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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-09-1993 HPC Minutes CITY OF S~t~,TOGA HERITAGE PRESERVATION COIqLMISSION MINUTES DATE: Tuesday, March 9, 1993, 9 a.m. PLACE: Warner Hutton House TYPE: Regular Meeting ROUTINE ORGANIZATION A. Roll Call Presents Davis, Fine, Koepernik, Peck, Feeperi, SaDin Absent: ansnes Guests= Ray Sinsley, Jack Brown, Frank Dutro, Roger Griffin Staff: Secretary White, Planner Dias, Director Curtis B. Approval of Minutes of 2/9/93 The minutes were approved as submitted M/S Fine/Peepari C. Posting the Agenda Pursuant to Government Code $4954.2 the agenda was posted at city Hall on Friday, 3/5/93. D. Oral and Written Communications Ray Sinsley addressed the Commission pertaining to problems he was experiencing in trying to move the adobe wall adjacent to Casa Tierra. He found that the portion of the wall that had been constructed with cement was difficult to dismantle and, as a result, most of the adobe bricks were broken and rendered unusable. He also indicated that he had a certified adobe expert, Gil Sanchez, examine the wall and give his opinion as to the prospects of saving bricks. A letter was submitted from Gil Sanchez, FAIA regarding this examination along with a plan for a proposed alternative that involved a combination of a reconstructed wall and a good neighbor fence. II. OLD BUSINESS 1. Heritage Preservation Incentive Program and other items for the March 23 joint meeting with the City Council (Continued from February 9, 1993). The Commission discussed the various ideas that had been proposed when the program was originally prepared. The focus of the discussion concerned fee waivers and reduction, streamlining the approval process and direct City involvement, such as using City funds to acquire or rehabilitate historic resources. Staff indicated that details of these topics would need to be discussed at the upcoming joint meeting with the City Council. The Commission also requested other items to be discussed at the joint meeting: a. Signage to mark the entrance to the Heritage Lane portion of Saratoga avenue. Discussion to include construction and funding. b. Discussion of separate accounting mechanisms for the proceeds from the Heritage Inventory book. These proceeds would aid in funding future Heritage Preservation projects such as the creation of an informational brochure and the reprinting of the Heritage book. Discussion should also resolve the question of the location of the funds raised from the historic house tours. 2. Distribution of the Heritage Inventory Book and a discussion of pricing and availability. The book was distributed and well received by the Commission. The Commission discussed pricing and asked staff to research the price of comparable publications in the area and to find out about reprinting costs. The Commission felt that the various historical museum bookstores should be contacted to see if they would sell the book. 3. Review and discussion of revised Heritage Inventory notification letter (Continued from February 9, 1993). Commissioner Davis accepted the remarks of the Commission and agreed to prepare another draft for review at the next meeting. 4. Discussion of signage on the Heritage Lane portion of Saratoga Avenue (Continued from February 9, 1993). Commissioner Sabin provided photos of various signs in San Jose and Saratoga for means of comparison. He also distributed a cost breakdown of the San Jose signs. Given the current budget crisis, the CommiSsion felt that this matter should be discussed with the City Council to determine what funding, if any, was available. III. NEN BUSINESS 1. Proposed reconstruction of a portion of the MaClay Cottage, 20900 Big Basin Way. The CommiSSiOn approved of the proposed remodel of a section of the home but requested staff to verify that the proposed materials where compatible to the original house. 2. Proposed second story addition to an existing one story building located at 20369 Park Place. The Commission expressed concern over how this addition would alter the nature of the home and that once completed the home would probsJ~ly not meet the inventory criteria. Despite this concern, the general consensus of the Commission was that the design was sympathetic to the existing house and that the retention of the one car garage was the best solution, given the size of the rear yard and the fact that this arrangement was common to homes of this era. ITEMB INITIATED BY THE COMMISSION 1. Frank Duffs and Roger Griffin introduced themselves as aDplicants for the soon to be vacant seat on the Commission. They gave brief stmuaaries of their experiences and indicated why they wanted to be on the Commission. 2. Planning Director Curtis joined the meeting to take part in a discussion of the adobe wall matter brought up by Ray Sinsley under oral communications. Director Curtis explained that staff had been made aware of this problem sometime earlier and that they had been working with Mr. Sinslsy to come to some solution. One possibility that had been discussed with Mr. Binsley was to dismantle the appropriate sections of the wall and rebuild a lower wall, in the approve4 location, with the bricks that are usable. The relocated wall sections could be stepped down, starting at the front curved section, thus preserving the historic appearance of the wall from the street. The Commission asked if the owner of Casa Tierra had been advised of this option. The director indicated that Daryl Boyle had been advised and agreed to a wall that was no lower than eleven brick courses high as opposed to the fourteen course height of the existing wall. The Director indicated that some new bricks may have to be imported to complete this plan. These new bricks could be incorporated into the base of the wall, which would be screened by the future vegetation. The Commission was unanimous in its agreement that this was a logical and reasonable option and asked the Director to pursue this course of action with Mr. Slnsley. V. ADJOU~NT The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 a.m. to Tuesday April 13, 1993 at 9 a.m. hpcmmar