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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Landmark Commission - 12/19/2019MINUTES LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETING CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI - City Hall Council Chambers 1201 Leopard Street December 19, 2019 4:30 P.M. COMMISSIONERS: COMMISSIONERS: Jillian Becquet, Chair Ernest Bert Rucker Craig Thompson, Vice -Chair Dr. Christine Robbins Dr. Ira J. Freeman Randy J. Dees, Sr. Dr. Bryan Stone Monica Rawlings Kathleen de la Garza Madeleine T. Fontenot STAFF: Andrew Dimas, Senior City Planner Kristy Glick, Recording Secretary (Alt Sandra Velazquez -Mendoza) Nina Nixon -Mendez, Assistant Director of Development Services, Historic Preservation Officer Craig Garrison, Planning Technician Call to Order/Roll Call • A quorum was established at 4:31 p.m. • Members present: Jillian Becquet, Craig Thompson, Dr. Ira J. Freeman, Dr. Bryan Stone, Kathleen de la Garza, Ernest Bert Rucker, Dr. Christine Riser -Robbins, and Madeleine Fontenot • Member(s) absent: Randy J. Dees, Sr., Monica Rawlings • Myron Grossman is not seated because he has not been sworn in yet. II. Approval of Minutes: November 21, 2019 Meeting Motion to approve by Vice -Chair Craig Thompson, seconded by Kathleen de la Garza. Passed unanimously. III. Discussion and Possible Action: Consideration of Absences of Commissioner Monica Rawlings. • Chair Jillian Becquet requested defining unexcused absences and the need to track them. • Motion to deny Monica Rawlings excused absence on November 21, 2019 by Chair Jillian Becquet, seconded by Kathleen de la Garza. Passed unanimously. IV. Public Comment: Comment from the audience on matters not scheduled No one was present for public comment, for matters not scheduled. V. Public Hearing — Discussion and possible action on Certificate of Appropriateness for Demolition COAD 1219-01, City of Corpus Christi Parks and Recreation Department: 1517 N. Mesquite Street (The Steamboat House, AKA The Ropes House). Craig Garrison presented the PowerPoint slides and video to show the current condition of the Steamboat House. Mr. Garrison covered Unified Development Code 3.16.4 Review Criteria: 1) As to "uniqueness as a representative type of style of architecture", the structure does have a clearly identifiable style, Steamboat Gothic or High Victorian Gingerbread, but are in poor condition; 2) The structure is in a severely deteriorated state; 3) Based on available information, no economically viable alternative is available at this time; 4) The structure is in a severely deteriorated state and could pose a safety hazard as to its structural integrity. Staff recommended approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness for Demolition with the condition that any new facility constructed in Heritage Park will reflect elements of the historic house including the projecting shaped bay with widows walk porch with turned wood balustrade. Possible actions by Landmark Commission are: 1) approve; 2) approve with conditions; 3) denial with a maximum 120 -days stay (March 19, 2020) from application date (November 20, 2019), or table. MINUTES LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETING CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI - City Hall Council Chambers 1201 Leopard Street December 19, 2019 4:30 P.M. Chair Becquet mentioned the importance on the builder of this house and the Alta Vista Hotel, Alta Vista Street's name was for Ropes Park and was a huge deal. The Ropes' Boom was due to all the money Ropes threw into the City. She also said that in any other situation, this would be a person's house who you would want to save when it's 130 -years old. Commissioner Freeman inquired about Criteria C2 and if that would allow the home to be sold and moved off the property by a buyer. Also mentioned was the cost of renovation and moving it out of windstorm region and the cost would be substantially less. Commissioner Riser -Robbins asked about the history of the house and how it got so run down. Nina Nixon -Mendez replied that Parks and Recreation is here today, and they can provide additional information. She stated there was a concentrated effort to seek funding to have the house restored. In the meantime, storms and a hurricane occurred, and the house continued to deteriorate. Chair Jillian Becquet opened the public hearing. Craig Garrison and Jermel Stevenson, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department addressed questions from the Commissioners. Commission expressed concern of the Steamboat House's