HDC Minutes 2-20-20

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION February 20, 2020 The Regular Meeting of the City of Dover Historic District Commission was held on Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 3:30 PM with Chairperson Mr. McDaniel presiding. Members present were Mr. Street, Mr. Czerwinski and Mr. McDaniel. Ms. Horsey and Ms. Mason were absent. Planning Office Staff members present were Mrs. Melson-Williams, Mrs. Savage-Purnell and Mr. Coburn (Code Enforcement). APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Street moved for approval of the agenda as amended with New Business being first on the agenda, seconded by Mr. Czerwinski and the motion was unanimously carried 3-0. Ms. Horsey and Ms. Mason were absent. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MEETING OF NOVEMBER 21, 2019 Mr. Czerwinski moved for approval of the meeting minutes of November 21, 2019, seconded by Mr. Street and the motion was unanimously carried 3-0. Ms. Horsey and Ms. Mason were absent. NEW BUSINESS Review of Permits Referred to Commission HI-20-01 Referral of Demolition Permit #20-47 at 229 South Governors Avenue– Referral by the City Planner to the Historic District Commission for Review of Architectural Review Certification for Demolition Permit Application #20-47 for demolition of a vacant commercial/vehicle service building. The property is zoned C-2 (Central Commercial Zone) and is subject to the H (Historic District Overlay Zone). The property is located at the northeast corner of South Governors Avenue and West North Street. The owner of record is Dover Hardware Co. Address: 229 South Governors Avenue. Tax Parcel: ED-05-077.09-04-35.00-000. Council District 4. Mrs. Melson-Williams gave an update on the building located at 229 South Governors Avenue. She stated that there is an existing vacant commercial/vehicle service use building on the site. She stated that a Demolition Permit was to be issued to demolish the vacant and deteriorating building. The integrity of the building has been somewhat compromised by recladding and some changes to the building exterior. The basic form and floor plan of the original service station building can be observed. (There was a Staff Architectural Review Certification Report provided to the Historic District Commission). Mr. Street asked if the Recommendations mentioned in the packet were approved by the Historic District Commission, do they go before the Planning Commission and then become requirements for the Permit? Mrs. Melson-Williams replied in the case of this application the Planning Commission is not involved. This is just acting on the request for the Demolition Permit.

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION FEBRUARY 20, 2020 Mr. McDaniel mentioned that the applicant (Sunnyfield Contractors) that is demolishing the building has demolished a building for him on Bank Lane that was approved by Staff. Mr. Street mentioned that the Demolition Permit speaks for itself. Mr. McDaniel mentioned that the Commission did not want to see the lot become a parking lot. He mentioned that it is currently being used as a parking lot. The gas tanks were removed from the property previously. Mr. Street moved to approve Demolition Permit as submitted and to move Staff Recommendations to Advisory. The motion was seconded by Mr. Czerwinski and unanimously carried 3-0. Ms. Horsey and Ms. Mason were absent. COMMUNICATIONS & REPORTS Summary of Applications for 2018 and 2019 Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that there were three (3) applications in 2018. The most recent in 2019 was the Referral of Fence Permit #19-1218 at 2 Kings Highway NE that came before the Commission as a consultation. The Permit was issued but she has not seen any activity. Summary of Architectural Review Certifications for 2019 Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that with the Summary of Applications there were 28 applications for the year. Majority of them were addressed by Staff. The Historic District Commission was involved in two of the applications and one that was tied to both the Historic District Commission and the Planning Commission. Majority of the Permits consisted of interior renovations, exterior renovations, roof, Demolition Permits, and signage. Also, included was a Report for the Permit activity in January of 2020 that consisted of interior renovations, fence permit, and roof permit. Mr. McDaniel mentioned that with the first permit from last year at the Governor’s Café, they have started work. Mr. Street asked about a walk-up ATM at the Wells Fargo location. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that a walk-up ATM would be to the north of the building. Department of Planning & Inspections Update Mrs. Melson-Williams mentioned that since we last met there is a new Planner in the office, Samantha Bulkilvish. She joined us the first week in December. Certified Local Government (CLG) Program Update on FFY2019 CLG Grant: Update to Design Standards and Guidelines for the City of Dover Historic District Zone Mrs. Melson-Williams mentioned that included in your packet was the project narrative. We will be re-evaluating the schedule. We are hoping to get the project started in retaining consultant services. In the late Fall, we were notified by the State Historic Preservation Office that the grant award was going to be slightly increased because of some of the other CLG’s that chose not to apply for money. 2

