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I'M GETTING A REPORT THAT WE'RE LIVE NOW, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
THIS IS OUR ANNUAL H C R C COMMISSIONER TRAINING.
UM, OUR LAST ONE WAS IN JANUARY OF LAST YEAR, SO WE'RE A LITTLE BIT OVERDUE, AND SO WE WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND GET TOGETHER, UM, GO THROUGH SOME RELEVANT ISSUES, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN TOPIC CONVERSATION, THAT COMMISSION MEETINGS.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE ABOUT THREE HOURS OF MATERIAL PLANNED.
UM, I DO NOT INTEND TO TALK FOR THREE HOURS.
I WANT THIS TO BE MORE OF A DISCUSSION.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR INPUT, FEEL FREE TO CHIME IN AND INTERRUPT ME AT ANY MOMENT.
UM, WE DO HAVE A HARD STOP AT FOUR 30.
WE HAVE, UM, TECHNICIANS COMING TO THIS ROOM TO, TO WORK ON THE AV EQUIPMENT.
UM, SO A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW.
WE'RE GONNA GO OVER SOME INTERNAL REVIEW AND SCHEDULING PROCESSES FOR H C R C CASES, KINDA WHAT HAPPENS BEHIND THE SCENES WITH STAFF.
AND WHEN WE DO OUR REVIEWS AS CASES COME TO YOU.
UM, WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, THE U D C UPDATE PROCESS AND SOME PROPOSALS.
UM, WE'VE ALL BEEN RECENTLY, NOT RECENTLY, BUT, UM, PREVIOUSLY BRIEFED ON, UH, POTENTIAL U D C RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STAFF.
AND SO WE WILL REVISIT SOME OF THOSE TODAY.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO DO A REFRESHER ON THE DESIGNATION AND DEMOTION PROCESS.
UM, AND THEN WE WANNA SPEND, UM, THE SECOND HALF, UM, GOING OVER DRAFT POLICY DOCUMENTS.
I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN TALKING ABOUT THE WINDOW POLICY FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, WE HAVE A NEW SUSTAINABILITY DOCUMENT THAT WE WANNA SHOW YOU, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE GUIDELINES AS IT PERTAINS TO MULTI-FAMILY CONSTRUCTION.
[20-5709 Staff will be providing a training for HDRC Commissioners on Commission meeting practices, department purview and updates, and other Commission Business. No official action will be taken.]
HERE WE GO.UM, SO JUST, YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS, BUT AS A REMINDER, OUR MISSION STATEMENT IS, UM, THAT WE ARE HERE TO SAFEGUARD THE CULTURAL, ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY THAT PRESERVES SAN ANTONIO'S UNIQUE SENSE OF PLACE ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS AND AUTHENTICITY.
UM, AUTHENTICITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, HERE, AND EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF TIMES AT MEETINGS WE'RE REVIEWING REALLY TEDIOUS, UH, PROJECTS AND DETAILS, UM, IT'S SORT OF ABOUT THE SUM OF THE PARTS.
UM, SHANNON MILLER, OUR DIRECTOR, ALWAYS SAYS, UH, WE LOSE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER ONE SEEMINGLY REASONABLE DECISION AT A TIME.
AND SO IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE LOOK AT EACH THING CLOSELY AND ARE REALLY, UM, UH, AND THAT OUR DECISION MAKING IS INFORMED.
SO A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW OF OUR DESIGN REVIEW PROGRAM.
SO OUR DEPARTMENT OBVIOUSLY HAS MULTIPLE PROGRAMS. UM, I OVERSEE THE DESIGN REVIEW PROGRAM, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU ARE INVOLVED.
UM, YOU ALSO ARE INVOLVED IN THE DESIGNATION REVIEW PROCESS AND RECOMMENDING NEW LANDMARKS FOR DESIGNATION.
UM, BUT WE'LL FIRST START, UH, WITH THE DESIGN REVIEW PROGRAM.
UM, SO ESSENTIALLY, IF YOU ARE ONE OF THESE AREAS, SO ONE OF OUR 32 LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICTS, UM, A PROPERTY THAT IS AN INDIVIDUAL LOCAL LANDMARK.
WE HAVE ABOUT 1600 OF THOSE IN THE CITY.
UM, ONE OF SEVEN RIVER IMPROVEMENT OVERLAY DISTRICTS ALONG, UH, SAN ANTONIO RIVER AND SAN PEDRO CREEK, UM, IN THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS DISTRICT.
ALL PUBLIC FACILITIES AND DESIGN PROJECTS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, UM, ONE OF OUR SHIP PROTECTION DISTRICTS OR MISSION PROTECTION OVERLAY DISTRICTS, AS WELL AS PROPERTIES THAT HAVE BEEN DETERMINED ELIGIBLE FOR DESIGNATION.
UM, ESSENTIALLY THE CODE REQUIRES THAT A CERTIFICATE OF A PROGRAM IS, IS ISSUED, UM, BY THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER.
UM, SO I WANT TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, UH, SHOWING YOU HOW PROJECTS GET TO, UM, AN H C R C AGENDA.
UM, A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE PUBLIC, UH, INTERACTS WITH STAFF, AND THEN HOW STAFF RECEIVES REQUESTS.
SO I'M GONNA EXIT THE POWERPOINT AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU CAN STILL SEE THIS.
SO HERE ON OUR WEBSITE, SA PRESERVATION.COM, THIS IS THE HOMEPAGE.
UM, THE APPLICATION PORTAL IS ONE OF THE MAIN LINKS.
UM, SO CUSTOMERS WILL GO HERE.
UM, THE TWO MAIN LINKS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE ARE CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS AND DEMOLITION REVIEW.
UM, THESE ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 99% OF ALL THE APPLICATIONS THAT COME TO US, UM, MORE CERTIFICATES THAN DEMOLITIONS.
UM, SO THEY ARE THE TWO, UH, LINKS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE ENTRY HERE.
UM, SO FOLLOWING THIS LINK, UM, A PROPERTY OWNER WOULD SIMPLY PUT IN THEIR ADDRESS HERE.
IT'S ASKING ME TO PUT IN, I ALWAYS USE THIS ONE BECAUSE IT'S A LANDMARK AND A DISTRICT.
SO YOU WOULD SELECT YOUR ADDRESS FROM A LIST,
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AND THEN THE SYSTEM IS GONNA PULL G I S DATA, UM, AND FREELOAD SOME INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PROPERTY.SO LET'S GIVE IT A COUPLE SECONDS HERE SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT IT'S DONE.
IT'S, IT'S SUCCESSFULLY LOCATED THE PROPERTY.
UM, IT KNOWS IT'S IN THE KING WILLIAMS STORE DISTRICT.
IT KNOWS YOU'RE AN INDIVIDUAL LANDMARK.
IF THERE'S A LANDMARK NAME, IT'LL SAY IT THERE.
UM, IT ALSO LOADS THE ZONING FROM OUR GI SS DATABASE.
UM, IT ALSO, UH, IS LINKED TO BCA DATA, SO IT WILL PRELOAD THE OWNER.
YOU ARE ABLE TO EDIT THIS IF THE OWNER INFORMATION IS DIFFERENT.
UM, AND THEN THE APPLICANT SOMETIMES IS A DESIGN PROFESSIONAL WHERE A CONTRACTOR'S ABLE TO ENTER THEIR INFORMATION SO THAT WE CAN REACH THEM.
UM, WE ASK THAT YOU SUBMIT A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUEST, AND SO YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE THIS IN FROM ANOTHER, UH, PLATFORM, OR YOU CAN JUST CREATE THE REQUEST HERE.
UM, I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT WE HAVE LITTLE TIPS HERE.
UM, SO, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE PROCESS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL AND, UH, APPROVAL BY THE COMMISSION.
UM, AND WE USED TO HAVE TWO SEPARATE FORMS. IT'S ACTUALLY, WE'VE CONSOLIDATED THAT NOW HERE INTO ONE FORM, THE CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATE APPLICATION.
AND I'LL EXPLAIN WHY IN A LITTLE BIT.
UM, BUT THERE IS INFORMATION HERE ABOUT THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS, UH, THAT YOU CAN READ AND SEE WHAT TYPES OF WORK THE CODE ALLOWS, UM, FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL.
THERE'S ALSO A, UH, UH, INFORMATION BOX HERE ABOUT CONCEPTUAL VERSUS FINAL REVIEW, AND WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT ISSUE LATER ON AS WELL.
UM, BUT HERE'S SORT OF AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A CONCEPTUAL VERSUS FINAL.
UM, THE SYSTEM DOES PROMPT YOU TO, UM, PUT IN ATTACHMENTS, UM, AND I'LL SHOW YOU WHY IN A LITTLE BIT AND WHERE THOSE GO.
UM, SO YOU CAN KIND OF SAY WHAT YOU'RE UPLOADING, UPLOAD IT, CHOOSE A FILE AND UPLOAD IT.
UM, AND THEN COMPLETE THE COMPLETE, COMPLETE THE FORM HERE.
ONCE THAT IS SUBMITTED, UM, IT, WE'LL SEND YOU AN EMAIL.
SO THIS IS THE EMAIL YOU RECEIVE.
UM, YOU GET A REQUEST ID NUMBER, UM, CONFIRMATION THAT STAFF HAS RECEIVED YOUR REQUEST, AND THEN A LITTLE GENTLE REMINDER NOT TO, UH, PROCEED WITH WORK UNTIL, UM, YOU HEAR FROM STAFF.
SO NOW I'M GONNA SHOW YOU WHAT WE SEE ON OUR END.
SO THIS WAS THE PUBLIC FACING SIDE OF THE PORTAL.
I'M GONNA ALSO SHOW YOU, UM, OUR SIDE OF THE PORTAL.
SO REQUESTS AS THEY COME IN ARE SHOW UP HERE.
THIS IS SORT OF THE UNASSIGNED QUEUE.
AND SO WE HAVE AN ASSIGNED CASE MANAGER OF THE DAY WHO WILL GO IN AND SORT OF RECONCILE ALL OF THESE.
