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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Landmark Commission - 10/26/2006 MINUTES LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETING CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS OCTOBER 26, 2006 MEMBERS PRESENT: Ms. Bunny Tinker, Chairman Ms. Susan Abarca Dr. David Blanke Mr. Myron Grossman Dr. Richard Moore Mr. Herb Morrison Ms. Nita Selby Mr. Craig Thompson MEMBERS ABSENT: Ms. Michelle Braselton Mr. David Brown STAFF PRESENT: Mr.Wesley Vardeman, Planning Technician Ms. Linda Williams, Recording Secretary The meeting was called to order at 4:40 p.m. by Ms. Bunny linker, Chairman. The roll was called and a quorum was declared. ACTION ITEMS: Approval of May 25 and August 24, 2006 Minutes: The May 25, 2006 minutes were approved with the . following corrections: Page 2 - First paragraph, end of first sentence should read: "now Knuckleheads." Sentence read "Knuckles." Page 3 - Discussion Item, Relocation of Mary Carroll House: Second sentence should read: "Ms. linker continued . . . the proposed relocation site of the house is next to the Ballet Studio and auction building on Mesquite Street north of Heritage Park." Sentence omitted"on Mesquite Street...Heritage Park." Third sentence should read: "Ms.Tinker stated she had spoken with Sally Gavlik , . . come up with with three (3)other possible sites." In the vicinity of Heritage Park was deleted. • August 24, 2006 Minutes: Minutes were approved with the following correction: Page 2: Ms. Tinker stated the correction should be made that the discussion was regarding the significance of the engineering of the project rather than the architect. Action to Consider Removal of the Structure Located at 1019 Furman Avenue from the City Landmark Commission's Site Survey for Possible Demolition: Ms, Tinker provided a brief update for benefit of those commissioners that were not at the last meeting. Ms. Tinker continued that this item was scheduled as an action item for the September 28, 2006 meeting, but because a quorum was not present, no action was taken. The item was rescheduled for today's meeting and staff with Neighborhood Services was asked to come back to today's meeting to give their presentation and recommendation for the properly. Ms. Tinker went on to say that staff was . requesting Landmark Commission approval to remove the structure from the survey in order to use federal funds to demolish the structure. If private funds were used, the Commission's approval would not be needed, Ms, Tinker continued that she, as chairman and Craig Thompson, as vice chairman of the Landmark Commission, were recusing themselves from the discussion since they both reside on Furman Avenue. At this point in the meeting, Ms. Tinker introduced Ms. Teena Houston and Mr, Ron Arispe, staff with Neighborhood Services, and the floor was turned over to Mr.Arispe, Mr. Ron Arispe began his presentation by stating that he was the inspector that initiated the case on the property. Mr. Arispe continued that at the time the case was begun, he was not aware the property was listed on ' the Landmark Commission's site survey. Mr. Arispe went on to say that after an in-depth inspection of the property . SCANNED . Landmark Commission Meeting - October 26,2006 Page 2 was made,the owner was notified by certified mail of the result of the inspection and staff's findings. The letter also outlined the conditions that were in violation of the Building and Housing Standards Code. The owner was given thirty (30) days to correct those violations through either repair, alterations, removal or possible demolition. In addition to the deteriorating condition of the properly, illegal activities were also taking place in the building. At this point, a slide presentation was shown revealing the deteriorating condition of the structure. Pictures were shown of the front; both sides and rear portions of the exterior of the house as well as stairs attached to the rear of the structure that were falling down. Interior pictures showed molded sheetrock, damaged ceiling, water damage to walls and floors, deteriorated paint, rotten and missing and unleveled wood in the floors, cracks and holes in the walls. Mr. Arispe stated a complete report with pictures and written documentation will be presented to the City . Building Standards Board with staff's recommendation to demolish the structure, Mr. Arispe stated again, that since the structure was on the Commission's site survey, staff's recommendation could not be forwarded until the commission took action on whether or not the structure would be removed from the survey. After Mr. Arispe's presentation, the floor was opened for comments and questions. Mr. Myron Grossman, commissioner, asked if staff had any other consultations with the owner and Mr. Arispe responded that contact was made with the property owner after no response was received after the certified letter was sent and nothing had been done to the structure within the thirty (30) day period. Mr. Arispe stated after talking with the owner, she requested that the structure be demolished since she did not have the resources to bring it into compliance. Mr. Thompson stated he went by to see the house and what he saw were cracksin the fake façade, a settling porch, floors that were in pretty good shape, but there was some rotted wood and the floor were settling in the middle, but he did not see anything that could not be repaired to bring the structure into compliance. Mr. Thompson continued that as president of the neighborhood association, he knew what was happening and had mixed feelings