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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20221102MINUTES OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY November 2, 2022 The Washington County Historic District Commission held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the Washington County Administration Complex, 100 W Washington Street, Room 2001, Hagerstown, MD. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Commission members present were: Greg Smith, Chairman, Lloyd Yavener, Vernell Doyle, Michael Lushbaugh, Kourtney Lowery, Ann Aldrich and Brianna Candelaria (arrived at 7:10 pm). Staff members present were: Washington County Department of Planning & Zoning: Meghan Jenkins, GIS Coordinator and HDC Staff member. MINUTES Motion: Ms. Aldrich made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 5, 2022 meeting as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Yavener and unanimously approved. NEW BUSINESS Permit 2022-05384 Ms. Jenkins presented a construction permit application for a 1,848 sq. ft. finished one-story modular dwelling on a full unfinished basement with a covered front porch and an open rear porch. The property is located at the corner of Maryland Avenue and Chestnut Avenue in the Pen Mar Rural Village and was part of the original Crout's Hotel. The site was the subject of a zoning appeal in January 2022 (AP2022- 002) for the proposed use of a Bed and Breakfast within a single-family dwelling. The zoning appeal was granted. Ms. Jenkins presented drawings showing the color and trim proposed for the dwelling. She noted that the site does not contain any existing historic resources. Architectural styles in the Rural Village vary as do the setbacks; the proposed construction is consistent with styles and setbacks nearby. Motion and Vote: Ms. Aldrich made a motion to recommend support of the approval of Permit 2022- 05384 based on the proposed construction's consistency with the County's Design Guidelines for Historic Structures, the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and Section SD.5 Architectural Review as listed in the County's Zoning Ordinance based on details provided in the Staff Analysis of the project. Her motion also included granting staff the authority to approve any future permit for the rear deck contingent upon the proposed deck being comparable in size as displayed on the current plan and the railing and trim are consistent with the side porch as shown on the current plan. The motion was seconded by Ms. Doyle and unanimously approved. Permit 2022-0679 -18840 Sandyhook Road Ms. Jenkins presented a permit application for the construction of a 725 sq. ft. wrap -around deck addition to a newly constructed 1,120 sq. ft. single-family dwelling at 18840 Sandyhook Road. The property is located in the Sandy Hook Rural Village. Motion and Vote: Mr. Yavener made a motion to recommend support of approval of the addition alteration/porch-deck-slab permit 2022-05464, due to the proposed construction's consistency with the County's Design Guidelines for Historic Structures, Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and Section 5D.5 Architectural Review as listed in the County's Zoning Ordinance based on details provided in the Staff Analysis of this project. The motion was seconded by Mr. Lushbaugh and unanimously approved. OLD BUSINESS Historic Property Incentives Ordinance Draft Members began a review of the draft of the Historic Property Incentives Ordinance. This draft has been sent to the County Treasurer's Office for review and comment. After the Commission completes its review, the Draft will be sent to other County agencies such as the County Attorney's Office. Review began with the Recitals section. There was discussion regarding the language in this section, Ms. Aldrich expressed her opinion that the language should be changed in order to include all historic properties recognized in the County, not just those in designated zones. Ms. Jenkins noted that being on the MIHP is not enough because this is not regulatory. The structures need to be in areas where the HDC has review authority, such as a Rural Village, Historic Preservation zone, or the future overlay area. There is also a large gap in the MIHP inventory through the years and some of the structures are not documented in enough detail. Members suggested removing the word "specified" from the title of the document if it is not legally required. In reviewing the Purpose Section, Ms. Aldrich suggested identifying the MIHP in the Purpose statement for clarity to include a broader number of structures. Again, remove the word "specified". Expand the definition of "ordinary maintenance". The review moved on to the Historic Preservation Areas. Ms. Jenkins noted the Establishment of a Historic Preservation Area. This is a new program which would be modeled after the County's Ag Preservation program. This would be a voluntary program for owners to receive tax credits and would not apply in municipalities because the HDC does not have review authority in those areas. Review authority in the municipalities could be changed in the future. Ms. Jenkins gave a brief overview of the differences between the Historic Preservation Areas and the Historic Preservation overlay zone. Upon reviewing Section 3.02 Procedures for Historic Preservation Areas, it was suggested that language be added to include a public hearing process in Section 3.02c if the Planning Commission recommends approval. Section 3.04 - Should the term building permit be included in the Definitions? Possibly change to just say "permit". Section 3.04(g) the word "shall" should be changed to "may". Mr. Yavener suggested this change in case there would be some egregious issues encountered. Section 3.05 — Outbuildings should be included in the list of structures for review. Section 3.08c — second line replace the word "will" with "shall" and add reimburse the County for all the property taxes..... (Change 308d to reflect the same change) Section 3.09 — Ms. Jenkins explained there are levels of agreement to include no demolition of structures or alterations of the exterior of structures. Members suggested a specified percentage for each section 3.09a and 3.09b. There will be a tax credit limit of $3,000 per year. Section 3.10 — Ms. Jenkins has asked the County Attorney's Office regarding multiple tax credits on a property. Additional comments and changes were noted by Ms. Jenkins using track changes in the document. Members should send their corrections and other comments to Ms. Jenkins via e-mail. We will continue with the review at the December meeting. OTHER BUSINESS Staff Report Ms. Jenkins provided a written report of staff reviews for the previous month. Ms. Jenkins is proposing another HOC training to utilize the CLG funds that we still have available. She will be sending out a poll to members for availability. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Lushbaugh made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:35 p.m. The motion was seconded by Ms. Candalaria and so ordered by the Chairman. UPCOMING MEETING The next meeting is scheduled for December 7, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jill L.'Baker, AICP, Director Washington County Dept. of Planning & Zoning