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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes1 of 3 CITY OF OSHKOSH LANDMARKS COMMISSION MINUTES JUNE 11, 2014 PRESENT: Dennis Arnold, Karen Heikel, Shirley Brabender Mattox, Sharon Kipetz, Steve Cummings and Angela Merrill EXCUSED: Vicky Redlin 1. CALL TO ORDER Mr. Arnold called the meeting to order at 3:11 pm and a quorum was declared present. Mr. Arnold and Ms. Heikel mentioned that they would need to leave at 4:30 today. 2. APPROVAL OF MAY 14, 2014 MEETING MINUTES Mr. Arnold asked if there were any corrections to the minutes and none were provided. Ms. Heikel made a motioned to approve the minutes of May 14, 2014 as amended. Motion was seconded by Ms. Brabender Mattox. Motion carried unanimously. 3. BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW Mr. Buck explained that the city is instituting new permitting software and the historic building permit report has not yet been integrated so the list provided this meeting is incomplete. He explained that as the new permit package is completed that the historic permit report will be complete and we will have multiple months of permits to review at that time. Ms. Brabender Mattox expressed her concern with not getting the information on building permits in a timely manner. Mr. Buck stated that if any projects are brought in with impact that staff would bring those forward. It was discussed that the historic home on Franklin Street is no longer going to be sided and the owners are scraping and painting the existing wood siding, which is very good news. 4. BROCHURES/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Mr. Buck went over the four brochure types the Commission decided to create including: 1) Historic Property Information; 2) Historic Districts of Oshkosh; 3) Tax Credits; and 4) Historic Walking Tours. Once completed we will send them out to the owners in the districts and brainstorm to place them at strategic locations like the Convention and Visitor Bureau, Library, Museum, Farmers Market, County Historic Society, etc. Ms. Merrill went over the first two brochures in their draft forms and asked if everyone would look them over and provide suggestions. Mr. Buck mentioned that the goal was to make them foldable to fit in regular racks. Discussion took place on the images to be used and Mr. Cummings asked if there was any issues with using specific images and if the property owners would have to give permission to use them. Because of the tight timeframe for this meeting and because Ms. Redlin was not present it was suggested we review and set up a meeting to go over them exclusively. Mr. Arnold said that Riverside Cemetery Historic District was not included in the brochure and Ms. Merrill said she did not see the reference in the State Historical Society inventory site. The Commission felt it needed be included in the district brochure. Mr. Buck mentioned that he has not worked on the tax credit brochure but will to find the time to do it. He also mentioned that Ms. Redlin was working on the tour brochure but she was not present to comment on progress. Mr. Arnold and Ms. Brabender Mattox commented on the Qualified Rehabilitated Buildings 2 of 3 Tax Credit and the Commission discussed that it was for pre-1936 buildings and not necessarily tied to historic preservation and that it simply required that the building to be reused was put into service before 1936. Ms. Brabender Mattox expressed concern that this credit could be used to do rehab that is not historically sensitive and can be used to potentially negatively affect the historic aspects of a building. Mr. Buck said he will include the brochures on the next agenda but now that we are over the Acanthus Awards that it might be best to try to set up a special meeting to go over the brochures as their own topic and maybe only include members that expressed interest in that particular working group or have as the only item on a future agenda. 5. ANNUAL REPORT DISCUSSION Mr. Buck explained that historically the annual report was put together by the Chairperson who goes through the year’s agendas and meeting minutes and pulls out items to highlight. Staff then formatted that information into a hard copy report for the Commission to amend and approve. He went over several previous annual reports and said that he will have to get together with Ms. Redlin to get the information together. Ms. Brabender Mattox explained that we need to avoid the term “verbiage” in this year’s report as it has a negative meaning. Mr. Buck asked if any particular image would be best for the cover. Mr. Arnold thought that the Stephany House would be a good image as the yellow color really “pops”. Ms. Brabender Mattox suggested that the 300 block of the Irving Avenue would be a great image as there are a lot of great properties there and Mr. Arnold concurred. Mr. Cummings said we need to have the Acanthus Award winners included in the report. Ms. Brabender Mattox and Ms. Heikel mentioned that we should be positive with the report. 6. PRESERVATION CODE DISCUSSION Mr. Buck said that the Commission has wanted to look at the preservation code and maybe have a workshop with the Common Council on its effectiveness. He added that the Traditional Neighborhood Design Standard Overlay has been adopted but is not mapped yet and asked if the Commission would be interested in promoting this item or still want to look at the historic code? Ms. Brabender Mattox expressed her concern that our code is not strong enough. Mr. Cummings mentioned that many cities have full time preservation planners and/or architects that focus specifically on historic preservation. He also said that he agrees that the code should be focused on as far as to further regulate alterations. Mr. Cummings said we can look at the “best of the best” codes to come up with what works. Ms. Heikel asked what the typical process is. Mr. Buck suggested that the Landmarks Commission set up a workshop to gauge the Councils opinion on what elements need to be included in a revision and then come up with a draft ordinance to present. Another option would be to simply create a new ordinance and bring it forward but that option includes the risk of doing the work and having it rejected because it does not fit the legislative body vision for the code. Mr. Cummings added that the justification needs to be included in whatever is presented such as equity protection, economic development and quality of life and that approach is the best way to present preservation regulations. Mr. Buck asked if the Commission felt it better to have that discussion before or after the technical work on a draft is done and said he felt it would be best before the technical work is done rather than after so it can include public and specialty group engagement and input. Ms. Brabender Mattox said that it is best to have a document to bring to those groups that highlights what we have learned after 10+ years of the existing code being used. Mr. Buck asked if the Commission was okay with going to the Council in a workshop situation where the arguments for and against a stricter or more lenient ordinance can be discussed and then start the process? The Commission discussed the value of doing an education element with the public before or after the Council is brought in and agreed that staff should send out an e-mail to get a separate working group and to decide who would like to be on a working group to come up with a strategy/approach to a code review and revision as well as a timeline. Mr. Cummings, Ms. Merrill and Ms. Brabender Mattox all stated they would be interested in working on it. 3 of 3 7. WORKING GROUP REPORTS Historic Marker Working Group: Mr. Buck went over the Railroad Bridge and Railway Markers and also went over the revised draft text on the Fishing Marker and the Commission made corrections to the text language. Mr. Buck said he was going to have the research assistant look for additional photos. Mr. Arnold said he is definitely on the right track. Ms. Heikel said she has gotten the University to think about an educational marker for the campus area, potentially near the Alumni Wellness center facing the campus. She said that University staff could do the research on text and photos and installation. She will forward the contact information to staff. 8. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING/COMMISSIONER STATEMENTS Mr. Arnold and Mr. Buck mentioned efforts to beautify William Waters Plaza by a neighborhood group that Mr. Arnold took part in. Mr. Arnold explained that the flower beds were planted and general clean up took place and it has been well received and still in good shape. General discussion on the surrounding buildings including the Washington Building took place. Mr. Buck mentioned that the City has been receiving inquiries on the possibility of rehabbing buildings that could be eligible for tax credits so the programs could be very useful in spurring the revitalization of not only buildings in the historic districts but others that may be eligible on their own. Mr. Arnold mentioned that the Acanthus Award presentation images came out very small on the monitors and that next year we should use larger images so they are more visible. 9. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Cummings motioned to adjourn. Motion was seconded by Ms. Brabender Mattox. Motion approved unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, David Buck, Principal Planner