of what should be done, but as a member of the Landmark Commission, it was the commission's ultimate goal to try to save the structure. Mr. Morrison stated he concurred with Mr. Thompson's assessment of the condition of the structure. Mr. Morrison continued that the foundation looked to be in pretty good shape and it could be re-leveled and repaired. • Mr. Morrison continued that about 70 percent of the exterior of the structure would need to be redone and he agreed that the structure could be repaired if anyone had the money to do it. Ms. Tinker stated she had lived in her home for thirty(30)years and over the years,there have been houses in worst condition that were restored. Ms. Tinker continued that if the Furman Avenue neighborhood was going to be considered as a future historical district, removing structures from the area would not be good. Ms.Abarca commented that in looking at the slide, especially the one showing the front of the house, the house did not look like a potential structure to be considered for designation. Mr. Thompson asked staff if they had any values on the property and Ms, Houston stated the lot was valuated at $7,500.00 and the structure was valuated at $41,000.00 for a total of $48,500.00. Ms. Houston stated that since the owner did not have the resources to repair the structure, staff would like to know what the next step would be in the process and whether or not Commission would be undertaking the project. Ms.Jean Marie, member of the audience, stated the property at 1019 Furman was zoned "B-5"for general business. Ms. Marie continued that several years ago, the City approved strip zoning along Furman Avenue from the structure at 1019 down to South Staples Street. Ms. Marie continued that when she originally contacted the owner, she was not willing to sell the house. Ms, Marie went on to say that since the owner had not met the 30-day time period, some one needs to take responsibility and do something about the structure. Ms. Marie continued that . she has spent money trying to control the rodent problems. Ms. Marie stated after the 30-day period, she again contacted the owner and offered to buy the house, but she was requesting $100,000.00 for the house. Ms. Marie ' continued that it has taken almost two years to get to this point and the house is not fixable without spending a great deal of money. Mr. Grossman stated he sympathized with Ms. Marie's problems but he would like to personally talk with the owner to find out what she wants to do regarding the property and to see if a possible buyer could be found for the property. Mr. Morrison asked what would be the maximum time period for the structure if it was left on the site survey and Ms.linker answered that the maximum delay would be 90-days, after which the structure could be demolished especially if the owner was agreeable with the demolition. • Landmark Commission Meeting October 26,2006 • Page 3 Ms. Tinker responded to Ms. Marie's statement regarding the rodent problems. Ms. linker stated that the rodent problem was a neighborhood problem and could not be attributed solely to the deteriorating condition of the structure at 1019 Furman. Mr. Grossman stated he would like for the commission to delay action for thirty (30) days on staff's request to remove the structure from the site survey. The delay would afford him the opportunity to talk with owner to see if a solution could be found to save the house or find a prospective buyer. Ms. Tinker stated she has rehabilitated four houses and she does not consider this structure as being un- rehabilitative. Ms. Tinker continued that she also looked at the house and felt that a workable solution could be found so that the house could be restored. Ms. Tinker went on to say that to find a workable solution was going to be difficult, but it could be done. Mr. Morrison voiced concern whether the commission would have a recourse that ensured that a new buyer/owner of the structure would follow through and actually restore the structure if one was found. Mr. Morrison continued that he concurred with the suggestion that the commission delay taking action on staff's request to see if a workable solution could be found. After all comments and discussion concluded,the following action was taken: IT WAS MOVED BY MR. GROSSMAN AND SECONDED BY MR. MORRISON THAT THE LANDMARK COMMISSION TABLE ACTION FOR THIRTY (30) DAYS ON STAFF'S REQUEST TO REMOVE THE STRUCTURE LOCATED AT 1019 FURMAN AVENUE FROM THE LANDMARK COMMISSION'S SITE SURVEY GIVING MR. GROSSMAN AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH THE PROPETY OWNER AND POSSIBLY FIND A BUYER FOR THE HOUSE. After the motion was on the floor, further discussion ensued. Dr. Moore stated he felt it was a waste of time for the commission to delay in making a decision on staff's request. Dr. Moore continued that allowing thirty days would not change the deteriorating condition of the structure and since the owner wanted it demolished, delaying a decision would not change anything if the owner concurred with the demolition. Ms. Abarca stated that even if the commission was willing to give the 30-day delay, the owner still would have to get the property sold. Ms. Abarca stated she wondered if the owner would be amenable to place some type of deed restrictions in that the property would have to be restored and brought up to code as part of the negotiations. After all comments and discussion concluded,the motion passed with one vote in opposition. Ms. linker stated that since the November meeting would be cancelled because the meeting date fell on , Thanksgiving, an alternate meeting date should be