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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-01-09- HSPB minutes CITY OF PALM SPRINGS HISTORIC SITE PRESERVATION BOARD MEETING Minutes of Meeting -Tuesday, January 9, 2007 Large Conference Room, City Hall, 3200 East Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, California 92262 BOARD MEMBERS Present This Meeting Present Year-to-Date FY 2006-2007 Excused Absences To-Date Sidney Williams, Chairperson X 8 0 Jade Nelson, Vice Chair X 6 2 James Hayton X 7 1 John Williams 0 7 1 Harold “Bud” Riley X 8 0 Brian Strahl X 6 0 STAFF PRESENT: Craig Ewing, Director of Planning Loretta Moffett, Administrative Assistant Ken Lyon, Associate Planner * * * * * 1. The HSPB regularly scheduled meeting was called to order at 8:17 a.m. on January 9, 2007 by Chair Sidney Williams. 2. ROLL CALL: Present: S. Williams, J. Nelson, B. Riley, B. Strahl, J. Hayton Absent: John Williams 3. REPORT OF POSTING OF AGENDA: This Agenda was available and posted in accordance with state and local procedures for public access at the City Hall exterior bulletin board and the Department of Planning Services counter by 4:00 p.m. Thursday, January 4, 2007. NOTE: Audio Cassettes and DVDs of HSPB Meetings are available for review. Cassettes will be kept for six months only. DVDs of the meetings will be kept indefinitely. Minutes format is more action related than verbatim except where special interest or special meetings are involved. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: December 12, 2006 M/S/C (Riley/Hayton) moved that the December 12, 2006 Minutes be approved as presented. (6 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent, 0 Abstentions) 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS: (3 minutes) : Michael Stern, Palm Springs, read from a statement in support of designating the former Santa Fe Federal Bank building at 300 South Palm Canyon Drive to a Class 1 Historic Site stating that it is “one of the great buildings in Palm Springs and should be protected.” (copy of read statement attached) Dana Stewart, Palm Springs, spoke about the condition of downtown Palm Springs because of too many development projects stating that “this town is getting bulldozed to death.” Robert Imber, Palm Springs, read from a statement in support of the former Santa Fe Federal Bank building at 300 South Palm Canyon Drive being nominated for designation to a Class 1 Historic Site and “urged the Board to defend and protect this corner.” (copy of read statement attached) Historic Site Preservation Board Page 2 of 6 Minutes from the January 9, 2007 Meeting Peter Moruzzi, Chair of Palm Springs Modern Committee, stated that ModCom and members have tremendous interest in this important property and pointed out from the displayed drawings how the building at 300 South Palm Canyon Drive will be smothered by this inappropriate design. He urged the HSPB to carefully review this design and encourage Wessman Development to find a way to develop this property in a way that is respectful to the existing building and does not destroy the setting and the original design that is so important to Palm Springs. Gary Johns, Palm Springs, spoke in behalf of protecting the 300 South Palm Canyon Drive building and does not want to see anything “saddled” around it. This block of Palm Canyon has three buildings important to Palm Springs which could be marketed in a “walking tour” because many tourists visit Palm Springs seeking the architectural significance of the City. Arthur Keller, Palm Springs resident, stated that sometimes a building, or other site, is so worthy and significant that it should be protected. What is being proposed does change and compromise the context and he urged the HSPB to protect the building at 300 South Palm Canyon Drive. Roxann Ploss, Palm Springs resident for 37 years, stated that there is too much being crammed into downtown Palm Springs and that 4,300 people signed petitions in the heat of summer saying they wanted height guidelines for downtown. The Downtown Guidelines, at this moment, have not been approved, so to use those Guidelines to build what is being proposed for 300 Palm Canyon Drive is not appropriate. Board member James Hayton asked what the HSPB scope is for this project and what action the Board can take today. Staff explained that the materials presented today are part of a Pre-application by Wessman Development whereby staff and various boards and committees can provide constructive input to help the applicant understand the nature of where the City’s various departments, divisions, and board are coming from. A typical Pre-application is reviewed by ADA, Fire, Planning, Engineering, Building, etc. to give the applicant a sense of the types of things they might be confronted with when the actual Application is submitted. These materials were voluntarily submitted by Wessman Development and presented to HSPB for comments, ideas, etc. how to make this project a good one. There is no action that boards or commissions take on Pre-applications. Board member Jade Nelson asked if HSPB will be taking action on the existing building at 300 South Palm Canyon Drive if the Board chooses to do so? Staff advised that it is not on the Agenda today for action. The nomination process started at the December meeting, and staff has been working with the P.S. Historical Society to pull together historical information and to substantiate each one of those six properties. There is not enough information to bring to the Board on any of those six as yet. Frank Tysen, Palm Springs businessman, noted there is tremendous local support for maintaining the historic and architectural quality of Palm Springs. The design for 300 South Palm Canyon Drive comes from another project that is not selling – do not destroy this significant building. He urged the Board to take a strong position in protecting this building. PUBLIC COMMENTS CLOSED. 