Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutLandmark Preservation Commission - Minutes - 08/25/2004LANDMARK PRESERVATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting August 25, 2004 Minutes City Council Liaison: David Roy (407-7393) Staff Liaison: Joe Frank (221-6376) Commission Chair: W. J. "Bud" Frick, Jr. (484-1467) SUMMARY OF MEETING: LPC approved removal of the non -historic sign from the Giddings Building, 401 Pine St., the new home of Bas Blau Theatre. City Council member David Roy discussed proposed Code changes with the LPC. Ian Shuff and Bud Frick will share responsibilities as liaison to the Downtown Development Authority, with Janet Ore and Angie Aguilera as alternates. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL: Commission called to order with a quorum present by Chairman Bud Frick at 5:35 p.m. at 281 N. College Ave., Fort Collins, Colorado. Angie Aguilera, Per Hogestad, Janet Ore and Ian Shuff were present. Agnes Dix was excused. Greg Byrne, Joe Frank, Karen McWilliams and Carol Tunner represented City staff. City Council member David Roy attended a portion of the meeting. GUESTS: Gary O. Thomas, Wendy Ishii and Jon Prouty for 401 Pine St., Giddings Building. AGENDA REVIEW: No changes. STAFF REPORTS: Carol Tunner announced the theme of the upcoming Saving Places Conference, to be held in Denver Feb. 2-4, 2005, is "Bring Preservation Home." She also shared a proposal received from Preservation Publishing for a book featuring walking tours through Fort Collins. The author would apply for a State Historical Fund Grant that would require a $6,250 cash match. The Advance Planning Department could provide $1,500 but it was suggested that other entities in town, including the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Development Authority, participate in the cash match. Janet Ore liked the idea of the project to support the LPC's renewed emphasis on education. COMMISSION MEMBER REPORTS: None. CURRENT REVIEW 401 Pine St., Giddings Building — Remove Giddings Signage — Jon Prouty, Lagunitas Cos.; Wendy Ishii, Bas Bleu Theatre Co., and Gary O Thomas, Bas Bleu Development LLC; introduced by Carol Tunner. The new owners of the Giddings Building, Bas Bleu Theatre, would like to remove the plywood "IDDINGS" letters — the G is missing -- from the Willow St. (south) side of the building. The non -historic letters cover the blocked -in historic windows that will Landmark Preservation Commission August 25, 2004, Meeting Minutes Page 2 eventually be restored. The much smaller Bas Bleu Theatre sign will be administratively approved and moved from 216 Pine St. before the theatre opens in October. Staff agreed that the current letters are not a distinctive material under Standard #5, and would have to be removed for the window restoration. However, there was concern that the Giddings name and industrial history of the building be somehow preserved. Jon Prouty explained that restoration is being undertaken in two phases: the first to convert the machine -shop interior into a state-of-the-art theatre space and the second to restore the historic exterior, including the windows. The plan is to remove the IDDINGS and leave the south wall blank while funds are raised to begin the exterior renovations. Gary Thomas gave a detailed presentation on the history of the building from 1912 to the present day. The letters in question made their first appearance in a 1978 photo; however, they were originally light letters on a dark background, as opposed to the dark letters on the light background that exists today. Mr. Thomas also presented proposed wording for a plaque summarizing the building's history and significance which will appear on the Pine St. side of the building now. The LPC agreed the letters had no historic significance. Janet Ore felt the applicants had made a very good argument, laying out the changes the building has undergone over time, but that it was important to recognize the historic relationship of the industrial building to the development of downtown Fort Collins. She was persuaded that the sign itself was not the way to do this. The applicants explained various ways in which artifacts from the manufacturing and machining operations will be incorporated into the interior of the building, which Ms. Ishii called the most perfect building in Fort Collins for a theatre. Per Hogestad suggested soliciting additional artifacts from the public, since the fixtures were auctioned off when the building closed. Mr. Prouty said he appreciated all the assistance and cooperation from the City to make the project work. Janet Ore moved that the LPC allow the owners and developer of Bas Bleu Theatre to remove the "IDDINGS" sign from the historic Giddings Building at 401 Pine St. Ian Shuff seconded and the motion passed unanimously, 5-0. DISCUSSION ITEMS Code Changes — City Council Liaison David Roy, presented by Karen McWilliams. Karen McWiliams introduced David Roy, and announced that the City Council study session on proposed code changes had been postponed from August 24 to September 28. Mr. Roy assured the LPC that it is doing valuable work, and should not be discouraged by the Council's recent reversal of the Commission's decision on the Rule property. He pointed out that one appeal to Council in 19 years is an indication of the quality of the work the Commission is doing. Mr. Roy said that Council is also concerned about the conflicts between the Municipal Code and the Land Use Code that were brought to light by the Rule case. Landmark Preservation Commission August 25, 2004, Meeting Minutes Page 3 Per Hogestad asked if Mr. Roy could talk about some of the discussions that took place before the Council heard the appeal, particularly between the Mayor and the Council or the City Attorney and Council. Mr. Roy confirmed that Council had received confidential memos from the City Attorney's office explaining the latitude Council had in making a decision in the case, and emails on the subject had been exchanged by the Mayor and other Council members. Mr. Hogestad asked how Council arrived at the decision to overturn the LPC decision. Mr. Roy said that speaking for himself, he looked at the criteria, looked at the information presented, and looked at the reality of the site, and felt that what we were trying to save didn't exist anymore. Janet Ore pointed out that members of the LPC are selected for their ability to evaluate such things, and it is demoralizing to have that expertise discarded. Mr. Roy said one high -profile, controversial case doesn't discount the Commission's expertise and long history of good work that will continue into the future. He suggested the appeal decision was no different than the citizens overturning a Council decision at the ballot box. He added that many of the arguments advanced were disingenuous, and a lot of what was going on was not the real issue. He again praised the work done by the members of the LPC because they believe in it, and said he felt part of the problem was that at the moment, historic preservation is not a strong core value for the Council or the community. Dr. Ore asked if Council thinks the City and/or the LPC has taken too regulatory a stance on preservation. Mr. Roy said he has not been hearing that; indeed, there has been a great deal of care, balance and cooperation in the Commission's work. Bud Frick summarized the three things the LPC would like to see from any changes to the Municipal and Land Use Codes: 1. A mechanism to allow property owners to have demolition as an option. 