Historic District Minutes 5-17-18

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION May 17, 2018 The Regular Meeting of the City of Dover Historic District Commission was held on Thursday, May 17, 2018 at 3:00 PM with Chairman McDaniel presiding. Members present were Chairman McDaniel, Mr. Czerwinski, Mr. Street, Ms. Horsey and Ms. Mason. Planning Office Staff members present were Mrs. Melson-Williams, Mrs. Purnell, Mr. Swierczek, and Mr. Hugg. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Street moved for approval of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Czerwinski and the motion was unanimously carried 5-0. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MEETING OF FEBRUARY 15, 2018 Mr. Street moved for approval of the minutes of February 15, 2018, seconded by Ms. Horsey and the motion was unanimously carried 5-0. Chairman McDaniel welcomed new Historic District Commission member Ms. Mary Terry Mason. COMMUNICATIONS & REPORTS Summary of Activity 2017 Report Summary of Applications for 2017 Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that there were four (4) items that were raised to the levels of a formal application. There were two (2) Permits that were referred by Staff during the last calendar year. There was one (1) application in December that dealt with the Governor’s Café Kitchen Addition. They have since been to the Planning Commission and have conditional approval for the expansion; it is in the Check Print review process. Chairman McDaniel questioned why it received conditional approval. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that when the Planning Commission acts on the Site Plan it is subject to the conditions of meeting the comments from the other reviewing agencies. At this point, it is an administrative process for that plan application where Planning Staff checks to make sure corrections were made to the plan. Mr. Czerwinski commented that it was conditional because it is still a residential business and conditional for a certain type of food. Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that the property is zoned RGO (Residence General Office) and because the property is in the Historic District there are number of uses additionally that can be allowed through the Conditional Use process. Meaning it has a specialized public hearing in front of the Planning Commission. This was in place for the current café’ restaurant activity, but because they were expanding (adding onto the kitchen) that is the reason it had to go back to the Planning Commission. It does not expand their seat count; it just

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MAY 17, 2018 expands what they will be able to cook in the kitchen due to having different equipment. Mr. Czerwinski questioned whether their approval included the front lawn. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that they showed some opportunities for tent activities for Special Events (example: wedding). It was for initial review because anytime they would want to do the Special Event there is a specialized process with the Fire Marshal’s Office to place the tent on a specific date for a specific event. Mr. Czerwinski asked about outdoor seating. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that there is no permanent outdoor seating in that area other than on the porch. Summary of Architectural Review Certifications for 2018 Mrs. Melson-Williams stated with the Architectural Review Certifications for 2018, there were fourteen (14) Permits in the Historic District, nine (9) in which Staff was able to grant approval under the provision of the Zoning Ordinance and five (5) of them were interior work only. There were four (4) signage permits. Chairman McDaniel questioned whether the Commission would be notified when the fireman’s monument would be moved on Legislative Mall. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that it went through the Permit process, but it is not covered because it is not a building. The Capital Complex is within the boundaries of the Historic District. There was a brief discussion regarding the memorial/public art installation for the volunteer firefighter’s memorial on the southwest corner near 410 Legislative Avenue on Legislative Mall. Information on Required City of Dover Ethics Training Sessions Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that this is a training session that is required of all members of the boards and commissions, elected and appointed officials for the City and City Staff. There are a series of different meeting session times. Please let the Planning Office know as soon as possible which session you would like to attend. Everyone is required to attend. The sessions will be held in the City Hall Council Chambers. The May 24, 2018 and June 5, 2018 sessions are full. There were some changes made to Chapter 30 of the Dover Code on Ethics and part of that now requires annual ethics training. NEW BUSINESS Resolution for Charles T. “Terry” Jackson, II- Former member, Chairman, and Vice Chairman Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that included in the packet was a resolution for Mr. Charles T. “Terry” Jackson, II who was a part of the first group of commissioners appointed to the Historic District Commission when it was established in 1993. He served as Chair for a significant number of years and Vice Chairman for a few years. He basically has seen the whole life of this Commission. The Historic District existed prior to the 90’s, but the responsibilities did not include the establishment of a Commission at that time. There were a number of things the Planning Commission was charged with doing (from 1960-1993). Chairman McDaniel moved for approval to accept the Resolution for Charles T. “Terry” Jackson, II. The motion was seconded by Ms. Horsey and unanimously carried 5-0. 2

