HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-21-1988 HPC Minutes CITY OF SARATOGA
HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION
MINUTES
DATE: Wednesday, September 21, 1988 - 3:00 p.m.
PLACE: Warner Hutton House, 13495 Sousa Lane, Saratoga
TYPE: Regular Meeting
I. Routine Organization
A. Roll Call
Present: Commissioners Held, Cameron, Landsness, Ansnes,
Mitchell
Absent: Voester, Koepernik
Staff: V. Young, L. Welge
Public: Mrs. Colyar, John DiManto, Bill Heiss
B. Approval of minutes of 9/7/88
M/S Mitchell/Landsness to approve the minutes of 9/7/88 as
submitted. Passed unanimously, Cameron abstaining.
C. Posting of Agenda
Pursuant to Government Code 54954.2, the agenda was posted
at City Hall.
D. Oral and Written Communications
Secretary Young noted that she had been asked by current
planning staff to convey to the Commission that the
Administrative Draft of the EIR for the subdivision of the
Oddfellows property (San Marcos Heights) had been
submitted. They wanted input from the Commission on the
old farm structures on the property, which are in a state
of disrepair and are proposed to be demolished. There was
concensus to agendize this for the next meeting, with each
Commissioner making an effort to visit the property before
then.
V. Young also distributed the proclamation for Arch
Brolly's farm to be issued by the Council this evening,
and information on the State Historic Building Code
workshop this Friday. She also handed out a copy of the
memo from the Heritage Commission to the Planning
Commission on the Paul Masson tile mosaic. The Commission
suggested some minor wording changes.
Heritage Preservation Commission Minutes - 9/21/88
Page 2
II. New Business
A. Application for Heritage Resource Designation - 18390
Ravenwood Drive (Brandenburg House)
V. Young made a brief staff report. Mrs. Colyar, owner
and applicant, was present to answer questions, noting
that the application form was complete in and of itself.
She briefly described the ownership history of the house
and the rehabilitation work she and her husband had done.
Chairman Heid referred to the findings that must be made,
and noted that the house met the selection criteria for
inclusion on the Heritage Resource Inventory.
Commissioner Ansnes expressed her appreciation to the
Colyars for their participation in the designation
program.
M/S Landsness/Cameron to accept the application and
recommend to the City Council approval of the designation
because the property meets criteria (a) and (c) of Section
13-15.010 of the City Code for designation of a heritage
resource. Motion passed unanimously.
V. Young told Mrs. Colyar the application now would be
forwarded to the City Council for approval; she would
notify Mrs. Colyar of that date.
B. Review planning application for subdivision in the
vicinity of Madrone Hill and Peach Hill Roads.
V. Young gave a brief staff report, noting that the
Heritage Commission was being requested for input on this
project because it involved the rock work which was on the
Inventory preview list.
John DiManto, owner, and Bill Heiss, project engineer,
described the project in detail, emphasizing that the goal
was to preserve as much of the rock work as possible. The
road will follow its present alignment, with some
modifications for fire protection purposes. They noted
that the walls were built between 1924-1932 with rock from
Knight's Ferry in the Sierra foothills.
The Commission expressed appreciation at the opportunity
to review the project and commended Mr. DiManto for his
commitment to preserving the special ambiance of the site.
They felt that Lot #2 was the most sensitive in terms of
the building site location. Mr. DiManto noted that the
fountain area and the foot bridge would be preserved. He
further stated that all repair work and new rock
construction would be done by special craftsman to match
Heritage Preservation Commission Minutes - 9/21/88
Page 3
the new with the existing. He showed a record of survey
of the property, a title report back to 1924, and an early
promotional sales brochure dating from the 1920's-30's.
There was Commission consensus to direct the Secretary to
prepare a memo to the Planning Commission supporting the
preservation of the rock work, suggesting that it be
incorporated into the project as much as possible, that
some provision be made for ongoing maintenance of the rock
work, and that the residences proposed for Lots 1, 2 and 3
be sensitively designed to incorporate the rock work into
the site plan and house design.
C. Discuss revised application form for Heritage Resource
Designation.
V. Young briefly reviewed the form, noting that it was
done in conjunction with the request from Commissioner
Voester to send follow-up letters to Heritage Resource
Inventory properties. Commissioners approved of the new
form, and agreed to hold over discussion on this item
until Commissioner Voester returned from vacation.
III. Old Business
A. Warner Hutton House - sign
Commissioner Mitchell noted that volunteer coordinator
Carrie Deane found people to make the sign, and that it
should be installed by mid-October.
B. Publication of Heritage Resource Inventory
There was general discussion on the type of publication to
use and the associated costs. Commissioner Ansnes offered
to do more research on this, and V. Young will bring
samples to the next meeting. Commissioner Landsness noted
her lack of time to do the photographs; there was
consensus to pursue using a volunteeer in this capacity.
Commissioner Mitchell will follow up.
IV. Items Initiated By Th9 Commission
Commissioners Heid and Mitchell initiated discussion on the
role and purpose of the Heritage Commission, especially in
light of completion of the Inventory. There was a general
feeling that the public perception of preservation was
improving because of the good response to the Inventory.
There was also consensus that now the Commission needed to
work on incentives to offer owners of historic properties.
Heritage Preservation Commission Minutes - 9/21/88
Page 4
V. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Valerie You~g~
Secretary to Commission