UM, THEY WILL DO AN INITIAL, UM, COMPLETENESS REVIEW.
UM, THEY WILL CONTACT THE APPLICANT TO INFORM THEM THAT WE'VE RECEIVED IT.
UM, IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, WE'LL LET THEM KNOW AT THAT TIME.
UM, AND THEN, UM, DEPENDING ON THE SCOPE, IT WILL BE ENTERED INTO A QUEUE EITHER FOR FURTHER REVIEW BY STAFF, UM, CONSIDERATION FOR H C R C OR FOR COMPLETENESS REVIEW.
AND I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT ONCE WE COMPLETE THE, UM, THE REVIEW.
UM, THE SYSTEM GENERATES THIS LETTER.
THIS IS A CERTIFICATE OF NESS.
THIS IS THE VERSION YOU GET FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL.
THIS I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF LANGUAGE ON DO.
IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THE LANGUAGE AND THE CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT AT THE END OF EACH HEARING.
UM, WE DO REQUIRE THAT THESE ARE POSTED ON THE JOB SITE FOR THE DURATION OF THE PROJECT.
UM, WE DO EMAIL THESE AS WELL.
UM, SO THIS IS THE QUICKEST WAY TO GET APPLICANT'S THEIR APPROVAL.
OKAY, BEFORE I GO ON, I ALSO WANNA SHOW YOU THE THIRD THING THAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU USE THE PORTAL.
THIS IS A NEW, UM, FEATURE TO OUR WEBSITE, AND I THINK WE, UM, I THINK WE SHOWED YOU THIS AND AS A DRAFT, UM, EARLIER IN THE YEAR, BUT I CAN SHOW YOU THAT IT'S LIVE NOW.
UM, SO THIS IS A BIT LIKE THE OLD MAP WE HAD HERE.
IT'S, IT'S BASICALLY, UM, A FORM OF NOTIFICATION TO SHOW PROPERTY OWNERS WHAT TYPE OF, UH, DESIGN DISTRICTS THEY MIGHT BE LOCATED IN.
UM, SO WE HAVE HISTORIC DISTRICTS OF LANDMARKS.
DO YOU SEE IT? LAUREN? COREY? I CAN SEE THE MAP NOW.
I THINK IT'S PROBABLY LOADING.
UM, SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE ADDED, UM, I A LINK TO OUR CASES HISTORY DATA.
UM, SO ALL THE BLUE DOTS MEANS THAT WE HAVE COAS ON FILE.
SO IF YOU CLICK ONE OF THESE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE DATA THAT, THAT WE HAVE IN THE PORTAL.
UM, AS PROJECTS ARE SUBMITTED AND GO TO THAT UNASSIGNED TAB I SHOWED YOU, UM, THEY AREN'T LIVE UNTIL WE'VE ASSIGNED THEM TO A, TO A CASE MANAGER TO A REVIEWER.
AND SO WE DO THAT INITIAL COMPLETENESS CHECK.
WE GO AND LOOK AT THE ATTACHMENTS, AND WE MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE ATTACHMENTS IS AVAILABLE FOR, FOR PUBLIC VIEW,
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UM, AND THAT WE, THAT WE MAKE IT LIVE.AND SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE REQUESTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW BEFORE ANY ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN ON THAT ITEM.
IF I GO TO THE CASE HISTORY TAB, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S SIGNAGE THAT'S BEEN APPROVED, AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO VIEW THE ATTACHMENTS AS WELL AS THE C O A THAT WAS ISSUED.
UM, IF I GO TO UNDER REVIEW, YOU CAN SEE I'VE GOT PINK SQUARES HERE.
SO THESE ARE, UH, CASES THAT ARE STILL UNDER REVIEW AS CERTIFICATE HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED, AND THEY, THEY MIGHT BE PENDING H D R C REVIEW OR WE MIGHT BE APPROVING THEM ADMINISTRATIVELY.
UM, SO THIS IS ANOTHER FORM OF SORT OF ADVANCED NOTIFICATION THAT THE PUBLIC CAN RECEIVE FOR INCOMING CASES, AND WE'RE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT BEING ABLE TO OFFER THIS.
UM, YOU CAN ALSO SEARCH BY HISTORIC DISTRICT.
SO IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT IN MY STORE DISTRICT, LET'S SAY I'M IN MONTE VISTA, OH, THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANTED TO DO.
REQUESTS STATUS AND PROGRESS, WHICH MEANS UNDER REVIEW.
AND THEN I CAN, UH, SELECT BY DISTRICT.
IT'S GONNA SHOW ME ALL OF THE INCOMING CASES FOR MONTE VISTA.
SO I CAN THEN CLICK ON THOSE AND SEE WHICH ITEMS ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW.
SO I'VE GOT A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUEST AND I CAN VIEW WHAT WAS SUBMITTED FOR THE ITEM.
LET ME GO BACK TO MY POWERPOINT HERE.
UM, SO THE CODE DIRECTS US TO TAKE ACTION ON ALL C O A REQUESTS WITHIN, WITHIN 60 DAYS.
YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THAT KIND OF TIMELINE.
UM, NOW OUR POLICY IS IF SOMETHING'S ELIGIBLE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL, WE GO AHEAD AND APPROVE IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
SO THAT USUALLY HAPPENS WITHIN 24 HOURS.
UM, THERE'S ALWAYS AN OPTION, UM, IF YOU'RE UNSURE ABOUT WHAT IS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT WITH YOUR REQUEST, YOU CAN CONSULT WITH STAFF.
UM, ONCE YOU SUBMIT, SUBMIT THE APPLICATION, WE DO THE COMPLETENESS REVIEW.
UM, WE HAVE UP TO 10 DAYS TO DO THAT COMPLETENESS REVIEW, BUT MOST, IN MOST CASES, WE ARE ABLE TO DO THAT AT THE TIME OF INTAKE.
AND THEN WE MAKE THE ASSIGNMENTS TO THE CASE MANAGER.
UM, H C R C REVIEW, IT'S A SLIGHTLY LONGER TIMEFRAME.
UM, THAT IS BECAUSE THEY'RE USUALLY MORE COMPLICATED REQUESTS.
UM, THE, THE REVIEW IS MORE IN DEPTH, UM, AND THERE'S SORT OF ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS ASSIGNED WITH, WITH THAT REVIEW.
UM, SO THE REVIEW PERIOD IS ABOUT 10 BUSINESS DAYS.
UM, ONCE, UM, APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS PASSED, UM, THEN A SCHEDULED HEARING TAKES PLACE ACTION BY THE H C R C, AND THEN WE HAVE 10 DAYS TO ISSUE THE APPROVAL LETTER.
UM, SO THIS PART IN RED IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO APPLICANTS MAY APPEAL COMPLETENESS TO THE H D R C.
UM, SO THAT COMPLETENESS REVIEW BECOMES REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, I KNOW SOMETIMES WE HAVE CASES THAT GETS TO THE COMMISSION, UM, OR WE'RE FRUSTRATED BECAUSE THERE'S A LACK OF MATERIALS OR THE DOCUMENTATION ISN'T THE QUALITY THAT WE HAD ALL HOPED FOR.
UM, AND SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS FOR A LITTLE BIT.
B D C, SECTION 35 4 51 C SAYS THAT APPLICANTS MAY APPEAL STAFF'S DETERMINATION REGARDING P TO THE H D R C.
UM, SO WHAT THIS USUALLY LOOKS LIKE IS WE DO AN INITIAL REVIEW FOR PENIS AND ACCURACY.
UM, THE CODE HAS AN APPENDIX, WHICH TELLS US WHAT DOCUMENTATION IS REQUIRED FOR EACH APPLICATION.
SO FOR H C R C, THERE'S ELEVATION REQUIREMENTS, SITE PLAN, ROOF PLAN, MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS, SIGNAGE, MOCKUPS.
ALL OF THAT IS, IS THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION TO BE CONSIDERED COMPLETE.
UM, IF WE DON'T FEEL LIKE WE HAVE ALL OF THAT, IF SOMETHING'S CLEARLY MISSING, AND AGAIN, THIS CAN KIND OF VARY BASED ON THE TYPE OF REQUEST, WE CAN REQUEST ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THAT APPLICATION.
UM, WE WILL INFORM THE APP, THE APPLICANT IN, IN WRITING, USUALLY BY EMAIL, UM, THAT WE WILL NOT SCHEDULE IT FOR H D R C UNTIL IT'S CONSIDERED COMPLETE AND UNTIL THAT REQUESTED DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED.
UM, WE SOMETIMES REQUEST REVISED DRAWINGS AS WELL.
SO WE MIGHT GET A DRAWING, WE MIGHT GET SOMETHING THAT'S AN ELEVATION, BUT WE SOMETIMES FIND THAT IT'S EITHER INACCURATE OR MAYBE NOT QUITE A SCALE OR SOMETHING THAT'S NOT LINING UP WITH THE FLOOR PLANS THAT WERE SUBMITTED.
AND SO WE MIGHT ASK FOR REVISIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE DOCUMENTATION IS ACCURATE.
UM, WE ALSO, SOMETIMES, JUST BASED ON THE TYPE OF REQUESTS, WE'LL TALK TO THE APPLICANT ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW YOU WILL EXPECT TO SEE WHEN YOU DO YOUR REVIEW.
UM, SO WE MAKE EXPECTATIONS, UH, VERY CLEAR UPFRONT WITH APPLICANT SO THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT TO EXPECT.
SO BY THE TIME THEY'RE PRESENTING IN FRONT OF YOU, THEY KNOW KIND OF HOW TO ANTICIPATE CONCERNS AND POTENTIALLY BE ABLE TO ADDRESS 'EM.
UM, SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF REVISED DRAWINGS.
WE GO BACK TO PRESENTATION MODE HERE.
UM, SO WE GET NAPKIN SKETCHES ALL THE TIME.
UM, SOMETIMES DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF PROJECT AND THE SCALE, UM, IT, IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE CAN WORK WITH.
