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Minutes 04-12-22 Minutes of the Historic Resources Preservation Board Meeting Held on April 12, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall Commission Chambers 100 E. Ocean Avenue, Boynton Beach, Florida Present: Barbara Ready, Chair Mike Rumpf, Board Liaison Thomas Ramiccio Craig Pinder, Planner II Dr. Ben Lowe Tiffany Crump Absent: Bernard Wright Mike Wilson Rhonda Sexton, Alternate 1. Call to Order Chair Ready called the meeting to order at 6:36 p.m. 2. Agenda Approval Motion Mr. Ramiccio moved to approve the agenda. Ms. Crump seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Approval of Minutes — March 14, 2021 Motion Mr. Ramiccio moved to approve the minutes. Dr. Lowe seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Communications and Announcements Michael Rumpf, Board Liaison, presented a short slide show with bulleted points of the Historic Resources Preservation Program, which was shown to the City Commission. He showcased plaques, gave a program overview of its features, responsibilities, benefits and concluded with slides of what has been achieved. He advised a designation review process for a 1924 Mission-styled house is underway. Mr. Rumpf advised there were no questions or comments from the City Commission. Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2022 5. Old Business: A. Local Registry of Historic Sites—Overview of properties to be reviewed for addition to the City's Local Historic Registry. Mr. Rumpf explained a designation process is under review and an application was filed for the home on 330 NW 1 st Avenue. This was the project an architect contacted the City about. The owner wants to expand the house and add a swimming pool. They likely will be filing for a Certificate of Appropriateness review as they anticipate approval and they want to be permitted, which will be done concurrently. It is a small lot. Expansion may exceed the maximum lot coverage and setbacks so the proposed Code Amendments are important to him to allow for exemptions and deviations from the Code for this property. It will be a good test and application of the regulations. The timing is good as when we take amendments to the City Commission, sometimes they ask if there is any business or an item outstanding waiting on this, which there are. There are two requests for designation and the one the Board proactively recommends that is located on SE 4th Street. He hoped the Code Amendments would be reviewed by the Planning and Development Board at the end of this month. The designation review could occur at the next meeting, and then it will go to the City Commission in May. He will find out if Mr. Adams can review them and will report back at the next meeting. Mr. Rumpf explained staff received another inquiry about designation at 701 W Ocean Avenue. The members viewed a Google street view image of the property. The property has multiple building surrounding a pool and is mostly fenced in. They have been contacted by the contract purchaser. Staff learned they have interest in maintaining the property's historic integrity, but it is being purchased for a business, such as an Air BNB rental. There are four units including two that are detached accessory units with kitchens. The main house also has two kitchens. It is a non-compliant, multi-family use in a single-family zoned district. He noted the buildings have not maintained a rental license so they do not have grandfathered status. Staff explained to the prospective purchaser current efforts to add incentives for and remove obstacles to preserving historic properties. This property and other historic properties with accessory units may justify the addition of such regulations be added to the Code at least for historic properties and preservation. It needs to be pushed in order to justify such intensity in a residential zoning district. Chair Ready hoped the potential buyers understood the Tax Exemption Program as the owner had been making improvements and it would be advantageous to be on the Register. Mr. Rumpf did speak about it, but wanted to ensure it is limited to being owner occupied. There is an Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance drafted with the focus on workforce and affordable housing. The owner has to be living on the property and the renters must be income qualified. It is good when promoting historic preservation as there are extra benefits. Chair Ready commented that another home in that neighborhood was purchased and turned into an assisted living facility. The owners may need the Business Tax Receipt (BTR) to rent it out. B. Amendments to LDRs and Historic Preservation Program — Review of proposed 2 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2022 amendments to the Land Development Regulations and Historic Preservation Ordinance intended to increase incentives for historic preservation and remove possible impediments to preserving local historic assets. Mr. Rumpf summarized the proposed amendments. The amendments pertained to zoning and had modified development standards that were moved to the Historic Preservation Chapter. Changes in building setbacks for second-floor additions were included and the addition would not deviate more than 20% of the building footprint. Staff moved away from that language to read additional restrictions may apply to second floor improvements to minimize impacts on abutting properties. In single-family neighborhoods, this is a sensitive area, because upper floors close to the property line can invade the privacy of other backyards. The revised wording is intended to address the privacy issue on a case-by-case basis. Mr. Ramiccio commented at the last City Commission meeting there was discussion about modifications to the railing of the Historic Women's Club and asked if it would be done internally by staff or come to the Board because it is on the National and Local Register. Mr. Rumpf explained if replacing an element of the building and keeping the same form, the review is done by staff, but if the design changed, it would be reviewed by the Board. In