Historic Preservation Commission

MADISON HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting – July 10, 2012 Attending: Co-Chairmen John Solu and Dana Napurano, Members John Forte, Janet Foster, Joseph Longo, Carmine Toto and Ron Poeter; Council Liaison Donald Links and Recording Secretary Laurie Hagerich. Absent: Members, Alberta Marcy and William VanRyzin. The meeting was called to order as an open public meeting at 7:45 p.m., in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act. The May 8, 2012, meeting minutes were considered and approved as written. Mr. Solu explained that the June meeting did not proceed as scheduled because of a lack of quorum. Many of the MHPC members were attending the Chamber of Commerce dinner where Carmen Toto was honored for his long and devoted service to the Borough and the business and property owners. For many years Carmen has shared his knowledge of historic preservation and helped property owners with maintaining and painting their buildings, organizing the Christmas parade and decorations, fund raising, involvement with trains and much more. Many Commission members were anxious to be a part of the evening honoring Mr. Toto and his family and were unable to attend the MHPC meeting . Follow Up: TCC applications update: There were no pending TCC applications in the Historic Districts. Sign and Façade applications: Mr. Solu reported an application for new signage at San Francisco Mercantile on Green Village Road was reviewed. This business is being transferred from the present owner, Mrs. Henderson, to her daughter. S &F has also been working with representatives of the new Walgreen’s store, to encourage use of historically appropriate signage, instead of its standard signage. The more tasteful signage has been used in other areas of the country. For Discussion: MHPC 2012 Initiatives: Mr. VanRyzin has been working on preparing a list of initiatives compiled from the Annual Report. Since Mr. VanRyzin is unable to attend tonight’s meeting, the matter will be tabled until next month. Residential Design Guidelines and Historic Preservation Plan Element-Request for Proposals: Ms. Foster recommended a budget request of $9,000 for the year 2013 for Residential Design Guidelines. It is more difficult to place an estimate for the Historic Preservation Plan Element because it must be woven into the total Master Plan re-evaluation planned by the Borough for 2013. It was noted MHPC would benefit from inserting itself into the process as early as possible and to make the Borough aware of properties worthy of protection, such as over-sized lots. One important goal would be to have the Inventory of Historic Sites made a part of the Ordinance. It was agreed that a meeting should be scheduled with Susan Blickstein, the Planning Board’s professional planner, with representatives of MHPC to brainstorm about how to proceed in bringing about a robust preservation plan. Ms. Foster will provide a form for Request for Proposal for Residential Design Guidelines and also prepare an outline of MHPC’s budget request and goals. This will be forwarded to Mr. Links, who will present it to the Mayor and Council. New Business: Downtown Civic and Commercial Historic District Boundary extension: There was discussion of the boundaries and nearby properties which might have historic and architectural value and should be protected. It was determined that any buildings that would be worthy of inclusion in the district are either already listed on the National Register or would be protected by the nature of where they are located. A decision will be made about the August meeting later in the month based on availability of members and number of pressing issues. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9 p.m. Laurie C. Hagerich, Recording Secretary