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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