Heritage Commission

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Heritage Commission Heritage Commission Contact: Marygrace Goddu (360) 753-8031 Monday, June 22, 2020 12:00 PM via zoom Heritage Review Commission 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Miller called the meeting to order at noon. 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 4 - Vice Chair Holly Davies, Commissioner Jessica Bieber, Commissioner Garner Miller and Commissioner Sheila Swalling Excused: 1 - Commissioner Gary Stedman Absent: 1 - Commissioner Kenneth House 1.B OTHERS PRESENT City of Olympia Community Planning and Development staff: Historic Preservation Officer Marygrace Goddu Homeowner: Jill Casebolt 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3.A 20-0502 Approval of June 1, 2020 Heritage Review Committee Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT Homeowner Jill Casebolt was invited to speak during discussion of the Business Item related to her home. She said significant investment has gone toward the replacement of wood with stone on the porch piers, to research period-appropriate finish and to purchase and apply the stone, which then had to be removed in order to meet building code requirement for use of a moisture barrier. She expressed disappointment that demolition of the new stonework for the building permit necessitated the Heritage Review City of Olympia Page 1 Heritage Commission Meeting Minutes June 22, 2020 Committee’s current examination, and re-stated the need for better education of homeowners in historic districts to prevent situations like this. 5. BUSINESS ITEMS 5.A 20-0503 Review of alterations proposed at 108 20th Avenue SW, under permit #20-1981 Ms. Goddu provided background information for the discussion. Committee member Bieber thanked Ms. Casebolt for her effort to select a period-appropriate Craftsman style finish, but noted the Secretary of the Interior (SOI) Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties nevertheless requires that original finishes be replicated or replaced in kind, which in this case would be wood shingles or wood clapboard finish. Chair Miller said there would be no change in his perspective since the first review of this property (see approved minutes of 6-1-2020 meeting), and that standards call for preserving the integrity of the original structure, which in this case calls for wood shingle or clapboard finish. The river rock finish is a deviation that does not meet the standards. Committee member Swalling noted that in their initial review, the Committee had wanted to work with Ms. Casebolt, who had been unaware of the home’s historic register listing when they constructed the stone. Now that the stone has had to be removed for corrections needed to meet construction code, and the homeowner is aware of the historic status, they again, have the opportunity to use a historically appropriate finish. The stone finish fails to meet SOI Standards 2,3,5,6 and 9, and its use is not even a borderline case. It is important that the Committee is consistent in applying the standards for all historic homeowners. Committee member Swalling moved, seconded by Committee member Bieber, to recommend to the City Building Official to deny permit request #20-1981 because the proposed application of stone to the porch fails to meet Secretary of the Interior's Standards 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9. The Committee recommends that the homeowner rebuild the piers using painted shingle or clapboard which would meet the Standards. The motion passed unanimously. 6. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 12:37 p.m. City of Olympia Page 2