OFTENTIMES, IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS, IS STRUCTURAL, THEN WE'RE GONNA REQUIRE SOMETHING MORE ARCHITECTURAL.
UM, DETAIL DETAIL, SO YOU CAN SEE HOW WE KIND OF NUDGE THIS APPLICANT TO GET SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE COULD BETTER UNDERSTAND AND PREPARE FOR A HEARING.
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UM, SO THIS IS A TYPICAL H C R C, UH, APPLICATION LIFE.UM, IT COMES THROUGH THE PORTAL.
UM, USUALLY, LIKE I SAID, WE DO THAT INITIAL COMPLAINANT'S REVIEW.
UM, AND ONCE IT'S DEEMED TO COMPLETE AFTER THE, AFTER IT'S RECEIVED, THE 60 DAY CLOCK BEGINS.
UM, ALL OF THE POTENTIAL CASES, THINGS THAT WE THINK ARE GOING TO REQUIRE H D R C APPROVAL, MEANING WE CANNOT BY CODE APPROVE THEM ADMINISTRATIVELY, UM, ARE ADDED TO A TRACKING SHEET.
UM, STAFF HAS A WEEKLY INTAKE AND COMPLETENESS REVIEW MEETING WHERE WE, WE LOOK AT CASES THAT ARE INCOMING, SORRY, I HEARD A NO.
UM, AND WE CONFIRM THAT THERE'S COMPLETENESS, UM, IN THOSE APPLICATIONS.
AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING MISSING, WE'LL IDENTIFY IT AT THAT TIME.
UM, WE DO ASSIGN CASE MANAGERS AT THAT TIME.
SOMETIMES WE'LL REALIZE THAT EDWARD HAS TOO MANY CASES AND SO WE'LL NEED TO SPREAD THEM OUT AND DISTRIBUTE THEM MORE EVENLY.
UM, WE ALWAYS TRY TO KEEP CASE MANAGERS THAT ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH A PARTICULAR PROPERTY OR, OR SOMETIMES AN APPLICANT, UM, ASSIGNED TO THOSE PEOPLE THAT MAKES THE PROCESS MUCH SMOOTHER.
UM, AND THEN IT'S THE CASE MANAGER'S JOB TO FOLLOW OUR INTERNAL S O P AND D D C REGARDING THE NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
UM, SOMETIMES WE MAKE THE DECISION THEN THAT A PROJECT WOULD BEST BE SERVED BY COMING TO THE DESIGNER REVIEW COMMITTEE FIRST.
AND SO SOMETIMES YOU WILL SEE THAT THOSE LAND ON A COMMITTEE AGENDA BEFORE, BEFORE YOU SEE THEM ON AN H D R C AGENDA.
AND THAT'S WHY, UM, SOMETIMES THEY REQUEST THAT AS WELL.
UM, WE SCHEDULED THE HEARING, UM, ACTION ON ALL REQUESTS IS REQUIRED WITHIN 60 DAYS, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND THEN WE, WE ISSUE, UM, THE C O A WITHIN 10 BUSINESS DAYS BY, UM, SO 60 DAYS, WHAT POTENTIALLY STOPS THAT CLOCK SOMETIMES, UM, THIS COMES UP WHERE WE HAVE MORE TIME.
UM, RIGHT NOW, AS YOU KNOW, UM, BECAUSE OF THE LOCAL EMERGENCY ORDERS, THOSE U D C TIMERS ARE ALL SUSPENDED.
UM, SO WE'RE ABLE, UH, TO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT TOO MUCH, BUT WE ARE MINDFUL OF THE TIME NOW.
UM, AND YOU'LL REMEMBER WHEN WE FIRST STARTED VIRTUAL MEETINGS, UH, MAY, UM, WE HAD A BACKLOG, BACKLOG OF CASES THAT WERE PROBABLY PAST THAT 60 DAY MARK, BUT IT WAS, UM, WORKABLE WITHIN OUR, OUR LOCAL ORDERS.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT'S REALLY WAITING.
UM, SO, SO WE'RE, WE'RE HAPPY THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT AND ACCOMMODATE OUR APPLICANTS.
UM, BUT YOU DO KNOW THAT WE'VE ADDED ON OUR STAFF RECOMMENDATION OF THE REPORTS, THE 60 DAY TIMELINE THAT WOULD NORMALLY APPLY TO A CASE BASED ON THE APPLICATION DATE.
UM, SO IF WE DETERMINE SOMETHING'S INCOMPLETE AND WE'VE NOTIFIED THEM IN WRITING, WE ARE WAITING FOR ADDITIONAL MATERIALS FROM THAT APPLICANT.
THE CLOCK IS PAUSE, THEY COULD TAKE TWO TO THREE WEEKS.
AND SO WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE PART OF OUR REVIEW PERIOD FROM, FROM WAITING FOR INCOMPLETE MATERIALS.
UM, THE APPLICANT ALSO IS ALLOWED TO FORMALLY REQUEST POSTPONEMENT, UM, OR A SPECIFIC HEARING DATE.
UM, SO WE VERY OFTEN HAVE APPLICANTS WHO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION AND THEN SAY, OH, BY THE WAY, I'M ON VACATION FOR THE NEXT MONTH, SO DON'T SCHEDULE ME.
SO IF THERE'S ANY AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THE APPLICANT REQUESTS TO BE POSTPONED OR DELAYED FOR HEARING, WE ADD THAT AMOUNT OF TIME TO THE 60 DAYS.
UM, IF THERE'S A FORMAL WITHDRAWAL BY THE APPLICANT THAT STOPS THE CLOCK, UH, FOREVER, UM, SO NO FURTHER ACTION IS NEEDED.
UM, AND THEN IN ACTION TO APPROVE OR DENY THE ITEM, UM, IS ALSO, UM, SORT OF THE END OF THAT 60 DAY LIFE CYCLE.
SO WHAT DOESN'T STOP THE CLOCK IS ANY SORT OF DELAY, UM, THAT IS NOT A APPROVE OR DENY ACTION.
SO RESETTING THE CASE, POSTPONING THE CASE, REFERRING TO SUBCOMMITTEE, UM, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO, BUT THEY NEED TO HAPPEN WITHIN THAT SIX DAY TIMEFRAME.
UM, AND SO IF WE GET CLOSE TO, UM, THAT 60 DAY, UH, DEADLINE, AND WE KNOW THAT RESETTING THE CASE IS GOING TO MAKE IT EXCEED THE 60 DAYS BEFORE WE CAN HEAR IT AT THE H C R C AGAIN, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW.
UM, AND THAT HASN'T BEEN AN ISSUE.
UM, USUALLY, UM, YOU ALL ARE PRETTY MINDFUL OF THAT DATE.
THAT'S ON THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION, UM, AND ASK WHAT THE LA WHAT THE LATEST DATE TO TAKE ACTION IS.
UM, SOMETIMES STAFF MAKES MISTAKES.
IF THERE'S A POSTING ISSUE OR IF THAT'S A NOTICE REQUIREMENT, THAT OBVIOUSLY NEEDS TO BE REDONE BEFORE IT CAN BE HEARD BY THE HT R C, AND THAT DOES NOT DELAY THE, THE 60 DAY SHOT CLOCK.
UM, AN ACTIVITY FROM THE APPLICANT DOES SOMETIMES HAPPEN.
UM, YOU KNOW THAT LIKE WE'LL HAVE CASES THAT WILL SHOW UP ON AGENDA THREE TIMES IN A ROW, AND THE APPLICANT IS NOT THERE FOR ANY OF THEM.
UM, AND EVENTUALLY WE DO NEED TO FORCE AN ACTION UNLESS THEY'VE TOLD US THAT THEY ARE WITHDRAWING THE CASE.
UM, SO IT IS NOT OUT OF THE ORDINARY, WELL, IT IS OUT, IT'S UNORDINARY, BUT IT DOES HAPPEN THAT AN APPLICANT MIGHT, UH, JUST NEVER RESPOND TO STAFF AND NEVER GET CONFIRMATION THAT THEY'RE GOING TO ATTEND A HEARING.
UM, SO I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT AFTER THIS LAST BULLET, THERE'S ANOTHER POSSIBLE BULLET, AND THAT IS AN APPEAL.
UM, SO THAT IS USUALLY, UH, UH, MANAGED BY STAFF.
THE OTHER THING THAT HAPPENS IS PERMIT REVIEW.
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REALLY JUST ONE KIND OF UPFRONT REVIEW THAT TAKES PLACE.UM, THE CODE DOES NOT DISTINGUISH WHEN THIS HAPPENS.
UM, SO IT CAN HAPPEN BEFORE CONCURRENTLY OR EVEN LONG AFTER THE H C R C, UM, SOMEBODY CAN SUBMIT FOR A PERMIT.
UM, HOW THEY COME TO US IS OUR G I SS DATA WILL FLAG THE PERMITS BASED ON THE ZONING OVERLAYS THAT ARE IN PLACE.
SO GOING BACK TO THAT EXPLORER MAP, ALL OF THOSE PARCELS THAT HAVE A ZONING OVERLAY THAT REQUIRES A C O A, UM, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE INTO OUR, IN OUR PROPERTY DATA.
SO AS PERMITS COME IN, THEY'RE FLAGGED FOR REVIEW.
UM, SO WHAT WE DO IS WHEN WE GET THOSE FLAGS IS WE REVIEW THE PERMITS, UM, FOR WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S A C O A ON FILE, WHETHER OR NOT A C O A IS REQUIRED SOMETIMES IN INTERIOR WORK ONLY, AND NOT SUBJECT TO A C O A REQUIREMENT.
BUT IF IT DOES REQUIRE A C O A AND THERE'S NOT ONE ON FILE, WE WILL DENY THAT REVIEW OF OURS UNTIL THE C O A CAN BE ISSUED.
UM, WHEN WE DENY IT, WE ALSO NOTIFY THE APPLICANT THAT THEY NEED TO SUBMIT.
AND USUALLY IT'S HANDLED PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, NOT MANY PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED WHEN THEY GET THE DENIAL, BUT WE DO LIKE TO AVOID THAT POSSIBLE.
