Historic Preservation Commission

City of Fresno City Hall 2600 Fresno Street Fresno, CA 93721 Meeting Minutes - Final Monday, March 26, 2018 6:00 PM Regular Meeting Fresno City Hall, Second Floor Room 2165N (Conference Room A) Historic Preservation Commission Chair Patrick Boyd Vice Chair Jason Hatwig, LEED, AP, BD+C Commissioners: Robin Goldbeck; Paul Halajian, AIA; Ron McNary; C. Kristina Roper, M.A.; Don Simmons, Ph.D. Staff: Daniel Zack, AICP Assistant Director; Laura van Onna, Historic Preservation Specialist; Amber Piona, Planner II, Recording Secretary; John Hastrup, Deputy City Attorney II Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission 18-0265 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Commissioner Robin Goldbeck arrived at 6:07pm Present 6 - Chair Patrick Boyd, Vice Chair Jason Hatwig, Commissioner Robin Goldbeck, Commissioner C. Kristina Roper, Commissioner Don Simmons, and Commissioner Ron McNary II. APPROVE MEETING MINUTES A. ID18-0445 Approve Minutes for February 26, 2018. Attachments: 2.HPC_Minutes_26_Feb_2018.pdf The meeting minutes were approved 5-0, with a motion by Commissioner Hatwig and a second by Commissioner Roper. III. APPROVE AGENDA The agenda with was approved 5-0 with a motion by Commissioner Roper and a second by Commissioner Simmons. Commissioner Goldbeck was not present for this vote. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. None. V. CONTINUED MATTERS A. None. VI. COMMISSION ITEMS A. ID18-0446 CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF REQUEST BY THE PROPERTY OWNERS TO RECOMMEND TO THE CITY COUNCIL THE DESIGNATION OF THE FOLLOWING PROPERTY TO THE LOCAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC RESOURCES AND ADOPTION OF FINDINGS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT RECOMMENDATION PURSUANT TO FMC City of Fresno Page 2 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission 12-1609: 1. The Senator Ray W. and Marie Hays Home Located at 1608/1616 S Minnewawa Avenue. Staff Recommendation: Approve and forward to the City Council Attachments: Exhibit A.pdf Historic Preservation Specialist Laura Groves van Onna presented the staff report on Senator Ray W and Marie Hays Home (1608/1616 S. Minnewawa). The building is eligible for the local register under criteria i (early important suburban ranch property in the development of the Sunnyside neighborhood), ii (associated with a family of importance to the community – specifically Ray Hays who served as a State Senator between 1930 and 1942), and 3 (architectural distinction as a rambling country estate and complex with multiple design influences prominent in Fresno, and the country, between the two World Wars). Staff recommends that the Commission approve the request and send it forward to City Council. Chair Patrick Boyd: What is an Adjutant General? Commissioner Don Simmons: The Adjutant General became the Attorney General. Public Comment Open Ryan Eddings (1616 S. Minnewawa): The building is listed as 1608; however the post office does not recognize that address. I am here with my wife and also Chris Hays, whose grandfather is Ray Hays. She grew up down the street and I am sure she will be happy to tell you all about the house. We love the house. We think it’s an important piece of local history. We also think it’s really important for the Sunnyside neighborhood. And I was happy that, by some quirk, this property is in the city of Fresno, where a lot of the neighborhood isn’t. I think Karana [Hattersley-Drayton] did a great job in explaining the history of house and of Mr. Hays, but I would be happy to answer any questions or if there is anything else we can provide for you in making your decision. City of Fresno Page 3 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Commissioner Robin Goldbeck arrives 6:07p.m. Boyd: I don’t have anything, but I would say that normally we sneak around these properties pretty well, but your property is a little bit bigger than most. Eddings: We lived in the neighborhood for almost ten years, and I didn’t know the house was there until I saw it for sale. Commissioner Ron McNary: It has a curving driveway? Eddings: It has a long circular driveway off to the side. You can really only see the garage and maybe a bit of the workshop, the rest of the house you cannot see. The building on the bottom right is not our house, but there’s newspaper article that has both of the homes from 1938. That was owned by the Finston family, he was a UC Regent, we think they were built by the same architect, but we don’t know that. They are right across the street from one another; this is on the southeast corner of Butler and Minnewawa, this was southwest. Boyd: Is it well preserved? Are you looking for the designation to do improvements? Eddings: No. All the windows are the same, for the most part all the door hinges and the doors are original. The only thing that has changed, the bottom porch has been enclosed. Other than that, it’s all original. Chris Hays (1908 S. Minnewawa): I grew up at 1908 S. Minnewawa. I lived down the street, on the 44 acres when I was a child it was my parents’ house, farmworkers housing, my grandparents’ house and ultimately my aunt and uncle. We don’t know what the history of the acreage was originally, but the fact that it was bordered by olive trees and that there was an L-shape olive tree and a railroad spur, we wonder if there was a packing facility on site. As far as the house being preserved I can tell you that everything except the kitchen counter is the same as when I was a child. All the