Agendas and Minutes

Historic Preservation Advisory Committee (View All)

Regular Monthly Meeting

Agenda
Wednesday, September 06, 2000

ASHLAND HISTORIC COMMISSION
Minutes
September 6, 2000

 

 EARLY MEETING WITH STEPHEN POYSER

At 6:00 p.m. in the Community Center, Stephen Poyser, Certified Local Government Coordinator and Planner for the State Historic Preservation Office, met with the Ashland Historic Commission, historic preservation consultant George Kramer, Jacksonville City Administrator/Planning Director Paul Wyntergreen, Jacksonville Planner Scott Tull and a member of the Jacksonville Historic Commission. Ashland Historic Commission members present included Terry Skibby, Bob Meiser, Keith Chambers, Dale Shostrom, Vava Bailey, Joan Steele and Kay Maser. Also present were Associate Planner Mark Knox and Secretary Sonja Akerman.

Poyser explained the National Park Service, of which all the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) are subsidiaries, requires all SHPOs to have preservation plans that are revised every four years. He said he is currently in the process of revising Oregon's Historic Preservation Plan that was adopted in 1996. In doing this, he is gathering opinions and ideas from historic commissions and societies throughout the state. The Plan needs to be adopted by the end of the year. Poyser will be compiling information gleaned from the meetings he has had throughout the state into a draft Preservation Plan that will be distributed by the end of next month. The final draft will be adopted by the State Historic Advisory Committee, then forwarded to the National Park Service. Poyser stated the Plan is an in-house guideline for SHPO and used as a strategic planning document. SHPO hopes all jurisdictions will also use the Plan in this capacity. Additionally, he reminded everyone to use SHPO as a source to get information and also to get information out to others.

In discussing the goals of the Historic Preservation Plan, Poyser stated they are all interrelated and no goal has priority over another. The group talked about the goals and objectives as time permitted and offered comments for the revised Plan. Because time did not allow for discussion of all goals, Poyser asked everyone to please look at what is important for the Plan, then send him comments. This meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

The SHPO web site address is www.prd.state.or.us. This will go to the Oregon State Parks home page. Just scroll down to the State Historic Preservation Office icon and click.

CALL TO ORDER (REGULAR MEETING)

At 7:43 p.m., the meeting reconvened and Chairperson Terry Skibby called the regular meeting to order. Members present were Terry Skibby, Gary Foll, Bob Meiser, Vava Bailey, Joan Steele, Dale Shostrom, Kay Maser and Keith Chambers. Also present were City Council Liaison Cameron Hanson, Associate Planner Mark Knox and Secretary Sonja Akerman. Member Jay Leighton was unable to attend the meeting.

INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBER

Skibby officially introduced Bob Meiser as the new Commission member.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Steele moved and Bailey seconded to approve the August 2, 2000 minutes as submitted. The motion was unanimously passed.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

Planning Action 99-088
Conditional Use Permit
159 North Main Street
Jon and Carmen Reinhardt

Meiser declared a conflict of interest because he has been working with the Reinhardts on this application.

Knox explained this application is for two Conditional Use Permits. The first is a request to expand the traveler's accommodation from four to five units. The second is to expand a non-conforming structure, which will house the additional unit. The applicants have operated this business for 16 years and there have been no complaints in that time. The extra space will enable them to expand their business and their personal space. The main house is an exemplary example of a Craftsman home and was built in 1913. This was most likely the date of construction of the secondary structure also, and has an addition that was built probably in the 1930s. The proposed second story addition will have lines similar to the main house and what is existing, and will be five feet above the existing roof line. Due to the recent vacation of the alleyway in the rear of the property, the structure with the proposed addition is now 91/2 feet from the property line. The required setback for rear yards is 10 feet per story. Since this is a relatively small addition, however, Staff feels the expansion is appropriate.

Knox further explained the parking lot currently accommodates six cars. Staff has asked for more of a buffer between the parking area and the street. The applicants have proposed reducing the number of cars in the lot to five and stacking their two cars by the rear building. They will also install a retaining wall on the north property line and put up a new fence. Bike parking will be moved under the stairwell in the rear of the main house. Knox related Staff is recommending approval of this proposal with six conditions.

Skibby commented the parking area improvements will be a plus with the new configuration, more landscaping and a solid fence. The line of cars will not be noticeable when coming down Bush Street and the parking area will not detract from the historic residential area.

Chambers asked about the vacation of the alley. Knox replied the City Council vacated it so it is no longer an alley; it does not go through. He added that although the City rarely likes to eliminate public rights-of-way, this was approved. A pedestrian easement, however, was retained. This area is not subject to fire codes.