UM, PERMITS WITH THE COAS ON FILE ARE REVIEWED FOR CONSISTENCY AND APPROVAL WITH THE STIPULATIONS.
UM, SO A LOT OF TIMES THERE MIGHT BE SEVEN OR EIGHT OR NINE OR 10 STIPULATIONS, UM, FROM AN H C R C ACTION.
UM, WE ACTUALLY DON'T ISSUE THE C O A, UM, PIECE OF PAPER LETTER UNTIL THE STIPULATIONS ARE DOCUMENTED SOMEHOW.
SO MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THE PERMIT WILL COME IN AND WE WILL NOTICE THAT WE DO NOT HAVE THE C O A ISSUED YET, EVEN THOUGH THE DRAWINGS MEET THE STIPULATIONS.
UM, AND SO WE WILL, WE WILL DO THAT FORMAL, UH, ISSUANCE OF THE C O A AND VERIFY THAT IT'S THE STIPULATIONS AT THAT TIME.
UM, AND THEN ONCE WE DO THAT, WE WILL EITHER APPROVE, APPROVE WITH CONDITIONS OR DENY THE REVIEW BASED ON PERFORMANCE WITH THE COA AND FILE.
WE'RE GONNA TALK LATER IN THE TRAINING ABOUT CONCEPTUAL REVIEW, UM, SOME PROPOSED CHANGES.
UM, SO JUST KNOW WHATEVER'S COMING IN FOR PERMIT IS USUALLY FULL DESIGN DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THE FULL DRAWING SET, OR WE'RE COMPARING AGAINST SOMETHING THAT IS SOMETIMES LESS DETAILED FROM WHAT THE COMMISSION SAW.
UM, SO THE U D C DOES SAY THAT COAS HAVE A LIFESPAN.
UM, IF A C O A IS ISSUED, THEY'RE GENERALLY GOOD FOR 180 DAYS OR SIX MONTHS.
UM, DURING THAT TIME, THE PROJECT MUST CONTINUE SOME PHASE OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN ORDER TO REMAIN VALID OR OR NOT TO EXPIRE.
THAT MEANS THEY'RE PULLING ADDITIONAL PERMITS UNDER THE SAME SCOPE OF WORK.
THEY'RE RE-PLANNING OR DOING SOMETHING THAT GIVES CONTINUANCE TO THE PROJECT.
UM, IF THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN, THEN THE C O A IS EXPIRED AND THE APPLICANT MUST FORMALLY REQUEST A REISSUE FROM STAFF WHEN THEY REQUEST THAT WE, WE USUALLY DO IT ADMINISTRATIVELY.
WE'RE CONFIRMING THAT THE SAME SCOPE OF WORK, UM, IS, IS DESIRED PRIOR TO REISSUING.
UM, USUALLY WHAT HAPPENS IS THE PERMIT HAS COME IN AND WE SEE THAT THERE'S AN EXPIRED C O A, AND SO WE WILL REISSUE IT AT THAT TIME ONCE WE VERIFY THAT WHAT CAME IN FOR THE PERMIT IS CONSISTENT WITH THAT SCOPE.
UM, NOT, NOT SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES TO THE SCOPE MAY ALSO BE CONSIDERED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL, AND THE CODE ALLOWS THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
SO SOMETIMES MAYBE IT'S A CHANGE IN BRICK COLOR THAT WASN'T REALLY AN ISSUE WHEN IT CAME TO THE COMMISSION, SO WE MIGHT ISSUE THAT C O A ADMINISTRATIVELY.
SO SMALL DETAILS LIKE THAT, UM, ADDITIONAL ACTION BY THE H C R C MAY BE REQUIRED.
SO IF THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN SCOPE INSTEAD OF THE BRICK COLOR, MAYBE THEY'VE ADDED A STORY TO THE BUILDING, THEN THAT IS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT COME BACK TO THE COMMISSION FOR FURTHER ACTION.
UM, WHEN THAT HAPPENS, WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT WHAT THE OPTIONS FOR THE APPLICANT ARE.
UM, SO THE BEST OPTION IN OUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT A REVISED APPLICATION BE RESUBMITTED AND RECONSIDERED BY THE H C R C.
THAT CAN HAPPEN WITHIN ANY TIMEFRAME.
UM, THE CODE CURRENTLY DOES NOT SPECIFY WHAT CHANGES MUST IN MUST OCCUR IN ORDER TO BE RECONSIDERED BY THE COMMISSION.
UM, THE SAME APPLICATION THAT WAS DENIED MAY ALSO BE CONSIDERED FOLLOWING ONE YEAR PERIOD.
UM, AN APPEAL MAY BE SUBMITTED WITHIN 20 DAYS.
UM, THERE WAS STATE LEGISLATION, UM, LAST YEAR THAT REDUCED THIS, THIS WAITING PERIOD.
UM, SO, UM, SOMEBODY WHO, UH, DISAGREES WITH THE OUTCOME, UM, HAS A SHORTER AMOUNT OF TIME IN ORDER TO SUBMIT THAT APPEAL.
UM, THE H D R C HAS DISCRETION TO ACCEPT A SUBSEQUENT APPLICATION FOLLOWING A DISAPPROVAL BY THE B O A.
AND SO YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH A RECENT CASE THAT WENT THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
IF AN APPEAL IS MADE, BUT ALSO NOT GRANTED THAT THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT, THEN THE H D R C WOULD HAVE TO APPROVE A WAIVER TO RECONSIDER THE APPLICATION FOLLOWING THAT DISAPPROVAL.
OTHERWISE IT WOULD WAIT THE ONE YEAR.
UM, APPEALS, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS AREN'T VERY, UM, INVOLVED IN THESE.
UM, I, OTHER THAN I KNOW THAT WHEN WE GET TO CASES THAT HAVE SOMETIMES BEEN BEFORE THE COMMISSION, TWO
[00:25:01]
OR THREE TIMES, SOMETIMES MORE, UM, AND MAYBE WE HAVE A SPLIT VOTE, MAYBE THERE'S DISAGREEMENT ABOUT WHAT THE BEST SOLUTION IS.UM, SOMETIMES IT IS MENTIONED THAT THEY ALWAYS HAVE THE OPTION TO APPEAL WHATEVER THE OUTCOME IS.
UM, WE WANTED TO TAKE THIS TIME JUST TO GO ON RECORD AS SAYING THAT THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY ALWAYS A GREAT OPTION FOR APPLICANTS.
UM, THE RESULTS ARE REALLY NOT GUARANTEED.
UM, AT THE B O A, IT IS A, A REQUISITE NUMBER OF NINE VOTES THAT'S REQUIRED TO PASS AN APPEAL OR A VARIANCE.
AND SO IT'S NOT LIKELY THAT THEY WOULD BE APPROVED.
UM, MORE RECENTLY THE TRACK RECORD IS SHOWING THAT THEY'RE NOT APPROVED.
UM, WE'VE HAD THREE CASES IN A ROW THAT HAVE BEEN APPEALED AND THEY WERE ALL DENIED.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST MORE TIME AND MONEY FOR THE SAME RESULT.
AND SO WE REALLY WANT TO EDUCATE APPLICANTS ABOUT THAT OPTION BEFORE THEY, BEFORE THEY TAKE THAT STEP.
UM, FURTHER, I THINK THERE'S A MISCONCEPTION ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE B O A, UM, THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT.
UM, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE VIEW IT AS A SECOND CHANCE TO RECONSIDER THE APPLICATION, AND THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT THE B D C CHARGES THE B O A TO DO.
UM, THEIR JOB IS NOT TO REVIEW THE C O A, THEIR JOB IS TO REVIEW, UM, WHAT THE ROLE OF THE H C R C WAS AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE CORRECT IN THEIR, THEIR REVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL C O A.
SO THEY'RE REVIEWING THE H C R C ACTUALLY NOT NECESSARILY THE ORIGINAL REQUEST.
AND SO THERE'S SOME SORT OF, THERE'S SOMETIMES A MISCONCEPTION ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE DO ENCOURAGE, UM, EVEN IF THERE'S DISAGREEMENT, UM, TO TRY TO REACH COMPROMISE AND CONSENSUS OF THE COMMISSION AT THE H C R C.
UM, IT GIVES YOU GUYS A LITTLE MORE CONTROL OVER THE SITUATION VERSUS A GOING TO A SEPARATE BOARD.
UM, BUT WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT DOES NEED TO HAPPEN SOMETIMES.
UM, AND JUST KNOW THAT O H P STAFF, IT'S USUALLY MYSELF, UM, THE CASE MANAGER FOR THE CASE ARE REPRESENTING YOU ALL AT THOSE B O A HEARINGS.
SO WE USUALLY PROVIDE A STAFF REPORT ABOUT THAT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THE H C R C REPORT ABOUT THE FINDINGS AND THE ACTION TAKEN, UM, SO THAT THE B O A HAS THAT INFORMATION.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT C O A TIMELINE, PROCESS, APPEALS, DENIALS, PERMIT REVIEW BEFORE WE KIND OF SHIFT GEARS? GREAT.
UM, SO WE WANTED TO SPEND SOME TIME KIND OF TALKING ABOUT HOW WE WORK WITH THE PUBLIC AND OUR APPLICANTS CUSTOMERS, IS WHAT WE USUALLY CALL THEM.
'CAUSE THEY ARE, UM, THROUGH THE PROCESS SO THAT, UM, THEY'RE INFORMED AND SUCCESSFUL AS POSSIBLE.
UM, GENERALLY OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, UM, PROCESS IS APPROACHABLE, ACCESSIBLE, AFFORDABLE, UM, EXPEDITIOUS WHEN POSSIBLE.
UM, AND BY DOING ALL THIS, WE BELIEVE IT ENCOURAGES WORK WITH APPROVAL.
PEOPLE ARE GOING TO MORE LIKELY TO PARTICIPATE VERSUS PUSH BACK, UM, IN THE PROCESS.
