HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-09-02 Historic MINASHLAND HISTORIC COMMISSION
Minutes
September 2, 1992
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Jim Lewis at 7:40 p.m. Members present
were Jim Lewis, Terry Skibby, Le Hook, Jean MacKenzie, Dana Johnson, Jane Dancer,
Keith Chambers and Steve Ennis. Also present were Assistant Planner Kristen Cochran,
Secretary Sonja Akerman and Council Liaison Susan Reid. Deane Bradshaw was absent.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MacKenzie clarified on page 7, Goal 3 should be statue, not fountain. Hook moved and
Johnson seconded to approve the Minutes of the August 5, 1992 meeting as corrected. The
motion was unanimously passed.
GUEST
Kay Atwood discussed the benefits and possibility of conducting research on the Ashland
Cemetery and preparing a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. She
stated to be register eligible, the cemetery must have maintained its original character. The
quality of mortuary art is also taken into consideration. She proposed doing an initial
presentation to Elizabeth Potter of SHPO to find out the feasibility of acceptance. She
emphasized it is not enough to have prominent city figures buried there. She would also
need to clarify it is THE Ashland Cemetery. The Hargadine Cemetery also needs to be
taken into account.
The City has recognized the National Register before, in the Community Center and Reeder
Reservoir. Cemeteries are considered to be new ground and are cultural landscape art
relics.
Reid wondered about the budget and if the Hargadine Cemetery could be incorporated in
the nomination with the Ashland Cemetery. Atwood will investigate this.
Atwood said there is no direct financial benefit, but listing on the National Register is a
prerequisite and avenue to grants. She stressed it is a valuable first step, not a guarantee.
She then submitted a copy of the grant the City of Jacksonville obtained for restoration of
its cemetery. It serves as a work plan she explained.
MacKenzie questioned Atwood about the possibility of Siskiyou Boulevard obtaining
National Register status. Atwood answered it would be a major project to undertake.
Lewis commented more vandalism is taking place, and some of the marble headstones are
losing definition. Consequently, he is in favor of proceeding with this project.
Atwood agreed this would be a step toward preserving the cemetery. She also said it would
be helpful to solicit volunteers to photograph all the headstones and match them to the
records. She will submit a proposal to the Commission for the eligibility proposal. The
members all agreed this is a worthwhile beginning, and will support Atwood throughout the
process.
STAFF REPORTS
PA 92-088
Site Review
First and "A" Streets
Ashland Community Food Store
Cochran explained a food store is a permitted use in an E-1 zone. The applicants will be
using an existing parking area and adding 12 spaces on the street. Staff is happy with the
design and thinks it will be an attractive structure with nice landscaping. A concern is traffic
that will be generated. A study has recently been completed and the current traffic is well
below capacity. One neighbor had suggested making all of First Street one way (it is
currently one way only between Lithia Way and "B" Street). Cochran clarified this will be
addressed by the Traffic Safety Commission, which will be coming up with a plan for the
area. She then reviewed Staff's recommendations and conditions.
Parking and truck traffic was discussed. ACFS owns half the existing parking lot by Valley
of the Rogue Bank. The Commission agreed it is important to keep the access open
between the parking lots. Johnson questioned the impact of parking on the existing houses
on First Street. Cochran answered that side of the street will remain the same with parallel
parking, while the other side will be widened to allow for head-in parking.
When questioned by Lisa Blatte (from the audience) about the lighting, Joyce Ward
(architect for the project) answered a Portland firm will be addressing it.
Hook said the need for views of the streetscape has been discussed and would like to see
one of this area drawn to scale. Ennis said he is a little disturbed by the scale since it most
directly relates to the smaller houses across the street.
When asked about the metal roof, Joyce Ward clarified the entire roof will be metal and
that the wood trellises provide softness.
(Reid left at this time.)
Ashland Historic Commission
Minutes
September 2, 1992
Page 2
Hook moved to recommend approval of the application with the conditions as stated by
Staff. Skibby seconded the motion. A discussion on traffic ensued. It was agreed the
Historic Commission would like the Traffic Safety Commission to seriously consider making
First Street one way from Lithia Way to "A" Street. This would help preserve the residential
character of "B" Street in that area. Hook amended the motion to include the Traffic Safety
Commission examine the possibility of making First Street one way from "B" Street to "A"
Street also. Skibby seconded the amended motion. The motion passed with all voting aye
except Ennis.
PA 92-101
Conditional Use Permit
223 Fifth Street
Cooper/Silverman
Cochran explained the applicants propose to remodel the existing house to accommodate
two office spaces downstairs, with two office spaces and a one bedroom apartment upstairs.
Two off-street parking spaces will be provided on the property and credit will be given for
two on-street spaces. Concerns have arisen regarding traffic and loss of residential housing
in the Historic District. The applicants will be required to improve the off-street parking
area and install a sidewalk on the Fifth Street side.
Lewis questioned the size of the off-street parking areas and observed there was no turn-
around area. Lisa Cooper, applicant, said the cars would back out onto Fifth Street, and
that they wanted to leave as much yard area as possible, so would be paving the minimum
amount since only two spaces are needed.
Dancer questioned how far the Railroad District was going toward business and losing its
residential character. Lewis said each application had to be taken by its own merits.
Cooper explained she and Nola Silverman are CPAs and are currently renting office space.
