HomeMy WebLinkAboutBHPCMinutes_2014_11_07Brookings Historic Preservation Commission
November 7, 2014 Minutes
A meeting of the Brookings Historic Preservation Commission was held on Friday, November 7, 2014 at
9:00 a.m. in City Hall. Members present: Leah Brink, Mary Bibby, Dennis Willert, Les Rowland, Janet
Merriman, Janet Gritzner and Tom Agostini. Shari Thornes, City Clerk, was also present.
Chairperson Rowland called the meeting to order. Discussion regarding the proposed University
Community Coalition was added to the agenda. A motion was made by Bibby, seconded by Brink, to
approve the agenda as amended. All present voted yes, motion carried. A motion was made by Brink,
seconded by Merriman, to approve the minutes. All present voted yes; motion carried.
Next Meeting. Due to members’ conflicting schedules, a new meeting day and schedule is needed.
Staff has identified the following possible time slots: Wednesdays from 4-6 p.m., Friday morning
between 8 a.m. and noon, and Friday over lunch (11 a.m.-1 p.m). The next meeting was tentatively
scheduled for Friday, December 5th at 9:00 a.m.
HISTORIC PROPERTIES REPORTS:
6th Street Main to Medary Project. The Transportation Steering Committee is scheduled to discuss the
Medary to Main project at their Monday, November 17th meeting at 3:00 p.m. The Commission discussed
submitting formal comments to the Transportation Steering Committee regarding the proposed project.
A motion was made by Bibby, seconded by Gritzner, to submit the following statement to the
Committee: “The Historic Preservation Commission remains concerned that the front façades of
impacted homes in the above referenced project maintain their current historic setback distance from
the street. Consequently, a widened roadway would not only adversely impact the aesthetics of front
yards, it would also elevate traffic volumes and accompanying noise near these homes, making them
less desirable residences and negatively affecting property values in our historic district.
The Brookings Historic Preservation Commission recommends, therefore, that the present width of the
street be maintained – and a configuration be designed to accommodate traffic flow safely and
efficiently – while preserving existing boulevard width, with the current setback, and protecting the
distinctive character of the neighborhood.” All present voted yes; motion carried.
December 4th Festival of Lights & Historic Trolley in Central District. Horse drawn trolley rides of the
Central Residential District are scheduled from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, December 5th, prior to the Festival
of Lights parade.
Promotion Plan:
• Week of November10-15: newspaper ad, press release, social media post, distribute posters,
and email to Chamber members
• Week of November 17-22: newspaper ads (2), social media, info in Chamber Chat and radio ads
• Week of November 24-29: newspaper ads (2), possible insert in the Shopper, social media,
“Chat,” info in the Chamber Update, and radio ads
• December 1-3: social media, newspaper ad (1 on Tuesday), radio (heavier than prior weeks),
Chamber email blasts and Chamber Chat
BHPC members are asked to volunteer at the Carnegie to assist with beverages and hosting
responsibilities.
Members were also asked to help and identify and secure a guide. Willert said Jerry McCollough is still
in the area and has agreed to be the guide. Willert was asked to follow up with McCollough.
Update on pending review projects
• 509 9th Avenue – Central Residential Historic District
o Abbreviated Case Report Required
o Project Description: The owners have applied to construct a 4’ x 11’ 1 ½ story addition
on the front façade of the house for a kitchen expansion. The addition will be
incorporated to the left of the front entry. The height and pitch of the entry dormer
will be altered by raising it to the level of the roof ridge. All original siding will be
removed and replaced with LP engineered wood siding. All windows will be removed
and replaced with vinyl windows. The existing window opening size in the kitchen
addition area, on the front façade, will be reduced. The majority of the windows in the
house are original, six-over-six pane in design. The windows on the front (west) façade
and one window on the north façade are not original.
o Project remains pending submittal of case report by owner.
• 809 Harvey Dunn – University Residential Historic District
o Abbreviated Case Report Required
o Project Description: The project is a moving permit for the garage and a building permit
for a 1 ½ story addition, including an attached garage. The owners are willing to make
modifications in their design. The house, built in 1938, was designed by prominent
South Dakota architect Harold Spitznagel. The original attached 12’x24’ garage on the
rear of the home was converted to a family room in the 1970s. The tandem style
(14’x42’) garage was also built at that time. The owners propose to retain the 1970s
family room addition and construct a 24’x36.5’ 1 ½ story living addition with the same
roof pitch and height as the primary at the rear of the home. The first floor would
consist of a living room, new entry, and utility closet, with two bedrooms and a
bathroom on the second level. The south garage entrance would be same width (14.2”)
as the previous garage and would be placed in the same location. The rear of the garage
would connect to the addition and be 24’x36’.