UM, SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE IT WRITTEN INTO OUR, OUR OPERATING PROCEDURES THAT STAFF WILL, WILL HAVE THE FOLLOWING COMMUNICATIONS WITH APPLICANTS.
UM, SO THEY DO GET THE INITIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION FROM THE PORTAL SYSTEM THAT'S GENERATED, BUT THEN THERE'S A FOLLOW-UP EMAIL FROM THEIR ASSIGNED CASE MANAGER WHERE THEY INTRODUCE THEMSELVES, UM, LET THEM KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.
UM, IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, WE DO NOTIFY THEM IN WRITING.
UM, IF IT'S SOMEBODY WE HAVE A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH, WE'LL JUST CALL THEM AND LET THEM KNOW KIND OF WHAT IS NEEDED.
UM, WE DO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ATTEND DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE, UM, WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE.
THAT'S USUALLY GONNA BE OUR NEW CONSTRUCTION CASES.
UM, THERE'S SORT OF BEEN THIS EXPECTATION BUILT UP THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE COMPLICATED.
WE WILL AT A MINIMUM GO TO A COMMITTEE FIRST.
UM, THAT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT, BUT THAT'S USUALLY THE PRACTICE.
AND MOST, UM, ARCHITECTS THAT ARE APPLYING, UM, FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION DO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY EXPECT TO GO TO COMMITTEE.
UM, WE ALWAYS DISCUSS, UM, ONCE FINALIZED OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND STIPULATIONS PRIOR TO POSTING THE AGENDA.
SO I THINK THAT SOMETIMES PEOPLE FEEL, UH, OR AT LEAST COMMUNICATE TO YOU ALL THAT THEY WERE SURPRISED BY STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.
NOBODY SHOULD BE, UM, THAT CONVERSATION IS HAD BEFORE WE POST THE AGENDA BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT WE ORGANIZE THE AGENDA, UH, INTO TWO CATEGORIES.
THE CONSENT AGENDA AND INDIVIDUAL CASES.
AND THE CONSENT AGENDA OR POLICY IS THAT WE INCLUDE CASES WHERE EVEN IF THERE'S STIPULATIONS, UM, WE CONFIRM THAT THE APPLICANT HAS AGREED TO THEM BEFORE PLACING THEM ON.
UM, SO THERE'S ALWAYS A DISCUSSION WITH THE APPLICANT BEFORE THAT AGENDA IS POSTED.
UM, AND THEN WE HELP THEM PREPARE FOR THE HEARING.
SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE THINK, UM, WOULD BE HELPFUL, UM, THEN WE LET THEM KNOW AT THAT TIME.
UM, USUALLY IT'S JUST ONE STIPULATION AND SO WE'LL SORT OF COACH THE APPLICANT TO PREPARE TO FOCUS ON THAT ONE STIPULATION VERSUS DOING AN OVERALL PRESENTATION THAT HELPS US THINGS ALONG.
UM, WE OFFER THE FOLLOWING SERVICES, UM, STAFF CONSULTATION, LIKE I SAID, UM, WE CAN ALWAYS MEET WITH STAFF.
UM, MOST OF OUR PLANNERS HAVE REGULAR TIMES WHEN THEY'RE AVAILABLE TO MEET.
UM, AND THAT'S EITHER FORMERLY HERE AT OUR OFFICE, BUT WE ALSO DO SITE VISITS AS WELL.
UM, WE DO PARTICIPATE IN PRE-PLANNED REVIEWS
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THAT ARE ORGANIZED BY OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.UM, SO THIS IS AN OPTION, UM, WHERE YOU CAN PAY A SMALL FEE, UM, AND MEET WITH THE DIFFERENT REVIEW DISCIPLINES PRIOR TO SUBMITTING FOR A PERMIT.
UM, AND SO THEY CAN IDENTIFY ISSUES UP FRONT, WHICH CAN SAVE YOU TIME IN THE LONG RUN.
UM, AGAIN, THE DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE, UM, WE ALSO, UH, FORMALLY HAD A DESIGN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UM, THAT'S CURRENTLY ON HOLD, BUT WE CAN PICK THAT UP AGAIN WHERE, UM, IT'S A LOCAL PARTNERSHIP WITH A NONPROFIT WHO USES STUDENTS TO DO, UM, AS-BUILT DRAWINGS AND HELP PEOPLE DEVELOP THEIR DRAWINGS WHEN THEY COME IN WITH A NAPKIN SKETCH SO THAT THEY CAN BETTER PREPARE FOR EACH.
UM, SO AS YOU REMEMBER, UM, IN PREVIOUS TRAININGS WE'VE SHOWN YOU THAT THAT BAR GRAPH THAT GOES UP AND UP AND UP.
UM, I'VE SPARED YOU THE GRAPHS IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT JUST KNOW THAT THE CASELOAD HAS INCREASED OVER TIME AND IT'S CONTINUING TO DO SO EVEN THIS YEAR.
UM, SO IT'S ALL ABOUT SORT OF MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCIES.
UM, ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WE DO, AND I ALREADY MENTIONED THIS, IS THAT WE HAVE STANDARD CASE MANAGER ASSIGNMENTS BASED ON GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORS LIVING IN KING WILLIAM KNOW THAT STEPHANIE IS USUALLY THEIR CONTACT NEIGHBORS LIVING THE ANNUITY HILL KNOW THAT EDWARD IS USUALLY THEIR CONTACT SO THAT THERE'S A BETTER LINE OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN STAFF AND THE PUBLIC, UM, AND APPLICANTS.
UM, THAT ALSO HELPS OUR CASES, OUR CASE REVIEWS BE MORE CONSISTENT.
UM, 'CAUSE WE'RE USING A LOT OF THE SAME LANGUAGE AND A LOT OF THE SAME, UH, KIND OF, UH, REVIEW POLICIES WHEN WE'RE DOING THOSE.
UM, WE DO ORGANIZE THE AGENDAS BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK PREVIOUSLY, UM, TO BE MORE EFFICIENT.
SO YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE RETURNING CASES USUALLY AT THE TOP OF THE AGENDA.
UM, FROM THERE WE ORGANIZE BY TYPE AND SO WE'LL HAVE COMMERCIAL CASES GROUPED TOGETHER, RESIDENTIAL CASES GROUPED TOGETHER, AND I THINK THAT KIND OF HELPS THE, THE DECISION MAKING, UH, MOVE ALONG MORE SMOOTHLY.
UM, WE ALSO, UM, HAVE BEEN WORKING, UH, BY PROVIDING DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ENCOURAGING YOU ALL THAT PARTICIPATED IN THOSE COMMITTEE MEETINGS TO, UH, REPORT OUT ON THE DISCUSSION.
UM, THAT KIND OF HELPS INFORM THE REVIEW AS WELL.
UM, SO WE HAVE HISTORICALLY HAD THIS ISSUE WITH LATE EXHIBITS.
UM, THIS IS ANYTHING THAT'S PRODUCED BY THE APPLICANT AFTER WE'VE DONE A REVIEW AND FINALIZED IT AND POSTED IT FOR PUBLIC REVIEW.
UM, SO H CRCS ARE ALWAYS ON A WEDNESDAY.
UM, THE U D C REQUIRES US TO POST THE AGENDA 70 BASED ON THE WORK WEEK.
THAT'S USUALLY A FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
UM, SO A LOT OF TIMES, UH, WE'VE SPOKEN TO THE APPLICANT ON EITHER THE THIRD, ON EITHER THURSDAY OR FRIDAY ABOUT WHAT THE STIPULATIONS WOULD BE.
UM, AND THEY'RE USUALLY EITHER, YOU KNOW, TO GET AN APPROVAL OR TO PREPARE DOCUMENTS FOR THE WEDNESDAY MEETING.
AND SO THEY WILL USUALLY UPDATE DRAWINGS TO SHOW HOW THEY'RE EITHER RESPONDING TO THE STIPULATIONS, HOW THEY'RE MEETING THEM OR, OR YOU KNOW, WHATEVER, WHATEVER, UM, UH, THEIR THINKING IS.
UM, SO IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR THE CASE MANAGER TO RECEIVE NEW DOCUMENTATION AFTER THE AGENDA IS POSTED SAYING, HEY, CAN YOU SHOW THIS TO THE H C C? AND IT'S ALSO NOT UNCOMMON FOR AN APPLICANT TO SHOW UP TO THE MEETING BACK WHEN WE USED TO HAVE IN IN-PERSON MEETINGS WITH NEW MATERIAL.
UM, TECHNICALLY WE ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE ACTION ON ANYTHING THAT IS INCLUDED ON THE AGENDA.
SO THE AGENDA DOES INCLUDE A CAPTION LANGUAGE, IT'LL SAY NEW CONSTRUCTION OF THIS MANY BUILDINGS AND THIS HEIGHT.
UM, SO ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT WOULDN'T BE SOMETHING YOU COULD TAKE ACTION ON, BUT IT DOES MAKE SENSE THAT SOME OF THOSE DETAILS WOULD SORT OF CHANGE, UM, AND THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO REVIEW THOSE IN A PUBLIC HEARING SETTING.
UM, ONE OF THE CONCERNS AND WHY WE'VE STOPPED DOING THIS SINCE WE'VE GONE TO VIRTUAL MEETINGS IS THAT PEOPLE THAT WERE PARTICIPATING, UM, THE PUBLIC COMMENTS SECTION USED TO BE ABLE TO SIT IN THE, THE MEETING IN PERSON.
THEY WOULD SEE WHAT EXHIBITS WERE SHOWN AND THEY WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO REACT.
UM, SO WITH THE VIRTUAL HEARINGS, WE DON'T HAVE THAT.
WE HAVE, UH, WE REQUIRE THAT ALL OF THE COMMENTS BE SUBMITTED BEFORE THE HEARING SO THAT WE HAVE TIME TO TRANSLATE.
AND SO IF SOMETHING NEW IS SHOWN AT THE HEARING THAT WASN'T INCLUDED IN THE POSTING, THEN IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE PUBLIC HAS THE ABILITY TO, TO REACT TO OR TO COMMENT ON.
