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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Preservation - 10/16/2006 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2006 7:00 P.M. Prairie Rooms A & B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS Betsy Adams, Chairperson; Nina Mackay, Vice Chairperson; Richard Akerlund, Bob Amell,Ann Higgins, Ed Muehlberg, Jane Plaza STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Nathan Wagner,Alexandra Shea, Lauren Bentz COMMISSION STAFF John Gertz, Historic Preservation Specialist; Peggy Rasmussen, Recorder I. ROLL CALL Adams called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Commissioners Amell and Plaza were excused. Student Representative Bentz, who was absent at the September meeting, was introduced to the Commissioners. Shea and Wagner gave more information about themselves. Adams said they have a voice in what the Commission is doing and the Commissioners are interested in what they have to say. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Higgins moved, seconded by Mackay, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — SEPTEMBER 18, 2006 MOTION: Mackay moved, seconded by Akerlund, to approve the minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission held on September 18, 2006, as published. Motion carried 5-0. IV. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. PRESERVATION CONFERENCE—RED WING Adams reported she and Commissioner Plaza attended the conference, as well as members of the Eden Prairie Historical Society. City Manager Scott Neal and Councilmember Sherry Butcher were also there. Adams said she gained the most out of the conference from networking. She met Nina Archibald, Director of the Minnesota Historical Society, among others. The reception was held at a prairie- style house, where the owners are preservationists. Adams read Plaza's report on the conference. Plaza said that every time she hears more about the way a historic preservation commission operates, she realizes each commission in the state is part of a whole and has an important contribution to make. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 16, 2006 Page 2 Adams reported that the 2007 National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference will be held in St. Paul from October 2-7. This is an opportunity for Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as all Twin Cities communities, to participate in organizing and volunteering for this event. Because of the national conference, there will not be a state conference next year. B. CITY WEB SITE—HISTORIC SITES Gertz said he has talked to Pat Brink of the Communications Department about meeting with him and Commissioners Plaza and Adams to discuss setting up a link to local historic sites on the City's Web site. They have arranged to meet on Wednesday, October 25. Gertz said the link to historic sites would use information that is on the interpretive panels at each location. A technical engineer on the City's staff has put together a map showing the location of sites that are designated, those pending designation and sites of general interest. At the present time the site will have text only, but the Commissioners agreed that adding a voice to narrate the text would be desirable. Gertz said the site should be up sometime in November but they will continue working on it. V. OLD BUSINESS A. EDEN WOOD CENTER LANDSCAPE MASTER PLAN REVIEW Prior to reviewing the plan, Adams reported there was a meeting between the City, the SHPO and Friendship Ventures when they discussed the Eden Wood Center situation. She did not write the letter to the City Council, discussed at the September HPC meeting, because a sufficient paper trail has been established already that appears adequate to present to the City Council. The Commissioners reviewed the proposed Eden Wood Center Master Plan for landscaping the property. They also had a site plan that shows existing conditions. Gertz said the SHPO has put additional review of the proposed work plans for the camp on hold. Friendship Ventures is on notice they cannot do any work on the property. One of the City's building inspectors met with Gertz to discuss additional work that was unauthorized. It included building the interior partition walls in the dormitory right to the ceiling and gutting the original interior walls. Some material was placed under a tarp on the property. Gertz wants the material put back in the dormitory for storage. The dumpsters holding window trim from the original windows have been removed. Gertz said this loss of historic material has added up to the point where the SHPO is possibly not going to send Friendship Ventures any grant money, and they may reevaluate the property for loss of integrity. This impacts the camp's National Register status, which could be removed from the list. Gertz is working with the SHPO regarding rescinding the grant and National Register status. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 16, 2006 Page 3 Gertz said he brought the landscaping master plan to the Development Review Committee for comments. The DRC is made up of representatives of various City departments. Based on their comments, the City will ask for the existing plans that were approved. For example, a rain garden, shown on the master plan, is not necessary because there is no significant amount of hard surface on the property, allowing water to run off into the soil Adams noted two concrete bridges have already been added, which is an unapproved project. One trail is already in and swales were created, none of which were approved. However, that does not mean they would stay. Gertz said the trails are eight feet wide. Three feet is the minimum requirement for accessibility, so eight feet is excessive, given that we don't want to overbuild. These trails would be primarily for wheelchairs; however they do not have to be eight feet wide. Crushed limestone could be used, rather than asphalt, to reduce the amount of hard surface on the site. Gertz said probably the most egregious thing on the master plan is that one garage facility would be gone and one would be pushed back. Gertz has told Friendship Ventures they cannot do this. There are a number of other issues. The trail they built did not take into account that there was an old trail nearby and they built a new one partially over it. The only historic trail left would be between the buildings. Also they have to take into account the trees and other plantings. Gertz said he would ask Friendship Ventures to identify features on the site with him that are character defining and could not be eliminated. Muehlberg said building elevations and materials need to be provided on the master plan. He believes a three-foot trail is probably too narrow, and he recommends allowing a little leeway there. Adams said the City would be working with Friendship Ventures to discuss their best-case scenario, and then come up with a compromise using the Secretary of Interior's standards. Higgins asked if the site is secure. Gertz said he goes out there weekly and meets every two weeks with City staff and the SHPO staff. In addition, someone lives on the site, so there are no issues with security. Higgins was surprised that the people from labor unions who donated their work didn't inquire if permits had been obtained from the City. Gertz said permits and an approved plan are supposed to be posted on the site and they were not. That is the reason they were "red tagged" by the City; also for doing unauthorized work resulting in loss of historic materials. Higgins said she noticed the plan shows a lot of underground utilities on the site and this concerns her because there are gas lines underground where trails are being laid. In case the gas company has to move the gas lines, that would impact HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 16, 2006 Page 4 the site. Gertz replied oftentimes the gas company will trench the gas lines, so the City might require directional drilling to move utilities. Gertz said he would forward these comments and information to Friendship Ventures. There is a need to preserve character-defining features, so he will find out how many alterations to the site they are planning and then ask which of these they absolutely need. He plans to start with inventorying the objects and features on site. The camp has a park-like setting, and the setting is very important, especially for a National Register Site. The more alterations to the original setting, the more that takes away from its historic character. Adams said the Commissioners have brought up some good points to address in the master plan. Gertz offered to keep the Commissioners and the students notified about what is happening. B. CLG GRANT UPDATE Adams noted that there were some questions at the last meeting about changing the wording in the documents for the Glen Lake Children's Camp and the Bush Log Cabin at Staring Lake. On page 2 of the Glen Lake Children's Camp document, Gertz explained that under "Present Use", the term "recreational facility" describes more the building type or building classification. On page 3, under "General Character", Gertz said the property currently functions as a summer residence camp, so that is a correct statement. Regarding the outbuilding at the Bush Log Cabin site,he said it would not be considered a contributing building to the historic character of the site, so if it has to be removed due to its deteriorating condition, that would not affect the site's historic character. Gertz said the grant is now closed. He has completed the final report, and forwarded to the Minnesota Historical Society a request for reimbursement. The SHPO commented that the three designations were well written and did not suggest any changes. The City should now be reimbursed. Gertz said the HPC would now proceed with the designations of these three sites, taking one or two at a time. He could not think of a more important one than Glen Lake Children's Camp. Akerlund inquired if the problems the City is having now with Friendship Ventures would hinder that process. Gertz replied it would not. If the site were designated, the situation at the camp would be reviewed. The HPC would have to approve all the changes at the camp, and they would have to be done the right way, so designating the site should assist in getting those changes done correctly. Adams said she hoped the HPC can come up with a time line that will work for the public and the City Council, as well as what is going on at the Glen Lake Children's Camp. Gertz said once the HPC decides on a site, then it has to hold a public