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MAY 17, 2018 Review of Permits Referred to Commission: There was none. Certified Local Government (CLG) Program a. Submission of CLG Annual Report (October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017) Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that included in your packet was the cover submission, forms, new members information (resume), meeting the requirements and standards. It is really a reporting of activities that happened in that timeframe. Permit activity information is also submitted as well as any new National Register nominations or new initiatives for anything in the Historic District. In addition, all copies of meeting agendas and meeting minutes from that timeframe are submitted. Ms. Horsey thanked Mrs. Melson-Williams for putting it all together. b. Update on FFY2017 CLG Grant Project: Amendment to Design Guidelines for Dover’s Historic District (Addendum to Design Standards & Guidelines for the City of Dover Historic District Zone: Modern Materials & Technologies) Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that this was intended to be a project to select a consultant service to work and focus on the Design Standards & Guidelines for the City of Dover Historic District Zone: Modern Materials & Technologies. Staff ultimately made the decision that with what was left in the Grant year they did not think that it was fiscally possible to retain consulting services and have them complete the project and have all of it finished by June 30, 2018. Staff met with the State Historic Preservation Office regarding scaling down the scope, but for the whole process for bringing someone on board to do the work was not enough time. Staff chose to terminate the Grant. There was no expenditure of funds. Staff has a draft of the project that they could focus on in the future. Included was the quarterly progress report through the end of March and the decision to terminate the Grant. They were also informed that during this Grant year there was significant transition in membership on the Commission and the Staff workload just in general in the Planning Office has not allowed them to focus on the project. Chairman McDaniel asked if the Commission had the chance to get the money back. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that the CLG program offers grants each year, so it could certainly be a future grant. Chairman McDaniel asked if the money was gone. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that it was a reimbursable grant, basically you had to spend the money and then ask for reimbursement. There was money held on the match side of it in the City budget. Mr. Czerwinski asked if this was the second time this has happened with the grant project. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied yes. Mr. Czerwinski asked if they were looking at the timeframe issue (the time to get the project approved and the time to complete the project). Is it too short of a window to even outsource this project? Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that the timeframe for the grant starts July 1. They do match up with the City’s regular fiscal year. We did not start drafting the RFP (Request for Proposal) until late fall. 3

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MAY 17, 2018 Mr. Czerwinski asked if they could start now using the material that they have and be ready for the next time. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied yes. It has to go out through a Request for Professional Services. The amount of money makes it a little simpler on the bid procurement side for the City who has its own process with grant requirements. It is a complicated process. You cannot advertise for a consultant until after the grant year has started. Mr. Czerwinski asked about networking. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that Staff talked to the State Historic Preservation Office regarding types of firms that they thought could handle and focus on this type of project. On a consultant side, this is a small project. Ms. Mason asked for example if the City would match the funding of $5000. Chairman McDaniel replied yes, the City would match the funds of $5000 making the total grant $10,000. Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that since the Historic District Commission did not use the funds as a CLG, (Certified Local Government) they may be able to redistribute the funds to other CLGs if they had budget over runs. Larger CLGs such as the City of Wilmington or New Castle County use the funds for staffing where they have a person in their Planning Office where preservation is the only thing that they do. Some of their projects have been ongoing surveys. Mr. Czerwinski asked if funds were used for staffing, what would keep the City of Dover from hiring a graduate student to do the project while they work with the SHPO office. Mrs. Melson- Williams replied that you can ask for grant funds to support staff or an intern. This type of project requires to have a Principal Investigator that meets one of the Secretary of Interior’s qualification standards, so probably an intern would probably not be doing that. It would mean that someone like herself would need to be the Principal Investigator on the project. It is entirely possible that we could focus on some type of intern type effort for a future grant. The Commission members had a brief discussion regarding the hiring of an intern. There was additional discussion regarding the project information listed above. c. Information on Submission of FFY2018 CLG Grant Application Mrs. Melson-Williams stated that included in the packet was the notice of opening of the Grant Application process and the rules about the Grant Application. The State of Delaware Historic Preservation Office receives a certain amount of money from the Federal Historic Preservation Funds. Whatever that number is they are then required to grant to the Certified Local Government in the State 10% of their federal dollars coming in. The other federal dollars are used in operating their office along with other state funds. The allocation then looks at how many CLG’s they have so everyone gets a certain base line amount based on their population and anything above that depends on what they have coming in (any given year) from the federal government. Mr. McDaniel asked if there were seven (7) CLG’s. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied yes, there are only seven (7) CLG’s in the State. That number can always increase. 4