flooring, counter tops, and tile is the same, the wallpaper has been City of Fresno Page 4 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission taken down. Many of the same light fixtures are still there. It’s been a real joy to get to work on the house with them, I am a designer and I still have dreams that take place in this house. My grandfather was in WWI was part of Pancho Villa’s cavalry. My father was a page in the Senate when my grandfather was in the Senate. My dad to his dying day could still recite from memory everyone that was in the Senate when he was a page; of course if he had gotten anything wrong none of us would have been able to prove it. The screen porches were always there, but originally they were screen. The previous owners made it more substantial and made it more of an all-weather porch. Any questions? Boyd: Was Karana as excited to work on this as you are? Hays: Karana is just great fun to work with no matter what. Her enthusiasm about everything cool in Fresno is infectious. I have walked into one other house in Fig Garden, which when I did my antenna went up, I could tell it was the same builder. I suppose if we wanted to go further, the [owners of the Fig Garden property] might know the name of the architect. That would be the Einstein-Eaton family, the one on Van Ness. Public Comment Closed Staff recommendation was approved 6-0 on a motion by Commissioner Simmons and a second by Commissioner Hatwig. B. ID18-0447 CONSIDERATION, REVIEW AND DIRECTION RELATED TO STATUS OF POTENTIAL HISTORIC DISTRICTS AND HISTORIC SURVEYS Staff Recommendation: Staff is Seeking Direction from the Commission Historic Preservation Specialist Laura Groves van Onna presents existing and proposed historic districts, which includes a chronological list of proposed districts and a map of several of those proposed districts. McNary: Do you have a map of all the districts? City of Fresno Page 5 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Historic Preservation Specialist Laura Groves van Onna: No, we have many of them mapped, but not all. Hopefully, this gives us all a good foundation for the discussion. McNary: Is there any way you could send that map to me? Groves van Onna: Yes. This particular map was made for large format printing, which is why I have to pan around, but yes. Commissioner Kristina Roper: Of these that you have listed here do you have any sense which of these are closer to the goal post than others? Vice Chair Hatwig: Or the hitching post, perhaps? Historic Preservation Specialist Laura Groves van Onna: Speaking of Hitching Post district, I read in previous minutes that [the proposed Hitching Post District] was discussed in a meeting at one point, and it was decided that further research was needed. That appears to be the case for a lot of these, there was interest in doing them, and some work has been completed, but more would need to be done. In 2012, Karana had suggested a thematic district for Mid-Century Modern resources, but the result was that more research was needed. On the last page, I went ahead and noted what you all brought up at our last meeting. Assistant Director Dan Zack: Formal study hasn’t been done on these, but these were ideas on the potential on the modern ones. Groves van Onna: Right. A lot of these that [the Commission] recommended last week were also recommended in the 2008 Mid Century Modernism historic context. So there is some overlap among this list. Commissioner Goldbeck: My question, coming on the heels of the L Street district discussion a month ago is: are there any of these that we think are more in danger of being lost? Hatwig: I know not too long ago we had surveyed the warehouses. City of Fresno Page 6 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Goldbeck: The South Van Ness survey? Hatwig: Yes. I thought that neighborhood had a lot of significance to carve out a district there. I was hoping that a district would have bubbled up. We were on a pretty good track after reviewing that and getting the work done, and staff had done a good job putting it together so it’s ready. Zack: And it was a massive area. The documentation that went along with that was extensive. Hatwig: And thinking about progress on the Mills Act, this area is my person number one [priority]. Simmons: I would suggest (and this is mentioned in the 2008 listings) the Yosemite Avenue Local District. Because of the number of the properties that are already individually on the Local Register, this seems like a logical step to designate that as a district. As well as the thematic district of the hitching post; I see that as being at risk. People don’t understand their significance; they don’t even know what they are. Builders and developers are apt to destroy something out of ignorance rather than willfully destroying them. At last count there were 16 of them. I am sure there are more, but 16 is a good start. And then for the mid-century modern district, that garnered a whole lot of public support. As it was being discussed people kept bringing new properties, and what about [Robert] Stevens and [Gene] Zellmer. My perception is that Mid-Century Modern is the most at risk, because people think that that if something isn’t older than them, it can’t possibly be historic. We’ve already lost so many mid-century modern examples, particularly downtown. From San Francisco Floral [former site on the north corner of Calaveras and Fulton] to gas stations. Zack: If I am reading this correctly, it looks like that could be multiple potential districts that came out of that study. Are