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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Landmark Commission - 02/25/2010 9 MINUTES LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETING MUSEUM OF SCIENCE& HISTORY- UPSTAIRS CONFERENCE ROOM 1900 NORTH CHAPARRAL STREET RECEIVED FEBRUARY 25, 2010 MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Herb Morrison,Vice Chairman MAR 3 12010 Ms. Mary Lou Berven Ms. Kris Cardona Ms, Kim Charba CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE ,' Ms. Laura Commons Ms. Marie Guajardo Ms.Susan Kesler Dr.James Klein Mr. Leo Rios Dr. Mark Robbins Mr.Craig Thompson Mr.Alan Wahlstrom MEMBERS ABSENT: Mr. David Brown,Chairman (Excused) Ms.Anita Eisenhauer (Excused) Ms. Susan Rucker (Excused) STAFF PRESENT: Mr.Andrew Dimas,City Planner Ms.Annika Gunning,Project Manager Ms. Linda Williams, Recording Secretary The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. by Mr. Herb Morrison, Vice Chairman. The roll was called and a quorum was not present. Upon arrival of Commissioners Cardona, Guajardo and Klein, a quorum was declared. Mr. Morrison stated that the commission was on a very strict time line to complete the business at hand. Mr. Morrison continued that Museum staff had requested that the meeting be completed by 5:15 p.m. since the Museum closed at 5:30 p.m. Mr. Morrison stated there were several action agenda items that needed to be completed and he was glad that a quorum was present. ACTION ITEMS: Approve January 28, 2010 Minutes: The January 28, 2010 minutes were approved as distributed. Action on Demolition Permit for"HC"Designated South Bluff United Methodist Church located at 1329 Seventh Street: Mr.Andrew Dimas,Staff Liaison,addressed the commission. Mr. Dimas stated that Mr.David Loeb was at today's meeting to give an update on the progress that has been made and to request the Landmark Commission to approve issuing a"certificate appropriateness"which would allow for a demolition permit to be Issued;and also that the commission approve removing the"HC"designation from the structure. Before the floor was opened for discussion, Mr.Morrison asked if any of the commissioners had driven by the church to review it and if staff had brought any pictures of the structure for review and it was answered no. Mr. Morrison continued that before discussion began on Mr. Loeb's requests,and tor benefit of new commissioners,he wanted to explain the process regarding the certificate of appropriateness and removal of o"HC"designation. Mr. Morrison went on to say that,if at today's meeting,the commission did not approve issuance of the certificate,that decision would Impose a 60-day delay which would provide additional time for the commission to either find a possible buyer for the properly or work with the owner in trying to find another option other than demolition. If no action was taken at today's meeting,a 120-day stay would be imposed. Mr.Morrison continued that in either • scenario,after the 60 or 120-day delay ended, Mr. Loeb would be able to proceed with his original plans. Ms.Commons asked how long had it been since the commission discussed this item and Mr. Morrison responded that most recently Mr.Loeb came before the commission in October 2009,but approximately one year ago,the church leadership board submitted a letter of request to the Landmark Commission asking that the"HC" SCANNED Landmark Commission Meeting • February 25,2010 Poge 2 designation be removed,but the request was later rescinded. At this point in the meeting,the floor was turned over to Mr.Loeb. Mr. Loeb began his remarks by stating that he addressed the commission several months ago regarding the South Bluff Methodist Church. Mr. Loeb provided brief information regarding one of the projects his company has been Involved in -- the company purchased the old McGill's Furniture Store and redeveloped it into business office spaces for lease and their office was relocated in the same complex. Mr. Loeb continued that approximately six years ago, the previous owners of the church contacted his company to see if they were interested in purchasing the church but, at that time, the cost was too excessive. Several years later, the church was placed back on the market and the price had been significantly reduced and contracts were executed and the structure was purchased. Mr. Loeb stated that since his firm acquired the property, their original plan was to redevelop the school portion into office space for lease and find an organization or group that would be interested in redeveloping the sanctuary into useable space. The problem was finding an organization that would be able to utilize that much space. Mr. Loeb went on to say that the original church closed because most of the membership had migrated to First United Methodist Church on Shoreline Boulevard, Mr. Loeb stated that about one and one-half years ago, he received a phone call from Jim Volume who was interested in possibly using the property to place a homeless shelter, but his firm was not interested in that proposal. Mr. Loeb stated that, as of this meeting, the sanctuary has no tenant. Mr. Loeb stated their company had been in discussion with several churches, but they were having problems in securing financing. Mr. Loeb went on to say they are interested in finding a prospective buyer for the sanctuary portion or may be the entire building. If no buyers are found, they would like to proceed with their plan once the commission approves the certificate of appropriateness to do the asbestos work. Mr. Loeb continued that once they received the permit, work would begin on removing the asbestos from the school and sanctuary sections. Mr. Morrison asked if the demolition permit would be used for the asbestos abatement only and,if so,what was the timeframe if the certificate was approved at today's meeting. Mr. Loeb responded that the permit would be used for both-the removal of the asbestos and demolition of