HomeMy WebLinkAbout20200304• MINUTES OF THE
HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY
March 4, 2020
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The Historic District Commission held a meeting on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in Room
2001 of the Washington County Administration Building, 100 West Washington Street, Hagerstown,
Maryland. Members present included: Tom Clemens, Ann Aldrich, Edie Wallace, and Vernell Doyle. Also
present were Ex -officio County Commissioner Jeffrey Cline; and Jill Baker, Director and Debra Eckard,
Administrative Assistant with the Washington County Department of Planning & Zoning.
MINUTES
The minutes of the February 5, 2020 meeting were passed by acclamation.
NEW BUSINESS
Leitersburq Ruritan Club Community Center [P2019-1125]
Mr. Norm Morin of Bushey, Feight & Morin and, George Souders and Bruce Baer of the Leitersburg
Ruritan Club presented a permit application for a proposed community center on 13 acres of land at
21427 Leiter Street. The community center will host a large gymnasium, a meeting room for the Ruritan
Club, a meeting room for Boy Scouts, a large kitchen and public restrooms. A firewall will separate the
gymnasium from the meeting room area because there is not an adequate water supply for a sprinkler
system. The building is of non-combustible construction. A 30,000 gallon water tank will be installed to
provide for drinking water and fire suppression water on -site. Mr. Morin briefly described the structure and
the materials used in construction.
Discussion and Comments: Ms. Baker explained that per the Zoning Ordinance, this site is located
within a designated historic Rural Village. Therefore, the Historic District Commission is granted the
authority of architectural review for new construction to ensure that new buildings will fit into the context
and character of the existing historic rural village.
Members were impressed by the design and how well it fit into the rural area.
Motion and Vote: Ms. Doyle made a motion to approve the permit based on the structure's compatibility
with the character of the Leitersburg Rural Village.The motion was seconded by Ms. Wallace and
unanimously approved.
Discussion of Demolition Application Process
Members expressed their disappointment that the Planning Commission canceled the joint workshop
meeting scheduled for later in March. Ms. Baker believes there were misconceptions and
misunderstandings about the role that each Commission plays in the demolition process and the proposal
previously presented to the Board of County Commissioners. She gave a brief overview of the discussion
held by the Planning Commission members and encouraged the HDC to move forward with this task
because it is one of the Commission's main priorities.
One issue that was discussed was the time schedule for reviewing demolition permits and the possibility
of changing the meeting day for the HDC from the first Wednesday to the third Wednesday of each
month. This would allow for a shorter period of time from the HDC's decision to getting the demolition
permit to the Planning Commission. Ms. Aldrich expressed her concern that when a demolition permit is
approved, there needs to be enough time allowed to document the historic resource (i.e. photographs,
measurements, re -purposing materials, etc.). Members briefly discussed ways to rectify the
misconceptions and misunderstandings with the Planning Commission. Ms. Baker noted that one of the
Planning Commission's concerns is making the demolition permit process too long. This could adversely
affect development due to financing and other time -sensitive constraints for the developers. Another
concern shared by one of the Planning Commission's members was "weaponizing the Ordinance" for
"special interest groups" to further their agenda.
The Commission discussed prioritization of the County's historic resources, why the resource is important
to the County, how to notify owners of what they have and the resources to help preserve the historic
structures Other points of discussion were related to publicity of historic preservation, grants to help
preserve historic resources, and how to proceed with the demolition permit process,
Mr. Clemens clarified, for the record, that no member of the HDC contacted Nicholas Redding of
Preservation Maryland in connection with the article related to 55 W. Oak Ridge Drive (former Review &
Herald Publishing).
Appointments
Ms. Baker reminded members that during the February 5th meeting, two applicants were presented to the
Commission for consideration. A third applicant has applied since that time, After a brief discussion, the
Commission nominated, as its first choice, Mr. Gregory Smith, Other nominations, in no particular order,
were Mr. Michael Lushbaugh and Ms. Emily Conrad, These nominations will be forwarded to the County
Clerk's office.
ADJOURNMENT
Ms. Wallace made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. and it was so ordered by the Chairman.
Respectfully submitted,
Jill L Baker, Director