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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Cultural Resources Preservation Committee 01/30/2018 7(7 E CITY OF PALM DESERT riel BUILDING & SAFETY DEPARTMENT bilk isV7f INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM To: Rachelle Klassen, City Clerk From: Suzanne Cicchini, Administrative Secretary Date: September 25, 2018 Subject: Submission of Approved Minutes for the Cultural Resources Preservation Committee Meeting/Public Hearing held on January 30, 2018 Attached is a copy of the January 30, 2018 Minutes of the Cultural Resources Preservation Committee Meeting approved by the Committee on September 25, 2018. Please include on the next City Council agenda. Thank you Attachment G\BldgSfty\Suzanne CicchmnWord Files\Cultural Resources Preservation Committee\Meeting Items\2018 09 25 Memo-City Clerk-Minutes 01-30.18.doc CITY OF PALM DESERT I 4 ►� CULTURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMITTEE rips la itig ` Minutes January 30, 2018 Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Director of Building and Safety, Russell Grance called the meeting of the Cultural Resources Preservation Committee to order at 9:10 a.m. Committee Chair Pam Williams resigned on January 16, 2018. Vice Chair Thomas Mortensen was absent. II. ROLL CALL Present: Absent Paul Clark Thomas Mortensen Kim Housken Don Graybill K. Gary Olesen Also Present: Susan Marie Weber, Mayor Pro Tem Merilee Colton, Palm Desert Resident/Palm Desert Historical Society Board Member Russell Grance, Director of Building and Safety Suzanne Cicchini, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS MERILEE COLTON, Salt Cedar Street, Palm Desert resident and Palm Desert Historical Society Board Member, shared that she and her husband, self-described mid-century modern fanatics, moved to Palm Desert in 2012. She noticed houses in Palm Springs, while on Sunday drives, that looked like the homes in her neighborhood. Her research about these homes is included in three editions of the Palm Desert Historical Society's newsletter, the Hourglass. She brought copies for the Committee. She wrote an article about the developer, J.C. Dunas. He developed the South Palm Desert, non-contiguous tract of over forty homes, Purple Hills Estates. Principally, there are the cul-de-sac homes on Salt Cedar, Goldflower and Tamarisk, and there are quite a few on Shadow Mountain. Other homes are scattered around. These were built in the early 1960's. There was a Palm Desert Improvement Association that was the adjunct to the Palm Desert Sales Company. Former Committee Member, Bob Pitchford served on the architectural review committee they had. The Purple Hills Estates plans were refused because they did not want any tracts. The Palm Desert Sales Company sold these anyway. J.C. CULTURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 30, 2018 Dunas was a partner with George Alexander in Palm Springs of the Ocotillo Lodge, Vista Las Palmas and Twin Palms and other developments. He got George Alexander started in the business. Mr. Dunas was building homes in Los Angeles and Orange County in the 1940's. He financed a small group of homes called Purple Hills Estates. The builder was Torrey Spannagle. This builder started his career as an actor in movies with Clark Gable in the 1920's. The architect, Charles Elwin Du Bois projects included the Swiss Miss homes in Vista Las Palmas, and all the houses in the North Vista Las Palmas and Canyon Estates. A young man came into the Palm Desert Historical Society to inquire about a Purple Hills home he bought. He was delighted to learn that it was a Charles DuBois house. No paper work exists at the City or County of Riverside that far back in time. When taking possession of the home, they found the building plans. Mrs. Colton mentioned that she had a copy of the plans. These were scanned for the record. She mentioned the Woodland Hills DuBois and Eichler owners groups. These active owners share renovation tips and ways to keep the original style of the homes on Facebook. Committee Member Kim Housken inquired if the plans are archived anywhere. Mrs. Colton noted that most of the information about him is in Los Angeles County. Born in 1903, he was a generation older than architect, William Krisel and others that were working at the same time such as Architect, Don Wexler in Palm Springs. Mrs. Colton noted his projects included a lot of custom homes in Beverly Hills, and Bel Air, and for celebrities such as Michael Jackson. Committee Member Paul Clark requested that Mrs. Colton point out the general location of this community on a map, and she did. Not every single lot was purchased. For example, two or three homes were built in a row, and then a lot would be skipped, and so on. The facades were slightly changed to make the homes appear more custom. Discussion commenced about the homes. The homes were built in the 1960's during a 5-6 year time frame. Committee Member Paul Clark mentioned that the rule of thumb is that if the home is