poor condition and questioned why the City allowed it and if options could be requested to the Parks Department. Director Stevenson misunderstood the question and then agreed. Vice -Chair Thompson inquired about the report on costs to make it structurally sound and what type of return on investment it would be. Director Stevenson clarified the $500,000 is for a new build for a similar square footage, not necessarily to rebuild it as is but that could be an option as well. Vice -Chair Thompson also asked about the project description section in the construction services stated for repair, renovation, and upgrades of the interior and exterior. Joe Johnson, Assistant Director with Parks and Rec, commented on the report and stated the costs listed on the report was for a new build of a similar size, not with the architecture. It would be almost double or more to have it look exactly like it does now. Vice -Chair Thompson inquired if the Parks Department kept maintenance records on the home and how helpful it would be to see something like that. He questioned what efforts have been made since 2007 to make this building viable. Mr. Stevenson said there should be records. Vice -Chair Thompson mentioned that with the historical significance of Eli Ropes, maybe the City could find a donor or something along those lines and stated that he is willing to vote no at this time to give it a little time. Commission inquired why it was never designated as a local landmark. Vice -Chair Thompson said it could have been because it was moved off its original location in 1920. Craig Garrison asked Commission to look at the summary sheet for September 27, 2007, the Landmark Commission approved pursuing the HC (local designation) for the 1500 block where the Seaman Center and the Ropes Building currently lie but no other information was found as to whether it was denied or further pursued. Chair Becquet said the same process could occur again in 12 -years where another house would be knocked down as soon as someone moved out of Heritage Park. She stated all the hoops that have been jumped through by Parks and Rec to try to take care of them. The Mary Carroll House, like this one is now, was a good example in that previous students took it on as a project and got donations. Nina Nixon - Mendez reminded Chair Becquet that the public hearing period was still open and said there may be someone here who would like to speak. Citizen Dean Flinn, 429 Princess Corpus Christi, Texas 78410, spoke about Heritage Park's existence and how not all homes located there were designated and/or maintained. Commission members recommended record drawings of the Steamboat House (as-builts or Point -Cloud Model), salvaging pieces to be incorporated in Heritage and elsewhere, and to create White -Paper on Colonel Eli Ropes (i.e. and brothers) to file with drawings. At this point, the public hearing was closed. Nina Nixon -Mendez stated correspondence would be issued to the applicant regarding the board's decision with conditions. Motion to approve demolition with conditions: record drawings of the Steamboat House (as-builts or Point -Cloud Model), salvaging pieces to be incorporated in Heritage and elsewhere, and to create White -Paper on Colonel Eli Ropes (i.e. and brothers) to file with drawings by Vice -Chair Craig Thompson, seconded by Chair Jillian Becquet. Passed unanimously. MINUTES LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETING CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI - City Hall Council Chambers 1201 Leopard Street December 19, 2019 4:30 P.M. VI. Historic Preservation Officer's Report: Nina Nixon -Mendez announced the January 10th CLG Training, loam, 2406 Leopard Street, 3rd Floor Conference Room and welcomed a new member to the Commission. City Council made appointments two new Landmark Commissioners: Myron Grossman (Real Estate) (needs to be sworn -in) and Madeleine Fontenot (Regular Member) (already sworn -in). VII. Items to be scheduled on the next agenda: The Commission discussed the following items to be placed on future agendas: • January 2020's Meeting for UDC Committee (Chair Jillian Becquet, Vice -Chair Craig Thompson, Dr. Ira Freeman and Dr. Christine Robbins) • February 2020's UDC Workshop/Meeting Combo • Certificate of Appropriateness for Demolition Case in January 2020 • Schedule/announcement for awards in January 2020 • Discuss Top 10 List of Endangered homes VIII. Adjournment at 6:07 p.m. • Motion to adjourn by Vice -Chair Craig Thompson, seconded by Chair Jillian Becquet. JJ`6yy\_ VL64�j Jilliah Becquet, Chairperson Landmark Commission