Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Landmark Commission - 01/26/2012MINUTES CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETING CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS JANUARY 26, 2012 MEMBERS PRESENT: Dr. James Klein, Vice Chairman Ms. Christina Crouse Mr. Anthony Gavlik Ms. Karen Howden Mr. Herb Morrison Mr. John Olson Dr. Mark Robbins MEMBERS ABSENT: Ms. Kim Charba (Excused) Ms. Laura Commons (Excused) Ms. Marie Guajardo (Excused) Mr. Leo Rios (Excused) STAFF PRESENT: Mr. Andrew Dimas, City Planner Ms. Linda Williams, Recording Secretary The meeting was called to order at 4:40 p.m. by Dr. James Klein, Vice Chairman. The roll was called and a quorum was not present. ACTION ITEMS: Approve October 27, 2011 Minutes: The October 27, 2011 minutes will be approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Recommend Approval to Rescind the "H" Historic Zoning Overlay (formerly "H" Historic Cultural) on the Oak Park United Methodist Church located at 878 Oak Park Avenue & Removal of the Church from the Historical Listing to Allow Demolition: Mr. Andrew Dimas, Staff Liaison, addressed the commission. Mr. Dimas stated the commission has been requested to approve removal of the "H" designation from the Oak Park Methodist Church and removal from the historical listing to allow demolition of the building due to extensive fire damage. Mr. Dimas continued that information was included in the packet to assist commissioners in making a decision. Several photographs were shown of the exterior and inside the sanctuary of the Oak Park Church when the designation was approved. Mr. Dimas continued that he visited the site to take photographs of the structure showing the extent of the fire damage, but he was not able to because the windows to the sanctuary were boarded. Mr. Dimas continued that the contractor came to the Development Services Department to pull a demolition permit, but because the property has the "H" designated and flagged in the computer, the permit was not issued. Mr. Dimas stated that Mr. David Lewis, Board Member of the United Methodist Church Conference, was at today's meeting on behalf of the Oak Park United Methodist Church, to answer any questions. At this point in the meeting, the floor was turned over to Mr. Lewis. Mr. David Lewis addressed the commission. Mr. Lewis stated he was at today's meeting to answer any questions the commission might have regarding the Church's plans for the building. Mr. Lewis continued that the Church leadership was not aware of the designation on the building until the contractor applied for a demolition permit. Mr. Lewis went on to say it was at that time when they found out the "H" overlay was in place and before a demolition permit could be issued, the Landmark Commission had to approve removal of the designation from the building and its removal from the historical listing. Mr. Lewis stated the real damage was done to the assembly hall and significant damage was done to the interior of the sanctuary which was not visible from the street. Landmark Commission Meeting January 26, 2012 Page 2 Dr. Klein asked how long ago was the fire and Mr. Lewis responded the fire happened last March. Mr. Lewis continued that in addition to extensive fire damage, the church was heavily laden with asbestos. Mr. Lewis continued the church was used until the fire and approximately fifteen (15) to twenty (20) people attended services there on a regular basis and most of the members had united with other congregations. Mr. Lewis stated the church had to make the determination if it was worth rebuilding in its current location with a declining membership. Mr. Olson asked why the historical designation prevented the church from being demolished if it was destroyed 100 percent by the fire and Mr. Dimas answered that the same process was in place to remove the designation as it was when it was approved. Mr. Dimas explained that the "H" designation was an overlay in addition to the existing zoning for the building. To add the "H" overlay, the zoning request had to be approved by the Planning Commission and City Council. Mr. Dimas continued that to remove it, the same process has to be done again. Mr. Morrison added that the process gives the Landmark Commission time to review the request. If the commission denies the request to remove the designation, a 90 -day stay becomes effective that allows enough time to do an investigation and possibly find other alternatives rather than demolition. Mr. Morrison asked if it their intention to demolish the entire building and Mr. Lewis answered yes. Mr. Lewis stated it was felt that it was more important to get the building torn down to lessen the hazard of someone getting injured. Mr. Lewis continued the asbestos abatement has been completed in December and the contractor was ready to complete the demolition. Mr. Morrison stated that if the Landmark Commission did not take action at today's meeting, it would be thirty (30) days before the commission met again; and the entire process would have to be done again with the Planning Commission and City Council, which would be close to the 90 -day period since they initially started the process. Dr. Klein stated since there was no quorum at today's meeting, no official vote could be taken on the item and basing action on consensus was not official. Mr. Olson stated he was very upset that the commission was negligence in that the commissioners were not at today's meeting. Mr. Olson asked if the commission not taking action at today's meeting would cause any delays with the insurance and Mr. Lewis responded in the negative. Mr. Lewis continued there were decisions the congregation, along with the District Conference of the Corpus Christi United Methodist Church, had to consider regarding whether the current members were going continue to meet at that location or merge with another church and whether to demolish or rebuild. After Mr. Lewis' comments, Dr. Klein expressed thanks for his attending the meeting. Mr. Dimas stated staff would place the item back on the agenda and see if an earlier meeting date could be scheduled instead of waiting until the 23 meeting. Mr. Morrison how long would the entire process take if there's a quorum at the next meeting and Mr. Dimas answered if the item was approved at the next commission meeting, the next available meeting Planning Commission meeting would be February 29, 2012. Staff would request to get the item scheduled for the first available meeting date in March — 13' or the 27` After further discussion, no action was taken. DISCUSSION ITEMS: Appoint a Nominating Committee to Select 2012 Chairman and Vice Chairman: Dr, Klein stated since Craig Thompson was no longer on the commission, the office of chairman was vacant and also since this was the beginning of a new term year, the vice chairman would also need to be re- elected. Dr. Klein continued that as in the past, a nominating committee was needed to present a recommendation for chairman and vice chairman at the next meeting. Dr. Klein requested three (3) volunteers to serve on the committee. After a brief discussion, Christina Crouse, Karen Howden and Dr. Mark Robbins volunteered to serve on the committee, with Dr. Robbins as chair. The committee will meet and submit its recommendation at the February meeting. Recommendation to Fill Four Vacancies: Mr. Dimas stated that five (5) applications were included in the packet for commissioners to review and formulate a recommendation to the City Secretary's office to fill the four vacancies. Mr. Dimas continued that in filling the vacancies, certain Landmark Commission Meeting January 26, 2012 Page 3 competencies had to also be filled to retain the commission's Certified Local Government (CLG) status. The needed competencies were: (1) engineer, (1) title searcher and (1) historian. After a brief discussion, the commission, by consensus of members present, recommended the following appointments: • Eric Villarreal - Engineer; • Antonio Illas — Regular Member; • Timothy Craig — Regular Member and • Armando Mendez — Regular Member The Landmark Commission also recommended, by consensus of members present, Kim Charba to be realigned to competency of title searcher and Karen Howden realigned to competency of historian. After all comments and discussion concluded, and there being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m. Lin Williams Re rding Secretary i' r Andrew K. Dimas, City Planner Staff Liaison to Landmark Commission (DEVELOPMENTSVOSILINDAIWORDI ANDMARKIMINUTESUO12QAN2612MINUTES .MTG)