there any in particular that you would suggest looking at first, or are you thinking the whole survey? There is a lot in this survey, which is why I ask. City of Fresno Page 7 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Simmons: The current emphasis on Blackstone to “Build a Better Blackstone,” would dovetail well with identifying the historic resources there and designating a historic district because as Blackstone becomes a hot development area. We need to make sure that the district would provide another layer of protection for those resources. Boyd: The city has identified Blackstone as a corridor for redevelopment, so we should have this queued up to compliment that. Zack: Infill and historic preservation aren’t mutually exclusive, but if you identify your resources ahead of time, then you know where to focus development and where not, and you can have the two co-exist. If you don’t then the two will have clashes. Boyd: But when we don’t get out ahead of it, that is exactly what happens and the first building purchased is the most historic resource in the area. The argument will be we bought it because it looks cool, but oh it turns out it’s too hard to maintain so we’re going to demo it. And we, as commissioners, find ourselves in that position over and over again. Simmons: We learned so much about Cedar Lanes when it was too late, it’s now a Wal-Mart. We kept saying “we’ve identified it, we think it’s worth protecting” but because we were really slow on the Mid-Century Modern district, and then we lost it. I see that happening. Hatwig: This was prior to me joining [HPC], but Cedar Lanes, did it come to HPC? I know Karana was reviewing that project, I worked with her on it, and I know it came back ineligible, but it was determined that the bank was a shining example of mid-century modern. Simmons: The Commission was split on Cedar Lanes. Hatwig: Ah, that might have been my client. Roper: So, would it be useful to identify the top 5? There’s a lot here, let’s make it manageable. City of Fresno Page 8 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Zack: The running list that I have for the discussion is: South Van Ness Industrial, Yosemite Avenue, Hitching Post Thematic District, Mid-Century Blackstone. Groves van Onna: So we’re interested in doing more with Mid-Century Modernism, and particularly on Blackstone? Hatwig: Yes. Most of the residential homes are already well-kept. I would think Blackstone and Shaw. Zack: If the goal is a top 5, today let’s come up with more, and then we can focus on what data is available. Let’s say we come up with a top 10 or a top 8 tonight and then we’ll see which ones have a lot of the needed information already assembled, are a little closer to the finish line and then we could come back with a status report on all of them. That way you could look at both the level of risk and the amount of information that is all ready to go and then you pick your top 5 out of that. Goldbeck: Along with that, we can look at what resources realistically would be needed to move those further down the list forward. Then we’ll be able to say if we feel really strongly about a potential district what resources we will need to make it happen. Zack: And if there are any of those with a huge amount of interest, but we don’t have a lot of information together, then maybe we’ll go after a CLG grant like we did for South Van Ness Industrial so we can get resources to help do that work. Boyd: Do we have others to add to the list? Hatwig: Chinatown. Goldbeck: I was surprised to learn that Saint Johns is not a recognized as a historic district! That’s never been formalized? City of Fresno Page 9 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Zack: That is correct, Saint John’s Cathedral is individually on the Local Register but that neighborhood is not a district. The only four we have are Chandler Airport, Wilson Island, Porter Tract (behind City College) and then Huntington Boulevard. Soon Old Armenian Town will be added to the list. We have others that have been surveyed that could probably easily be historic districts, but have never been taken through. Saint Johns and Terrace Gardens seems like low-hanging fruit. There are a lot of them out there. Goldbeck: Well it seems like being able to decide one way or the other would be helpful to let us move on down the list. Simmons: When I review designated properties and districts, bluntly speaking, it’s all pretty white. Our ethnic history in Fresno is not well represented in our historic properties or historic districts, particularly African-American, and Southeast Asian histories. We’re taking a big step with Armenian Town. It’s a pretty white history here, and that isn’t representative of Fresno. Is there some way, as we’re moving forward, to be representative? This is a problem throughout California. White commissions designate white properties. At some point, we should indicate that this isn’t what we want to say, and designate properties that represent other ethnic histories. Chinatown would be a big part of that so would designating properties related to Japanese internment, some of which we already lost. We have numerous properties that could be related to ethnic histories and we need to pay attention. McNary: There’s a beautiful neighborhood on Kearney Boulevard in West Fresno. The houses are really well-preserved. Simmons: How do we address what’s missing? Zack: Bringing it up is the first natural step. Some of the neighborhoods here identified as potential historic districts have that very legacy. That