SO WE CURRENTLY DO NOT ALLOW, UM, LATE EXHIBITS TO BE SHOWN AT ALL, UM, DURING THE VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
UM, THIS IS CLEANER, LIKE I HAVE TO ADMIT, LIKE IT'S
UM, BUT WE DO THINK THAT IT IS HELPFUL IN THE FUTURE THAT NEW MATERIALS, UM, THAT ARE PRESENTED MUST ONLY ADDRESS STIPULATIONS.
UM, SO YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE DESIGN JUST BECAUSE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND, BUT IT HAS TO BE IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO SAS RECOMMENDATION AND SOMETHING THAT IS LIKELY TO BE DISCUSSED AT THE HEARING.
[00:35:02]
THIS IS JEFF.UM, IF WE ALLOW LATE EXHIBITS ON THE VIRTUAL HEARINGS, HOW DOES THE PUBLIC RESPOND TO 'EM? WE'RE CURRENTLY NOT, SO THIS WOULD BE ASSUMING WE EVER GO BACK TO NORMAL, WHICH WE DO THINK WILL HAPPEN SOMEDAY.
SO THIS WOULD, WE'RE NOT EVEN CONSIDERING, UH, ALLOWING THIS WHILE WE'RE DOING VIRTUAL MEETINGS? CORRECT.
I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF CASES, I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN MOVED PRETTY FAST BY, UH, UH, COMING WITH NEW MATERIALS AND I FEEL LIKE IN OUR NORMAL DAYS PAST ANY NEW MATERIALS WERE REFERRING TO THE STIPULATIONS.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THEY GET IT BY FRIDAY AND THEN THEY READ THE STIPULATIONS AND THEY'RE LIKE, BY WEDNESDAY THEY HAVE LIKE A NEW PRESENTATION ADDRESSING THE STIPULATIONS.
YEAH, I THINK THERE'S BENEFIT TO IT.
I, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, UM, AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE HEARD ALL OVER THE PAST YEAR, IS THAT THERE'S CONCERN WITH SOMEBODY CHANGING IT UP AT THE HEARING.
SO COMING TO THE PODIUM IS SOMETHING NEW THAT, THAT, UM, THE PUBLIC HASN'T HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW IN ADVANCE.
UM, SO I THINK THIS IS A GOOD WAY OF SORT OF LIMITING THAT.
UM, IF WE CAN CODIFY THIS SOMEHOW TO WHERE IT MUST ONLY ADDRESS STIPULATIONS OR AT LEAST MAKE THAT OUR POLICY, AND THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND.
AND I THINK IT IS OUR DUTY TOO, TO, IF IT'S TOO MANY AND TOO MUCH NEW MATERIAL, EVEN IF IT'S ADDRESSING THE STIPULATIONS, LET'S JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, BIG PROJECT AND IT'S CONCEPTUAL AND THEY BRINGING ALL THE THINGS ABOUT THE STIPULATION, I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE APPROVED.
RIGHT? I MEAN, WE'RE SPENDING HOURS ON LOOKING AT NEW MATERIAL THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE APPROVING SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IT HAS TO BE LIKE MINIMUM NEW MATERIAL, NOT SUBSTANTIAL NEW MATERIAL.
AND, UH, ONE THING THAT WHEN WE DO GET BACK TO LIVE MEETINGS AND PEOPLE WILL SAY, WELL, I'VE GOT SOME NEW MATERIAL, UM, HOPEFULLY THEY'LL LET STAFF KNOW.
AND, UM, IF Y'ALL FEEL THAT IT'S GOING OVER AND ABOVE MINOR, WHY COMMENTS TO STIPULATIONS, THEN YOU COULD SAY, WELL, WHY DON'T YOU, UM, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO IT DURING THE COMMISSION MEETING, OR THERE PROBABLY WON'T BE TIME TO DO IT DURING THE COMMISSION MEETING.
YOU COULD REQUEST A, UH, POSTPONEMENT OR A, UH, D R C, UH, TO REVIEW THESE, UH, REVISIONS.
I THINK THAT'S ALWAYS AN OPTION.
UM, IF IT'S TOO MUCH, UM, TO CONSIDER AT THE HEARING THEN, AND IF THERE'S TIME, THEN POSTPONEMENT MAKES SENSE.
AND COREY, I AGREE ALSO WITH, UM, WITH JEFF, BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO SAY SOMETHING ALONG THOSE SAME LINES THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD, WHAT WE'RE DOING, I MEAN, AND THIS EVEN HAPPENS WHEN WE'RE LIVE AS WELL, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE THE MOVE THE MEETINGS GO AS SMOOTH AS POSSIBLE WITHOUT SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON ONE PARTICULAR CASE.
AND IF THEY HAVE THE INFORMATION, I MEAN, WHATEVER THEY HAVE AHEAD OF TIME, THAT WOULD MAKE IT BETTER.
AND IF I SAID, IF IT IS MINIMAL, THAT'S GREAT, BUT ANYTHING ELSE THAT THEY NEED TO POSTPONE OR WHATEVER, AND THEN WE MOVE ON FROM THERE BECAUSE IT JUST, IT SEEMED LIKE OUR MEETINGS ARE GETTING LONGER AND LONGER AND SPENDING REALLY TOO MUCH TIME ON ONE OR TWO PARTICULAR CASES WITHIN A MEETING.
UM, WE DO HAVE TIME AT THE END, UM, TO TALK ABOUT KIND OF VIRTUAL MEETINGS, UM, AND JUST KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT'S WORKING AND NOT WORKING, UM, AND THINGS THAT WE MIGHT ACTUALLY WANT TO CARRY OVER, UM, AS WE RETURN TO IN-PERSON.
UM, AND SO THAT'S ALL KIND OF PART OF IT IS WHAT DO APPLICANT PRESENTATIONS IF LIKE, HOW MUCH TIME DO THEY GET? UM, AND WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE THAT INTO OUR RULES OF PROCEDURE.
COREY, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION RELATING TO EXHIBITS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON THAT THE COMMISSION OR STAFF WILL PULL UP A GOOGLE EARTH VIEW OR STREET VIEW, AND WE'LL LOOK AT THE CONTEXT TOGETHER.
IF THAT, IF THE REQUEST IS COMING FROM THE COMMISSION AND FACILITATED BY STAFF RATHER THAN THE APPLICANT, THAT WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN EXHIBIT, WOULD IT? I MEAN, THAT'S NOT OUT OF BOUNDS, IS IT? 'CAUSE I KNOW IT, IT HAPPENS PARTICULARLY ON THINGS LIKE FENCES AND THINGS LIKE THAT WHERE YEAH, I MEAN, TO ME IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WAS PRODUCED.
LIKE ANYBODY CAN LOOK AT A MAP, IT'S PROBABLY AVAILABLE ALREADY.
SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S DIFFERENT.
UM, WELL, LET'S SHIFT GEARS A LITTLE BIT.
[00:40:01]
SO THIS YEAR WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SCHEDULED YEAR FOR UPDATES TO THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE.UM, WE ACTUALLY STARTED WORKING LAST SUMMER WITH A TASK FORCE TO, TO DEVELOP SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND WE'RE READY TO GO AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR.
UM, WE ACTUALLY HAD PROBABLY THE LAST, UM, PUBLIC MEETING HELD BY THE CITY
SO, UM, WE'VE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, UH, TO SPEAK WITH A FEW GROUPS.
UM, WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT SOME OF THESE THINGS MORE, AND SPECIFICALLY WHEN I TALK TO, UM, THE C O A PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, AND YOU ALL WERE BRIEFED ON THIS, UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR ACTUALLY ON A FEW THINGS, BUT THIS IS JUST SORT OF A REFRESHER.
UM, A FEW CASES WE'VE HAD HAVE REMINDED US ALL ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT THESE POTENTIAL CHANGES ARE, AND SO WE WANNA DISCUSS 'EM.
UM, SO STARTING AT THE BEGINNING OF, OF THIS PROCESS AND WORKING WITH THE TASK FORCE, THESE WERE THE CHALLENGES WITH DESIGN REVIEW AND, AND THE COMMISSION THAT WE WANTED TO ADDRESS CASELOAD TURNAROUND TIME.
UH, COMMISSIONER GIBBS JUST MENTIONED THE, THE TIME THAT IT TAKES TO REVIEW CASES.
UM, YOUR TIME COMMITMENT, UM, OBVIOUSLY YOU ALL HAVE JOBS AND FAMILIES AS WELL, AND SO IT'S UNFAIR AT SOME POINT TO, TO VOLUNTEER ROLE, UM, THE ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS, UH, POSTING REQUIREMENTS, FILE CREATION, HOW CAN WE BE MORE EFFICIENT? UM, CUSTOMER SUPPORT, UM, COMES AT THE COMMISSION ARE CONSISTENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS GET INTO TROUBLE WHEN WE HAVE APPLICANTS THAT FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING SINGLED OUT WHEN THEY LOOK AROUND AND THEY SEE OTHER CASES WHERE THE OUTCOME IS DIFFERENT.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE SAY THAT NO CASE THAT'S PRECEDENT FOR ANOTHER CASE, BUT THEY CAN'T HELP FROM HAVING THAT PERCEPTION.
SO WE DO WANT TO STRIVE FOR CONSISTENCY.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS IS ANIMATED.
UM, A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL IS JUST A QUICKER PROCESS.
UM, THAT IS MOSTLY BECAUSE THERE ARE LESS COMPLICATED CASES, SO THERE'S LESS TO REVIEW.
UM, BUT WITH H C R C CASES COMES THAT SORT OF ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHEAD.
UM, WE'RE CREATING THE PRELIMINARY AGENDA.
WE'RE, UH, USUALLY DOING A SITE VISIT.
WE'RE GENERATING THE, THE STAFF REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE COMMITTEE, UM, WHEN RELEVANT.
UM, WE'RE CREATING THE ACTUAL FILES, WE'RE PUBLISHING THEM.
