Historic Preservation Commission

MADISON HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting – June 13, 2017 Attending: Co-Chairman Janet Foster and Co-Chairman Mary Ellen Lenahan; Members, John Forte, Ann Huber, Karen Jeisi John Solu and Carmine Toto; and Recording Secretary Laurie Hagerich. Absent: Members, Chris Kellogg, David Luber and Council Liaison Carmela Vitale. One member of the public, Dan Blank, was present to observe . The meeting was called to order as an open public meeting at 7:30 p.m. in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act. The May 9, 2017, minutes were considered and by unanimous consent the minutes were approved as written. Follow up: TCC Applications: There were no applications to be reviewed by MHPC. Sign & Façade Applications update: There were no Sign & Façade applications to be reviewed. For Discussion: Planning for Public Event for ideas on preserving community character: Ms. Foster, Ms. Lenahan and Mayor Conley met recently to discuss ways MHPC could use its energies and knowledge to benefit the Borough. The Mayor suggested a public event in the Fall would be a good follow up to the meeting organized by Jeff Gertler in November 2016, to talk about stopping the trend of tear downs in the Borough and preserving community character. Some ideas put forth were: • Invite architects to become involved and have input in the event • Highlight homes that are good examples of diverse architectural periods and invite owners to speak about what they have done to preserve character • Education of the public as to what a historic district is (or is not); • Sponsor a series of tours in neighborhoods that are good examples of maintaining character • Pushing for action within the Borough for alternative zoning and sharpening MHPC’s power; • Invite Susan Blickstein, the Borough Planner, to an HPC meeting to help develop strategies (after first obtaining budget approval for her appearance). • Provide pertinent design information to new property owners before they make plans for renovations or demolition. • Target neighborhoods for tours, such as Fairwoods, Dellwood, Maple/Green/Prospect, Cross Gates, Highland/Grove, sections of Greenwood Ave. Volunteers would be needed to develop and lead the tours. • Tour or walk along Ridgedale Avenue would be a good place to start since this is already a historic district and information on many properties is available. • Incorporate use of the Madison Trolley, which was used in history tours recently led by Scott Spelker and enlist help of Madison Historical Society • Promote awareness of design review and guidelines  • After the Ridgedale Ave., tour a bigger event could be planned using the trolley and in partnership with the Madison Historical Society and Hartley Dodge Foundation. One possibility is a tour of the Hartley Dodge Memorial and the historic photographs, which would be a good winter activity. Ms. Foster will follow up on the invitation to Susan Blickstein and to enlist help from the Mayor and Council for financial support to do so. Planning for Commission training session: Ms. Foster reported that Rutgers University at Camden will send instructors to a local site to conduct a training session if 50 people can be registered. She is hopeful that MHPC can partner with commissions such as Morristown, Maplewood, Chatham. The session would focus on design review, and could be held at the Morris County Library or Morristown Library. NJ Historic Trust might provide subsidies for speakers. Ms. Foster will speak with other commissions to come up with some dates. New Business: There was discussion of the recent closing of the Madison movie theater and possible demolition of the building. Mr. Forte expressed concern about the replacement building and urged steps be taken to save historic elements of the building’s façade, which could later be displayed in a public place. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Laurie Hagerich, Recording Secretary