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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8-9-93 HLC MinutesThe August 9, 1993 Meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission was called to order by Chairman Milton Bell. The following Commissioners were present: Chairman Milton Bell Commissioner Jessica Foy Commissioner Sam Pullig Commissioner Walter Sutton Commissioner Charles Walker Commissioner Debra Kay Johnson Commissioner Mary Jane Buttrill Commissioner Bruce Hamilton (arrived 3:10 pm) Commissioner Raymond Chaison (arrived 3:40 pm) The following Commissioner was absent: Commissioner JoAnn Stiles Staff present: Stephen Richardson, Secretary; Nicholas Karavolos, Planner; Edward Armold, Planning Intern; Patsy Ellis, Recording Secretary. Also present: Councilman -at -Large Andrew Cokinos; Councilmember Lulu Smith; Carolyn Howard, Beaumont Main Street. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Commissioner Walker made the motion to approve the minutes of the May 10,1993 meeting. Approval of the minutes was seconded by Commissioner Pullig. Motion carried 7:0. Commissioner Buttrill made the motion to approve the minutes of the June 14,1993 meeting. Commissioner Buttrill noted that Mayor Evelyn Lord attended the meeting, but had to leave early. Commissioner Sutton noted that he did not speak in opposition of the Oaks District but spoke in support of including Beech Street in the district. Approval of the minutes was seconded by Commissioner Johnson. Motion carried 7:0. MINUTES Landmark Commission Meeting August 09, 1993 Chairman Bell stated that in order to not hold everybody up, the Public Hearing segment of the meeting would be held first and then come back to the Regular Meeting afterward. At this time he opened the Public Hearing. PUBLIC HEARING Chairman Bell turned the meeting over to Nicholas Karavolos for presentation of the Beech Street Addition to The Oaks District. Mr. Karavolos stated that the area in question is located along Beech Street between Eighth and Tenth Streets. The property is within the Emma Reed Addition to the city of Beaumont. Staff recommends approval of the request. The area in question is being considered for inclusion in the district at the residents' request. The Historic Landmark Commission concurred with the request and directed staff to include the area during a public hearing on June 14, 1993. The area meets some of the standards outlined in Section 30-39, Sub -section C. The proposed overlay will augment the underlining zoning of the effected property, the future and compatible land uses and nuisances will be prevented. The area is bounded to the north and south by I-10 and Louisiana, to the east and west by Eighth and Tenth Streets. None of the structures within the area are historic, yet each contribute to the residential character of the district. The properties are zoned RS(Residential Single -Family Dwelling). He stated that the criteria had been met, without stating each one individually. Thirty-four (34) notices were mailed to property owners; nine (9) were received back, eight (8) in favor, one (1) in opposition. Commissioner Sutton questioned the map sent with the notices. Mr. Karavolos stated that the map was in error and had been corrected. (Commissioner Hamilton arrived at 3:10 pm) Chairman Bell then asked if there was anyone present who wished to speak on behalf of this request. Speaking in favor: Opal D. Comeaux Dan Dennis 2465 Beech Street 2435 Beech Street Chairman Bell then asked if there was any one present who wished to speak in opposition of the request. There were none. Motion was made by Commissioner Walker to accept the addition of Beech Street in The Oaks District. The motion was seconded by Commissioner PulIig. Motion carried 7:0. P MURTI S Landmark Commission Meeting August 09, 1993 Chairman Bell stated that the recommendation will go to the Planning Commission for their action. Nicholas Karavolos stated that Item B on the agenda is a request to consider an ordinance clarifying Ch. 30, Section 30-21.2(e) (10) and (11) to renumber Sections 10 and 11 and amend the regulations prohibiting certain furniture from being placed at a location which is not an enclosed porch or is otherwise exposed to the elements. In essence, indoor furniture that is not intended as outdoor furniture cannot be placed in the front yard or on an enclosed porch. Motion was made by Commissioner PuIlig to approve the request. Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion. Motion carried 7:0. REGULAR MEETING A) Chairman's, Report: No Report B) Committee Reports• Commissioner Pullig questioned the status of the committees. Chairman Bell stated that an update was needed as some members have left the commission. He requested a status report, but in the meantime, everyone should stay as they are. Also, the question arose about new members of the commission and what area they represented. Commissioner Buttrill suggested that when new members are appointed, they should attend a workshop to familiarize themselves with the workings of the Historic Commission and also some of the present members might want to attend the workshop for a brush -up course. Marker Committee: No Report Marketing Committee: Commissioner Buttrill stated that the commission should have some input on the grant