Bailey said she was still concerned with the parking area and asked how the parked cars could be seen less. Knox said parking will be more consistent (i.e. all straight, not angled), and added the idea is to take an existing situation and make it better. The stacked cars will be the owners and from the street, only the rear of one of these cars will be visible. Maser asked about the material that will help buffer the parking area. Carmen Reinhardt responded they were required to install grass pavers when they were first approved in 1984. Unfortunately, this area is only green in the winter. Maser then inquired if any type of surface could be used on the vacated portion of the alley and Knox said yes because it is now private property. Skibby asked for clarification of the pedestrian easement. Knox said the easement is five feet and there is currently a fence at the other end. When the Methodist Church develops its property, the fence will be removed to open up the easement. C. Reinhardt further explained this easement is on the neighbor's portion of the vacated alley. Also, regarding the asphalt on the alley, she said the City required it 16 years ago. They own half the access, which is the vacated alley, and their adjacent neighbor owns half. This is access to both their properties. Concerning more landscape buffering for the parking area, Jon Reinhardt stated the hedge can grow more, plus there is an existing 35-40 foot birch tree that shades this area. He added he would not object to planting another bush or tree if required. Bailey commented if the bushes encroached more, the area would be more in keeping with the historic residential sense of the area. J. Reinhardt explained one of the reasons the neighbor requested vacation of the alley was that his fence encroached 16 inches into the right-of-way. Also, by vacating the alley, the neighbor will be able to rebuild a structure in the same footprint. The existing building is metal and will be rebuilt as a wooden garage structure. He will also put up a nice fence and re-landscape that area. C. Reinhardt remarked their proposed project will enhance rather than detract from the area.

Shostrom stated that in looking at the east elevation, the upper level deck rail seems too high at five feet. Meiser said this is for privacy because of its location to North Main Street and the yard area of the B & B. A Japanese tub will be installed in the new unit and the high rail will give the visitors seclusion. Shostrom said that from a historic standpoint, it seems a bit overwhelming and would limit the view from this unit. He understands the need for privacy, but wondered if this could be done differently. Meiser agreed and said perhaps a sliding barrier could be used. Meiser also stated the rails for the decks will be solid to match the main house. Shostrom asked if the roofline in the south elevation will wrap around and Meiser said it would. Shostrom then asked if there would be a problem in keeping the roof pitches the same. If the ridge were left the same, more headroom and interior space could be gained. Meiser and the Reinhardts agreed.

J. Reinhardt asked the Commission if it would look best to replace all the siding to match the house. The Commission concurred the siding should match the existing portion of the building and that it was not necessary to match it to the house.

Foll stated the applicants have done a wonderful job of maintaining this property and it is a real asset to the community. He is not so concerned with the parking area, but does feel the slope of the rooflines should be the same. Chambers said he is in favor of the project. Shostrom complimented the owners and Meiser on the recent addition to the house. He noted he would like to see conditions added to this application to ensure the roof pitches will be the same and that the rail height on the upper deck be reduced to 36 inches. He also commented there might be a better location for the tub. Steele and Bailey agreed with Shostrom. In addition, Bailey said she would like to see the driveway cut narrowed with a little more greenery. Maser and Skibby also agreed with previous comments.

Knox read two conditions that would be incorporated into the Findings for this proposal.....7) That prior to issuance of a building permit, the applicants submit a revised landscaping plan for the 8 foot planting strip adjacent to Bush Street that identifies the method of "additional" screening for the rear parking area. 8) That prior to issuance of a building permit, all recommendations of the Ashland Historic Commission be met. Such recommendations include the redesign of the upper story roof pitches (west elevation) to match existing and the railing/enclosure on the second story deck (north elevation) be lowered to match the lower level railing.

Steele moved and Shostrom seconded to recommend approval of this application with the additional conditions as stated by Knox. The motion was unanimously passed.

BUILDING PERMITS

Permits reviewed by members of the Historic Commission and issued during the month of August:

249 "A" Street

Ashland Hardware

Storage/Roof/Porch Enclosure

48 Gresham Street

Dennis Donahue

Addendum

155 Granite Street

Rod & Sue Reid

Addition

299 Gresham Street

Jonathan Landes

Deck

249 "A" Street

The Dog House Restaurant

Sign

60 North Main Street

Plaza Printing

Sign

REVIEW BOARD

Following is the September schedule for the Review Board, which meets every Thursday from 3:00 to at least 3:30 p.m. in the Planning Department:

September 7

Skibby, Steele and Maser

September 14

Skibby, Leighton and Foll

September 21

Skibby, Steele and Meiser

September 28

Skibby, Meiser, Shostrom and Bailey

OLD BUSINESS

Project Assignments for Planning Actions

PA# 99-062

Van Ness Avenue

Foll

PA# 99-102

141 Lithia Way

Shostrom

PA# 99-108

340 Oak Street

Shostrom

PA #2000-038

361 Scenic Drive

Shostrom

PA #2000-039

410 Siskiyou Boulevard

Skibby

PA #2000-052

220 Fourth Street

Shostrom

PA #2000-074

15 South Pioneer Street

Skibby

PA #2000-088

159 North Main Street

Bailey

 

NEW BUSINESS

CLG Commissioners' Training Meeting on September 28 in Vancouver, Washington

Knox related he will be driving up to Vancouver for this conference and invited members to join him. Since the Commission is now a Certified Local Government (CLG), there is enough money in the budget for travel and lodging for these educational opportunities. He also passed out information on the Oregon/Washington Heritage Conference, which will be held September 28-30, also in Vancouver. He will be going to some of those sessions also.

Update on Travel Itinerary Project for National Register Web Site

Steele reported Ashland's web site will not be completed until February of 2001. The National Register Coordinator for the program needs actual photographs rather than digital photos and they would also like more commercial sites. Skibby will be taking the photographs.

ADJOURNMENT

With a motion by Shostrom and second by Chambers, it was the unanimous decision to adjourn the meeting at 9:08 p.m.

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