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CHC Minutes-2008-10-28MEMORANDUM October 29, 2008 TO: Dave Adams, City Manager Steven Apple, AICP, Community Development Director FROM: Teri Delcamp, Historic Preservation Manager-r.j a Cultural Heritage Commission Secretary SUBJECT: Cultural Heritage Commission Actions of October 28, 2008 This memorandum summarizes the actions taken by the Cultural Heritage Commission at their Tuesday, October 28 meeting. No action is required unless the City Council wishes to hold special review of an item. CALL TO ORDER Chair <name> called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m. ROLL CALL Present Absent: Staff: Ed Nunez, Chair Nathan Banda, Vice -Chair Lorie Porter Janet Siegel Don Tryon None Teri Delcamp, Cultural Heritage Commission Secretary ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. OLD BUSINESS None. NEW BUSINESS 1. Mills Act Contract for Frank Forster Mansion, consideration of a recommendation on the execution of a Mills Act Contract for the Frank A. Forster Mansion at 27182 Ortega Highway (Applicant: Phillip Charis) Project Manager Teri Delcamp made the staff presentation and recommendation that the Commission recommend approval of the Mills Act Contract to the City Council. The Mills Act Contract provides a Dave Adams, City Manager 2 October 29, 2008 potential property tax reduction in the range of 15% to 60% for owners of designated historic structures. Owners Phillip and Maryanne Charis were present to answer questions. The Commissioners commended the Charis's for the beautiful condition of the property and supported a Mills Act Contract for the site. In response to questions by the Commissioners, Mrs. Charis said that it is no longer on the market as they have leased the property to Arpi Evans with an option to purchase. It is being leased as a special events venue, and she added that they used to hold charity fundraisers at the site. The Charis's feel the use of the house as a special events venue is a better use than the gentleman who wanted to use it for a teen rehabilitation house because he would have had to add about five bathrooms. In response to questions, staff said that the current boilerplate Mills Act Contract does not contain a condition requiring compliance with all applicable codes and regulations, just historic regulations. Some other cities have the broader language in their boilerplate contracts, which means they can use the Mills Act Contract as a code enforcement tool for other types of code violations (like the current situation with the Forster Mansion which does not have the necessary Conditional Use Permit for the special events venue). T the C HC feels thatan Juan Capistrano should be using the Mills Act Contract as more of a code enforcement tool, then the Commission would need to make that recommendation to the City Council so that the boilerplate contract language can be changed. After due consideration, Commissioner Siegel moved, and Commissioner Tryon seconded, to recommend approval of the Mills Act Contract (without any changes to the contract language) to the City Council for the Frank Forster Mansion. The motion was approved unanimously. INFORMATION ITEM Discussion and input from Cultural Heritage Commission on the City's 2009-2016 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), review and input to staff regarding the City's 7 -year CIP program relating to cultural resources. Teri Delcamp made the staff presentation regarding existing historic preservation -related capital improvement projects and requested input. The Commission requested staff to forward the following suggestions to be added to the 2009-1016 CIP: a. Provide monument gateway signs at the entrypoints to San Juan Capistrano, similar to Dana Point and other nearby cities. Dave, Adams, City Manager 3 October 29, 2008 b. Keep the library expansion project in an outlying budget year for a potential City contribution at a more favorable economic time. C. Build a much-needed visitor information center on the City -owned site adjacent to Pedro's Tacos. In response to questions, staff said that sidewalk project along EI Camino Real in front of HTC Park is contingent on SDG&E's undergrounding project in the same location. Staff understands that the design is complete and the project may commence in the next month or two. Staff will provide more definitive information on this and other current CIPs as they move forward. COMMISSION/STAFF COMMENTS Staff reported that the City Council recently approved two design services contracts for the Blas Aguilar Adobe and Montanez Adobe restoration and repair projects. The Montanez Adobe project is intended to follow right upon completion of the Los Rios Park project so that the Adobe remains closed for only a few months after the Park project and then can re -open. In response to several questions, staff reiterated the design intent for the landscape at Los Rios Park, beginning four years ago, is to provide indigenous and native, drought -tolerant plants, including those that would have been in the area during Polonia Montanez's time at the Adobe. Non-native eucalyptus trees were removed along the Rios property line (but the windrow was preserved) and the new trees being planted at the park will be primarily indigenous Coast Live Oak and Sycamores. The City is intending to accept Joan Irvine Smith's offer of some mature oak and sycamore trees ranging from 15 -gallon all the way to a handful of 60" box trees for this Park and three other sites. The total number of trees throughout the Los Rios Park will be about three times more than the trees that existed before. Three Canary Island Date Palms were saved and removed at no cost to the City by a company "Just Palms" for them to sell in the future. There will not be traditional turf in the park, but a pasture/meadow grass that is rarely mowed. There Is required to be an archaeologist and a Native American monitor on the site. The site now has "No Trespassing" signs up on the fences and staff requests that the Commission and members of the public respect the signs and do not walk or drive into the Park construction site. Staff mentioned that the Leck House exterior relocation plaque would have to be at least 24" X 24" to fit all the text that was recently approved by the CHC. That size is too big for the space in which it will go. Staff emphasized that the plaque is not the Historic Depiction Program for the Lcck House, but is intended for the purpose of informing visitors that the house was relocated into the Los Rios Historic District and is not original. The text has been reduced to about a third of what was approved, and while it is not as poetic or prosaic as the original text, it does provide the necessary information to serve its purpose. The actual Historic Depiction Program will be a much more comprehensive display in a binder Dave Adams, City Manager 4 October 29, 2008 with all of the history and photographs related to the Leck House and that isnot proposed to be altered. Given the CHC did not direct staff to include the revised plaque text as an agenda item for the next meeting, staff will administratively approve revised text which will fit on an exterior plaque of the correct size. Staff suggested that the original text could be displayed with an alternative method, perhaps printed on paper and framed inside the Leck House. Commissioner Porter reported a very successful Ghost Tours in the Los Rios District on October 25, with over 200 people on the tours. ADJOURNMENT Chair <name> adjourned the meeting at 5:50 p.m. cc: Cindy Russell, Assistant City Manager Grant Taylor, Assistant Community Development Director Teri Delcamp, Historic Preservation Manager Christina Gomez, Administrative Specialist CHC Members CHC Minutes File Douglas Dumhart, Economic Development Manager MEMORANDUM October 29, 2008. TO: Dave Adams, City Manager Steven Apple, AICP, Community Development Director FROM: Teri Delcamp, Historic Preservation Manager Cultural Heritage Commission Secretary SUBJECT: Cultural Heritage Commission Actions of October 28, 2008 This memorandum summarizes the actions taken by the Cultural Heritage Commission at their Tuesday, October 28 meeting. No action is required unless the City Council wishes to hold special review of an item. CALL TO ORDER Chair Nunez called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Ed Nunez, Chair. Nathan Banda, Vice -Chair Lorie Porter Janet Siegel Don Tryon Absent: None Staff: Teri Delcamp, Cultural Heritage Commission Secretary ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. OLD BUSINESS None. NEW BUSINESS 1. Mills Act Contract for Frank Forster Mansion, consideration of a recommendation on the execution of a Mills Act Contract for the Frank A. Forster Mansion at 27182 Ortega Highway (Applicant: Phillip Charis) Project Manager Teri Delcamp made the staff presentation and recommendation that the Commission recommend approval of the Mills Act Contract to the City Council. The Mills Act Contract provides a'