Historic Preservation Commission Meeting

668 Historic Preservation 06/03/14 CITY OF ESCONDIDO MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ESCONDIDO HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION June 3, 2014 The meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was called to order at 3:31 p.m. by Chair Cherry, in Training Room 1, 201 North Broadway, Escondido, California. Commissioners present: Commissioner Rea, Chair Cherry, Commissioner Breitenfeld, Commissioner O'Boyle, and Commissioner Spann, Commissioners absent: Commissioner Lee. Staff present: Rozanne Cherry, Principal Planner; Paul Bingham, Assistant Planner; and Ty Paulson, Minutes Clerk. Taken out of order. MINUTES: Moved by Commissioner Spann, seconded by Commissioner Rea, to approve the minutes of the April 1, 2014 meeting. Motion carried unanimously. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: Received. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None. CURRENT BUSINESS: 1. Review staff referral for exterior painting of a Local Register commercial building in the Historic Downtown District of the Downtown Specific Plan at 155 S. Juniper Street. Rozanne Cherry, Principal Planner, provided the background history for the property located at 155 South Juniper as well as the current status of the property. She stated that two stop orders had been issued during the painting process for the subject property, noting that the painting had occurred prior to the issuance of the Certificate of Appropriateness. Staff recommended that the front of the tenant space be repainted so that the upper wall area was white to match Historic Preservation 06/03/14 669 the Metro Café at the south end of the building; that the color band at the top of the building parapet be red; that the north wall on the alley be either all red or red up to the level of the canopies on the front of the building with white above; and that the rear of the building be white to match the Metro Café. Tracy Foote, Applicant, noted that she had received permission from the landlord to paint the building. She stated that the old paint was over a decade old and was in poor shape. She stated that the current red paint helped separate the businesses and fit in with the eclectic look of downtown. She noted that many of the transients had moved away since painting the restaurant as well as receiving favorable comments from the customers, Public Works and the Police Department. She stated that her hope was to paint the rear of the building the same color in order to enhance the looks of the facility. Ms. Foote elaborated that according to the State Historian's Office paint color had no bearing on the historic status of a building and would not compromise the integrity of the building. Commissioner Spann stated that he had received numerous phone calls in opposition to the color. He felt the color was unacceptable, noting his preference would be that the entire building should be predominantly white. He stressed that the paint colors on the entire building should have continuity. Commissioner Rea felt color was a key component of an historic building. She expressed her concern with the current red color breaking up the building. She suggested talking to the property owner to readdress the entire building. She also stated that she appreciated the efforts of Ms. Foote to improve the property. Commissioner O'Boyle did not feel the color scheme fell under the category of art deco. She expressed her concern with red being the predominant color. She felt the entire building needed to be repainted. Ms. Foote concurred and stated that a color other than red would be acceptable if the owner would freshen up the paint on the entire building. Rozanne Cherry noted that the building had a middle section that had not been painted for years. Commissioner Brietenfeld felt the color of the entire building needed to be consistent. Chair Cherry concurred with staff's recommended color schemes. She felt the entire building needed to have a consistent color scheme. She questioned whether the tower on the building could be used for signage and encouraged looking into this. 670 Historic Preservation 06/03/14 Commissioner Rea suggested adding a mural on the side of the building. Ms. Foote noted that she could not afford to install a mural, noting her main goal was to refresh the building. Commissioner Spann and Rozanne Cherry discussed the façade improvement incentive program. Rozanne Cherry noted that there were no funds in the façade improvement program. Commissioner Spann asked if the façade improvement program had a repayment plan. Rozanne Cherry replied in the affirmative. ACTION: Moved by Commissioner Rea, seconded by Commissioner Spann, to approve painting a red band at the top to extend entire building, white color down to the level of awning and from that point down red, on the alley side red extend up to the line level with the front awnings, and paint the rear of the facility facing the parking lot white. (The white color was to be consistent with the off-white color of the Metro Café. Motion carried unanimously. 2. Review proposed facade remodel to replace historic glass tile with dyed aluminum, at 317 E. Grand Avenue in the Historic Downtown District. Darren Parker, Assistant Planner II, provided the background history for the property and noted that the request included removing and replacing the black glass on the façade of the property due to termite damage and broken glass tiles. He noted that the original request was to take off the glass and replace with aluminum panels. Now the applicant requests replacing all of the glass with new similar black glass panels. Staff recommended approval. Mellissa Walker, Applicant, and Nichole Deline, architect, noted that they would be using %" starlite glass with the back sprayed black to achieve the same look as the original glass. Chairman Cherry asked if the paint was applied at a shop. Ms. Deline replied in the affirmative. Rozanne Cherry asked what would be done with the glass tiles that did not need to be replaced. Ms. Walker noted that they would be retained. Discussion ensued regarding a clarification of the color of the new window frames as well as the time frame for the project. Historic Preservation 06/03/14 671 Lucy Berk, Escondido, noted that vitreous glass was very special and asked that the applicant consult with SOHO and the State Historic Preservation Commission to find out the best way possible to remove the glass tiles so they could be reused if possible. She noted that the Secretary of the Interior Bulletin #12 discussed glass tiles. ACTION: Moved by Commissioner Spann, seconded by Commissioner Rea, to approve staffs recommendation. The motion included salvaging as much glass as possible. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Review proposed additions to single-family OEN residence at 519 E. 9th Avenue. Paul Bingham, Assistant Planner, provided the background history and status for the property located at 519 E. 9th Avenue. He indicated that the request was to construct an over-sized two-car garage off the alley and paint it the same color as the house. Staff would be requiring a deed restriction on the garage and another structure currently used for storage so they could not be used as dwelling units. He also stated that the code required that the driveways on 9 th Avenue be removed as part of this project. Staff recommended approval of the garage as proposed. Chairman Cherry asked if the retaining wall would be required to be altered upon removal of the driveway. Mr. Bingham replied in the negative. ACTION: Moved by Commissioner Rea, seconded by Commissioner Spann, to approve staffs recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 4. Review proposed additions to single-family residence in OEN at 549 E. 8 th Avenue (Withdrawn). 5. Discussed Historic Month Proclamation and awards presented May 21, 2014 by Mayor Sam Abed — Received. 6. Discuss and Prioritize HPC Goals & Objectives 7. Discuss and Determine HPC Subcommittees (Items 6 & 7 were combined) 672 Historic Preservation 06/03/14 Chairman Cherry suggested that each subcommittee provide a report on anything related to their subcommittee as well as discussing the goals and objectives of each subcommittee. She noted that one of the goals of the Commission had been to prepare a grant application to fund a context statement for the purpose of surveying the commercial buildings and resources. Commissioner O'Boyle suggested identifying potential historic districts such as the adobe district. Chairman Cherry noted that another potential district was the Westside area. Discussion ensued regarding a clarification of the advantages of being a historic district. Rozanne Cherry provided a brief description of the process for becoming a district and noted that it would be appropriate for the Commission to identify potential districts. Chairman Cherry noted that districts did not need to be bound by an area and could be based on architecture and other aspects. She also noted that another goal would be to promote Escondido cultural aspects, continue Mills Act inspections and work on improving communication with property owners. She then asked if the Commission wanted to look at grant applications or concentrate on other items. Commissioner O'Boyle stated that she had experience in writing grants as well as knowing individuals who wrote grants. Commissioner Spann suggested providing Commissioner O'Boyle with the work completed for the previous grant application. Chairman Cherry suggested establishing a design review work group that would be able to meet to provide direction to the staff and property owners for design review items, noting her concern with the Commission not meeting every month. Rozanne Cherry noted she would find out the protocol for establishing a committee that would be able to take action on design review items. Discussion ensued regarding the Commission meeting monthly as well as meeting at 3:00 p.m.. The Commission directed staff to keep the meetings the same with the ability to have special meetings on an as needed basis. There was consensus to start the meetings at 3:00 p.m. Historic Preservation 06/03/14 673 Chairman Cherry suggested creating a workgroup to create a theme and review potential nominees for historic preservation awards. Commissioner Brietenfeld concurred. Commissioner Spann felt at least one commercial building should receive an award each year. Chairman Cherry concurred. Chairman Cherry expressed her concern with the Commission lacking an architect. The tentative goals included continuing Mills Act inspections, looking at grant applications, creating an ad hoc design subcommittee or meeting as needed, nominating resources for May Historic Preservation, and creating emerging districts. Mr. Bingham asked what the goal was for inspecting Mills Act properties. Commissioner Rea noted that the main issue with no one responding was that there was no deadline to respond given in the letter. Discussion ensued regarding establishing the goals and methods for inspecting Mills Act properties with the emphasis being on educating homeowners. Item 7 will be a current business at the next meeting. 8. Discuss Mills Act Application Process and Clarification Commissioner Spann referenced a property located behind his residence and expressed his concern with the real estate agent advertising that the property could be subdivided. He noted that he had encouraged the owners to put the property on the Mills Act for the purpose of preserving the open space. Discussion ensued regarding the process for subdividing a historic property. Additional discussion ensued regarding the process for coming off of the Mills Act. 9 Discuss HPC vacancy created by Commissioner James' departure Rozanne Cherry noted that staff had received another application for the vacancy. 10. Recent Change to the Municipal Code regarding Window Replacements 674 Historic Preservation 06/03/14 Rozanne Cherry noted that window replacement for structures in the OEN and Historic Resource properties were now required to obtain a building permit. Updates: Historic District — Breitenfeld, Rea History Center — Lee Commercial Historical — Spann, Cherry Register/Survey/CLG Grants — Breitenfeld, Cherry (McQuead — alternate) Mills Act Monitoring Committee — Breitenfeld, Rea, and Spann Historic Public Relations — Rea, (vacancy) Endangered StructuresNintage Signs — Rea, Cherry Nominations for Historic Awards Program: None. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: None. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 5:35 pm. The next regular meeting was scheduled for August 5, 2014, at 3:00 p.m. /‘ Roza cZe Cherry, Principal Planner Ty on, Minutes Clerk