The Historic District Commission has hired a contractor to help revise guidelines for maintenance of historic properties. After a process that included public outreach, the new guidelines should be available for the March 2 commission meeting.
City Historic Preservation Officer Kylee Hevrdejs has worked with the Lakota Group on the project. She also addressed an agenda item concerning homeowners who do not follow through with a project after receiving a Certificate of Approval. She said she tries to follow up on major projects, but it is not always possible to assess progress from the street. She also noted that some projects have been delayed in recent months because of material shortages. As Hevrdejs noted previously, COAs have a window for completion, and applicants must re-apply to the commission if work is not completed on schedule.
Commissioners also briefly discussed neglected properties, and Hevrdejs distributed packets with information from the Municipal League regarding nuisance properties. The city has adopted parts of those guidelines by ordinance. The commission may go further, with a recommendation to city council for an ordinance to deal with demolition by neglect.
In other business:
- At 20 Pine St., Elizabeth Wicker had received approval to replace four windows, but workers found more deterioration when they got into the walls. Commissioners approved the replacement of another two windows.
- All agreed with an application to replace 10 aluminum and vinyl windows with wooden windows at 15 Douglas St. for owner Ken Gaillot. The house dates to 1889, but the windows to be replaced are located in two additions to the original house. The commissioners approved the project and thanked him for his efforts to restore the property.
- Ryan Morris asked to remove a non-historic retaining wall at 7 Armstrong St. to create additional parking spaces. Hevrdejs’s assessment noted that the property has been significantly altered since its 1898 construction. A tree will also have to be removed, but that application will go before the Board of Zoning Adjustment. Some commissioners wanted to postpone a decision until BOZA decides on the tree cut, but Morris said that commissioners might defer a decision until the HDC decides on removing the retaining wall. With commissioner Marty Cogan opposed, the others approved Morris’s application, contingent upon the tree removal decision.
- Another application to increase off-street parking received some opposition. Gwen Dalton, at 19 Pine St., asked to add one or two parking spaces at the rear of her property. An existing concrete block retaining wall will be raised a few feet to contain the fill needed for a level parking area. With two commissioners voting against the application, Chair Steve Holifield cast the fourth vote needed for approval.
- Commissioner Dee Bright noted that the agenda no longer includes a sentence declaring that any commissioner or member of the public can remove an item from the consent agenda and have it placed on the regular agenda. That sentence will be replaced. Bright also wondered aloud how to educate the public about administrative approvals, which allow some projects to go forward without a visit to a commission meeting.
- The resignation of Randy Maddox leaves the commission with one vacancy.
- The HDC will next meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. Level III applications were due Feb. 17, and other levels were due Feb. 26.