projects from the CLG monies that comes from Austin. Nicholas Karavolos stated that the new historic district will provide an excellent opportunity for future projects. The new preservation intern, will provide an adaptive reuse of one of three structures in town. The YMCA building on Calder is being entertained as the primary target, the secondary would be the LaSalle Hotel and the third would be Hotel Beaumont. In addition, the intern may do some work on the Oaks Historic District. Stephen Richardson stated that the grant money is 3 MMYTI3S Landmark Commission Meeting August 09, 1993 being used to pay for the intern's salary so that he can come up with a proposal that can be used for next year's funding project. Commissioner Foy asked if the commission was not continuing with the SPARE Beaumont survey. Mr. Richardson stated that the SPARE project has been researched for several years and that maybe this year the money could be used for adaptive reuse projects. At this time, Mr. Richardson introduced the intern, Ed Armold, from Topeka, Kansas. Mr. Armold graduated from the University of Kansas in May with a Master's Degree in Urban Planning with concentration in Urban Design. Carolyn Howard questioned Mr. Armold about the study of the structures mentioned earlier. Mr. Karavolos stated that the selection of the three was based on need. The YMCA was chosen because they have already completed their architectural diagrams and the project has proceeded a long way and is a viable and doable project. The LaSalle Hotel is an obvious problem and an historic resource and we want to maintain the historic preservation edge and try to adaptively reuse the building in a structure in a way that would be more conducive to downtown development. If the YMCA is far enough along on its own that it doesn't need our help, then we would like to emphasize on the LaSalle. Hotel Beaumont would be the third priority in that they are working right now with Community Development and may not require extensive efforts on our behalf. Conference Committee: Commissioner Buttrill asked if the CLG Conference would be combined again with the THC Conference. Stephen Richardson said that he had not heard anything, but would check into it and give a report at the next meeting. Education Committee: No report Bylaws Committee: No report Catalog Committee: No report Building Committee: No report. C) Budget Report Stephen Richardson stated that in the packet there is an audit that was done by the accounting department of our historical preservation loan fund and the findings of this audit are spelled out on pages 7-9. City employee, Tom Lowrance, did the audit. Basically, the findings show that between March, 1987 and March, 1989, four (4) 4 MMUMS Landmark Commission Meeling August 09, 1993 loans were made using CDBG funds. Of those four, one has been paid back in full. In May, 1992, using the re -programmed program (monies that have come back to the City through repayment of the loans and are approved to be reloaned), money was loaned to Dr. McNeill for a house on North St. As of June, 1993, $136,000 has been spent on the KCS Depot. As of June 25, 1993, there are $18,469.51 in program income that we can loan out. Current monthly payments are $1,438.49, excluding any monies from the KCS Depot as the depot is not leased. (Commissioner Chaison arrived at 3:40 p.m.) D) Other Business Commissioner Buttrill questioned Nicholas Karavolos about Dr. Westbrook"s building, Mitchell Clinic. Mr. Karavolos stated that he has contacted Dr. Westbrook three times and told him about the resources available to him, but has not heard from him at this point. Commissioner Buttrill stated that the building is in its original form and possibly a HC marker was in order. Also, someone had contacted her about houses on Ashley Street that were included in The Oaks District. Mr. Karavolos stated that he had talked to one of the residents and told her that if the residents wanted to be included, then they would be accommodated, but only if most of them wanted it. Commissioner Foy asked about a newspaper article about a family in The Oaks that had painted their house an undesirable color. Stephen Richardson explained that they were working with the family to determine if the house had been painted before or after the ordinance went into effect. Commissioner Hamilton suggested that a video tape be made of The Oaks District showing what is there now as opposed to what may be built or erected in the future so that there is a record of what has been built since the ordinance passed. Nicholas Karavolos slated that on the one hand we have residents in the district screaming for enforcement and protection. On the other hand we don't want to punish people that did not understand what is going on, so of the $18,000 that we have in the revolving loan fund, we would like to establish a revolving loan fund within the revolving loan fund for fence removal, sign abatement, painting, etc. A 0% loan could be established with a short term payback. Commissioner Hamilton made a motion to establish parameters for a revolving loan fund as put forth by Mr. Karavolos. 5 MINUTES Landmark Commission Meeting August 09, 1993 The motion was seconded by Commissioner Buttrill. Motion passed 7:0. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. 6