6. REPORT FROM THE CHAIR: Chairperson Sidney Williams stated that it takes a lot of work to write staff reports for all six buildings that were nominated for Class 1 Designation and asked Historic Site Preservation Board Page 3 of 6 Minutes from the January 9, 2007 Meeting Board members to assist in any way possible - provide materials, photos, background, and some historic writing. Staff reported that assistance is welcomed for research, defining the characteristics of each property, etc. Staff can be contacted after this meeting, by email to Ken.Lyon@palmsprings- ca.gov, or by telephone 760-323-8245. Information has been provided by Sidney Williams, PS ModCom, and others - - more is welcome. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS: NONE 8. CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL REQUESTS: NONE 9. OTHER BUSINESS: A. Hamrick House – Mills Act Contract, 875 West Chino Canyon Road – Recommendations to City Council. Staff reported that the Hamrick House owner has applied for a Mills Act Contract with the City. This Agreement is a mechanism which the City participates with property owners in preservation efforts. In exchange, the property owners, through the County Assessor’s office, receive a recalculation of their property tax rate for a potential tax reduction. These are ten-year rolling contracts with the basic incentive for the owners to keep their properties in good historic condition and receive a tax reduction for doing so. This application will eventually be heard by the City Council. The Board action today is to move to recommend that the Council enter into this Mills Act Agreement. M/S/C (J.Nelson/B.Riley) moved to recommend to Council that 875 West Chino Canyon Road, Historic Class 1 Site #50, be approved by Council for a Mills Act Contract with the City of Palm Springs. (5 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent, O Abstentions) 11. B. Pre-App 06-011 – (taken out of order) - Wessman Development proposing “Baristo Lofts’ residential lofts over existing parking (new subterranean parking for residents only) and over newly constructed retail building on a project site area of 29,620 s.f. at 300 South Palm Canyon Drive, (formerly known as Santa Fe Federal Bank building) Zone CBD, Section 15. Staff reported that this is a voluntary presentation by applicant. Normally a Pre-app does not come before the Board, but because this project has a significant building on it, applicant was invited to present this for Board input and comments. Please note that the project was delayed in coming before the Board and this project has since been presented as an Application to Planning Services. John Wessman, Wessman Development, explained the drawings and talked about the property from date of purchase to current development design being presented today. The project has been reviewed by the Architectural Advisory Committee. They did not like the vertical look, so it has been re-designed with horizontal lines. They also wanted to see the new building a foot higher to float over the existing building. Materials in the new project would be similar to those used in the 50’s and 60’s – not exactly the same so as not to copy the existing building. There will be 25 residential units, 4,200 s.f. of retail on level one on the Palm Canyon Drive side, and the existing building would become a restaurant. Board member James Hayton commented that “site” is the key to this proposal and asked how this “historic gem” is improved by having outlying buildings and appendages added? Mr. Wessman stated that the site is probably not being improved by adding another building to it, Historic Site Preservation Board Page 4 of 6 Minutes from the January 9, 2007 Meeting but when Mr. Williams designed the building for Santa Fe Federal Savings & Loan, they paid $200,000 for the site. Today the site would cost $3.5 million, possibly $4 million. The highest and best use would be to tear the building down, but the building is significant and the newly designed project is trying to save it and still complement the project. This building will continue to be significant and a show piece – nothing on this existing building is being touched and everything that can be done is being done to preserve it within this project. Board member Brian Strahl asked if the Board will review this again as an Application? The current design is overwhelming the existing building. The new building looks good, but is over- scaled for the site and the existing building. Director Ewing explained that the site (at present) has no historic status and is in the process of potential designation which will be a Council decision. Once Council makes a decision, staff will know the answer. If Council does not designate, there will be no further review by this Board. Board member Jade Nelson pointed out several items on the drawings and commented that the new project does not respect the existing building. He provided photos of the original interior and exterior that showed how important and significant the site and landscaping is to the original building. The building needs to stand alone and breathe – it is important to the architect, E. Stewart Williams and to the City of Palm Springs. Board member Bud Riley commended Mr. Wessman in bringing this forward and deferred further comment. 