Historic Preservation Commission Agenda and Packet 2019 12 16

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Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes November 18th, 2019 Page 3 of 8 They did not love the house as much. The floor was slanted and there was structural damage that may be cost -prohibitive to repair the foundation. They were planning to keep the basic footprint. They planned to shift the house slightly back to give more space for the roots of a large tree to go. They were working with Andy Johnson to build a simple Victorian structure. Smith stated that he did not like the stucco and the possibility of asbestos that goes with stucco. He preferred the 90-day stay to the 180- day one, especially since the asbestos abatement teams were generally unavailable in the springtime. He stated that if his family was forced to keep the home, it would not be their preference. He asked about the historic structure assessment. Selvoski replied that the assessment would be done by a professional and would create an assessment about the historic elements and materials of the house, and could also assess the state of the foundation and other structural elements. Smith asked what the Commission wanted out of the town, since this structure was not indicative of any particular time period and could be seen in other places. Haley replied that for preservation, they wanted to keep the original structure, but did not want anything to be a replacement of the old structure. She added that one of the options was to save the front of the structure and change the back. She noted that this was especially important for long-time residents of the neighborhood. Dickinson added that losing small homes and replacing them with large homes had a negative impact, but that the Commission would not review the new construction for a non-landmarked home. Dickinson added that the City could not force homeowners to keep their homes, unless they were landmarked. The Commission also wanted to move away from punitive stays and move toward productive `stay' time during to consider landmarking or to conduct a historic structure assessment. He noted that the location made the structure a tough one to lose, as it was on Main Street and was across the street from the Museum. Staff would want to work with the applicant to do it well, and Andy Johnson has also done a lot of work with staff and applicants on preservation. Haley stated that the Commission would likely be fine with getting rid of the stucco. The assessment offered exploratory options. She offered her opinion that integrating the historic elements of the existing structure was more creative than building something new. Smith asked how much the assessment cost the City. Haley responded that the assessment grant was up to $4,000. Smith stated that he did not want to waste the City's money if he and his wife were set on tearing it down. Haley replied that the assessment also offered the opportunity to document the structure for posterity, even if the applicants did tear it down. 4