the instance with the Women's Club, the railings were too low per Code and were a safety concern. Mr. Ramiccio inquired if the Board should review it if the railing is too high, if not ornamental and looks like a fence. Mr. Rumpf reviewed the footnotes in the first two tables noting the crossed-out text. There will be a cross reference. Otherwise it is the same format as in the Code. He reviewed the Historic Preservation section to see the wording in the table. It essentially has the same standards, but it refers to modifying historic structures. Mr. Ramiccio asked, when making improvements to a property, when or where the line is drawn for conforming and non-conforming buildings. It is an incentive to modify and make the regulations work to keep the historic structures. The table deals with lot sizes and lot coverage and they use a linear rule. Undesignated properties do not benefit from these regulations. Chair Ready understood most regulations pertained to the front fagade of the building and thought the national standards were relaxed to accommodate green buildings and solar. No one would see if the owner put a pool in the back of the home. Mr. Rumpf agreed, but noted it would be combined with the review of the expansion. Mr. Rumpf explained if the home on 330 NW 1St Avenue wanted to expand on the side, it is important the addition have a compatible style, but not be identical so as to confuse the eye regarding what is the original building. He agreed to bring pictures and tutorials to the meeting. Page 6 was reviewed in the Planning Division and was modified. Called the SE 4t" Street Code Amendment, this was the property the Board wants to initiate a review on. The adjoining properties are being assembled for redevelopment. Currently, the redevelopment regulations require, in order to qualify for the mixed-use zoning district, they occupy a full block. Under the current regulations, the holdout properties that would interrupt the full-block assembly would stop the project from occurring. This amendment will allow an exception to the full block assembly requirement, if involving a designated 3 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2022 property. Mr. Ramiccio queried if they could require the new development to be designed to be compatible with the hold out properties. Mr. Rumpf explained in this planning area in the CRA plan, there may be some design of the new redevelopment that should be required to be compatible. Mr. Rumpf commented this is in the CRA plan and there may be specific recommended architectural designs. He did not recall the differences in the different districts, but it should include transitional design elements. A lot of the property is assembled under single-ownership, down to 5t" and up to CK's or FPL offices. They could work with the Planning and Development Board to have really good design standards to be transitional. Dr. Lowe asked about pedestrian zones and noted there was a typo. The pedestrian zone is a design term in the mixed-use regulations for redevelopment purposes. It is the area between the building and the curb, and more commonly applying to commercial structures. In the pedestrian zone, there are tree plantings and an uninterrupted pedestrian passageway and then an active area which gives the developer options so the tenant can have an active space, such as patios, or outdoor seating. The modification encourages extension or continuation of the public improvements of the development along the historic property. This would meet the spirit of the regulations and by having a continuous sidewalk pattern or streetscape. Page 9 was unchanged. It exempts designated property from non-conforming use provisions of the Code. He noted there is a historic duplex on the north side of 1 st Street known as the Gerger House. It was noted the home is already on the Register. It is a non-conforming duplex. Right now, non-conforming uses are limited to a maximum number of percent of dollar value of improvement or maintenance of a property in an annual period. The property is under new ownership. The new owners are attempting to make improvements to the property and staff was meeting with them. The owners will likely incur unanticipated additional costs as the accessory garage is dilapidated, which she wants to rebuild. She also has non-conforming setbacks. The garage is about 150 feet from the front and is not easily visible from the front of the principal building. Since it is dilapidated, she would have a good argument to demolish and rebuild the garage. Mr. Rumpf explained he wanted to present the accessory concept wording and if the Board supports it, staff will work on wording to co-join with the other amendments. Demolition was discussed. Mr. Rumpf explained only designated properties are red flagged when someone is attempting to demolish. He wanted to add wording to have the same red flags trigger a review of the demolition even it is not a designated site. Meaning when a permit application is filed, staff will be notified and the owner may have to provide financial reasons behind the demolition. Staff can then review or require preservation of some elements and it must come before the Board. The 1996 survey identified 127 properties and there are more homes now over 50 years old so some may be eligible for designation. He thought the Ordinance was originally written to be user-friendly and flexible. He reviewed sample ordinances from other CLG municipalities. He thought the most notable was Bonita Springs which has an "A" List which are target properties. Mr. Rumpf wanted to recommend this with options and thought the Board should have an 4 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2022 "A" or priority list for potentially significant or contributing properties. It is a list of priority sites that have already been evaluated. The Board can identify potential districts and next targets for priority preservation or a proactive designation review or marketing campaign, which also touches on two or three strategic workplan items. Another option is to leave the Ordinance as written, but the