Heritage Preservation Commission

City Hall City of Northfield 801 Washington Street Northfield, MN 55057 ci.northfield.mn.us Meeting Minutes - Final Heritage Preservation Commission Wednesday, November 17, 2021 4:00 PM Council Chambers 4:00 PM - REGULAR AGENDA CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 4:01PM. Also present: City Planner Mikayla Schmidt, Assistant City Planner Revee Needham, Community Development Director Mitzi Baker, Meetings Associate Edward Malnar, City Attorney Robert Scott (via telephone), Jeremey Baer, Scott Koester, Brett Reese, Rhonda Pownell Present: 7 - Jason Menard, Chair Barbara Evans, Commissioner Jan Gilblom, Commissioner Alice Thomas, Commissioner Baird Jarman, Commissioner Clifford Clark and Commissioner Michael Meehan APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made by Commissioner Thomas, seconded by Commissioner Gilblom, to approve the agenda. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7- Commissioner Menard, Chair Evans, Commissioner Gilblom, Commissioner Thomas, Commissioner Jarman, Commissioner Clark and Commissioner Meehan APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. 21-656 October 14, 2021 HPC Meeting Minutes Attachments: 1 - 10-14-2021 Draft HPC Meeting Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Thomas, seconded by Commissioner Meehan, to approve the October 14 minutes as amended by adding specifying language, removing an inaccuracy, and clarifying the Commission's record of decisions, with all amendments voted together. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7- Commissioner Menard, Chair Evans, Commissioner Gilblom, Commissioner Thomas, Commissioner Jarman, Commissioner Clark and Commissioner Meehan PRESENTATIONS NEW BUSINESS 2. HPC Res. 2021-001 City of Northfield Page 1 Printed on 12/17/2021 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 17, 2021 Attachments: 1 - Resolution - Approval of COA 2 - Resolution - Denial of COA 3 - Memo from Manawa, LLC on the Archer House - 110821 4 - Plan on the Archer House Damage_1877 Facade_20211026 - Tekton Engineers 5 - Cost Estimates/Budget Worksheet on Archer House Fire Rebuild CSI - Flannery Construction 6 - Archer House Letter from Mike Koop on National Register Status 7 - Memo from Manawa to the HPC 9-3-2021 8 - Rebound - Archer House Structural Assessment_20210825 9 - TEK Photo Lof - Archer House 10 - TEK Wall Systems Doc - Archer House 11 - TEK Water Damage Report - Archer House 12 - Archer House Demolition Letter to City - from SHPO 13 - Archer House Redevelopment TIF Final Report 14 - HPC Archer House COA - Staff PowerPoint 11172021 15 - CITY MEMORANDUM - Q&A on the Archer House Commissioners asked the representatives of the owners and consulting architectural and engineering specialists about additional information supplied to the Commission, about the thresholds of determining "reasonable" or “feasible" effort of preservation, and about the owners' economic considerations. Commissioners then also discussed historical value, the irrevocable finality of available actions, and asked specialists about the feasibility of saving the mansard roof along with the facade. Commissioners resumed discussion of possible restoration or preservation efforts and recalled consulting structural engineer Jeremy Baer to ask about the roof. Baer reported it is not structurally possible to save the mansard roof and reminded the Commission of the cost and danger of preserving the brick facade. Commissioners discussed funding options and received input on the appropriate scope of the purview of their decision from City Attorney Robert Scott. Commissioner Gilblom, seconded by Commissioner Menard, moved to approve granting the certificate of appropriateness, amended by Commissioner Thomas to exclude the 1877 east and south facades from the approved demolition. After input from City Attorney Robert Scott ruling that such a substantial amendment would require writing the resolution of approval for certification anew, this motion was altered to a motion to delay deciding the certification, pending the creation of revised resolution language by City staff and the scheduling of a special meeting. Commissioner Thomas voted in favor; Commissioner Menard, Chair Evans, Commissioner Gilblom, Commissioner Jarman, Commissioner Clark and Commissioner Meehan voted against. The motion failed. Commissioners discussed the language of the staff-drafted resolution of approval for certification and expressed concern with statements indicated in the resolution as “findings of fact.” They felt many statements do not reflect the values and opinions of the Commissioners. Various Commissioners proposed removing certification evaluation criteria 2-4, removing criterion 5’s findings 2 and 3, and inserting the qualifier “financially” to paragraph 8 (“the owners of the property… determined that salvaging the building is not financially viable…”) [see 11-17-2021 HPC Meeting Packet, HPC Resolution 2021-0001, City of Northfield Page 2 Printed on 12/17/2021 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes - Final November 17, 2021 Version 1]. Commissioner Gilblom accepted a vote to amend the motion to include all amendments to the Resolution proposed by Commissioners. The motion passed with unanimous consent. A motion was made by Commissioner Gilblom, seconded by Commissioner Menard, to approve the HPC Resolution granting the Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of Archer House drafted by staff, as amended by removing language inconsistent and adding language consistent with the Commissioners’ opinions. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5 - Commissioner Menard, Chair Evans, Commissioner Gilblom, Commissioner Clark and Commissioner Meehan No: 2 - Commissioner Thomas and Commissioner Jarman 3. 21-657 Discussion of Land Development Code Sign Requirements in Relation to the Historic District. Attachments: 1 - Example Sign Regulation Language from Other Cities This and subsequent items were delayed for the next meeting by the Chair. 4. 21-658 Review HPC Work Plan. Attachments: 1 - HPC Action Plan - Excel 2 - HPC Action Plan 2019 3 - HPC Action Plan 2021 - Updated Draft by Staff 11.09.2021 UNFINISHED BUSINESS REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS AND CHAIR STAFF UPDATES 5. 21-659 Staff Updates. City Planner Mikayla Schmidt briefly introduced Northfield's new Assistant City Planner Revee Needham. ADJOURNMENT Chair Evans called the meeting adjourned at 6:31. City of Northfield Page 3 Printed on 12/17/2021