greater than 50 years of age, it's viable to be considered a historic structure, if it meets other criteria. Mrs. Colton found it interesting that there were people who were so prominent in Palm Springs working in Palm Desert at the same time. Mr. Clark inquired if the Architectural Committee Minutes for these were held by the Palm Desert Historical Society. Ms. Colton noted that the Historical Society has quite a few, and former Cultural Resources Preservation Committee Member, Bob Pitchford has the rest in his papers. The Historical Society hopes to acquire those. Committee Member Kim Housken added that it was interesting when the different firms Charles DuBois worked for are mentioned, such as Hank Gogerty. Mrs. Colton confirmed that he did have a connection here. He was in the desert as a young man, two or three decades later. Ms. Housken pointed out that he was known for designing schools and that he built the Desert Airpark in Rancho Mirage. It's where Rancho Las Palmas is now. Committee Member Paul Clark observed that there are a lot of homes and buildings that most people might not realize have historical value. Mrs. Colton noted the generosity of Torrey Spannagle. He spearheaded the construction of a new wing at Angel View. It took two years with donated labor and materials. The information Mrs. Colton provided is available in the Palm Desert Historical Society's newsletter and Committee Member Kim Housken suggested that these would be nice for the Cultural Resources G\BIdgSfty\Suzanne Cicchini\Word Files\Cultural Resources Preservation Committee\Minutes 2018\2018 01 30 Minutes.docx Page 2 CULTURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 30, 2018 Preservation Committee's archives. Mayor Pro Tern Susan Marie Weber acknowledged that the Palm Desert Historical Society is fortunate that Bob Tyler is working on their wonderful newsletter. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 12, 2017 Committee Member Paul Clark and Committee Member Kim Housken questioned the bold, underlined and italicized areas of the Preliminary Minutes included with Wayne Longman's comments. Discussion commenced that it should not be included. Clarification and correction was needed. Per Russell Grance, Director of Building and Safety, the bold, underlined and italicized areas were removed and replaced with a statement for clarification at the bottom of the comments in brackets: [The local historic landmark application under review by the Cultural Resources Preservation Committee is a different application than the one referred to by Mr. Longman, which was prepared by the Historical Society of Palm Desert for a national historic designation.] Motion was made by Committee Member Paul Clark to accept the Minutes with clarification and correction, as needed. Committee Member Kim Housken seconded the Motion. Motion carried. All accepted with Housken, Olesen, and Clark voting AYE; none dissenting. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR FOR 2018 Russell Grance, Director of Building and Safety announced that there was an email from Committee Vice Chair Tom Mortensen offering to be nominated for the position of Committee Chair. Committee Member Kim Housken informed that traditionally, following the protocol that someone moves up, and is willing to accept the nomination, even though he is not here today. Committee Member Kim Housken nominated Thomas Mortensen for the Committee Chair position for 2018. Motion was made by Committee Member Kim Housken to nominate Thomas Mortenson, current Committee Vice Chair for the 2018 Committee Chair position. Committee Member Paul Clark seconded the GlBIdgSftytSuzanne Cicchini\Word FileslCuttural Resources Preservation CommitteelMinutes 2018\2018 01 30 Minutes.docx Page 3 CULTURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 30, 2018 Motion. Motion carried by 3-0, all accepted with Housken, Olesen, and Clark voting AYE; none dissenting. Russell Grance, Director of Building and Safety called for Vice Chair nominations. Motion was made by Committee Member K. Gary Olesen to nominate Committee Member Paul Clark to the 2018 Vice Chair position. Committee Member Kim Housken seconded the Motion. Motion carried by 3-0 with Housken, Olesen, and Clark voting AYE; none dissenting. Committee Member Kim Housken thanked Pam Williams, 2016 and 2017 Committee Chair, even though she is not here, for serving us well for two years. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VIII. OLD BUSINESS A. UPDATES: PROGRESS OF POTENTIAL DESIGNATIONS Russell Grance, Director of Building and Safety announced that the City Council voted unanimously to nominate and give local designation to the Miles C. Bates house. It is a huge step forward. We are all happy about that. Committee Vice Chair Paul Clark inquired if the national register status is still progressing in Sacramento. Merilee Colton, Board Member for the Palm Desert Historical Society offered that on February 2nd it will be heard at the State Level. Mr. Clark inquired if it was the State Historic Preservation Commission. Mrs. Colton confirmed that. She mentioned that the consultant is giving the media some more information and is in constant contact with the staff. She did the designation for the Walter S. White designed home for Dr. Franz Alexander in 2015 in Palm Springs. The consultant mentioned to Mrs. Colton that there was extreme interest in this little house. Letters and emails could still be sent in advance of the meeting. Committee Vice Chair Paul Clark inquired where the meeting will be held. Mrs. Colton confirmed it will be in Sacramento. Discussion commenced. Russell Grance Director of Building and Safety announced that since Mark Greenwood is no longer the Public Works Director, we have an Interim Public Works Director. Mr. Grance thought it would be prudent to wait until we have the permanent Director on board to move forward with the Palm Tree. Committee Member Kim Housken inquired about the plaque for the Miles C. Bates house. Mr. Grance informed that it was ordered. Ms. Housken wanted to know where it will be placed. Mr. Grance responded that it would be decided during a field visit. It should be visible from the street, but not in a location where G:\BldgSfty\Suzanne Cicchini\Word Fles\Cultural Resources Preservation Committee\Minutes 2018\2018 01 30 Minutes docx Page 4 CULTURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 30, 2018 the new owner may want to relocate it. The new owner can relocate it, but he would prefer to have it mounted once. Ideas for plaque mounting and locations were discussed but not finalized. Committee Vice Chair Paul Clark took over the meeting and asked if there was any other business. IX. REPORTS AND REMARKS Committee Vice Chair Paul Clark announced that he was speaking before the Palm Desert Historical Society at the Portola Community Center, on February 23, 2018. Committee Member Kim Housken informed that it's a Friday Night lecture and the next meeting of the Historical Society. Mr. Clark will be discussing the subject of outdoor motorcycle recreation in California. The tentative title is: The Rise of the Gasoline Cowboys. The Early History of Motorcycle Recreation in California. He will discuss the time period from 1900 to just around World War II, and the early development of the motorcycle. There were a couple of motorcycle races that went through the valley before the war here. Most of his discussion will deal with Los Angeles, and points to the West. The transition that motorcycles represented going into the horse and buggy era into the 20th century, the reactions and how it affected people will be covered. Mr. Clark got involved with motorcycle history in 1978, as a graduate student of History at Cal State Fullerton. He participated in a project, interviewing people about recreational activities in the California desert. Motorcycles were a big part of it. After that was completed he went on to do other things and history got put on the back burner. He went to work for Riverside County Planning, but after retirement, he joined The Westerners, an organization that meets in Los Angeles once a month. Mr. Clark announced that Steve Lech will be speaking at the Historical Society in March, 2018. Mayor Pro Tern Susan Marie Weber mentioned that Mr. Lech came to the last Historical Society Friday night lecture to hear Phil Briganti. It was wonderful and the room was packed! Merilee Colton announced that the Historical Society is partnering with the City of Palm Desert on two Modernism Week activities: an open house at the Miles Bates House on February 17-18th, and Volker Welker's lecture on Miles Bates on 2/17/18 at UCR. The Historical Society is independently mounting an exhibition of Walter White's work, at the Joslyn Center 2/15/18—2/25/18. Details and dates are on the website. Committee Member Kim Housken sought volunteers for help at the open house and the exhibits at the Joslyn Center. There was a fantastic turn out in October. There was a concern about crowd control because the open house will be well attended. Discussion commenced about the upcoming events, and encouraging potential applicants to apply for this Committee and the Palm Desert Historical Society Board. Susan Marie Weber, Mayor Pro Tern mentioned that she is really happy that this committee is really taking off. It matters so much. Paul Clark, Committee Vice Chair thanked everyone for being at the meeting. He requested a motion to adjourn. G\BldgSfty\Suzanne Cicchini\Word Files\Cultural Resources Preservation Committee\Minutes 2018\2018 01 30 Minutes docx Page 5 CULTURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 30, 2018 Motion was made by Committee Member Kim Housken to adjourn the meeting. Committee Member K. Gary Olesen seconded the Motion. Motion carried by 3-0 with Housken, Olesen and Clark voting AYE; none dissenting. X. ADJOURNMENT The Meeting was adjourned at 9:57 a.m. 6:-cc_Y/U-L Suzanne Cicchini, Recording Secretary G.\BIdgSfty\Suzanne Cicchmi\Word Files\Cultural Resources Preservation Committee\Minutes 2018\2018 01 30 Minutes.docx Page 6