Historic Preservation Commission Meeting

720 Historic Preservation 08/04/15 CITY OF ESCONDIDO MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE , ESCONDIDO HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 4, 2015 The meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was called to order at 3:00 p.m. by Chair Rea in the City Council Chambers, 201 North Broadway, Escondido, California. Commissioners present: Chair Rea, Commissioner, Vice-chair Spann, Brietenfeld, Commissioner Lee, and Commissioner Taylor. Commissioners absent: Commissioner Corell, and Commissioner Danskin, Staff present: Paul Bingham, Assistant Planner; Jay Petrek, Assistant Planning Director; and Ty Paulson, Minutes Clerk. MINUTES: Moved by Vice-chair Spann, seconded by Commissioner Lee, to approve the minutes of the June 2, 2015, meeting. Motion carried unanimously. (4-0) Commissioner Taylor was absent from the vote. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: Received. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None. CURRENT BUSINESS: 1. DESIGN REVIEW — Case No. ADM 15-0127: REQUEST: Design Review of 1955 OEN house proposing period-appropriate color scheme, replacing the more modern front door with a 6-light door, reroofing of the structure and approval of window changes. LOCATION: 429 East 10 th Avenue. Paul Bingham, Assistant Planner, provided the staff report and background history for the property located at 429 East 10 th Avenue. He noted that a stop Historic Preservation 08/0 4/1 5 721 work order had been issued for the property as well as it being a current Code Enforcement case. He stated that the applicant's intent was to turn the property back into a single-family dwelling. The owner had also submitted a list of addresses for surrounding properties that had vinyl windows and requested this be considered. Staff recommended approval of the period-appropriate color scheme, replacing the more modern front door with a 6-light door, reroofing of the structure and approval of replacing windows with the condition that all illegal windows and opening changes be restored to their original styles and locations. Vice-chair Spann and staff discussed the items that would need to go through the building department, specifically with regard to widow replacements. Commissioner Brietenfeld questioned why the windows were changed. Paul Green, property owner, stated that he originally believed they fell under the Title 24 requirements as well as observing surrounding homes having vinyl windows. He noted that after purchasing the windows they found out that they were under Title 23 requirements. He apologized for his misunderstanding and noted that they had hired a new contractor. Vice-chair Spann asked Mr. Green if he had visited the residence while the work was occurring. Mr. Green replied in the affirmative. Vice-chairman Spann noted that he could observe large gaps in the windows from the street. Mr. Green concurred and noted that he had learned a valuable lesson with this property but was losing a large amount of money. He then asked if the Commission would allow the installation of the windows he had purchased. Chair Rea asked Mr. Green if he was aware that the property was located in a historic district when he purchased the property. Mr. Green replied in the negative. Chair Rea asked Mr. Green if he was a realtor. Mr. Green noted that he had just obtained his real estate license. Chair Rea noted that one of the most important aspects of an historic property was the windows. She felt the windows should be changed back to the original size and style. She noted that the subject property might have qualified for the Local Register, which would allow for application of a Mills Act Contract. She also noted that dual-glazed windows were not necessarily more energy efficient. She felt the new fencing was more period-appropriate but felt it should be looked at by staff as to its appropriateness. 722 Historic Preservation 08/04/15 Vice-chair Spann noted no issue with the fencing and wall but felt the windows should be restored back to something similar to what originally existed. He also felt the window shutters should be restored back to what originally existed. Chair Rea asked if a period specific front door would be installed. Mr. Green replied in the affirmative. Vice-chair Spann recommended that the windows to the left of the front door be proportionate with the windows to the right. Chair Rea questioned whether the Commission would be in favor of allowing the owner to restore only the front windows since they were the most visible. Commissioner Lee questioned whether this would create a color contrast between the period specific front widows and the vinyl windows. ACTION: Moved by Chair Rea, seconded by Commissioner Lee, to approve staffs recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. (4-0) Commissioner Taylor was absent from the vote. 2. EDUCATION PRESENTATION TO COMMISSION ON RECENT CALIFORNIA PRESERVATION FOUNDATION'S 3-DAY CONFERENCE IN SAN DIEGO Chair Rea presented an hour PowerPoint presentation summarizing the recent three-day California Preservation Foundation Conference. Among the discussion points covered were: (1) the need to dissuade buyers if they don't want the responsibilities associated with a historic house, (2) 81% of travelers surveyed claim they are interested in seeing historic structures when vacationing, (3) the "Arches" software, which is available free, has allowed Los Angeles to conduct surveys and enter over 880,000 properties into their database, (3) the new "History Pin" website allows input of old photographs by location, and (5) a discussion of the legal need for having a property's historic designation recorded. Commissioner Taylor entered the meeting at the beginning of this training. 3. COMMISSIONER COMMENT ON 7/7/15 CPF WEBINAR; REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT OF HISTORIC WINDOWS LI Historic Preservation 08/04/15 723 Commissioners discussed points covered in the webinar, reiterating the need to be vigilant with design review projects desiring to remove historic windows instead of attempting repair. 4. AD HOC WORK GROUP REPORT ON MILLS ACT MONITORING Chair Rea asked if the new Mills Act brochures had gone out. Mr. Bingham noted that he would check with Mrs. Cherry when she returned on Monday. 5. AD-HOC WORK GROUP REPORT ON UPDATING THE CITY'S GUIDELINES TO INCLUDE MID-CENTURY Chair Rea suggested looking at other jurisdictions' guidelines. 6. DISCUSSION ON AD HOC WORK GROUP TOPICS & PARTICIPANTS Mr. Bingham reported that City staff had met with representatives of a group of west side neighbors regarding the process for designating a new historic district. It is their desire that the new district be named the West Hillside Neighborhood. LI Chair Rea noted her being impressed with the determination of this group. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS - None. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 4:16 p.m. The next regular meeting was scheduled for October 6, 2 15 at 3:00 p.m. Rozanne Cherry, Principal Planner Ty on, Minutes Clerk