Historic District Meetings

Meeting Minutes City of League City Historic District Commission Regular Meeting, Thursday, October 19, 2023, 6:00 PM Council Chambers, 200 W. Walker Street, League City, TX 77573 1. Call to Order and Roll Call of Members Roland Bienvenu, called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Susan Smyer made a motion to appoint Susan Pierce as a temporary Vice-Chairperson for the purpose of administering the meeting. Mr. Hake, Chairman, recused himself for agenda item 4A, and was not in the meeting room. Roland Bienvenu seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0-0. Present: Susan Smyer, Roland Bienvenu, Susan Pierce, J’Nean Henderson, Ric Pearson (arrived at 6:05 p.m.), David Hake (*arrived at 6:10 p.m.), Michael Hendershot (non-voting) *Mr. Hake recused himself until after agenda item 4.A. Absent: None City Staff: Mark Linenschmidt, Planning Manager; Ann Williams, Planner; Michelle Villareal, Deputy City Attorney 2. Approval of August 17, 2023, minutes Ms. Smyer made a motion to approve the minutes. Mr. Bienvenu seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 5-0-0. 3. Citizen Communication No citizens spoke. 4. Public Hearing and Action Items A. Hold a public hearing and take action on a Certificate of Appropriateness, HC-23-0007, a request to relocate a barn from outside of the Historic District to an existing single-family property within the district, located on the east side of North Iowa Avenue at the intersection of North Iowa Avenue and Coryell Street with the address of 422 North Iowa Avenue. Ms. Pierce opened the public hearing at 6:03 p.m. Ann Williams, Planner, gave a presentation on behalf of the City of League City. There was a brief discussion about board and batten siding. Ms. Pierce closed the public hearing at 6:09 p.m.  Ms. Smyer made a motion to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness, HC-23-0007 as presented by staff. Ms. Henderson seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 5-0-0. Mr. Hake arrived at the meeting. 5. New Business A. Hold a discussion regarding windows as it pertains to the League City Historic District Design Guidelines. Mr. Hendershot briefly described details about windows with and without window flanges and how they pertain to configuration and installation of windows that more closely match original installation of windows in historic homes. He emphasized that windows can be installed with a recessed space. A lengthy discussion ensued about the materiality and aesthetics of window replacement and possible changes to the Historic District Design Guidelines. Mr. Hake made a motion to direct staff to work with the two architects on the commission to revise the Design Guidelines to reflect the aesthetic aspects of the installation of windows in historic homes. Mr. Pearson seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 6-0-0. 6. Other Business A. Consider and take action on the Historic District meeting dates for 2024. Mr. Pearson made a motion to approve The Historic District meeting dates for 2024 as presented. Ms. Smyers seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 6-0-0. 7. Commissioner’s Comments Ms. Henderson commented that she had a box of Historic District documents that she found in her garage that she would like to give to staff. Mr. Pearson commented that he is looking forward to revising the window ordinance with Mr. Hendershot. Mr. Hake commented the value of the window discussion and moving forward with the changes. Ms. Smyer agreed with Mr. Hake. Ms. Pierce commented that she is looking forward to a workshop on the window discussion and possible changes to the guidelines. Mr. Hendershot commented that it would be good to review the Field Guide to American Houses to get a better understanding of approving window standards. Ms. Henderson commented that it was nice to have full attendance by the Commission at the meeting. Historic District Commission 2 October 19, 2023  Mr. Pearson asked staff to find the old Historic District Guidelines for the language about the recessed windows. 8. Staff Comments Ann Williams informed the Commission that a staff level Certificate of Appropriateness was issued for 122 North Illinois for tree removal and replacement. She also reminded the commissioners that terms that will be expiring require action on the part of those commissioners. 9. Adjournment Mr. Hake adjourned the meeting at 6:57 p.m. _____________________________ ______________________________ Kris Carpenter David Hake, Chair Planning Director Historic District Commission Historic District Commission 3 October 19, 2023