UM, WE'RE DOING THE PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS, UM, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE APPLICANT THROUGH THAT, THROUGH THAT TIME.
UM, ON AVERAGE, WE'VE DOCUMENTED THAT IT'S TWO TO SIX HOURS PER CASE.
UM, AND WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT WE HAVE JUST 10 BUSINESS DAYS TO DO A WHOLE, UH, CASELOAD FOR PER CASE MANAGER, UM, THAT TIME GETS EATEN UP VERY QUICKLY.
UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE MORE COMPLICATED CASES THAT CAN TAKE WAY BEYOND THE SIX HOURS.
UM, SO STAFF TIME FOR SOME OF THESE IS REALLY OFF THE CHARTS.
UM, SO KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS.
UM, SOME OF THE GOALS, UH, IDENTIFIED WITH THE TASK FORCE FOR PROTECTING A FAIR AND DEFENSIBLE PROCESS, UM, ENSURING THAT THE POLICIES WE HAVE ARE REFLECTIVE OF COMMUNITY VALUES AND WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM PEOPLE, UM, RESPONDING APPROPRIATELY TO DEVELOPMENT TRENDS AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS IN OUR TOOL BELT TO ADDRESS THEM.
UM, AND THEN IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR PROGRAM.
UM, SO WE'RE REALLY JUST GONNA TALK ABOUT CHANGES TO THE C O A REVIEW PROCESS.
UM, WE DO HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS IN THESE OTHER AREAS, UM, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON TODAY.
UM, SO WE LOOKED AT THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THERE'S A SECTION IN CODE THAT AUTHORIZES STAFF TO APPROVE CERTAIN TYPES OF REQUESTS ADMINISTRATIVELY.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE TO APPROVE THEM IF THEY'RE NOT CONSISTENT WITH OUR APPLICABLE STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES, BUT, BUT THE CODE CODE ENABLES STAFF TO MAKE THAT DECISION AND HAVE THAT DISCRETION.
UM, SO THAT LIST ORIGINATED FROM A, AN EFFORT ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO AT THIS POINT, MORE THAN 10 YEARS.
UM, WHERE, UH, THE TASK FORCE AT THAT TIME REALLY LOOKED AT, UM, H C R C AGENDAS AND SAW WHAT WAS ROUTINELY APPROVED ON CONSENT, WHAT THERE WAS NO CONCERN FROM THE PUBLIC ABOUT, AND THEY PUT THOSE INTO THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL LIST.
UM, ESSENTIALLY WE DID THAT EXERCISE AGAIN, AND SO WE HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT HOW THAT LIST CAN BE EXPANDED NOW BASED ON CURRENT TRENDS.
UM, WE HAVE DEVELOPED ADDITIONAL DRAFT GUIDELINES AND POLICY DOCUMENTS THAT WE'LL LOOK AT LATER TODAY.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH, UM, PLAINTIFF'S REVIEW AND THE THRESHOLD FINAL APPROVAL THAT WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS.
UM, SO AGAIN, UM, FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL, WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY GOING TO REINFORCE THE APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.
UM, THERE'S DEFINITELY A MISCONCEPTION THAT ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL IS SOME SORT OF LESSER APPROVAL FROM THE COMMISSION, AND SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO SUBMIT THE SAME LEVEL
[00:45:01]
OF DOCUMENTATION AS YOU WOULD FOR A COMMISSION CASE, AND IT'S JUST NOT TRUE.UM, THE CODE IS NOT DISTINGUISH DIFFERENT DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.
UM, YOU STILL HAVE TO HAVE DRAWINGS AND PHOTOS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, SO SORT OF ADDRESSING THAT ISSUE, UM, WE'RE REINFORCING THE ONLINE PORTAL PROCESS.
THIS HAS ACTUALLY DONE ITSELF THIS YEAR.
UM, SO PRIOR TO COVID, WE WERE ABOUT 70% OF APPLICATIONS COMING ONLINE.
UM, THE REST WERE COMING IN PERSON, UM, FILLING OUT A PAPER APPLICATION.
UM, THE ONLINE PORTAL SAVES US A LOT OF TIME IN ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS, AND SO WE'RE NOT HAVING TO DO AS MUCH DATA ENTRY AND IT JUST MAKES THE WHOLE PROCESS SMOOTHER.
UM, SO NOW THAT OUR, OUR LOBBY IS CLOSED AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TO HAVE FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION WITH THE PUBLIC RIGHT NOW, UH, WE'RE 100% ONLINE.
SO IT HAS HELPED, UH, US KIND OF GET THERE AND WE'RE GONNA TRY OUR BEST TO SORT OF MAINTAIN THAT.
UM, AS WE REOPEN, WE OBVIOUSLY STILL WANNA MAINTAIN FACE-TO-FACE OPTIONS FOR THE PUBLIC, BUT, BUT SINCE THIS IS WORKING, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S STILL A GOOD OPTION FOR PEOPLE.
UM, AGAIN, EXPANDING THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL LIST, UM, AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT WHAT IS POTENTIALLY ADDED, UM, THAT WILL BE INFORMED BY THE ADOPTION OF NEW POLICY DOCUMENTS AND WE'LL LOOK AT THOSE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN EXPANSION OF PUBLIC ACCESS TO ITEMS THAT ARE UNDER REVIEW.
THAT IS THE EXPLORER MAP THAT I SHOWED YOU AT THE BEGINNING.
SO THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE AND DOES HAVE NOW IMPROVED ACCESS TO INCOME APPLICATIONS.
UM, FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS LIST, THE BIGGEST PROPOSED CHANGES ARE, WE ARE SAYING THAT ANY REAR ADDITION THAT MEETS THE GUIDELINES CAN BE APPROVED BY STAFF.
UM, SO THE GUIDELINES DO HAVE A REQUIREMENT THAT ADDITIONS NOT EXCEED, UM, THE MAIN BUILDING FOOTPRINT BY A HUNDRED PERCENT.
IT CAN'T DOUBLE THE FOOTPRINT.
UM, SO THAT WOULD STILL BE ENFORCED, UM, BUT THERE WOULD BE A POTENTIAL PATH FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL FOR ADDITIONS.
UM, SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATIONS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH OUR SUSTAINABILITY POLICY DOCUMENT, FRONT YARD LANDSCAPING AND FENCING THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THOSE POLICY DOCUMENTS.
UM, APPROVAL OF A SITE PLAN TIED TO ZONING.
UM, THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT WE TALKED AT LENGTH BEV AT OUR, AT OUR, UH, AT OUR EARLIER TRAINING, UH, RELATED TO INFILL AND SORT OF THAT ISSUE WHEN ZONING REQUIRES A DETAILED SITE PLAN.
UM, SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT STAFF IS ABLE TO ISSUE SOME SORT OF APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION FOR SITE PLANS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH, UM, THE E D C AND WITH OUR GUIDELINES.
AND I'LL EXPLAIN MORE WHEN WE GET TO THAT, TO THAT UPDATE.
UM, AND FENESTRATION MODIFICATIONS.
SO PRETTY MUCH ANY SORT OF CHANGES TO DOORS AND WINDOWS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES STAFF WOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE.
UM, WE THINK BASED ON THE KIND OF TRACKING WE'VE DONE, THIS WOULD REDUCE THE H C R C AGENDA BY ABOUT 20%.
UM, WE THINK THAT ALSO IF THERE'S A GREATER PATH FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL AND NOT HAVING TO GO THROUGH COMMISSION REVIEW, THEN THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO JUST DO WHAT THE GUIDELINES SAY VERSUS TAKING THEIR CHANCES WITH THE COMMISSION.
SO IF THERE'S ONE STIPULATION OR A LITTLE CHANGE THAT THEY NEED TO MAKE TO THE, TO THE DESIGN IN ORDER TO COMPLY AND GET THAT ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL, THEN THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO DO IT.
UM, THIS ALSO WILL HOPEFULLY RESULT IN MORE CONSISTENT AND SORT OF STANDARDIZED APPROVALS.
UM, YOU'D BE SURPRISED AT HOW MANY PEOPLE JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE RULES ARE SO THEY CAN FOLLOW THEM.
AND SO
UM, SOMETIMES IT'S GONNA GO TO THE COMMISSION NO MATTER WHAT, AND WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW WHAT THAT OUTCOME IS.
AND SO IF THERE'S MORE OF A GUARANTEE OF WHAT THE OUTCOME IS, IF THEY DO A CERTAIN THING, WE'RE MORE LIKELY TO DO IT.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, EXPANSION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL LIST DOES NOT OBLIGATE STAFF TO APPROVE ANYTHING.
UM, THERE'S ALWAYS A PATH TO H D R C, UM, WHERE IT'S APPROPRIATE AND IF SOMETHING'S INCONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES OR IF WE HAVE RECOMMENDED STIPULATIONS THAT AREN'T
UM, SO THESE ARE JUST SOME EXAMPLES WE PUT TOGETHER, THE ONE ON THE LEFT, CLEARLY CONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES.
THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT STAFF HAS THE ABILITY TO IMPROVE ADMINISTRATIVELY TODAY.
UM, BUT WITH THE PROPOSED U D C CHANGES WE WOULD IN THE FUTURE.
UM, THE ONE ON THE LEFT IS ONE, OR SORRY, THE ONE ON THE RIGHT IS ONE THAT WOULD ALWAYS COME TO H C R C REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS LIST SAYS, BECAUSE IT'S NOT CONSISTENT WITH THE
SO I THINK THE, UH, THE BIGGEST, UH, KIND OF BELIEF IS THAT YOU SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SEE THEM IN A HISTORIC DISTRICT.
UM, WE'VE HAD FOR PROBABLY FOUR YEARS NOW RECURRING DISCUSSIONS WITH YOU ALL AND, AND DEFINITELY WITH THE PUBLIC AS WELL ABOUT THIS POLICY.