The original house is brick and the 1970s addition is wood lap siding. The most of the
original windows are 4 over six. The proposed materials for the addition are a brick
wainscoting, as shown in the drawings, LP wood siding, and aluminum vinyl windows.
According to the owners, the house was designed by Harold Spitznagel, a Sioux Falls
architect that was well known in the state. His commissions included the Sylvan Lake
Lodge, Custer State Park Museum, Sioux Falls City Hall and Hollywood Theater, and
Trinity Lutheran in Rapid City. In Brookings, the historic “Russ Cole House” at 617
Eighth Avenue, ca. 1948, is also a Spitznagel design that was featured in the 1952 Better
Homes and Gardens for its revolutionary design.
o Owners agreed to modify aspects of their plan in order to comply with Secretary of the
Interior Standards for Rehabilitation. SHPO approved their plan; therefore, the project
is completed, a case report will not be required and no further review is needed.
• Permit issued in error. The City Engineering Department issued a siding replacement permit
in error in the Central Residential Historic District. They are taking steps to prevent this
error from occurring again in the future, which includes flagging addresses in their database.
They also have offered to do a mailing this year to property owners informing them that
they’re in a district and projects require a review. The BHPC also suggested steps to educate
realtors, contractors and area building supply companies.
• Harvey Dunn and 9th Street Vacation – University Residential Historic District
o Abbreviated Case Report Required
o Project Description: SDSU has applied to vacate the east half of 9th Street between
9th Street and Medary and the full block of Harvey Dunn between 9th Street and
Medary.
NOTE: Petitions with 119 signatures were submitted to the City Council opposing
the street vacation. City Council action is on hold until the 11.1 review is completed.
o Pending submittal of a case report by applicants.
• 307 3rd Street – Commercial Historic District (environs)
o Case Report Required
o Project Description: New commercial infill on vacant lot.
o Pending - Property owner advised staff that this project is on hold and will advise
when it is active again.
PROJECT/ ISSUE UPDATES & FINAL REPORTS:
2014 Mayor’s Awards for Historic Preservation. The annual combined award program was held on
September 25th, 5-7 p.m., at the Dakota Nature Center. The Mayor presented the annual Human Rights
Committee’s “Butler Award,” the Disability Committee’s “ABLE Award,” and the BHPC’s Mayor’s Award
for Historic Preservation. Rowland presented the awards on behalf of the Commission and did an
excellent job! The Commission reviewed the draft evaluation summary and didn’t have any additional
comments.
Proposed Legislation. Bibby and Thornes met with SD Representative Scott Munsterman regarding the
proposed legislative change to 1-19B-3, pertaining to the composition of preservation commissions. He
agreed to submit the information the Legislative Research Council to draft a bill. He asked that the
Commission line up individuals across the state to provide testimony at the committee level.
1-19B-3, pertaining to composition of preservation commission--Residence--Terms of office. The
Historic Preservation Commission shall consist of not less than five nor more than ten members,
who shall be appointed by the governing body with due regard to proper representation of such
fields as history, architecture, urban planning, archaeology, paleontology, and law. All members
of the commission shall reside within the jurisdiction of the county or municipality establishing
the commission and shall serve for terms not to exceed three years, being eligible for
reappointment as shall be specified by the governing body. Residency requirements shall be as
specified by the governing body.
Members will be asked to contact other jurisdictions with historic preservation commissions asking for
their support and secure individuals to speak on behalf of this bill.
South Dakota Main Street Summit. Rowland attended the Main Street Summit held in Rapid City on
October 30-31. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the benefits of, and process to form, a
statewide Main Street Coordinating program. However, he found the conference content
disappointing. SHPO provided an overview of their services and the second day pertained to downtown
promotions.
University Community Coalition. A motion was made by Bibby, seconded by Brink, to contact Mayor
Reed to request that historic preservation be included as issues to be considered with this committee
along with neighborhood issues. All present voted yes; motion carried.
11.1 Review Process. Since the last meeting, staff has drafted the following materials for Commission
review: application, applicant submittal checklist, informational checklist and other materials, flowchart
and revised MOU. However, Thornes suggested putting those details on hold until the Commission had
a deeper, philosophical discussion about how to move forward.
Rapid City and Sioux Falls are the only other cities that have a Memorandum of Understanding with
SHPO. Each is vastly different in how they implement 11.1. Thornes outlined how each operates and
problems associated with each approach.
• Sioux Falls:
o Meets monthly, typically 1 to 1 ½ hour meetings.
o Staff negotiates with all applicants. Makes determination of adverse effect.
o SHPO rarely receives any adverse effect reviews; therefore, no case reports are required.
o Sioux Falls staff advised that the Board strictly follow SIS Standards.
o Current staff member is getting phased out of historic preservation. Not much support for
preservation philosophy in the planning department. She expressed interest in forming
another district, but didn’t have support from city management.
