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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLandmark Preservation Commission - Minutes - 04/22/2015City of Fort Collins Page 1 April 22, 2015 Ron Sladek, Chair Doug Ernest, Vice Chair City Council Chambers Maren Bzdek City Hall West Meg Dunn 300 Laporte Avenue Kristin Gensmer Fort Collins, Colorado Per Hogestad Dave Lingle Cablecast on City Cable Channel 14 Alexandra Wallace on the Comcast cable system Belinda Zink Laurie Kadrich Karen McWilliams Josh Weinberg Gino Campana Staff Liaison, CDNS Director Preservation Planner Preservation Planner Council Liaison The City of Fort Collins will make reasonable accommodations for access to City services, programs, and activities and will make special communication arrangements for persons with disabilities. Please call 221-6515 (TDD 224- 6001) for assistance. Regular Meeting April 22, 2015 Minutes  CALL TO ORDER Chair Sladek recused himself from hearing the appeal, having been a decision maker in the decision being appealed. He remained in the audience to be available for questions. Vice Chair Ernest called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m.  ROLL CALL PRESENT: Zink, Bzdek, Wallace, Gensmer, Lingle, Ernest RECUSED: Sladek ABSENT: Hogestad (excused), Dunn (excused) STAFF: McWilliams, Weinberg, Kadrich, Schiager  PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None. Landmark Preservation Commission Approved by Commission at their June 10, 2015 meeting. City of Fort Collins Page 2 April 22, 2015  DISCUSSION AGENDA 1. 1509 SOUTH SHIELDS STREET - APPEAL OF DETERMINATION OF LANDMARK ELIGIBILITY PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this item is for the Commission to review and make a determination on the individual landmark eligibility of the property at 1509 South Shields Street. The property was recently determined by the Chair of the Landmark Preservation Commission (Chair) and the Director of Community Development and Neighborhood Services (Director) to be eligible for individual designation as a Fort Collins Landmark under Landmark Standard C. An appeal of this determination has been filed with the Director. APPLICANT: Joyce Taylor Hinnant Trust, by Joyce Hinnant Vice Chair Ernest reviewed the Order of Proceedings for an Appeal Hearing. Staff Report Ms. McWilliams presented the staff report, including some history of the property and an overview of the process. Appellant Arguments Ms. Hinnant spoke to the Commission about the impact of an eligibility determination on the value of her property, and asked the Commission to appeal the determination. She referenced Historian Jason Marmor’s Architectural Inventory as evidence that the property was not eligible for landmark designation. Parties-in-Interest Arguments in Opposition to the Appeal None Commission Questions Members asked Chair Sladek and Director Kadrich about the rationale behind their decision with regard to Standard C. Chair Sladek explained that the question of eligibility was brought to the City. He and the Director based their decision largely on the Shed Style architecture. No study has been done as to whether there are any other examples of this style in the City. Without that information, the decision was made to determine the property eligible. Members inquired about Mr. Marmor’s characterization of the building as an anomaly. Chair Sladek commented that an anomaly can be viewed as positive or negative. Ms. Bzdek also asked how the physical integrity of the building impacted their decision. Chair Sladek said that for many years the building had been outside the City limits, so if there were any alterations, there wouldn’t be any permits on record. In response to a question, Chair Sladek said that having the information in Mr. Marmor’s report now, based on the significance of the people who had lived there, it wouldn’t qualify under Standard A. Whether it qualifies under Standard C could be debatable. A Member asked whether Context was a concern. Chair Sladek said the west side of Shields is more the context than the rest of the area, and with attrition, the context has diminished. Whether that should figure into the Commission’s decision is uncertain. A Member asked Staff whether other adjacent properties were eligible. Staff explained that no determinations had been made. A Member commented that the property was outside the City limits at the time it was constructed and questioned whether it then contributes to a pattern. Staff said that interpretation was up to the Commission. Several Members agreed that it being outside the City limits at the time didn’t matter. One Member commented that a more powerful argument against Standard A was that the home was not constructed as part of a post-war planned development, and thus was an anomaly. City of Fort Collins Page 3 April 22, 2015 Commission Deliberation Ms. Zink moved that the Landmark Preservation Commission finds that the property at 1509 South Shields Street is not eligible as a local landmark based on the architecture and overall statements of integrity pursuant to Section 14-6b and 14-5. Ms. Gensmer seconded. Members discussed Standard C and whether the architecture was a good example of Shed Style. There was a comment that Shed Style means high design and this is more vernacular. Some Members felt the significance and context were missing more than the exterior integrity, while others felt most of the standards of integrity were still intact. Mr. Lingle explained he would be voting to uphold the original finding, believing the house to be a good example of Shed Style for Fort Collins, and feeling that most of the aspects of integrity were intact. Vice Chair Ernest said he would vote in favor of the motion, by a narrow margin, citing McAllister’s architectural standards which suggest the Shed Style time frame began in the 1960’s, while this house was built in 1947. Ms. Zink said she agrees with most of Mr. Marmor’s findings, stating that this is not a good example of Shed Style in Fort Collins, and is also outside the era of the Shed Style. Ms. Gensmer agreed with Ms. Zink. Ms. Bzdek expressed concern about lack of strong evidence to uphold the determination of eligibility. Ms. Wallace stated that in her opinion the integrity aspect was so strong that she would lean toward supporting the appeal. Ms. Zink restated and revised her motion. Ms. Zink moved that the Landmark Preservation Commission finds that the property at 1509 South Shields Street is not eligible for landmark designation based on architecture as described in Section 14-5, Determination of Eligible Structures, contradicting the finding of the Director of Community Development and Neighborhood Services and the Chair of the Landmark Preservation Commission on March 12, 2015. Ms. Gensmer seconded. Motion passed 4-2, with Wallace and Lingle dissenting.  ADJOURNMENT Vice Chair Ernest adjourned the meeting at 6:35 p.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by Gretchen Schiager.