hearing and, depending on what comments are made, the Commission HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 16, 2006 Page 5 closes the public hearing and makes a recommendation to send forward to the City Council. Gertz explained that, along a parallel track, he would present the recommendation to the Planning Commission that would then forward it to the Council. The whole process takes a couple of months. Gertz said a public hearing could probably be scheduled for November. With regard to designation of the Consolidated School, Gertz recommended that Commissioners go to a School Board meeting to present information about what designation would mean. Gertz said the former district supervisor was in favor of it,but he doesn't know about the current administration. Adams said if the Commission works on designation of Staring Lake Outdoor Center, the Consolidated School and the Glen Lake Children's Camp, it should also add Pleasant Hill Cemetery to the list. Gertz said he would move ahead with designation of the Glen Lake Children's Camp and see where that schedule falls in relation to the Council's schedule. It might be necessary to wait until after the first of the year. Regarding the new CLG grant to do a reuse study for the Cummins-Grill House, Gertz said he would be putting RFPs together as soon as he gets the contract back from the SHPO. The RFPs will be sent to individual consultants, like Pathfinder, and historical consulting firms, like Miller Dunwiddie. In terms of participation by Commission members, Gertz said the consultant would probably want the HPC to provide a forum for the study, and one of the Commissioners might be asked to be a member of the reuse study team. Higgins inquired about the status of the work on Pioneer Trail as it relates to the Cummins property. Gertz said nothing has changed, but all parties are in discussion with each other. The City is waiting for a response from the National Park Service; the SHPO is still dealing with the state and county. Work on the road is to start in 2008. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. CULTURAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT FOR PROSPECT ROAD ALTERNATE ROUTES Gertz said Gene Dietz asked him to provide locations of any cultural resources that might impact the four alternate routes being considered for Prospect Road. Gertz said his task was to look at the alternate routes and let the engineering department know if any cultural resources would be impacted. Gertz showed the Commissioners a map of the proposed routes. Two of them would have a visual impact on the site where Fredrick-Miller Spring is located, which is a heritage preservation site. The rural aspect of its setting would be diminished, which is one of the defining characteristics of the spring. The cultural impacts would be a concern for him and the HPC. If one of those routes near the spring is approved, Gertz said he would ask for an archaeological dig. HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 16, 2006 Page 6 There are two Indian burial mound groups near the alternate routes. The burial sites fall under jurisdiction of the state archaeologist and local Sioux Indian tribe and would have to be consulted. Burial mounds are strictly protected by law. The City Council has ordered an EAW to find out if any routes have environmental impacts. The above information should be included in the EAW study. The HPC does not have to take any action at this time. B. RENAMING THE PURGATORY CREEK RECREATION AREA The memo from Bob Lambert about renaming this area indicates the City Council asked for review and discussion by the HPC and the Parks Commission. The suggestion to rename it Memorial Park came from the Veterans Memorial Committee. Lambert told Gertz that the policy for naming of parks is to look at historic features or a prominent physical feature. If the HPC has any suggestions, Lambert will take them to the Parks Commission and the City Council next month. Muehlberg said the recreation area is more than just a memorial park; that is too narrow a scope and is not broad enough to describe the area. Akerlund said the name of Purgatory Creek comes from the fact that mosquitoes bothered the pioneers so much they said it was like being in Purgatory; the name carries some of the trials pioneers had. Adams agreed, and thought it would be a shame to remove that significance by removing Purgatory from the name. Mackay said it depends on who you are talking to; some people like the name Memorial Park. Gertz said he didn't know why anyone would want to remove the historic significance of the name. Adams added that Purgatory Creek runs all the way through Eden Prairie and beyond. It is a character-defining feature of the City. She suggested the name Purgatory Creek Memorial Park. Akerlund said the name could indicate a memorial to the pioneers as well as war veterans and Jean Harris. MOTION: Akerlund moved, seconded by Mackay, that the Heritage Preservation Commission recommends that the name Purgatory Creek is retained in any future renaming of the Purgatory Creek Recreation Area. Motion carried 5-0. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Mackay moved, seconded by Akerlund, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Adams adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m.