should be a factor when evaluating what should go on your list is a great way to start. Public Comment Open City of Fresno Page 10 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Janette Jerkovich (3729 E Huntington Blvd): I’m glad to hear that we’re thinking about more districts. To address your question, Don, the one thing that is pretty interesting about a historic area is that they are usually very encompassing of a lot of economic stances, not necessarily racial though and that’s a very interesting thing. The thing that I think is missing in talking about all of this is how to fit within the day and our problems. We need more affordable housing. A lot of these historic homes are very affordable housing, but they’re off on their own and it’s a troubled area and you don’t know if the other guy is going to invest like you are. Historic Districts and designation of historic districts is an economic development tool. Huntington Blvd. is a good example. If you know that the 121 houses next to you are going to keep their properties up and all follow the same rules for how they’re going to develop their properties, you’ve got an elevated economic tool. A certainty of investment. The thing is that approaching it as an economic tool and seeing what that can do to unleash investment. Balch is a very troubled area, but with a lot of cute houses. A certain amount of regulation will provide certainty of investment. The cities that have taken advantage of it, they realized it was an economic development tool, which is why it is done by land use/zoning tool. That is the thing that is missing; it would be really cool if everyone did a study on the economic benefits of historic districts, shared it with the public and put it in the minutes. You can develop your economy by tearing down and building anew and you can also develop your economy by making it more investor-friendly for people who are going to live in those existing resources and that’s a little greener way to go about it, too. George Hofstedder (730 W San Ramon): Two quick things: 1) this is a public hearing and there is an important document [the list of previously considered potentially eligible historic districts] that is not available on the table for the public. At Planning Commission, the documents that the commissioners discuss are available both at the table the night of the hearing and the public can get a copy of these beforehand, which really helps the public follow along with what you’re doing. I hope after the meeting, that I can get a copy of the document, but it would be nice if they were available for all of the audience members. 2) It would be nice if people City of Fresno Page 11 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission could speak up. Don Simmons has a voice I can hear even if I were in the Council Chambers, perhaps other audience members have better hearing than I do, but if it’s a mumbling then it’s not a public hearing. Thank you. Boyd: A clarification about documents. The presentation is published on our website? Hofstedder: I didn’t see this on the website. Groves van Onna: No, the presentation is not, it is just prepared for the meeting. There were no documents prepared to distribute to the public. Deputy City Attorney John Hastrup: There is no action being contemplated. Hofstedder: It’s being discussed in public. This is game, set, match as far as I’m concerned. Ryan Eddings: Although I own a 1937 house, I am modernist. I would encourage you to take up the modernist architecture because there is so much of it here. I hope you can raise the awareness of modernism especially to the people who own these homes. It would be awesome if people would view them the way they view a Taylor-Wheeler, that there are original aspects that should be highlighted, not items to be replaced. Boyd: I would add to that that modernism is harder for most people to see, an element of modernism is its simplicity. Public Comment Closed Goldbeck: What do we have so far? Zack: We have S. Van Ness Industrial, Yosemite Avenue, Hitching Post, Mid-century Blackstone, Mid-Century Shaw, Chinatown, Terrace Gardens, Saint Johns. Simmons: I’d like to add one; it’s listed as the thematic automotive district, City of Fresno Page 12 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission the Cultural Arts District (2006). Hatwig: That says it was determined ineligible? Groves van Onna: That was the question. I know that something related to automotive district was determined ineligible. Simmons: There was a whole row of them that was demolished for an apartment complex, very similar to L Street. Zack: Where was the potential district you are interested in, geographically? Simmons: Broadway and Amador near the Rainbow Ballroom. I would like to echo Jeanette’s comments about using historic districts as an economic development tool. My family lives in Savannah and Charleston, my brother lives in Skidaway Island in Savannah, most of the houses were built in the 1950s/1950s. Part of their strategy in Savannah was to designate a historic district first, and then development will follow because of first the protections. My brother says they are rapidly losing the mid-century developments on islands. That’s where we are heading if we don’t start to force the case of historic districts as economic development engines. I agree that I don’t think that our City Council understands that, and I think it’s our responsibility to drive that. We should always be pushing the next district. Boyd: That is how we capture neighborhoods in the South west (Fresno), that’s how we get cultural diversity in historic preservation. You can see a conglomerate of well-kept houses, and if you put in a district, we might get stucco-wrap houses to flip back. Simmons: Think about the Julia Morgan building in south Fresno. That neighborhood itself could have been a significant area with that building as a showpiece, but it’s an apartment complex now. Zack: where was that? City of Fresno Page 13 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Simmons: It’s off of Fresno in south Fresno. It was a hospitality house. The Housing Authority and a developer took it down. I’ve had the privilege of being on this commission since 2006, so I know this conversation really well. We haven’t moved fast enough. Goldbeck: Tonight is a good start. Zack: I have 9 districts, South Van Ness Industrial, Yosemite Avenue, Hitching Posts, Mid-Century Blackstone, Mid-Century Shaw, Chinatown Terrace Gardens, Saint Johns, and one of the warehouse districts identified in the Arts/Culture survey from 2006. Nine districts is a good number to start with; we can do a deeper dive on those, see how much information we have available, we can do a closer look at each one of them to explore next time. Goldbeck: Should we be authorizing staff that if there are some districts that have a lot of information and are ready to go that they bring them to us next month? Zack: I think that maybe the way to go would be that if any of these fit that category, then we will identify them for you next month. Hastrup: This is the first stage of the whittling project, but next month will be a deeper dive. It would be premature to put a potential district up for a vote next meeting. Groves van Onna: Happy to do more work on these. McNary: I would like to know where a lot of these places are. Zack: We will map all of these places. [Groves van Onna and Zack reviewed the map of potential districts that was included in the presentation, including the Kearney Boulevard National Register Cultural Landscape and a number of potential historic districts: Adoline/Palm, Lower Fulton/Van Ness, Terrace Gardens, Wilson’s North Fresno Tract, North Park, Lower Fulton/Van Ness, Saint Johns, Cultural City of Fresno Page 14 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Arts, and East Madison. This map also includes boundaries of early ethnic neighborhoods in Fresno] Jurkovich: We really forget about the agricultural colony systems in Fresno. There were about 64 different colonies, and our ethnic diversity in early Fresno came about because of these colonies. Advertisements were sent to troubled countries advertising the availability of land and the opportunities available and people came. The colony system in Fresno County has been completely forgotten, and it’s a fascinating story. This would a great potential historic district, if that tie still exists, and I haven’t mapped that out. A lot of those old houses and 20 acre parcels are no longer evident. Roper: I know that every report I’ve done for Fresno has included a discussion of the colony system and early ethnic neighborhoods. It’s there we talk about it, but it never gets translated into actions. Boyd: How much of that is in city limits, versus the county. Roper: Not a lot, in south Fresno some of it, but to the east you find the sites of former colonies are in Fresno County. Item Closed. VII. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT A None VIII. UNSCHEDULED ITEMS A. Members of the Commissioin 1. Producers Dairy City Council Item Commissioner Hatwig provides update on the City Council item on Producers. There was good public support. In 1994 there was a covenant between Producers and the neighbors. It was a good conversation that went on a long time. There will be more steps. There will be further steps. City of Fresno Page 15 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Simmons: The HPC voted to designate these properties as historic, but the Council did not. For purposes of CEQA, would they not be considered historic resources? Hastrup: Ultimately the decision is in the hands of Council. We’ll see what happens. At the end of the day the City Council can override a designation of a historic resource. This item is complicated with the existence of the 1994 covenant. Simmons: I know that some properties that have been called out in surveys would be considered historic for purposes of CEQA even though they haven’t come before the City Council to be formally designated. Would that not be applicable here? Boyd: Isn’t the survey approved by Council? Zack: Are we talking in general or about Producers? Boyd: In general. Zack: The best scenario to use as an example, is to think about the process we go through when a demolition permit is required. The steps are that the Historic Preservation Specialist pulls the permit for review, evaluates it. If she determines it to be potentially historic then brought to HPC for consideration as a resource. If the HPC determines that the resource is eligible you recommend to the City Council that it be designated as historic. It goes to the City Council, and if the City Council concurs, then it is designated historic, and removing it would be an impact that would have to go through the whole CEQA process. If the City Council does not concur, then it is ineligible; it’s been evaluated, gone through the whole process and determined by the governing body to ineligible and then the demolition permit can be issued and no CEQA review is required. Roper: The fault of CEQA is that it is ultimately the court. It’s not like NEPA or