The reason they bought the house was because they need more space and felt it was a good
compromise to have the mixed use. They will only rent out one or two of the offices, as
they need two or three themselves. They plan to have minimal impact on the area, as a
CPA business does not generate a lot of traffic. They like the house the way it is and can
put in an apartment without much structural change. It will look the same outside, and can
be converted back to residential use. Two-thirds of the upstairs space will be used for the
one bedroom apartment.
Ennis questioned the type of heating system and wondered where the compressor unit would
be placed. Cooper was unsure.
Ashland Historic Commission
Minutes
September 2, 1992
Page 3
Lewis stated he would like to see the sidewalk placed as it is across the street on Fifth, with
a parkway between the curb and the sidewalk.
Chambers said he has mixed feelings about the commercial use versus residential use. He
referred to the letter and map received from Laura Perloff, who has concerns about the
parking situation. Ennis expressed his frustration with the loss of a good size house and
stated it would be the first commercial use on that block. He also has concerns about the
livability and traffic increase in the area.
When questioned about the possibility of a duplex, Cochran stated there is not enough
square footage on the lot. Lewis said he has a problem if the lot is not large enough for a
duplex, how can it be large enough for four offices and an apartment.
Cooper stated the nice stairway would have to be walled off if the apartment utilized the
entire upstairs. She said they were not looking to rent out all the spaces.
Lewis remarked four office spaces can generate a lot of traffic, and it seems as though this
is maximizing the property. Ennis said it is feasible for three or four people to work out of
one office, and there are only four spaces provided.
Chambers stated the Commission has become more and more concerned about the loss of
rental housing in the Historic District and would like the public to have a chance to state
concerns.
Cooper declared they had gone through the pre-application process and they were not aware
of problems.
Lisa Blatte said she lives only a couple blocks from the Historic District is very concerned
with the amount of traffic and amount of parking spaces provided. She often walks down
"B" Street and she recently counted the number of single family units left between Water
Street and Fifth Street -- there are very few. The Railroad District has been one of the few
remaining affordable housing areas in close proximity to downtown. Also, in looking at the
site, it seems as though the off-street parking will be located less than ten feet from the
neighbor's bedroom window, and doesn't like the fact that this is introducing traffic into the
backyard, which happens to be directly off "B" Street. When she questioned Cooper about
number of people in the office spaces, Cooper said there would be one for each office, plus
a receptionist. Blatte continued there should be a minimum of five spaces required.
Hook stated he also had a problem with the number of parking spaces required. Four
spaces is not enough for four offices and a residence and customers. Skibby felt the amount
of office space overpowers the residential, and it should be called up for a public hearing
Ashland Historic Commission
Minutes
September 2, 1992
Page 4
in order to get public input. MacKenzie said she was sorry the applicants were caught in
the middle of these concerns, but felt they need to be addressed.
Johnson questioned why the applicants were requesting four office spaces if not that many
were needed for their own use, then suggested they only apply for two on the main floor and
use the entire space upstairs for residential use. Cooper said they would have to rethink
their plans. Cochran commented the impact would be less with two offices. She also
informed the Commission parking is calculated off the square footage, not the number of
offices. Chambers said the quality of what's left in the residential area is important.
(Dancer left at this point.)
After discussing this application, the Commission agreed traffic, parking spaces, and the loss
of rental housing are the main concerns. Therefore, Ennis moved to recommend the
Hearings Board call this up for a public hearing. Hook seconded the motion and it was
unanimously approved.
BUILDING PERMITS
Permits reviewed by members of the Historic Commission and issued during the month of
August follow:
586 "C" Street
30 Water Street
487 Rock Street
228 "B" Street
180 N. First Street
41 N. Main Street
501 Allison Street
44 Lithia Way
87 Fourth Street
Beth Giesler
Lloyd Haines
Rick Landt
John Ferguson
John Ferguson
Dave Lewis
Daniel Greenblatt
Puck's Doughnuts
Rogue Valley Unitarian Church
Repair
Deck
Remodel
Roof & Struc. Repair
Interior Remodel
Satellite Dish
Foundation
Sign
Sign
REVIEW BOARD
Following is the schedule (until the next meeting) for the Review Board, which meets every
Thursday from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Planning Department:
September 3
September 10
September 17
September 24
October 1
Lewis, Skibby, MacKenzie and Dancer
Skibby, MacKenzie, Hook and Lewis
Hook, MacKenzie, Johnson, Chambers and Skibby
MacKenzie, Johnson, Chambers and Skibby
Ennis, Skibby, Lewis and Dancer
Ashland Historic Commission
Minutes
September 2, 1992
Page 5
(Chambers moved and MacKenzie seconded to extend the meeting beyond 10:30. The motion
passed unanimously.)
OLD BUSINESS
Rental Housing in the Historic District
Ennis explained that at the Joint Study Session with the Planning Commission on August
25th, Staff requested a copy of criteria with which the Commission is concerned. The
criteria submitted by Ennis was then discussed. Chambers and Ennis will submit the final
draft before the September 29th Joint Study Session.
Mark Antony
A copy of the letter from James Hamrick (SHPO) was briefly discussed regarding the
marquee at the Mark Antony.
NEW BUSINESS
Skibby requested the Applegate Trail be put on the next agenda.
ADJOURNMENT
It was the unanimous decision of the Commission to adjourn the meeting at 11:00 p.m.
Ashland Historic Commission
Minutes
September 2, 1992
Page 6