action is not as comprehensive as what is for designated properties, or a combination thereof. It is also an educational opportunity. He thought they would probably end up creating the list as one of the other initiatives, but it may trigger it, if it has not been done in a while. Chair Ready noted Mr. Adams used to document the buildings with pictures when notified of impending demolition. Mr. Rumpf advised he does so as well. Mr. Rumpf discussed updating and maintaining the Historic Property Survey. C. Historic Preservation Programming and the local Ordinance—The Board will be offered the opportunity to continue any discussions regarding desired preservation activities and programming, in conjunction with staff providing an overview of the principal components of the City's preservation ordinance. Demolition on the top of page 10 would have to be rewritten depending on what option the Board selects. If the Board approves the priority list, he will not hold up the other regulations that are more finalized and then have the amendments after they produce the list. The Code amendment would therefore be in place. There was agreement to proceed as Mr. Rumpf recommended. He was rewording some sections and reviewed some of the wording changes. One not included involves the accessory units. If the Board supports it, it can be added. Dr. Lowe inquired if they should indicate who determined a property is significant. Chair Ready noted these are goals, strategies and who is doing the work, the timeframe and cost to do it should be detailed They need to be put into a format and it will be a living document. The Planner, ideally, would handle these tasks. There was consensus to move forward. Chair Ready requested Mr. Rumpf email it to all the members. 6. New Business: None 7. Other Mr. Rumpf advised we have not stopped any work progress or efforts waiting for completion of the work plan. They are identifying properties and initiating designation reviews. The site survey has a list of local recommendations. It will take some time to go through, but staff will start to bring some of these to the meeting. The website will be done in-house. Mr. Rumpf will be involved in it and bring it to the Board. If members see the other cities website design attributes, they can pass it on to him. They want to keep the same format as the City's main page, but it is how they populate it and what they add to the Historic Preservation website is up to the Board. He will give an update. There are 5 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2022 a lot of graphics and they are using a different version than was originally used. The City uses Drupal. Chair Ready asked if there was an update on the status of the QR codes. Mr. Rumpf advised there was not. There had been discussion of replacing them. Chair Ready noted demolition cannot take place if there is no replacement plan. Mr. Rumpf explained it is in the Ordinance for designated properties. Chair Ready asked for a copy of last year's CLG report. Dr. Lowe noted the new Board list does not have Barbara Ready on the list. Discussion followed all have to request reappointment, it is not automatic. 8. Comments by members Chair Ready invited all to the Historical Society's Zoom meeting on the 25th. The speaker is Georgen Charnes, the City Archivist, who will give a virtual tour of what they have in the Library's Archives. She will forward the link to the members. 9. Public comments relative to historic preservation Chair Ready requested comments be limited to Historic Preservation. Ernest Mignoli, 710 NE 7th Street Unit 407, commented Chair Ready is not supposed to say his comments should be about historic preservation to him. Chair Ready disagreed. Mr. Mignoli asked if the City Attorney advised Chair Ready she could request Mr. Mignoli's be limited to historic preservation. Chair Ready responded she made no such comment. Mr. Mignoli understood Mr. Rumpf was leaving the City and thought it was some of the best news in the City. He liked that his prior comments were included in the minutes. He felt the history of the City was being destroyed by having massage parlor signs everywhere, and planning for rooftop bars turning historic Ocean Avenue into a site with railroad car restaurants and high-rise buildings. He commented it was a disgrace. He felt the previous library was beautiful and should have stayed. He thought the new building was a waste of money and no one attends public meetings. He thought Ocean Avenue was being turned into Delray Beach. He thought one could not walk or bike ride down the street, with people having to wait 10 minutes at a stop sign to cross the street and it will get worse. He thought people would get massages and drinks and have tap dancing parties with drugs and alcohol till 2 in the morning and the Board was destroying the City. He said riding around on Ocean Avenue all night people go in and out of massage parlors, drunk stumbling across the street, driving motorcycles without plates on the sidewalk and now the City puts no trespassing signs all around the building. He asserted the City Manager does not like the public coming in saying she is destroying the City. He thought they were threatening people like him who is trying to protect people and history. He thought the Board should be held responsible for destroying the City, but he did not think they will. He was glad all was on record and the lawsuits keep piling up. Mr. Mignoli, formally gave his name and address and commented he lives is a 45- year old condo, similar to the Surfside condo that collapsed. He thought the Board did not care about the two people that died at the drunken construction site the City runs 6 Meeting Minutes Historic Resources Preservation Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 12, 2022 with all the contractors drinking Whiskey. He also said he thought that Chair Ready was a disgrace. 10. Announce date of next meeting — May 9, 2022 11. Adjournment There being no further business, Chair Ready adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m. Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist 7