection and although the structures were over 50 years old, he did not feel they were eligible to be listed in the local or national registry or designated as contributing to a district. He did suggest that prior to any demolition permits, the structure should be inspected internally to make sure there was nothing of significance inside, identify potentially salvageable building materials, and to record the structures for the Florida Master Site File in the City archives. 4 I Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida February 13, 2012 Motion Ms. Stabile moved to not designate this building as historic but provide documentation. Mr. Salomonsson seconded the motion that unanimously passed. D. Ground Penetrating Radar survey of the Barton Memorial Cemetery Mr. Adams explained that there had been discussions in the City of ways to bring in grants and money for the many proposals such as educational, wildlife, and historic sites. Mr. Adams had been asked if there were any historic sites in that area of town. Having done a study on the area, Mr. Adams advised that this cemetery started off as an Afro - American cemetery, with people being buried in the woods. There were no plots and no documentation to designate it as an official cemetery. Over the years, the cemetery became overgrown and there was trash dumped on the site. Eventually, the residents got the area cleaned up. Mr. Adams contacted the County Archaeologist to find out if anything was known and received an email from Greg Mount at Florida Atlantic University Geophysics Department indicating he would do a radar survey of the cemetery. A radar survey would find anomalies underground. Mr. Adams explained he had a list of 60 burials, about 30 of them have names, next of kin, dates of death and addresses. The other are unknowns. Since it was never plotted, it was unknown where anyone was actually buried. If the radar picked up an anomaly, chances are there would be a burial there. Mr. Adams explained the survey process and showed a slide presentation. Mr. Adams pointed out that although a survey of this type would cost between $10,000 and $60,000, it was done free of charge in order to test this new equipment for this type of application. Once a final report was received, it would be presented to the City Commission. Mr. Adams felt this property should be considered for designation and to seek out City support. There was discussion among the Board on the burials in the cemetery. Motion Ms. Stabile moved to direct Mr. Adams to take steps to put Barton Memorial Cemetery on the local and national registers. Mr. Salomonsson seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 5 I Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida February 13, 2012 7. Other Chair Jones requested anyone who was attending the high school visit to let Mr. Adams know so Risk Management would know how many were attending. Everyone planned to attend. 8. Comments by Members Ms. Stabile commented that at the last meeting it was voted that the preference was to first designate individual structures rather than districts. However, she was now proposing that one area, Tradewinds Estates West, be considered as a district as the properties qualify. Seventy -nine percent are over 50 years old and there have been few changes to the exteriors. She would like to move forward to have a survey completed. She cited four reasons to move ahead as soon as possible. First, it was an endangered area. There were condominiums, a church, 500 rental apartments that are being constructed, a small housing development currently under construction and Walmart are surrounding it. Second, one individual and his immediate family own 11 of the 17 properties, so taking a vote from a simple majority of property owners for a historic district, would be simple. Third, Boynton Beach could set a standard for a similar vote for a historic district on the Palm Beach County unincorporated side of the road. This would unite Tradewinds Estates West by having Boynton Beach get a historic designation first. Last, Boynton Beach had been attempting to annex the County side and the County would like to see the annexation go through. The owners had remained opposed to annexation and would only agree if they could see a substantial benefit. Mr. Adams commented that the previous Board recommendation was to concentrate on individual structures. To change it, the Board would have to change the recommendation and he would have to do the survey work. Even though 79% of the buildings were over 50 years old, it would come down to condition and alterations in order to be potentially contributing. If all requirements were met, someone from the neighborhood would have to submit the designation application. Motion Ms. Dion moved to direct Mr. Adams to perform the survey work and report at the next meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Stable and unanimously passed. Mr. Adams advised that May is Historic Preservation Month and requested suggestions from the Board on how to promote it. Mr. Jones suggested possibly putting a committee together to discuss possibilities of having something organized, and ideas were discussed. 6 I Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida February 13, 2012 9. Public Comments None. 10. Announce Date of Next Meeting — March 12, 2012 11. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was properly adjourned at 7:49 P.m. ' ( ) ;, , U,k-e- CULVA Ellie Caruso Recording Secretary 1