selected to meet in December. After further discussion, it was decided that the next meeting would be Thursday, December 14, 2006, 4:30 p.m. • Informational Presentation to Install a Town Clock in Heritage Park in Honor of Former Members of the Local Club: Ms. Tinker stated this was an agenda item for the September meeting and Mr. Art Zeitler, Chairman for the Town Clock Project, gave a presentation at that meeting. At that meeting, Dr. Richard Moore agreed to serve as a member of the Town Clock Project Committee on behalf of the Landmark Commission. Ms. Tinker continued that the proposed town clock would be in the 1914 time frame and the committee's proposal was to place it in Heritage Park. Dr. Moore attended his first meeting on October 24, 2006 and he would give a brief summary of the meeting. Dr. Moore stated he met with the committee and it was discussed that the clock would be made instead of trying to find an existing clock. Dr. Moore continued the committee was still researching old historical files and • pictures to see if a specific type of town clock was shown on any of the downtown buildings during that time. A clock was found that supposedly existed on the old national bank building, but it had not been verified whether or not the clock existed. Dr. Moore stated the committee was in the process of possibly selecting a style of clock and finalizing its recommendation for placement. The proposed site location was in front of the Galvan House in • Heritage Park. Installation of the clock would entail removing and relocating the existing lamp post. Dr. Moore continued that the time line for the fundraiser was February 2007 and the formal presentation of the clock would be in July 2007, Landmark Commission Meeting -- October 26,2006 Page 4 DISCUSSION ITEMS: Submittal of Potential Properties to Review for Possible Designation: Ms, Tinker reported that at the last meeting, Dr. Moore presented several photos of houses in the Edgewater Terrace Subdivision to be considered for designations. Ms. Tinker continued that none of the structures were included on the site survey and the commission would have to make contact with the owners for authorization and approval. Mr. Morrison stated there were a lot of those houses that were built in mass production during that time period. Mr. Morrison continued the commission really should be pursuing structures that could be designated with other historical relevance other than its architectural style. Dr. Blanke added that potential structures for designation could also be based on their cultural significance. Mr. Grossman stated he would help Dr. Moore research and write a script to use in contacting the property owners. No action was taken, Power Point Presentation of Properties Adjacent to Heritage Park: For benefit of commissioners that were not at the September meeting, Wesley Vardeman, Acting Staff Liaison, presented the power point presentation on properties located two blocks south of Heritage Park. After the presentation, discussion ensued regarding what direction the Landmark Commission would like to take to ensure the area was developed appropriately. No action was taken. Possible Change in Meeting Day from Fourth Thursday: Ms.Tinker stated she requested staff to research the • possibility of changing the commission's meeting date to an earlier date in the month since there seemed to be a problem in getting a quorum for the meetings. Ms. Tinker continued she was concerned about the number of meetings that were scheduled without a quorum and how this might affect the commission's CLG status. Staff made the inquiry and no meeting dates were available because of other city boards/commissions meetings. After a brief discussion, no action was taken. The meeting date will remain on the fourth Thursday. Ms. Tinker stated the commissioners really needed to begin actively recruiting members since there were several vacancies that need to be filled. OTHER MATTERS: Ms. Tinker shared with commissioners that in looking through her historical records, she found a copy of a set of 1988 Design Guidelines for the City of El Paso and it confirmed for her just how far behind the city of Corpus was in its preservation efforts. Wesley Vardeman read a letter staff received from Revered Barbara Ruth, District Superintendent for Corpus Christi for United Methodist Church, informing the commission that the South Bluff United Methodist Church located at 1329 Seventh Street closed effective October 15, 2006. The letter further stated that the building would no longer function as a United Methodist Church facility and they were searching for a buyer. The church is requesting that the "HC" designation be removed from the facility. Several slides were presented for review of the structure. After the slide presentation, a brief discussion ensued. No action was taken, but the item would be scheduled for action , at the December meeting. There being no further business,the meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m. cJ %tel J lX�lau..-t1 LU. &,°4dL Linde Williams Wesley Varden , Planning Technician Recoding Secretary Acting Staff Liaison to Landmark Commission • IPLN-DN\WORDUANDMARIAM INUTES\OCT2606MRJUTE52.DOC) (2,) a �'-5a�.. P. SUMMARY SHEET tr' LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETING �+ OCTOBER 26, 2006 o- \-1 ro ti - 1, Landmark Commission tabled action for thirty (30) days on Staff's reuest to remove the`tructure located at 1019 Furman Avenue from the Landmark Commission's site survey allowing Mr. Myron Grossman an opportunity to talk with the property owner and to possibly find a buyer for the house. • r