HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes HARC 06.24.2021City of Georgetown, Texas
Historic and Architectural Review Commission
Minutes
June 24, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
Teleconference Meetins,: https://bit.lv/3bioaRl
The regular meeting convened at 6:OOPM on June 24, 2021 via teleconference at:
https://bit.ly/3bioaRj. Webinar ID: 981-7400-5093. To participate by phone: Call in number: (346)
248-7799 or Toll -Free: 833-548-0282. Password: 261853. Public Comment was allowed via the
conference call number or the "ask a question" function on the video conference option; no in -
person input was allowed.
Members Present: Faustine Curry, Chair; Catherine Morales; Michael Walton; Lawrence Romero;
Karalei Nunn; Steve Johnston
Member Absent: Terri Hyde; Pam Mitchell; Robert McCabe
Staff present: Britin Bostick, Historic Planner; Mirna Garcia, Management Analyst; Nat Waggoner,
Long Range Planning Manager; Sofia Nelson, Planning Director
Meeting called to order by Chair Curry at 6:01 pm.
Regular Session
(This Regular Session may, at any time, be recessed to convene an Executive Session for any
purpose authorized by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code 551.)
A. Discussion on how the Historic and Architectural Review Commission virtual conference will
be conducted, to include options for public comments and how the public may address the
Commission. — Sofia Nelson, Planning Director
B. The Historic and Architectural Review Commission, appointed by the Mayor and the City
Council, is responsible for hearing and taking final action on applications, by issuing
Certificates of Appropriateness based upon the City Council adopted Downtown Design
Guidelines and Unified Development Code.
Welcome and Meeting Procedures:
- Staff Presentation
- Applicant Presentation (Limited to ten minutes unless stated otherwise by the Commission.)
- Questions from Commission to Staff and Applicant
- Comments from Citizens*
- Applicant Response
- Commission Deliberative Process
- Commission Action
*Once staff and the applicant have addressed questions from the Commissioners, the Chair of the
Commission will open the public hearing. If a member of the public would like to provide
comments on the agenda item under discussion, the chair will ask if anyone would like to speak. To
speak, please identify yourself by either entering your name, address and item
number on the Q/A chat on your screen. When your name is called you will have up to 3
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Meeting: June 24, 2021
minutes. A speaker may allot their time to another speaker for a maximum of 6 minutes. If a
member of the public wished to allot their time to another speaker, they may do so when their
name is called by the Chair. Please remember that all comments and questions must be addressed
to the Commission, and please be patient while we organize the speakers during the public hearing
portion. After everyone who has asked to speak has spoken, the Chair will close the public hearing
and provide a few minutes of rebuttal time to the applicant if they so choose.
Legislative Regular Agenda
C. Consideration and possible action to approve the minutes from the June 10, 2021 regular
meeting of the Historic and Architectural Review Commission. - Mirna Garcia, Management
Analyst
Motion by to approve by Commissioner Johnston. Second by Commissioner Morales.
Approved (5-0).
D. Public Hearing and possible recommendation amending the Downtown & Old Town Design
Guidelines. — Britin Bostick, Downtown & Historic Planner
In April 2019 the Georgetown City Council adopted changes to the Certificate of
Appropriateness review requirements with Ordinance 2019-21. Changes included the review of
new residential construction, the review of requests for demolition or relocation of historic
structures and the use of materials. This update of the Downtown & Old Town Design
Guidelines is intended to respond to Council's direction and incorporate stakeholder feedback
and other updates to the Unified Development Code, as well as implement improvements for
document usability.
Following stakeholder engagement and feedback last fall and winter, direction from the City
Council in their workshop on December 8, 2020, and analysis of the current Design Guidelines
by the project consultant, a draft of the proposed changes to the Design Guidelines was
presented to project stakeholders and the public for review and comment in a virtual workshop
on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The workshop was followed by presentations to the Historic &
Architectural Review Commission and the Main Street Advisory Board in May, and to the
Historic & Architectural Review Commission and the Main Street Breakfast Bites program in
June. Feedback from project stakeholders and the public has been incorporated into the
proposed changes, and the final draft of the update is being presented to the Historic &
Architectural Review Commission (HARC) for a recommendation to the City Council as
outlined in UDC Sec. 2.03.010.C. Additional Duties, HARC is "To act and assist the City Council
in formulating design guidelines and other supplemental materials relevant to historic
preservation or design review."
The proposed changes in the attached final draft can be summarized as:
• changes to the format of the document,
• changes to the content of the document, and
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changes to the requirements in the document.
The attachments include the final draft in three sections. The full document can be viewed and
downloaded for this meeting at www.historic.georgetown.org.
Bostick reviewed the changes made with the Commission.
Chair Curry opened and closed the Public Hearing as no one signed up to speak.
Staff proposed four amendments to the document for the commissioner's consideration:
• Include the current Chapter 11 Design Guidelines for Colors in the Overlay Districts in the
new Chapter 5 — Signs.
• Include a 15' length limit for "breezeway" additions in the Old Town Overlay District.
• Add permitted use of fiber cement siding as replacement siding when original siding
requires replacement.
• Add permitted use of plastic for illuminated signs.
There was discussion between Commission members regarding clarification for illuminated
signs, instances that might still require HARC approval, comparisons between previous
illumination cases that have been brought to HARC in the last year.
There were also questions and discussion regarding siding materials. Staff sought the
Commissioners' feedback regarding whether the type of material used should be distinguished
based on the structure's priority level (high, medium, low).
Commissioner Romero left the meeting.
Motion to recommend approval of the changes to the Design Guidelines with the four
amendments proposed by staff by Commissioner Nunn. Second by Commissioner Johnston.
Approved (5-0).
E. Updates, Commissioner Questions, Comments — Sofia Nelson, Planning Director
The next HARC meeting in July will be in -person in Council Chambers.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn by Commissioner Nunn. Second by Commissioner Curry. Approved (5-0).
Meeting adjourned at 7:52 pm
Approved, Faustine Curry, Chair Attest, Terri Asendorf 3� e, Secretary
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