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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Historic Preservation Committee OCTOBER 31, 2005\4 I . Y--,� I CITY OF PALM DESERT BUILDING & SAFETY DEPARTMENT INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM To: Rachelle Klassen, City Clerk c73�y - From: Mary C ar istrative Secretary f • 1 J CYN - Date: December 16, 2005 Subject: Submission of Approved Minutes for the Historic Preservation c: Committee Meeting of October 31, 2005 and November 4, 2005 0 > Special Meeting m Attached is a copy of the October 31, 2005 and November 4, 2005 minutes of the Historic Preservation Committee approved by the Committee on November 28, 2005. Please include on the next City Council agenda. Thank you Attachment G \BldgSfty\Mary Clark\Word data\hhstonc Preservation Committee\MlnutesWerno Minutes for Gty Counal.dot CITY OF PALM DESERT HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 31, 2005 Administrative Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Chair Kent Routh called the meeting of the Historic Preservation Committee to order at 10:05 a.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Jan Holmlund Kent Routh Jim West Bonnie Bowie Kim Housken Absent: Bob Pitchford - Excused Also Present: Amir Hamidzadeh, Director of Building and Safety Richard Twedt, Public Arts Manager Hal Rover, President Historical Society Mary Clark, Recording Secretary K. Kaufman, Reporter, The Desert Sun III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Committee Member Jim West moved to approve the minutes of the September 26, 2005 with corrections as follows: Subcommittee Report, Item 2., Item #57 — 74111 Covered Wagon Trail (Not 73265 Tamarisk); Item #58 — 73301 Pinyon St. (Not Ronald Williams House); Item #61 — add 73265 Tamarisk; Item #61 add Ronald Williams House; Item #63 — Henderson Office Building (Not 73957 Pinyon St.); and Individual Committee Member Report — Item #60 — 48220 Painted Canyon (Not #64 — 74180 Peppergrass); and replace that area with Cahuilla Hills. It was seconded by Committee Member Bonnie Bowie and unanimously approved 5-0. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS A. CHAIR REPORT — Kent Routh 1. Chair Kent Routh asked Hal Rover, President Palm Desert Historical Society, to speak on an upcoming event. Mr. Rover said that there is going to be an open house at the Hopalong Cassidy house on Joshua Tree, November 12, 2005, 1:00 — 4:00 p.m. He indicated he would like to G:\BldgSfty\Mary Clark\Word data\Histodc Preservation Committee\Minutes\Minutesl03lO5.doc HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Minutes OCTOBER 31, 2005 joint venture this event with the City of Palm Desert Historic Preservation Committee and the Historical Society. Mr. Rover said that the Historical Society would be doing most of the work but would like for the Historic Preservation Committee to lend their name to the open house. Action: Committee Member Jan Holmlund moved that the Historic Preservation Committee co-sponsor the open house at the Hopalong Cassidy home on November 12 between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Chair Kent Routh seconded the motion. It passed unanimously 5-0. Mr. Rover also informed the Committee that the there will be a rededication of the Vietnam Memorial at the Palm Desert Historical Society on November 11, 2005, and there will be several guest speakers. 2. Chair Kent Routh asked Amir Hamidzadeh, Director of Building and Safety, to address the request for demolition from the Palm Desert Lodge. Mr. Hamidzadeh informed the Committee that the Palm Desert Lodge called and indicated they wanted to demo the building and build a Walgreen's on the site. The developer was informed by the Redevelopment Agency and Planning to check to see if it was on the unofficial list or is a potential site for historic consideration. Mr. Hamidzadeh suggested to the Committee that they call a Special Meeting to discuss this item, and if it is determined to be of historic value make a recommendation to City Council. Committee Member Jim West informed the Committee that he had photos of this property and that on the two-story portion of the lodge it was made with block that is typical of the period and also decorative block, and it has an associated neon sign. The property has two parts —the front, which contains the two-story block portion, and the informal community arranged motel around the pool and is one of the early resort buildings in our City. It has been added to the unofficial site listing for further research. Two images of this property were also included in the book Palm Springs Weekend that documented the mid-century architecture in the Coachella Valley. Action: Committee Member Jim West moved that Chair Kent Routh establish as soon as possible a time when a special meeting can be called, and a special meeting will be called in order to review the facts of this case. Committee Member Jan Holmlund seconded the motion. It passed unanimously 5-0. After further discussion by the Committee members, it was determined that the developer be invited to an informational meeting to discuss the proposed demolition. After the informational meeting, then the Historic Preservation Committee would meet to determine if a recommendation should be made to the City Council, if the property is determined to be of historic interest. G:\BldgSfty\Mary Clark\Word data\Historic Preservation Committee\Minutes\Minutesl03lO5.doc 2 HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Minutes OCTOBER 31, 2005 It was decided that the Special Meeting would be scheduled for Friday, November 4, 2005, 10:00 a.m. B. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT Committee Member Jim West said that the recent issue of the Palm Desert Magazine has an article on Cahuilla Hills and features a discussion with the Mayor of Palm Desert. In addition, there is a copy of an original article from Randal Henderson's magazine talking about the same area. In addition, there is a future article coming about Sandpiper in January. 2. Committee Member Jim West said that Kim Housken found a complete, original set of Albert Frey drawings (in pencil) dated 1951 and 1952 for 73335 Grapevine Street. Protective copies were made and one set will be scanned so that it is in the City archives. 3. Committee Member Jim West commented that while worked on editing copy for the City's self -guided tour book he discovered that there is complete information now on both Albert Frey properties on Grapevine. 4. Committee Member Jim West said that Kim Housken went through the Sunspots magazine, which is associated with Shadow Mountain resort, and found pages and pages of the images of the original houses of famous people that belonged to the club. The list is now becoming more complete. 5. Committee Member Jim West said that besides the Palm Desert Lodge the other item that will be added to the investigation list is the Hanson Shopping Center, which started as 20 shops in 1957. 6. Committee Member Jim West said that the architecture is now under review for the walking tour book and a recommendation was made to remove the Darland house from the book because what is taking place on the outside of the house changes the character of the house. The Palm Desert Community Presbyterian Church will be added in place of the Darland house and is a very good example because it combines many different layers of our culture. 7. Committee Member Jim West encouraged the Historic Preservation Committee members to visit a web site called psmodcom.org and click on buildings and there is a background history of four of the major architects in the Valley. 8. Committee Member Jim West said that the College of Extended Learning, California State University San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus is offering a class on February 4, 2006, which will take a tour of mid-century G:\BldgSfty\Mary Clark\Word data\Historic Preservation Committee\Minutes\Minutesl03105.doc HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Minutes iM OCTOBER 31, 2005 properties, and Mr. West will be conducting part of the tour. He circulated a preliminary list of sites on the tour in Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage. 9. Committee Member Jim West mentioned that the investigation list would now have permanent numbers attached to each property, so that there is no confusion when looking at the lists. C. INDIVIDUAL COMMITTEE MEMBER REPORTS Committee Member Jan Holmlund said the Ordinance Subcommittee would be working on the ordinance this month. In addition, this will become a report item on the November agenda. OLD BUSINESS A. Chair Kent Routh reported that Committee Member Bob Pitchford has had serious health problems that may delay his visit to Santa Barbara for research purposes. B. Report on Riverside County History Symposium — Committee Member Jim West said that a copy of the power point presentation has been provided to Committee members in their packet. Chair Kent Routh said that the presentation was very thorough and explains the first year of the Committee and it pointed out all of the accomplishments of the Committee. Committee Member Jan Holmlund said that Jim West was invited to attend the conference in Riverside as a representative of the Committee. In his usual excellent way, he went beyond that and presented a power point program that is fitting as a report to the City of Palm Desert for the annual report. Ms. Holmlund has asked Mr. West if his power point presentation can be utilized as the basis for the annual report. Hal Rover, President Palm Desert Historical Society, commented that because he is on the Riverside County Historic Commission, he was in attendance at the Symposium and said that Mr. West did an excellent job and it was a very good power point presentation. Committee Member Jim West said an electronic copy of the presentation has been given to the Building and Safety Department for their records. It was suggested that this presentation be placed on the web after the presentation has been made to the City Council. C. Amir Hamidzadeh, Director of Building and Safety, said that it is becoming more critical as time goes by to have the Historic Preservation Committee ordinance revised. G:\BldgSfty\Mary Clark\Word data\Historic Preservation Committee\Minutes\Minutesl03105.doc HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Minutes OCTOBER 31, 2005 VI. NEW BUSINESS None VII. