Historic Preservation Commission

DRAFT AGENDA HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION TOWN OF BUENA VISTA, COLORADO April 4, 2024 3:00 PM In-person Meeting will be held at the Buena Vista Community Center with alternate zoom link availability for the public to also attend virtually. To participate in Public Comment and/or Public Hearings you must attend in-person or use the following link: https://zoom.us/j/89243372949 Meeting ID: 892 4337 2949 Passcode: 740426 Listen via phone at: 1-720-707-2699 Meeting ID: 892 4337 2949 Passcode: 740426 I. CALL TO ORDER Mary Therese called the meeting to order at 3:02 pm. II. ROLL CALL Commissioner Mary Therese Anstey, Suzy Kelly, and Nancy Locke attended in person. Joel Benson, Brian Berger, Commissioner John O’Brien arrived after public comment. III. AGENDA ADOPTION Nancy requested that the addition of an agenda item to discuss the demolition of a cabin. Nancy Locke asked about the demolition of an older cabin and didn’t recall it coming before HPC. Joel indicated that he felt the subject was raised at a previous HPC meeting. Jamie indicated that she has an ongoing list of demo permits that are being reviewed. When we receive demo permits, we try to do the review as received. If we’re waiting a month to bring it up, that’s not in code requirements. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – March 7, 2024 Suzy moved and Nancy seconded. V. PUBLIC COMMENT Town Manager, Brian Berger, introduced himself, shared that he had previous experience with restoring the Poncha Town Hall building. VI. BUSINESS ITEMS A. Possible MU-MS code revisions Mary Therese began the discussion by giving a high level review from the Greeley Design Guidelines. John O’Brien gave an update following his conversation with Dan Courtright. He felt that “mass and scale” is the most important aspect of design guidelines. John then went through photos of recent new construction on Historic East Main Street, showing how the projects followed the municipal code and design guidelines, and how they sought input from HPC early and sincerely. This Agenda may be Amended Posted at Buena Vista Town Hall and www.buenavistaco.gov  Mary Therese pointed out that HPC is charged with having the greatest impact on protecting the built environment in the Town, and especially East Main Street. We know that others, including locals and tourists, also value East Main. But also that they are unlikely to accept height and mass limitations in the code. People read the code. But people aren’t reading the Architectural Design Guidelines. What’s the fairest, most feasible, and what causes us the least amount of heartburn is a way to balance what goes in the code. ■ Weighing in on site plan is a win. ■ Architectural character is hard and more subjective. Less appropriate for code, and more appropriate for discussions. John added that if the Town wants to preserve the mass and scale of the Town, then it will have to control that. Brian noted that you could achieve the effect of a shorter building with a requirement that the third floor be set back. Jamie and Brian will work on the staff memo for this process, as Joel owns a property on East Main Street to which the contemplated code changes would apply. John O’Brien said he would resurrect and circulate the latest draft of proposed changes to the code for consideration at our May meeting. B. Colorado Midland sign (East Main Street) Mary Therese talked about a letter she drafted to be sent to the owners of the property regarding the historic significance of the sign and approaches to restoring it. C. Historic Preservation Month – May 2024 Mary Therese walked through the Historic Preservation Month activities: Mayoral proclamation, Coffee with the Commissioners, Art Contest, Essay Contest, Pearl Plaque Ceremony. Mary Therese has a sign-up sheet for getting prizes and monitoring judging. D. Suggestion of Interpretive Panels for Historic Buildings Mary Therese led a discussion about Joy Duprey’s email on behalf of the Beautification Advisory Board suggesting that HPC consider taking on plaques/panels for designated buildings in Buena Vista. Brian said that could be small enough dollars to put into the budget. CLG is $25k or less, but your project is more competitive if you do have a match. SHF has larger grants, with different guidelines. John can get some pricing, so we can move forward with funding and implementation. Katy will share photos from other towns. Brian shared that the Town has been working on other signage and could be involved from the standpoint of creating coherent signs.] E. Edits to Historic Preservation Forms Jamie was reviewing some Town forms and is looking to update them for current contacts and code references. Katy said she would forward a memo that she and John submitted to the Town last year. This Agenda may be Amended Posted at Buena Vista Town Hall and www.buenavistaco.gov  F. CPI On-the-Road Jo shared that while staff at Colorado Preservation Inc. firms up, these plans are on hold. There remains a possibility that CPI will hold it’s annual meeting in Buena Vista this fall. G. Updates from related organizations and general discussion Suzy gave the update for Buena Vista Heritage. BVH is celebrating its 50th anniversary and will be putting on many events to engage the public. Check their website or Facebook page for updates. Katy gave the update for Watershed Inc. The McGinnis Gym continues apace and is expected to be open by September. Watershed and the BV School District are pursuing another preservation project to relocate the Grove early childhood education center in the historic County Shop building, which is adjacent to the Gym. H. Next meeting Thursday, May 2, 2024 VII. STAFF UPDATES VIII. ADJOURNMENT This Agenda may be Amended Posted at Buena Vista Town Hall and www.buenavistaco.gov