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MAY 17, 2018 Mrs. Melson-Williams also stated that it moves into the grant requirements and the types of eligible grant activities. The grant does not fix or build historic buildings. The eligible grant activities include surveying, National Register nominations, planning types, commission and staff training, public outreach and what they call support for CLG staff; and then there is the application forms. Mrs. Melson-Williams handed out a copy of the information that was submitted on May 11, 2018 for the grant for the next fiscal year. The City was eligible for grant monies exceeding what they ended up asking for. What Staff proposed as a project was to focus on the update of the Historic Preservation Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. The City’s Comprehensive Plan for 2008 is due for an update. One of the required elements is the chapter on Historic Preservation. The proposal was submitted to utilize some grant monies to focus specifically on that. The project consists of two (2) things: dedication of Planning Staff to update the chapter and to host a public outreach workshop specifically on historic preservation. It will focus on preparing this chapter, but we also see it as an educational opportunity about historic preservation and the Historic District in Dover. Money was also included for very specific number of hours for the Principal Planner to work on the project. The other monies are related to advertising the workshop and printing of brochures and postage. Mrs. Melson-Williams spoke briefly about the project narrative. The intent is to invite everyone who owns property in the Historic District. There are over 300 properties that are within the Historic District or listed on the National Register of Historical places throughout other parts of the City. Planning Staff will be working on planning a public outreach workshop probably in the month of July. Mr. McDaniel asked if it was being preloading and if they were going to get some money next fiscal year. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that it is somewhat preloaded. In the next nine months as a staff, we must focus on the Comprehensive Plan and it has a preservation component. Staff will receive some funding. Mr. McDaniel asked what amount was applied for. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that the total project cost is $4000, and we are seeking a grant of $2400. Mr. McDaniel asked if the City will match. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied yes. We have in the City’s budget a Budget request to make that match happen. The City starts budget review the last week of May with City Council. It has been included in the Department’s request to the City Manager. The City Manager’s Draft Budget has not been released. Mr. McDaniel asked if this was part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan and Update. Mrs. Melson- Williams replied yes. Mr. McDaniel mentioned the feedback on page 54 regarding the Historic Preservation and the removal of the Loockerman Street corridor and asked everyone to read it if they had not already done so for awareness. 5

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MAY 17, 2018 Mrs. Melson-Williams also noted that there would be a Grant Agreement forthcoming in the future. Mr. Czerwinski asked who rewrites the update of the chapter. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that the labor of rewriting the chapter will be Planning Staff time that will also include her time. The entire Comprehensive Plan project is in-house. Mr. Czerwinski asked if the Commission members would be involved in updating the Comprehensive Plan. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied yes. Project for Dover’s 2019 Comprehensive Plan a. Introduction to 2008 Comprehensive Plan as amended, Chapter 6 – Historic Preservation b. Update on Project Activities Mrs. Melson-Williams mentioned that the existing Comprehensive Plan for the City dates to 2008. It is a Staff project. Their approach to information gathering on the various chapters is varied. Some of it is outreach with different State Agencies. With the Economic Development Chapter, Mr. Hugg has been working with the several of the colleges and universities. There will be an Economic Symposium that is scheduled for June 13, 2018 in late morning over lunch timeframe. Mrs. Melson-Williams mentioned that Chapter 6-Historic Preservation as it exists was included in the packet. She referred to the action items on page 62 and asked members to read through the material. We have worked on the action items over the last 8 years. The most significant change would be looking at whether there were any changes to the goals and recommendations and what are the future action type items and map component. c. Evaluation of 2008 Goals and Recommendations Mrs. Melson- Williams mentioned this item will be homework for the members. As part of preparing the next plan, they are looking back at the 2008 Plan. She asked the members to look at the attached chart and focus on the goals of all the chapters and your thoughts on the chapters, specifically, the evaluation of importance. She asked if they could do a rating of 1-5 which is included. There is also an opportunity for comments. They have included all the goals as the homework assignments. Mr. Street asked if she wanted them to do the whole thing or the Historic Preservation section. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied the whole thing because they want to know what you think about all of it. Mrs. Melson-Williams mentioned that the same assignment was given to the Planning Commission members. Mr. Street asked what this was related to and what to focus on (what’s important and not important). Mrs. Melson-Williams replied as part of the whole Comprehensive Plan process they 6

CITY OF DOVER HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MAY 17, 2018 are in the process of developing a survey. There is a similar package of charts for recommendations that she will give to the members. The Staff homework is to go through the action items listed in the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Czerwinski asked if the Commission should be meeting outside of this meeting for discussion as a committee. Mr. McDaniel replied that he thinks the first thing to do is read it. Mrs. Melson-Williams replied that they will be reporting back to the Commission. This is a City Plan so there will be public input. The Comprehensive Plan has to go through a public hearing and review process. Mr. McDaniel mentioned that the City does a great job with the public input. He attended the Dover Parks seminar last night. Mr. McDaniel mentioned the importance of attending the mandatory Ethics Training. Mr. Street moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ms. Horsey and unanimously carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 3:57 PM Sincerely, Maretta Savage-Purnell Secretary 7