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Home My WebLink About12-09-14 HPC minutes City of Saratoga H ERITAGE P RESERVATION C OMMISSION MINUTES Page 1 of 3 Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2014 / 8:30 A.M. Type: Regular Meeting Place: City Hall /Administrative Conference Room - 13777 Fruitvale Avenue 1. Routine Organization a. Roll Call i) Present: Cappello, Conrado, Marchetti, Nugent (via phone), Schuck, Stansky, Shah ii) Absent: none iii) Staff: McCormick b. Review of minutes. – Conrado/Stransky moved to approve minutes from the November 12, 2014 meeting. Motion Passed (4-0-1-2). Ayes: Conrado, Marchetti, Nugent, Stransky. Noes: None. Absent: Shah. Abstain: Cappello, Schuck c. Posting of Agenda – Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2, the agenda was properly posted on December 4, 2014. d. Oral Communications – i. Mayor Lo sent the Chair an email thanking the HPC for their preservation efforts. ii. Lynne Stephenson told the Chair she was happy about the heritage tree nomination and would like to see a book produced highlighting Saratoga’s heritage trees. iii. Newly elected Councilmember Mary-Lynne Bernald told the Chair that the City is setting up a joint training (Architecture 101) with the City Council and Planning Commission. More info will be announced later. iv. HPC member Conrado has been receiving calls about what can be done architecturally (e.g., an addition) to the “Woodley House” which is currently for sale. e. HPC direction to staff regarding non-agendized communications – Staff to provide more information (as available) on the Architecture 101 training. 2. New Business – a. Village Gardeners liaison. Conrado/Shah moved to elect HPC member Cappello as the HPC liaison to the Village Gardeners who are working on the “American Bloom” contest. Motion Passed (6-1-0-0). Ayes: Cappello, Conrado, Marchetti, Nugent. Schuck, Shah. Noes: Stransky Absent: none. Abstain: none. b. Old Grandview Ranch - Commissioner Stansky will contact the owner to potentially set up a site visit. Page 2 of 3 c. 2015 Goals. The HPC discussed the following goals for the coming year, including short term goals (now through June 30, 2015) and long term goals (July 2015 – June 2016) to be presented to the City Council in February. i. Add properties to the City’s Heritage Inventory including Landmark and Mills Act Properties. Update DPRs as needed. ii. Add new trees to the Heritage Tree list. iii. Community outreach efforts (e.g., social media, resource links/FAQs on the website) iv. Develop new tools, tours, and training for evaluating heritage resources in the City. v. Develop an HPC Handbook of HPC procedures and goals vi. Big Basin Way evaluation of structures with historic value to the community. 3. Old Business a. Community Outreach. Chair Nugent and Commissioner Stransky discussed proposed efforts for 2015, including social media. The HPC asked Staff to provide information regarding what is appropriate communication from the Commissioners b. Training Topics / Tools of the Trade. i. The Heritage Evaluation Form provided by Rina is intended for Big Basin Way only. ii. Historic Tour – Cappello/Marchetti moved to approve the $500 budget for Archives and Architecture to lead a two-hour of Big Basin Way on February 10, 2015. Motion Passed (6-1-0-0). Ayes: Cappello, Conrado, Marchetti, Nugent. Schuck, Shah, Stransky. Noes: none. Absent: none. Abstain: none. c. 2014 HPC Workplan / Goals Status. The HPC completed the following in 2014: i. Landmark / Mills Act Properties – added 15095 Fruitvale Avenue (“Fair Oaks”) and sent invitation letters for Landmark status to seven owners. ii. Heritage Inventory – added 14474 Oak Place to the Heritage Resource Inventory iii. Heritage Trees - 26 trees were added to the Heritage Tree Inventory iv. Historic Street Names – the HPC pre-approved a list of street names v. Community Outreach – the HPC participated in Arbor Day and events with the Saratoga Historical Foundation, updated the City’s website with educational information for the public, elected a liaison to the Saratoga Historical Foundation and the Village Gardner’s group. d. Heritage Tree Inventory workplan – The following update was provided from the HPC members working with the relative homeowners. This agenda item will be placed under action items for discussion until an application has been signed by the owner and submitted to the Arborist for a site visit. i. Aloha Oak. Commissioner Marchetti indicated that the owner intends to submit the application soon. ii. West Valley College. Chair Nugent sent President Brad Davis an email & application but hasn’t heard anything yet. iii. Casa Tierra. This property is for sale. The application will need property owner approval. Commissioner Stransky has nominated the following trees: 1) Bitter Orange tree (from the Vatican garden in Rome); 2) Kiwi tree (first in North America according to a local nurseryman); 3) Gingko tree (gift seedling from China by Yehudi Menuhin); Page 3 of 3 4) Olive trees (from original Rancho Quito Olive Farm owned by Edward Goodrich) 4. Landmark List workplan – The owner of the “Sam Cloud Hay & Feed Warehouse” at 20640 Third Street has requested the HPC hold off on the Landmark recommendation because the property is currently for sale. This agenda item will be placed under action items for discussion until a nomination has been accepted and signed by the relative owner(s). 5. Action Items for Discussion / Update (No staff memo): a. John Henry House – There was no update to report. 6. Commissioner Comments – The Commission would like to consider plants/gardens (e.g., cactus on Bountiful Acres) for the Heritage inventory. This would require an update of the City Code. Staff to provide the city’s definition of a “heritage tree” at the next meeting. 7. Adjournment In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you are a disabled person and you need a disability-related modification or accommodation to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 868-1269 or ctclerk@saratoga.ca.us. Requests must be made as early as possible and at least one full business day before the start of the meeting. Any recommendation made by the Heritage Preservation Commission may be appealed to the Planning Commission within ten (10) days of the date of the decision. The appeal shall be taken by filing with the Secretary of the Planning Commission a written notice and filing fee within ten (10) days of the date of the decision. In accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act, copies of the staff reports and other materials provided to the Historical Preservation Commission by City staff in connection with this agenda are available at the office of the Community Development Department Director at 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, California 95070. Any materials distributed by staff after the posting of the agenda are made available for public review at the office of the Director at the time they are distributed to the Planning Commission. CERTIFICATE OF POSTING OF AGENDA I, Cindy McCormick, Planner for the City of Saratoga, declare that the foregoing agenda for the meeting of the Heritage Preservation Commission was posted and available for public review on December 4, 2014 at the City of Saratoga, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070 and on the City’s website at www.saratoga.ca.us