the sanctuary portion. Mr. Loeb continued that the timeframe would be three to six months and nothing would be happening within the next few months. Dr. Robbins asked how old was the building and Mr. Loeb answered the school portion was building in 1948 and the sanctuary was constructed in 1928. Mr. Thompson asked if there were any plans for the site and Mr. Loeb answered that as soon as the economy improved, the school portion would be redeveloped and used for office space and once the sanctuary was demolished, the space would be used for parking. The total square footage of the two portions is 25,000- 13,000 for the school and 12,000 for the sanctuary. Mr. Loeb continued the chapel portion of the building has very expensive stained glass windows that will be salvaged and reused and some of them may have to be re-matched. Mr, Loeb stated that the building had been secured by double boarding the windows for safety purposes, but they encountered an incident when a homeless man crawled through the floor space and entered the building through the trap door. The mon broke into the building and cut the main electrical line to the panel;which provided power to the security line. By cutting the electrical line, it was difficult to secure the side of the structure along Seventh Street because there was no lighting. Ms. Guajardo asked Mr. Loeb if he had spoken with representatives from the homeless shelter to see what their plans were and Mr. Loeb stated the only information he received was that they were proposing a 400-bed shelter. Mr. Loebcontinued that it was felt a homeless shelter would not be a good venture because of the amount of money that had been invested. Mr. Loeb continued that a homeless shelter would significantly decrease the property value. Mr.Wahlstrom asked whether the"HC"designation would be maintained if the sanctuary was demolished and Mr. Loeb answered no. Mr. Loeb continued that one of the biggest problems will be removing the asbestos since there is a vast amount in the floor tiles. Mr. Loeb went on to say that the chapel would be converted into a . conference room and the school portion would be converted into office space. After oll discussion and comments were concluded,the following action was taken: IT WAS MOVED BY MR. THOMPSON AND SECONDED BY MR. RIOS THAT THE LANDMARK COMMISSION APPROVE A "CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS"TO ALLOW FOR A DEMOLITION PERMIT TO BE ISSUED FOR ASBESTOS ABATEMENT AND DEMOLITION OF THE SANCTUARY PORTION OF THE SOUTH BLUFF METHODIST CHURCH LOCATED AT 1329 SEVENTH STREET. MOTION PASSED WITH MS.GUAJARDO AND DR.ROBBINS VOTING NO AND MR.MORRISON RECUSED HIMSELF. • Landmark Commission Meeting February 25,2010 Page 3 Nominating Committee's Recommendation for Chairman/Co-Chairman: Mr. Thompson stated the committee had not met and the committee would submit their recommendations at the March meeting. Certificate of Appropriateness Stamp to Change Orders for 2008 Bond Program for Repairs to the Heritage Park Complex: Mr. Morrison stated that this item has been tabled for several meetings because the commission had not received the appropriate documents for stamping. Mr. Morrison continued that staff brought the construction plans and the change order with the Landmark Commission's recommended changes. After a brief discussion, Mr. Morrison affixed the commission's "certificate of appropriateness" stamp to the construction plans and the change order with his signature. DISCUSSION ITEMS: Update on Nueces County Historical Commission's Festival 'Voices of South Texas-Old Bay View Cemetery Comes Alive:" Mr. Andrew Dimas, Staff Liaison, addressed the commission. Mr. Dimas stated the festival was scheduled for Saturday, March 27, 2010. Mr. Dimas continued that as part of the festival, a performance will be given by the South Texas Historians,a re-enactment group. Mr.Dimas went on to say that also as a featured part of the festival, county commission members will "adopt" a headstone of one of the soldiers buried in the cemetery and display the history related to that soldier. Mr. Morrison asked if there was a schedule of events and staff answered that the festival is scheduled from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. A brief update was given on the Heritage Park repairs. It was disclosed that repairs have begun on several of the houses in the park. Mr. Morrison stated he did not have any additional information and he had not spoken with Mr. Hunt. Ms.Commons stated that the roofs were being replaced on the McCampbell House. Ms. Berven reminded commissioners that the "Friends of Heritage Park(501 C-3 Committee) will meet with the Park and Recreation Advisory Board on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 5 p.m., 61"floor meeting room,City Hall. The committee will present the Landmark Commission's Vision Plan for the Advisory Board to take action on. Mr. Jerry Sansing gave the commission an update on a proposal regarding the Memorial Coliseum. Mr. Sansing stated he was speaking on behalf of George Clower and his effort in saving the coliseum. Mr. Sansing continued that the National Trust in Washington, D.C. met this week to discuss the coliseum. Mr.Sansing went on to say that the Texas Historical Commission had sent a letter to Mr. 'Angel Escobar, City Manager, informing him that the Texas Commission would be working with a local group in submitting an application to have the coliseum placed on the National Registry. Mr. Sensing continued that he plans to have the letter published in the Caller Times. Dr. Klein added he felt the Landmark Commission should discuss what role it should have in the coliseum project. After further discussion and comments, no action was taken. There being no further,business,the meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m. Lin•,•Williams Andrew Dimas,City Planner Rec.ding Secretary Staff Liaison to Landmark Commission fh FIN•J..71.`10AkWVID,w0.4ARKIArMESTF8251 S.1INSr