ASHLAND HISTORIC COMMISSION

Meeting Minutes                    

February 4, 2009

Community Development/Engineering Services Building – 51 Winburn Way – Siskiyou Room

CALL TO ORDER – REGULAR MEETING, 7:00 pm

Historic Commissioners Present: Dale Shostrom, Terry Skibby, Allison Renwick, James Watkins, Sam Whitford, Henry Baker, Tom Giordano, Keith Swink, Alex Krach

Absent  Commission Members: 

Council Liaison: Eric Navickas, absent

High School Liaison: None Appointed
SOU Liaison: None Appointed
Staff Present: Planner: Angela Barry; Clerk: Billie Boswell; Planning Manager: Maria Harris; Senior Planner: Brandon Goldman

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Mr. Whitford moved to approve the minutes of the December 3, 2008 meeting.  Mr. Giordano seconded the motion.  Mr. Swink and Mr. Krach abstained since they were absent from the meeting.  The minutes were approved unanimously by the remaining commissioners.

PUBLIC FORUM:   There being no one wishing to speak, Chairman Shostrom closed the Public Forum.

NEW BUSINESS: 

A.     Lithia Park Historic Drinking Fountain – Don Robertson, Parks Department Director, explained that the drinking fountain near the lower Duck Pond, dating from the 1920’s, had deteriorated and was not working.  The stone monument, that supports the drinking fountain and the E. K. Anderson memorial plaque, was also crumbling apart.  A donor has offered to pay to replace it with a new frost-free and ADA compliant fountain and add their own memorial plaque.  Mr. Skibby said that E. K. Anderson was an important historical figure in Ashland and was involved in the original Ashland Mill.  The Commissioners suggested capping the top and leaving the stone memorial and plaque in place and installing the new fountain nearby.  Mr. Robertson said “stand alone” memorials that are not functional are prohibited in Lithia Park but this one could be considered “grandfathered”.  He said he would review and take the comments back to the Parks Commission.

B.     Peace Wall Art on City Hall – Melissa Markell, Public Arts Commission Chair, introduced the Arts Commission members present.   Chairman Shostrom asked about the new Public Arts Commission master plan and asked Commissioner David Wilkerson to clarify their policies and procedures.  Chairman Shostrom also reviewed with the Historic Commissioners the new Public Arts Commission ordinance and the Type 1, Conditional Use Permit process they would apply for to get approval on the Peace Tile wall project being developed.  Contractor, Darrel Boldt, artist, Jean Bakewell, and tile artist, Sue Springer described the project to create tiles from the peace flags that had been designed for the Railroad fence prior to being removed due to vandalism.  The proposal was to attach the 200+ tiles to backer boards designed to be mounted to the wall in a band at eye level between the windows, doors and signs on the plaza side of City Hall,creating a permanent public art display.  The Historic Commissioners unanimously supported the tile display but the majority did not feel bolting them to City Hall was appropriate or represented good stewardship of the historically significant building.  A couple of the Commissioners did feel the display could enhance the building if mounted in a less jumbled manner incorporating a more linear geometric pattern.  Several alternative locations were discussed such as in the plaza or on the side of another, less significant building façade.

C.     Sign Code Revisions – Brandon Goldman, Senior Planner, reviewed proposed changes to the Ashland Sign Code, highlighting the changes that could affect the businesses in the historic districts most significantly.  He asked the Commissioners to evaluation the impact of the changes and make recommendations to the Planning Commission.  Upon review of potential sign changes the Historic Commission reached consensus that Public Art should not be regulated as signs under the land use code, however they expressed that the selection of art or locations within Historic Districts should consider Historic Commission recommendations in the process. The Historic Commissioners recommended that there be a formalized process by which public art installed on contributing historic buildings within the historic districts is reviewed by the Historic Commission for historic compatibility and appropriateness. The majority of the Commissioners were OK with signs painted directly on buildings; however, Mr. Skibby had some concerns with signs painted on unpainted brick or stone walls.  The majority were agreeable to the provision allowing small 3-D signs to be installed downtown when reducing the allowable exempt sign area as proposed. 

D.     Waterworks Landmark Plaque – Ms. Barry showed the new Waterworks Landmark marker that George Kramer received to replace the original one that disappeared off the Lithia Fountain in the plaza.  It was suggested that it be reinstalled in a ceremony during Historic Preservation week in May.  There was discussion on possibly engraving it to give credit to those instrumental in the restoration of the fountain.  Ms. Barry said she would talk to Mr. Kramer about a ceremony.

E.     2009 Historic Preservation Week – Ms. Boswell reviewed the nomination spreadsheet and nomination forms with the Commissioners.  The Commissioners also agreed to send out invitations to all Ashland property owners registered on the Oregon National Register list and invite them to hold an open house tour during Historic Preservation week.

OLD BUSINESS:

A.     Review Board Schedule

B.     Project Assignments For Planning Actions – No new projects.

C.     Single Family Residential Design Standards – No report

COMMISSION ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA – Mr. Giordano updated the Commissioners on the Aesthetics Advisory Committee’s meeting with ODOT regarding some preliminary goals for the Exit 14 and Exit 19 overpasses.  He shared that there is a strong feeling that these exits are the gateways into Oregon from California and need to be highlighted.  The plan is to combine vegetation and artistic elements with the structural design.  There was also a need to address good separation between vehicle, pedestrian and bike traffic.  Mr. Giordano said there would be a site visit conducted on Wednesday, February 11^th.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The next Historic Commission meeting will be on March 4, 2009 at 7:00 pm in the Siskiyou Room.

ADJOURNMENT

It was the unanimous decision of the Commission to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 p.m.