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION FEBRUARY 20, 2020 Mr. McDaniel asked will we have enough money to accomplish what needs to be done. Mrs. Melson Williams replied that the money is there. She mentioned the question is the timing. We may be adjusting the scope of work that will need to be accomplished in the Grant year. Mr. McDaniel asked if there was a timeframe to spend the money. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied there is a timeframe for spending the money. Typically, this Grant would end on June 30. In the past, it would be extended to the end of September. We may need to look at exploring that option. Mr. McDaniel asked if the Planning Office was still staff deficient. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied the Planning Office is fully staffed to the positions that we currently have. The overall Department has two new people starting next week. One in the Fire Marshal’s Office and the other in the Code Enforcement Office. We have several employees out on maternity leave or other leave. There is one other open position that they are hoping to fill. Project for Dover’s 2019 Comprehensive Plan See Project website: https://www.cityofdover.com/2019-comprehensive-plan Status of Adoption and Certification of Plan Implementation Plan Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that included in your packet was Chapter 6 which is the Historic Preservation Chapter and the associated maps and Chapter 15 is the Implementation Plan. The Comprehensive Plan went through the process of Public Hearing with the Planning Commission in December and they acted favorably in regard to the Plan. The information was then presented to City Council on January 13, 2020. City Council acted favorably to adopt the Comprehensive Plan. There was a series of individual requests that was dealt with for certain properties that requested different presentations on maps in the Plan. Staff has prepared the adopted version of the Comprehensive Plan that was submitted to the Office of State Planning a couple of weeks ago. It has been forwarded to the Governor for Certification from the Office of State Planning. This is the Final step for the Comprehensive Plan process. We are waiting for the letter. Once we receive the letter, we will incorporate it as part of the Final publication of the document. We consider it to be our Plan in place at the moment. We met the deadline for getting the Plan completed. Mr. McDaniel said congratulations. We need to keep in mind what Chapter 6 states on the various goals and recommendations. A number of action items from all of the topic area chapters are collected in what is Chapter 15 which is the Implementation Plan for the entire Comprehensive Plan. She mentioned the immediate actions are outlined in Chapter 15. The first major task is a Comprehensive Rezoning project that we will have to undertake that compares the Land Development Plan which identifies land use categories for the City. We will need to compare that to our official Zoning Map. She mentioned that Chapter 15 is broken down into projects, studies, code amendments, and other activities. She mentioned the update on page 15-6 for the Design Standards and Guidelines is one of the studies that have been identified in one of the Short-Term Implementation focus timeframe for preservation. Under Ongoing Activities on page 15-3 should be Ongoing Activities related to Historic Preservation. Those include focusing more on public outreach and education opportunities, continued participation as a CLG, and continue to utilize the knowledge and the expertise of the Historic District Commission. 3

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION FEBRUARY 20, 2020 Mr. McDaniel asked for the properties that changed if they were related to historic properties. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied no. With the Comprehensive Plan, there were a series of six Requests. Five of the requests were related to how properties were being depicted on the Land Development Plan Map. There were six properties that sought something different than what Staff initially put forward. In some cases, what was adopted was Staff’s Recommendations and other cases there was a hybrid of what Staff recommended and what the applicant was seeking. There are changes on map 12-1. There was a Request from the County related to Annexation areas near the Kent Aero Park and in the Horsepond area. It did not change the zoning of anyone’s property. It changes the Land Use category which then relates to potential zoning of a property. Mr. McDaniel asked if the Design Standards and Guidelines would be updated. Mrs. Melson- Williams replied that it is clearly identified as one of the task items that was identified in Chapter 6: Historic Preservation Plan and then were in the Implementation Strategy where they should focus. Mr. Czerwinski asked if it was possible through the Historic Preservation Comprehensive Plan and Design Standard and Guidelines to rewrite the book. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied it could be. It could be a specific Budget request in the case of some of these studies. In the case of our Design Standard and Guidelines, the CLG grant is one of the few opportunities that is out there specific to Historic Preservation. This would require a match in either cash or time. At the current time, we have been getting cash to put into our Budget request to match the grant money. We do not have to rely on Staff time. Volunteer hours can be matched to the CLG Grants. We have been able to keep Budget money so that could help pay for consultant services. Mr. Czerwinski suggested having a budget for the consultant to rewrite the book since it is in the Comprehensive Plan. Mrs. Melson-Williams mentioned that it is in the Comprehensive Plan which gains more weight to it, but there are also more items in the Comprehensive Plan that has weight (priority). Mr. McDaniel asked if there was a consultant Staff had in mind. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that due to the type of activity there are certain qualifications under the Preservation Act. There are a number of firms out there. Mr. Czerwinski asked if there were any updates on the Loockerman Plaza project. Mrs. Melson- Williams replied there was a Site Permit that was issued in the Fall dealing with utilities. They were somewhat limited in what they could even start before the end of the calendar year because of commitments for use of the Plaza. She is not sure how quickly the project will be moving forward in general. Mr. Czerwinski moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. McDaniel and unanimously carried 3-0. 4

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION FEBRUARY 20, 2020 Meeting adjourned at 4:13 PM Sincerely, Maretta Savage-Purnell Secretary 5