Section 106. City of Fresno Page 16 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Hastrup: Whether or not it was finally confirmed or approved, it could be used in an action. To answer Don’s question, I could see somebody using in court the fact that something was determined eligible here and then not approved by council, and I don’t love that. If the Council votes no, then it’s not historic. Boyd: To me it seems like a difference in backgrounds. We go through the training and evaluate it and determine something is historic and worthy of being preserved. Council determines the resource for other reasons than what we come to. Simmons: Which is probably why other municipalities have other systems, and their local landmarks commission is a governing body. Our system is antiquated; other cities don’t do it this way. To follow up, does staff get to offer the mayor any recommendation? Or does the mayor to have the opportunity to take a recommendation from this body? Zack: You’re talking about Producers in particular? I am trying to fully understand what Thursday’s action means and what role everyone would have. Hastrup: I don’t have more clarity. As often happens, when Council is up on the dais and they don’t vote yes or no, it can get confusing. Here is what I think what happened, and I would note that this is not the official City Attorney’s Office opinion, there were some restrictions put on what can happen, and those restrictions were put on the buildings. In theory they could have designated them historic and considered them historic resources, I am not sure that they said that. Hatwig: What was emphasized was the covenant must be adhered to, which means the building has to remain and be maintained in good repair. If there is a project there, it won’t be a parking-lot only project. What they voted on was interesting, the covenant must be upheld. That is what I heard. Hastrup: That is what I heard as well, but I am not sure where that fits in, legally. City of Fresno Page 17 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission Hatwig: The mayor has a task force, is there a historic preservation presence there? It would be wise to do so. Hastrup: Please feel free to reach out to your Council Members. Zack: Let’s put an update this on the next agenda. We will be willing to fully dig into this, figure out what happened last week, and what the next step. Hastrup: Negotiating will take 90 days, there will be another meeting, if there was something the HPC would like to discuss and put formally together. Simmons: Like a resolution? Hastrup: Most likely it would be a recommendation. It depends on what exactly the City Council did last meeting, I will check and see if the action brought the item within the HPC’s jurisdiction. Zack: I would propose that we provide an update on the item, and what the next steps are at the next meeting. 2. Housekeeping - Agendas Simmons: Because we have a responsibility to visit the properties on the agenda, could we please get the agenda ahead of time? Getting the agenda the Friday before the meeting is not enough time. A week in advance would be preferable. Hastrup: It’s a balancing act. We want to make sure that if anything comes up that needs attention, we can put it on the agenda and finalizing an agenda too soon makes that difficult. Groves van Onna: We’re required to post the Friday before by 6:00p.m. In the past when did you receive the agenda? Simmons: In the past it’s been at least a week. Is the commission chair a City of Fresno Page 18 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission part of creating the agenda, is that still the case? Boyd: That’s still the case. Roper: Can we get a draft? Groves van Onna: So you would like the agenda a week ahead of time, not necessarily the entire agenda packet? Roper: Yes, so that we have time to visit the addresses. B. Staff 1. Armenian Town Historic District Hastrup: My update on this is that I haven’t been authorized to give an update on this project. Simmons: Whose ‘they’? Hastrup: I don’t have a list of specific names, but I can tell you folks in the mayor’s office, and my bosses in the City Attorney’s Office. That is all I’ve got. I will mention that the HPC is still waiting and still asking after this project. 2. Hotel Fresno Groves van Onna the property is being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. There is a 60-day review to submit comments. The next meeting of the State Historical Resources Commission is on May 17th, they would like comments from staff and the HPC 15 days before that. Simmons: will we be able to make comments at the next meeting? Groves van Onna: Sure! C. General Public 1. Historic Districts City of Fresno Page 19 Historic Preservation Meeting Minutes - Final March 26, 2018 Commission George Hofstedder: I understanding that 9 possible historic districts will be discussed at a future point by the commissioners. What were they? Zack: Sure. South Van Ness Industrial District, Yosemite Avenue District, Hitching Post Thematic District, Mid-Century Modern Blackstone District, Mid-Century Modern Shaw District, Chinatown, Terrace Gardens, Saint Johns, and the last one is a potential warehouse district around Broadway and Amador (We’re not sure which name is the right one). Hofstedder: So Mid-Century Modernism Blackstone and Mid-Century Modernism Shaw aren’t on the list? Zack: No, they’re there. Hofstedder: Okay, I must not have heard them. No brains no headaches. IX. NEXT MEETING: April 23, 2018, 6 PM Conference Room A, City Hall. X. ADJOURNMENT City of Fresno Page 20