Everett Historical Commission

Everett Historical Commission Meeting Summary October 22, 2019 Commissioners City Staff Guests Arnold Morrison, Chair Karen Stewart Mike Kerasotes Steve Fox David Chrisman Dave Ramstad Council Liaison Jean Satti-hewat Glenn Hunter Liz Vogeli Emmett (Vogeli) Amelia Hieb Jack O’Donnell Thomas Feeney Andrea Tucker Patrick Hall Neil Anderson Laura Cameron-Behee (excused) The meeting convened at approximately 6:30 pm with Chair Morrison leading the meeting. Introductions were made around the room. (Several people joined the meeting shortly after introductions were completed and proceedings were paused so they could introduce themselves.) The meeting summary for the prior Historical Commission meeting held on September 24, 2019 was reviewed and discussed. Commissioner Hall asked for a correction. He stated that several of the action items are potential areas of collaboration with the Downtown Everett Association (DEA) so the sentence at the bottom of page 2 should be corrected to reflect that the items may not currently be on DEA’s work program. Commissioner O’Donnell made a motion to approve the meeting summary, with this noted correction. The motion to approve the corrected meeting summary was seconded by Commissioner Ramstad and approved unanimously by the Commission. Citizen Comments Mike Kerasotes introduced himself and discussed his prior efforts in the Midwest to give landmark status to nearly 50 buildings. Several of the buildings were found to have historical significance because President Lincoln had visited. There were no other citizen comments. Actions from 2011 Downtown Historic Preservation Plan The Commission did not have a CLG grant last fiscal year, so are helping staff identify some proposals for a 2020 grant application that will be due to DAHP in April 2020. Staff mentioned that the last grant application to develop design standards for the Hewitt Avenue National Historic District might be appropriate to reintroduce with this next grant cycle. We will learn more about eligibility requirements from DAHP early next year to determine if it is appropriate to resubmit. 1 Commissioner Fox and Commissioner Hall submitted comments on the proposed actions that were distributed to the group for discussion. Commissioner Hall stated that several of the action items are potential areas of collaboration with the Downtown Everett Association (DEA). Collaboration between the two groups would be useful to pursue and complete some of the actions. The newly formed DEA design subcommittee (including Paul Popelka), with Chase Dermott chairing, will be looking at several of these actions with Commissioner Hall acting as a liaison with the Historical Commission. Several commissioners questioned if the program named in action item #1 still exists and Commissioner Hall and staff reported on findings from their research. Even though there is a potential for grant funding, the Commission decided to not apply to be a Preserve America Community at this time or next year. The inventory referenced as action item #2 should be posted on-line if it is not already. Action item #3 caught the attention of several commissioners as a high priority. It was noted that there are 4 walking tours of historic buildings. Action item # 5 has been completed; however, additional signage in the median and establishing a zoning overlay and design standards was proposed. Action item #6 might not be achievable based on Commissioner Hall’s research on criteria for National Register listing since the wharf no longer exists. Commissioners discussed the historic significance of the west end of Hewitt that was the location of the municipal dock and the last remaining area where the former brick roadway is visible. There was discussion about action item 10-façade improvement program and existing code requirements in 16.16.040 regarding ground level windows for commercial buildings that should display art when vacant. Discussion continued about blighted buildings in the downtown. Action items 13 and 14 could be combined. Commissioner Fox advocated to items 16, 17 and 18. Commissioner Hieb identified 5 themes to help organize the prioritized actions: • Building design standards • New construction (green materials) • Existing building maintenance and enforcement • Promotion—wayfinding and interpretive signs, education • Partnerships with other organizations Draft Code Consolidation of 19.33 Historic Overlay Zone Staff has taken an initial cut at consolidating the historic overlay zone development standards. Additional code writing to create a new Historic Resources chapter will be the next step that will pull in Commission duties (e.g., Everett Register, Special Valuation) from Title 2. Future drafts will be forthcoming. This code work is part of the overall Rethink Zoning initiative that David Stalheim will describe at the November meeting. Historical Commissioner and Staff Comments Roundtable reports occurred with staff informing the Commission about a couple of meetings with future developers/owners/architects on proposed projects involving undesignated, historic buildings. Specifically, she reported on the planned redevelopment of the downtown Everett YMCA and tenant 2 improvements at the 1928 former H.W. Wood Motor Co. located at 2902 Rucker Avenue. Commissioner Tucker described on-going threats for demolition of historic buildings for redevelopment. Commissioners discussed “For Sale” signs identifying teardowns and not listing renovation as an alternative. Commissioner Tucker has been contacting other realtors to encourage them to add renovations to the listings. Commissioner Ramstad and other commissioners expressed relief that the YMCA will be saved in part—at least the oldest sections. Commissioner O’Donnell asked staff if the former entrance on Rockefeller Ave. would be reconstructed. That was not shown in the plans. Chair Morrison talked about his work in California beta testing in construction requirements entailing more steel beams. The international building codes are anticipated to upgrade to these new requirements in the next couple of years. Construction materials will likely become more expensive. The next meeting of the Historical Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, November 26 at the William E. Moore Old City Hall in the 1st Floor Conference Room. There will be several items for Commission action so a quorum is needed even though this is Thanksgiving week. There will not be a meeting in December since it is Christmas Eve. A motion to adjourn at 8:27 p.m. was made by Commissioner Ramstad and seconded by Commissioner Hunter, with unanimous agreement. 3