Historic District Commission

Meeting of the Historic District Commission July 10, 2025, 5:30 PM City Hall Room 101 & Zoom NOTE: The July 10, 2025 Historic District Commission meeting was held in person and online, with commissioners attending in person and online. Staff were present in person. Members: Chair Christine Myres, Meredith Mahan, Mark Harper, Cheri Coley, Jennifer Didway, Tommie Flowers Davis, and Karen Rorex City Staff: Kylee Cole – Long Range & Preservation Planner; Britin Bostick - Long Range Planning & Special Projects Manager Call to Order: 5:30 PM In Attendance: Chair Christine Myres, Cheri Coley, Jennifer Didway, Meredith Mahan, Mark Harper, Tommie Flowers Davis, Karen Rorex, Kylee Cole, and Britin Bostick Approval of Minutes from the June 12, 2025 Meeting: Motion to accept by Commissioner Coley, second by Commissioner Harper. Motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Announcements: 1. Cole provided the 2nd quarter 2025 demolition memo to the commission. Unfinished Business: 1. Bylaws Amendments – Order of Business: Myres said this will give flexibility for following accepted city precedent. Bostick showed the public meetings webpage and how to navigate to upcoming meeting agendas. The new system will be used for the August meeting. Motion to approve as presented, Coley; second by Harper. Approval by voice vote. Staff provide written copy for signature at next meeting. 2. Election of Officers: After brief discussion Harper made a motion for Myres for Chair and Coley for Vice-Chair; second by Didway. Approval by voice vote. New Business 1. Downtown Design Overlay District – Background: Bostick provided an overview on the background and interest in hearing more about DDOD, especially considering development along historic Dickson St. The city is about to begin a downtown master plan project and the DDOD standards will be revisited. A history of the 2004 downtown masterplan was discussed, and changes to the DDOD that were explored by PC beginning in 2023 were reviewed (these amendments never took place). Bostick asked for clarification about the commissioner’s preferred method of reviewing code changes. Myres preferred paper copy with redlines for notes, and staff could live edit a digital version. Coley agreed. Harper requested that documents be provided before the meetings. Staff will provide materials one week ahead of meetings, then provide a marked up version after meetings, at the next meeting we would continue revisions. Myres asked that a recurring item under  “unfinished business” be added to review DDOD, and they will dedicate around 20 minutes each meeting. Other Business 1. Commissioners requested clarification on a few points in the demolition report, which Cole provided. Commissioners agreed it was important to continue getting photographs of buildings slated for demolition. 2. Karen Rorex introduced herself to the commission and provided some information about her background and interest in historic preservation. Adjourned: 6:37 PM 2