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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-09-2019 HPC MinutesPage 1 of 3 SARATOGA HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES April 9, 2019 8:30 AM REGULAR MEETING Linda Callon Conference Room, City Hall | 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070 1. Site Visit(s): None 2. Call to Order: Chair Marilyn Marchetti called the meeting to order at 8:30 AM 3. Roll Call- Present: Chair Marilyn Marchetti, Vice Chair Dr. Jo Rodgers, and Annette Stransky Absent: Alexandra Nugent and Rina Shah Staff: Nicole Johnson, Planner II, Sandy Baily, Special Projects Manager, John Cherbone, Public Works Director and Kate Bear, Senior Arborist 4. Oral Communications None 5. Approval of February 12, 2019 minutes Nugent/Rodgers moved to approve the minutes. Motion passed. Ayes: Marchetti, Rodgers and Stransky. Noes: None. Absent: Shah and Nugent 6. Commission Items This matter was scheduled as Item 9 but moved to Item 6 by Chair Marchetti to update the Commission regarding their joint meeting with City Council as it pertained to items on this agenda. Marchetti noted that all the HPC items on the workplan were approved and that Council stated the update of the Heritage Orchard Master Plan was their top priority and the Commission and City staff will work together to accomplish this. The Commission noted that the upcoming orchard tour needed to be videotaped. Marchetti said she could do the videotaping. Commission tentatively set the tour for April 29th and staff will confirm with the absent Commissioners and other parties involved of their availability for that day. Commission discussed proceeding with four point of interest markers. Rodgers brought up the code amendments and commented that their draft is close to ready to go to Council. Nicole Johnson advised the HPC not to submit the proposed code amendments at this time and reminded the Commission that the Council requested that the process for the amendments be presented to them first for Council consideration regarding next steps. Page 2 of 3 7. New Business: a. Blossom Festival – HPC discussed working shifts and setup. b. Arbor Day -HPC discussed starting time, location of event at Gardiner Park and set up. Stransky and Rodgers said they would attend c. National Preservation Month – HPC confirmed events to include in Council’s proclamation which is scheduled for May 1, 2019. d. Village Design Guidelines – Nicole Johnson provided a background summary of the Village Design Guidelines and noted that the verbiage was previously reviewed by the HPC and approved by Council and that the matter before the HPC was to review the illustrations. Commissioner Stransky commented that the illustration on Page 24 which used cobblestone was misleading and should be changed to a material used in the Village. Rodgers noted that she had found several grammatical inconsistencies within the document. The HPC confirmed that although the wording has been approved by Council it was important that the Planning Commission and Council be made aware of the inconsistencies prior to the document being finalized. Johnson requested that the grammatical comments be forwarded to her. The HPC also questioned the revised boundaries of the Village and requested staff to confirm the actual boundary. e. Heritage Orchard Master Plan Update – Nicole Johnson referenced the time line flow chart and discussed that it would be helpful to setup subcommittees to handle specific tasks. It was agreed that subcommittees should be established on an as needed basis. HPC discussed moving up the timing of the items in the flow chart and to use specific dates. Time line will be reassessed in June. Chair Marchetti suggested that Commission should review other heritage orchards and she volunteered to research the Sunnyvale orchard. Commissioner Stransky volunteered to research the Los Altos orchard and Commissioner Rodgers volunteered to research the County orchard. John Cherbone and Kate Bear requested that the Commission consider the following items during their research regarding how the jurisdictions manage their orchard. The information will assist staff in preparing the RFP for Council in September regarding the contract for maintenance. • What do the cities do with the harvested fruit? • How do they handle herbicides, pesticides and fungicides? • Is the health of the tree more important than the amount of the yielded fruit? • What is grown in the orchard? • How many trees are in the orchard? • What is the size of the orchard? Chair Marchetti requested that the Commission be provided with a copy of the last RFP. Member of the public, Norm Koepernick, commented that it doesn’t matter what other jurisdictions do, Saratoga should do what is best for Saratoga in preserving the orchard for the next 100 years. Koepernick recommended that the Commission should also Page 3 of 3 contact the people at the Farm Bureau. Koepernick stated that he is very concerned with the preservation of the orchard and wants to be involved in the process. Koepernick stated that he is helping Matt Novakovich, current caregiver of the orchard, however he can and that the Commission needs to consider the cause and effects of what is proposed. The importance of the orchard is equivalent to Hakone Gardens and Villa Montalvo. Koepernick commented that there are pros and cons for incorporating educational buildings within the orchard. Matt Novakovich noted that it was important to understand that microclimates will be different in other jurisdictions. 8. Staff Comments: a. County Grant – Staff informed the Commission about the release of a Santa Clara County historic grant program. Staff will be attending the technical workshop and will provide further updates to the Commission. 9. Old Business: a. Project Status Update – Sandy Baily updated the Commission regarding the Project Status Worksheet and requested the Commission to determine if the HPC should proceed with the three properties where the owners have requested to not have their properties included on the heritage resource inventory. This matter was continued to the next meeting to allow the Commissioners time to independently look at the site to determine if there is merit to proceed with the process without the property owners consent. The HPC asked for updates to the status and location of the salvaged materials of the Grover House and to include updates on the project status worksheet. 10. Adjournment Chair Marilyn Marchetti adjourned the meeting at 10:04 AM. Minutes respectfully submitted: Nicole Johnson, Planner II City of Saratoga