• Rapid City:
o Rapid City is letting their MOU expire this year due to the problems associated with it.
o Meets 2 times per month with very long meetings.
o Staff makes no determinations. All applications go to Board
o Many proposals are deemed adverse effect and sent to SHPO.
o All adverse effect projects are automatically sent to City Council and Council overturns
virtually everything.
o They have had numerous customer service and process complaints. To the point where the
Mayor’s Office hired a out-of-state consultant who prepared a 94 page recommendation
report, which included letting the MOU expire.
o SHPO concurs with decision to dissolve. They have a number of overzealous commission
members that don’t know how to apply the standards.
o They also review everything.
SHPO staff has advised Thornes that agreeing to the 11.1 responsibilities with a MOU is a huge
undertaking and the Commission and city need to completely understand the obligations involved.
SHPO staff urged the BHPC to have a long and thoughtful deliberation before making this commitment.
Another concern Thornes has is that people will mistake this for design review and it may negatively
impact any future hopes of any local districts and actual certificates of appropriateness (COAs) and
design review.
The Commission and Thornes discussed the following topics:
• Understanding the level of commitment if the City of Brookings signs an MOU with the state.
o Standard meeting dates and times would be required.
o Time of meetings would have to be at 4 p.m. or later to accommodate applicants.
o Frequency of meetings may need to be increased.
o Subcommittee use: Thornes advised against it because the Commission would have to do it for
all applicants and it’s not sustainable.
o Strict meeting protocols and process would be necessary and consistency in applying the
standards when making the decisions.
• City Clerk staff time and availability.
o Assistance provided to applicants must be consistent.
o Staff isn’t available to conduct onsite visits, recommend contractors, etc.
o Consistent meeting availability will be difficult for staff and there isn’t anyone else to cover,
other than take minutes.
• A streamlined application process that could be handled by anyone providing a building permit.
o The problem with this is no one is there to meet with the applicant and make a determination if
it doesn’t need review.
• Determining which projects types to review.
o The Commission reviewed a draft checklist of projects. The Commission will need to determine
if each project type is reviewable, if they decide to proceed with a MOU.
• An appeal process would need to be defined.
• Final decision making would need to be defined.
o Sioux Falls is a non-issue because all projects appear to get approved.
o Rapid City didn’t have an answer about how makes the final decision. It appeared to be staff,
but everything seemed to get appealed to City Council.
o Thornes recommended the final decision to issue the permit rest with her for the city manager.
• Authorizing city staff to determine if projects are reviewable.
o It will be difficult to have it both ways: 1) staff reviewing projects and making decisions, and 2)
enabling other staff to hand out the applications.
• Develop a training process and schedule with SHPO.
o There is a huge difference between how the Sioux Falls and Rapid City Boards apply the
Standards. Training from SHPO on the difference between the Standards and design review is
critical.
• Benefits and cons of a MOU verses continuing with the current process.
o Pros:
• Ability to review environs.
• More input into saving and protecting historic resources.
• Helps build professionalism and legitimacy for the Commission.
o Cons:
• Less time for public education activities.
• Structured meeting dates and times.
• Longer meetings are possible.
• City staff availability.
• Process could take longer for applicant.
• If the Commission decides to pursue the MOU, the following steps need to occur:
o Commission review and action on the revised MOU.
o City Council action to approve the MOU.
o Develop and approve application materials to include a flow chart, checklist and directions.
o Develop an informational campaign, which will need to occur regardless of the direction chosen.
The Commission will have further discussion and hope to make a decision on whether or not to pursue a
MOU at the next meeting.
Public Education Committee Report. The committee consists of Brink, Gritzner and Merriman. Brink
reported the committee met and developed a draft spreadsheet identifying target audiences, topics,
methods and prioritization. They will present it at a future meeting as an action item.
Form Nominating Committee. Elections for chair and vice chair are held in December. A nominating
committee of 1-2 members recommends a slate of officers for the 2015 term. Bibby and Merriman
volunteered to serve on the committee.
PRESERVATION PARTNERS:
Downtown Brookings Inc. (DBI) – Rowland announced that Kristin Heismeyer, DBI Director, recently
resigned due to health reasons. Doris Roden has stepped to assist during the organization’s hiring
transition.
ANNOUNCEMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE/COMMUNICATIONS/CALENDAR.
Nov 10-14 National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Savannah
Dec 18 Brookings Holiday Celebration, Swiftel Center, 5-7 pm
Meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Submitted by Shari Thornes