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None VIII. CONFIRM NEXT MEETING DATE AND ADJOURN The Historic Preservation Committee's next meeting is Monday, November 28, 2005, 10:00 a.m. in the City of Palm Desert Administrative Conference Room. Chair Kent Routh adjourned the meeting at 11:20 a.m. G:\BldgSfty\Mary Clark\Word data\Historic Preservation Committee\Minutes\Minutesl03lO5.doc HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Minutes NOVEMBER 4, 2005 Committee Member Kim Housken indicated there are some other lodges along Shadow Mountain and The Mojave and they are being redone as boutique hotels. However, she believes this is the last one on Highway 111 and the only one that she can think of that has the block structure. Tyler Carlson, Project Manager, Evergreen Real Estate Development, commented that the current property owners are going to maintain ownership and a significant interest in the property. Walgreen's will have a land lease. William Harper, property owner a few blocks from the lodge, speaking on behalf of his family, commented that this is one of the last remaining buildings of old Palm Desert. Jim Collings commented that the fact that the family still owns the building should not be an issue because this would be a favorable cash deal for them. He would encourage some alternative uses that would not increase traffic in the area. From his point of view, this is a family neighborhood and a 24-hour drive thru would not be desirable. Mr. Collings indicated he recognized this is an item for the Planning Commission. Emily Hemphill, Attorney, pointed out that the ownership of the property is not the issue, and it is not for the Committee to decide what is a better economic alternative for that corner. Ms. Hemphill said there is only one question and that is is it a historic building. Desire' Collings suggested that this building needs to be looked at because it was one of the first buildings in the City of Palm Desert. Roy DePaul suggested that possibly another operator could make is a viable business and retain the structure. Amir Hamidzadeh, Director of Building and Safety, asked if any applications have been submitted to the City. Emily Hemphill, Attorney, said that they had a pre -application meeting but formal applications have not been submitted. Madonna Marman referenced a book about preserving important buildings in a community. William Harper asked about future times to comment on this matter. Amir Hamidzadeh, Director of Building and Safety, indicated that if there were a recommendation from the Historic Preservation Committee a 10-day notice would be required before it goes to City Council, and there are several posting requirements. Therefore, this is not the last time for the public to comment. G:\BldgSfty\Mary Clark\Word data\Historic Preservation Committee\Minutes\Minutes110405SpecialMeeting.doc HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Minutes NOVEMBER 4, 2005 2. The Historic Preservation Committee took a short recess, and the meeting reconvened at 10:55 a.m. 3. Discussion by Historic Preservation Committee — Chair Kent Routh said that this portion of the meeting would for discussion, and that the Committee will not be able to make any recommendation for the Walgreen's project because more information is needed. Mr. Routh said that the Committee could provide architectural review since there is one practicing architect with a wealth of experience in the Coachella Valley as members of the Committee. Committee Member Jan Holmlund pointed out that Ordinance No. 401, Section 29.05.200 indicates that the public hearing shall be held within 45 days from the date of application. Ms. Holmlund asked Amir Hamidzadeh, Director of Building and Safety, if the application has been submitted to him. Mr. Hamidzadeh said that no application has been submitted to the Department of Building and Safety. Ms. Holmlund indicated that their recommendation needs to be made with more information on the specific site. Emily Hemphill, Attorney, asked for clarification on the application as to whether the Historic Preservation Committee has an application or is it the application that is submitted for the project. Chair Kent Routh indicated that it is the application that is submitted for the project. Committee Member Kim Housken expressed gratitude to the many people who attended the meeting and voiced their concerns and wanted to let them know that it isn't at the discretion of the Committee as to whether a Walgreen's belongs there. The Committee is looking purely at the historical significance of the site itself. Chair Kent Routh complimented K. Kaufman, Desert Sun, on a good job of accurately reporting on the issues for this item. Committee Member Jan Holmlund added that this is the only experience in her life where she has been accurately reported IV. ADJOURN Chair Kent Routh adjourned the meeting at 11:00 a.m. G:\BldgSfty\Mary Clark\Word data\Historic Preservation Committee\Minutes\Minutes110405SpecialMeet ng.doc 5