11. A. Review of Draft Ordinance Revisions Staff explained that its report was supplied to the members to confirm Board input from the Study Session at the November meeting during which recommendations for revisions were reviewed and worked on for the Municipal Historic Preservation Ordinance 8.05. The five issues were captured in the memo – staff briefly discussed. Staff asked for: (1) Does the Board concur with the information in this memo?; (2) Is this correct?; (3) Is the Board comfortable with what is being proposed?; If so, then it will be presented to a City Council session as a non-action item so the Board can receive information from Council members. Board member Brian Strahl felt the Board should have more time to review the contents of the memo before making a decision. He feels that the Board needs to take public comments and testimony before making recommendations to Council. Board member Bud Riley talked about “historic districts” and wants that to go to Council. Summary: Item 1 – Changes to 8.05.125 definition of Class 3 - Board agreed with the written text but did not want every little “like kind” item to come before them and stated that staff is capable of making those types of approvals. Item 2 – Penalties for Violations – Board agreed with written text with concerns that were discussed relative to willful demolition. Item 3 – Modifications to Plaque Program - Board agreed with written text with concerns that were discussed relative to who initiates the designation, obtaining grants, donations, request increased budget, etc. to pay for the plaques. National Trust and ModCom were suggested as plaquing sources, and there may be other organizations that could be approached. Mills Act could open a source because applicant will be receiving benefits. Importance of property for Historic Site Preservation Board Page 5 of 6 Minutes from the January 9, 2007 Meeting public information should be considered. Item 4 – Provisions for site inspections by Board members - Board agreed with written text provided by staff. Item 5 – Revisions to the public noticing requirements – Board agreed with written text provided by staff for the change to 400 feet radius of public noticing to be consistent with all other public hearing notices. Staff indicated this would be prepared for submission to City Council with the appropriate Board notes and concerns discussed and staff will report back with the Council’s concerns and issues. 10. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS: A. Media Outreach - John Williams John Williams was not in attendance. Staff reported that Rick, John, Jim, and Ken will meet to work out the details of the Channel 17 photo captions. B. Historic Site Plaques Update - Bud Riley Will write policy what a plaque should and can say and bring back to the Board. Will do an inventory of where they are, text, photos, etc. Brian Strahl volunteered to help. C. HSPB Brochure Project - Jade Nelson Still waiting for staff to complete the draft and to meet with staff to go over step-by-step. Staff reported that edits are concluded. D. P.S. Preservation Foundation - Jade Nelson The Preservation Foundation has shared photos for buildings that have been nominated for the Class 1 designation. Those will be given to staff to include in the packets. E. P.S. Historical Society - James Hayton Mr. Hayton did not renew membership. Chairperson Sidney Williams will report in future. F. P.S. Modern Committee - John Williams John Williams not in attendance. Chairperson Sidney Williams reported that Modernism Week starts February 16 and runs for 11 days. Palm Springs Modern Committee, Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, Architecture & Design Counsel, and Palm Springs Historical Society are working together for the events. Web site is www.modernismweek.com and all the activities will be on that website. Among activities is the Modernism Show at the Convention Center opening February 16 (brochures passed around). G. Architecture & Design Council - Sidney Williams The PS art Museum will have four events during Modernism week (brochures passed around), including Jade Chang lecture February 20, west coast editor of Metropolis magazine, “Sketches of Frank Gehry” film and reception February 22, “Design as Art” Symposium and reception February 24. More information on web site www.psmuseum.org 11. STAFF & OTHER REPORTS: Staff received correspondence from Chatten-Brown & Carsens, attorneys representing PS ModCom, regarding their scoping comments for the Spa Resort Casino Master Plan project. There is a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for a large redevelopment project that the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians are proposing at the Spa Resort & Casino. A copy is in the Board packet. The City also received a letter dated Historic Site Preservation Board Page 6 of 6 Minutes from the January 9, 2007 Meeting January 9 from William Kopelk, President of Palm Springs Preservation Foundation expressing concerns “about the density and concept mass” of the Wessman Development project for 300 South Palm Canyon Drive (Santa Fe Federal Building). A copy will be distributed to the Board. Information was provided for workshops being presented in Gilroy California. There was a project in the Oasis Commercial Building before the AAC January 8 regarding the “Okura” Restaurant. This was the second time before AAC and it was again sent back to the applicant for re-study. It is a high-end Japanese restaurant, would be taking over the space formerly occupied by the Ale House, and creates an enclosure around the northeast side of the building. The AAC felt that if a building is going to have street-side dining, it should be an engaging experience. The applicant was proposing a walled-off dining area. AAC asked that the design allow the existing openness to continue to be part of the design. 12. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS: Board member Brian Strahl expressed concern that a recent pamphlet included a Board member’s name and HSPB title. His concern was the appearance that it was sponsored and put out by HSPB, when the Board did not. HSPB members are involved in various organizations and it was a Board consensus that members act as private citizens and individually during their activities in other organizations. 13. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business it was moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 10:25 a.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Historic Site Preservation Board will be Tuesday, February 13, 2007 at 8:15 a.m. in the Large Conference Room. Respectfully submitted, Ken Lyon, Associate Planner Attachments: 1. Statement from Michael Stern 2. Statement from Robert Imber