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HomeMy WebLinkAbout200205 - Minutes, Planning CommissionMINUTES OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY February 5, 2020 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Historic District Commission held a meeting on Wednesday, February 5, 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 Motion and Vote: Ms. Aldrich made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2020 meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Wallace and unanimously approved. NEW BUSINESS Demolition Permit — Leitersburq Pike Two, LLC [2020-00284] Ms. Baker presented a demolition permit application for property located at 19773 Leitersburg Pike. The owners are proposing to demolish a 5,640 square foot, two-story single-family dwelling. Ms. Baker stated that the house has been used by one of the local volunteer fire companies as a training facility. She explained that the property owners are interested in expanding the commercial site that sits behind the house. Discussion and Comments: Commission members asked if there have been any discussions with the property owners about rehabilitating and re -using the structure. Ms. Baker stated there has not been any discussions with the property owners. Members expressed their opinions that using the structure as a training exercise would be a form of aggressive demolition and believe that the permit should have been applied for before the training exercise. Motion and Vote: Ms. Aldrich made a motion not to oppose the demolition permit application and recommended that the structure be documented with photographs before it is demolished and that materials be repurposed as much as possible. The motion was seconded by Ms. Doyle and unanimously approved. OTHER BUSINESS Discussion of Demolition Application Process Mr. Clemens stated that he and Ms. Aldrich attended the Planning Commission meeting on Monday, February 2"d, and discussed the recommendations of the HDC and the Historic Advisory Committee made to the demolition permit process. Discussed at that meeting was the extension of the time to allow for salvage, recordation of historic resources, etc. and the increase in the violation fee from $100 to $1000. Ms. Baker noted that the Planning Commission is concerned with unintended consequences of these proposed changes. Planning Commission members wanted to know the criteria used for reviewing demolition permits and what types of things the Commission feels is significant (besides the age of the structure) or important for saving a specific resource. One Planning Commission member stated that just because a house is old, doesn't make it historic. 1 Ms. Baker believes that some clarification of the proposal needs to be addressed with the Planning Commission. First, the violation fee for demolition without a permit and the one-year waiting period before a construction permit is issued would apply to ALL illegal demotion, not just for historic resources. Ms. Baker believes that language needs to be included that would target persons who are illegally demolishing structures with malice or disregard for the process. The Planning Commission was very much opposed to the extension of time being proposed, especially for economic development projects. The County encourages economic growth and development projects; and, therefore, these projects are moved through the process as quickly as possible while still following proper procedures. The Commission discussed ways to focus on the preservation of historic resources and educating people on how to integrate historic resources in a development. One source for providing this information is the County's Comprehensive Plan, which is currently being updated. Examples could be cited in the Plan to promote the integration in terms of heritage tourism and overall community value. Ms. Aldrich asked how historic landowners can be involved in the Comprehensive Plan process. Ms. Baker stated that when the draft Comp Plan is ready, the County will hold town hall style meetings in some of the municipalities which will be advertised through the County's PR department and the newspaper. Ms. Aldrich asked how the HDC could help to identify targeted historic clusters, such as the Manor Church area, Beaver Creek area, etc. in order to talk to people in these areas specifically about the Comp Plan. Ms. Baker believes that we need to identify the areas and prioritize. Ms.Wallace asked if language could be added in the Comp Plan to recommend that the historic sites inventory be updated on a regular schedule. Ms. Baker stated that could be part of the recommendation and implementation process in the Plan. Ms. Baker listed ways in which we can be proactive, such as the tax credit brochure currently being produced by the Historic Advisory Committee and its distribution to entities around the County, such as real estate agencies, tourism centers, etc. Another approach is a targeted mailing to property owners where historic resources are currently located. Ms. Baker stated that she would draft a letter to send with the tax credit brochures in a mailing. Ms. Wallace expressed her concern that the targeted mailing will not reach everyone who would be eligible for the tax credits. There was a discussion regarding the age of the county's historic sites inventory. The last inventory was done in the 1970's and contained only those structures which were 100 years or older at that time. There are many other structures now that are 100 years or older that would qualify for the inventory. There was a brief discussion about funding to update the historic sites survey. Consensus: The HDC recommends that the County's historic sites inventory be updated. Ms. Baker will investigate funding through MHT. Prioritization and public outreach are two more proactive approaches that can be taken. The County can help provide media blasts through its Public Relations Department. News articles or newsletters could be used as well. Mr. Clemens noted that Pat Schooley had a monthly column in the newspaper that people really enjoyed. He suggested that perhaps others would be interested in writing articles and getting them published to attract attention to historic resources. Ms. Aldrich stated that the Washington County Historical Trust would like to publish the 150+ articles written by Mrs. Schooley that were not published in her first book, "Treasures of Washington County". Commissioner Cline suggested contacting WDVM television for feature spotlights on historic resources and using social media. He also suggested educating realtors on the importance of historic resources and opportunities available for tax credits for people wanting to purchase a home in the county. Ms. Doyle stated that the Historic Advisory Committee has discussed having a "preservation fair". There was a brief discussion regarding legislation to stop demolition permits on historic resources. Ms. Baker stated she would need to discuss this matter with the County Attorney. Ms. Baker stated that the demolition permit process proposal will be taken back to the Planning Commission next month for more discussion. 2 Update on 55 West Oak Ridge Drive Ms. Baker stated County representatives met with the developer of 55 West Oak Ridge Drive. She reiterated to the developer the HDC's desire to have documentation and photographs of the structures before they are demolished and the possible re -purposing of materials. She stated that someone has contacted the County with a great interest in getting the timbers from the barn. The developer seems very receptive to the request. The developer is also considering an open day for a specific number of people to come to the property to take photographs and salvage materials such as the woodwork, windows etc.; however, they would give the County government the right of first refusal. Safety and liability issues are being explored and discussed. The developer is hoping to settle on this property in June. Appointments Ms. Baker explained that there are two vacancies currently on the Commission and the County Commissioners are trying to fill all Board/Commission vacancies. Five applicants were contacted; however, only two of those applicants are still interested in serving on the Commission. This item will be brought back to the Commission at the March meeting for recommendations to be made to the Board of County Commissioners. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Aldrich made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. The motion was seconded by Ms. Wallace and so ordered by the Chairman/ Respectfully submitted, I Jill L. Baker, Director 3