2. LPC authority to review projects affecting historic resources through Current Planning as they come in, with the results forwarded to the Planning and Zoning Board or Hearing Officer for consideration. 3. An increase in the amount of money available for zero -interest loans to make the loans more attractive as an incentive to design. He added that the Commission is currently reviewing any individually eligible building 50 years old or older, but is considering not reviewing residential properties as part of the code changes. The concern is that without some review, the City will see a lot of inappropriate modifications to otherwise eligible buildings. Mr. Frick said the Commission has managed to turn a number of projects around, and he fears the character of historic neighborhoods will be lost if the LPC discontinues residential review. While the LPC doesn't think it is necessary to review every building for which a building permit is requested just because it is over 50 years old, Mr. Frick would like to continue to review the ones that are individually eligible for designation or are part of a surveyed neighborhood. Ms. McWilliams explained that the proposed changes call for LPC review of only those residences already designated, at the local, state or national level. Mr. Roy felt that keeping the historical connection of the neighborhood is a strong value of his constituents in District 6. Ian Shuff felt that the general public has become Landmark Preservation Commission August 25, 2004, Meeting Minutes Page 4 resistant to designation, but the review process has pushed them to do better. Mr. Hogestad offered that as currently configured, the process has become onerous for homeowners who just want to add some space. He said more education of homeowners when they purchase historic properties is needed to help them understand what they have and more incentives are needed to guard against atrocious additions. Mr. Roy asked if there would be a way to work with realtors to provide this sort of education. Greg Byrne pointed out that with the 50-year rule in effect, the number of houses eligible for review will be growing exponentially in the next decade. Lots of them are not significant, but all currently have to come before staff. Increased incentives would bring more people in voluntarily. Mr. Frick added the City needs to survey post World War II era districts to have the context to determine the significance of individual buildings. He would also like to develop a way to inform homeowners when such surveys are completed or when their building becomes eligible as part of the educational effort. Mr. Byrne said he would like to talk to the attorneys to explore options for letting buyers know upfront about incentives and implications of eligibility for designation. He would like to be able to focus staff resources on significant properties, but that will require increased funding. Ms. McWilliams estimated that a $40,000 one- time investment could be leveraged with a State Historical Fund grant to provide $160,000 for an in-depth context and survey of post -WWII residential and commercial resources. Joe Frank would like to see a system that offers incentives first, regulations last, but because it has evolved to a more regulatory system, it has created ill -will, which is why the Rule case struck a chord with the general public. Mr. Roy would like to see the LPC be a voice to get education out there; take what's good and try to make it work. Janet Ore said there are lots of things that don't cost too much if Council is willing to support them. She cited a recent article from the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Forum News on "Low -Cost Local Incentives for Historic Preservation'; Mr. Roy will see that copies of the article are included in Council information packets. He said he was willing to see what was possible. Dr. Ore added that she appreciated Bill Bertchy's statement in support of the Advance Planning staff at the appeal hearing. She felt they were doing their jobs and Ms. McWilliams in particular had been unfairly blasted by some of those speaking in support of the Rules. Mr. Frick suggested exempting the LPC from mandatory term limits, since the members are required, by Certified Local Government regulations, to have additional expertise in areas such as architecture and history. Mandatory term limits removes the institutional memory and dilutes the expertise and experience learned while serving on the Commission. He would also like to see the Design Review Subcommittee, composed of professionals donating their time, revived. Other members felt early design review would be a very effective portion of the education process. Mr. Roy said he would get background on why the City Attorney ruled against such complimentary reviews, and follow up on the other issues raised this evening. Landmark Preservation Commission August 25, 2004, Meeting Minutes Page 5 Mr. Roy encouraged members of the Commission to contact him via phone or email, and said he would be happy to attend future meetings when something comes up. He does not want this episode to distract from the good work being done by the LPC. OTHER BUSINESS Bud Frick and Ian Shuff volunteered to alternately attending Downtown Development Authority meetings as liaison from the LPC. Janet Ore and Angie Aguilera said they could each attend a few of the Thursday morning meetings, but would need to schedule specific dates. Joe Frank will get a calendar of the upcoming meetings to Dr. Ore and Ms. Aguilera. He added that he and Carol Tunner will be attending the September DDA meeting to ask for support for the repair and restoration of the brickwork along the trolley tracks on Remington Street. Meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kate Jeracki, Recorder September 16, 2004 '1-t ila J,