UM, OUR GUIDELINES AS THEY'RE WRITTEN NOW DOES NOT SAY YOU SHOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO SEE THEM, BUT IT DOES HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW THEY'RE MOUNTED AND WHERE, UM, AND IN THE PAST, UH, AT THE HT R C, UM, THERE'S BEEN RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REALLY, UH, DOING THAT ANALYSIS AND LIGHT STUDY, UM, TO SEE, YOU KNOW, IF THEY COULD BE MOVED IN DIFFERENT PLACES THAT ARE MORE APPROPRIATE EXISTING WITH THE GUIDELINES BEFORE AN ACTION IS TAKEN.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL.
UM, YOU DO SEE IT FROM THE STREET, BUT IT'S DONE IN A WAY WHERE IT'S SET BACK BEHIND THE PRIMARY, UH, CROSS GABLE IN THE FRONT, UM, AND IT'S, UH, FLUSH MOUNTED AND
[00:50:01]
MEETS ALL THE REQUIREMENTS.AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD NOW BE ELIGIBLE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL.
UM, AND WE ARE GONNA TALK MORE ABOUT THAT POLICY DOCUMENT.
UM, LANDSCAPING, FRONT YARD LANDSCAPING.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW, UM, YOU CAN DO, UH, LIMITED KIND OF, UH, REPLACEMENT OF TRADITIONAL LAWN AREA WITH X ESCAPING, UM, X ESCAPING AS WE DEFINE IT, MEANS YOU HAVE TO INCLUDE PLANTS.
THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS WHY PLANTS ARE GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND ALSO, UM, AESTHETICALLY APPROPRIATE WITHIN A STORE DISTRICTS.
UM, SO THESE ARE PLANTING SCHEMES THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL.
UM, THIS IS ONE THAT WOULD NOT BE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S, IT'S WELL DOCUMENTED AND VERY DETAILED, UM, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF PLANTS HERE.
AND SO OUR, OUR ZERO ESCAPING DOCUMENT WOULD NOT RECOMMEND
UM, SO LET'S, LET'S TALK ABOUT CONCEPTUAL REVIEW.
UM, THIS MOSTLY APPLIES TO LARGER OR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS.
NEW CONSTRUCTION ALMOST ALWAYS COMES IN FOR CONCEPTUAL FIRST.
UM, IT'S NOT REQUIRED, IT IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL.
UM, WE HAVE HEARD FROM PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT THERE'S A MISCONCEPTION THAT THEY SEE IT CONCEPTUALLY FIRST AND THAT IT'S JUST NOT SOMETHING THAT WE REQUIRE.
UM, THERE'S SOME PROBLEMS WITH THIS.
UM, THERE IS AMBIGUITY IN, IN HOW THOSE REVIEWS HAPPEN AND WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE.
UM, THERE'S REALLY NO MINIMUM THRESHOLD REQUIREMENT FOR CONCEPTUAL REVIEW, AND WE'RE GONNA BETTER DEFINE THIS, UM, IN THE PROPOSED UPDATES THAT I'M GONNA GO THROUGH.
UM, MUCH OF WHAT COMES IN FOR PERMITTING AS WELL, THAT PERMIT REVIEW PROCESS, I SPOKE TO, UM, A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING AT AND LOT, A LOT OF WHAT HAPPENS IN DESIGN DEVELOPMENT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS EVEN SUBJECT TO THE C O A C O A REVIEW.
UM, YOU ONLY HAVE PURVIEW OVER THE EXTERIOR OF BUILDINGS AS FAR AS APPEARANCE FROM THE STREET WELL, AND FROM, YOU KNOW, THE EXTERIOR.
UM, AND SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF OF DESIGN SERVICE SPENDING THAT HAPPENS TO PREPARE FOR A PERMIT SET AND TO DEVELOP, UH, A DRAWING SET THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY SUBJECT TO THE ING.
UM, AND SOMETIMES IT'S RESULTS IN REDUNDANT REVIEWS.
AND SO WE HAVE PROJECTS THAT COME IN PRETTY FULLY FLESHED OUT AT CONCEPTUAL.
UM, WE PRETTY MUCH KNOW WHAT IT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE, UM, BUT IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MEET THE THRESHOLD FOR FINAL, SO IT COMES BACK AS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME PROJECT.
AND SO THERE'S, THERE'S COSTS AND TIME ASSOCIATED WITH THAT AS WELL FOR THOSE PROJECTS.
AND SO WE WANTED TO ADDRESS THOSE.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE WORKED WITH OUR TASK FORCE ON, UM, A PRO FOR CONCEPTUAL REVIEW IS WE ALWAYS SAY IT'S IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AS EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS AS POSSIBLE.
UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE TO KIND OF HOLD ONTO THEIR CARDS UNTIL THEY COME TO H C R C, BUT WE, WE REALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO AT LEAST MEET WITH STAFF OR AT LEAST MEET WITH THE DESIGNER DUTY COMMITTEE, UM, BEFORE THEY BECOME FINANCIALLY AND EMOTIONALLY INVESTED IN A CERTAIN DESIGN.
UM, THIS ALSO SAVES THE APPLICANT TIME AND RESOURCES IN THE LONG RUN TO JUST COME IN EARLY.
AND SO WE WANT TO MAINTAIN A PROCESS WHERE SOMEBODY CAN COME IN FOR INFORMAL NON-BINDING FEEDBACK THROUGH CONCEPTUAL REVIEW.
PEOPLE ALSO CONFUSE A MEETING WITH THE DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE WITH CONCEPTUAL REVIEW, AND IT'S JUST NOT, UM, SO A CONCEPTUAL REVIEW HAPPENS BY THE FULL COMMISSION, UM, DESIGNER REVIEW COMMITTEE.
YOU MIGHT HAVE TWO OR THREE COMMITTEE COMMISSION MEMBERS THERE.
UM, AND SO YOU'RE NOT GETTING, UH, AN ACTUAL COMMISSION IN ACTION FROM FROM THE COMMITTEE MEETING.
SO CLARIFYING THAT ROLE AS WELL.
UM,
UM, IT GIVES A FALSE IMPRESSION SOMETIMES OF WHAT TO EXPECT AT FINAL APPROVAL.
AND SO WE HEAR THIS ALL THE TIME, SOMEBODY GETS CONCEPTUAL APPROVAL WITH STIPULATIONS, AND EVEN THOUGH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE STAFF'S UNDERSTANDING AND COMMISSIONER UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THOSE STIPULATIONS ARE AFFECTIONATELY GONNA CHANGE THE DESIGN BETWEEN CONCEPTUAL AND FINAL.
IT JUST ALWAYS DOESN'T HAPPEN.
AND SO THERE'S, UH, A LOT OF ANGST
THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE'S PUSHBACK.
UM, SO WE DO NEED TO SORT OF FIND A WAY TO ADDRESS THAT, UM, BEFORE THOSE CASES ESCALATE.
UM, AND THEN, I MEAN, YOU GUYS TELL ME, BUT I DO FEEL THAT SOMETIMES IF THERE IS A CONCEPTUAL APPROVAL ON, ON FILE, THEN YOU FEEL MORE BOUND TO, TO APPROVE FINAL APPROVAL THAN YOU
UM, SO KIND OF CLARIFYING THE PROCESS, MAKING SURE THAT, THAT YOUR ROLE IN, IN A CONCEPTUAL REVIEW IS CLEAR VERSUS A FINAL REVIEW.
UM, AND MAKE THAT CLEAR TO THE APPLICANTS AS WELL.
UM, SO THE FIRST THING WE ARE PROPOSING IS THERE IS CURRENT LANGUAGE IN U D C THAT DEFINES FINAL APPROVAL AS 80% WORKING DRAWINGS.
AND CURTIS HAS ASKED ME BEFORE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND I SAID, I DON'T KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S A LITTLE, UH, VAGUE.
UM, BUT BASICALLY IT'S INTENDED TO MEAN ESSENTIALLY WHAT COMES TO H C R C FOR FINAL APPROVAL SHOULD ESSENTIALLY BE WHAT IT'S GONNA BE.
IT SHOULD BE ESSENTIALLY WHAT IS YOUR PERMIT SET, WHAT'S GONNA BE COMING FOR PERMIT REVIEW.
UM, IT NEEDS TO BE FULLY FLESHED OUT.
UM, SO WE ARE ACTUALLY PROPOSING TO STRIKE
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THAT LANGUAGE AND MAKE A FEW OTHER CHANGES.UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE GONNA DO IS DEFINE WHAT CONCEPTUAL REVIEW IS IN THE DEFINITIONS SECTION OF THE U D C.
THERE'S NOT A DEFINITION NOW, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING MAKE IT VERY CLEAR THAT CONCEPTUAL REVIEW IS RELATED TO SCHEMATIC DESIGN IDEAS AND PRINCIPLES SUCH AS SCALE AND SETBACK BY THE FULL COMMISSION.
UM, A RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMISSION, UM, IS NOT A C O A, THAT'S NOT A DECISION BY STAFF.
UM, AND IT DOESN'T SAY HERE, BUT IT THEREFORE CANNOT BE APPEALED.
UM, SO IT'S A NON-BINDING, UH, LETTER OF ACTION FROM THE COMMISSION, BUT IT IS NOT A CERTIFICATE.
UM, FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMISSION AT THIS STAGE IS NON-BINDING, UM, BUT COULD INFORM FUTURE APPLICATIONS FOR A CERTIFICATE.
THE NEXT THING WE'RE GONNA DO IS WE ARE GOING TO BEEF UP THE APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.
SO THERE'S ANOTHER APPENDIX IN THE CODE THAT SAYS WHAT IS REQUIRED FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT APPLICATION TYPES.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ONE FOR CERTIFICATE.
AND WHAT WE'VE DONE IS, UH, WE'VE KIND OF BROKEN IT UP INTO DIFFERENT TYPES OF CERTIFICATES.
SO CERTIFICATE, CERTIFICATE FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION IS ALWAYS GONNA REQUIRE THESE THINGS.
AND AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THESE THINGS, REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU ARE IN DESIGN DEVELOPMENT, YOU CAN COME IN FOR A C O A.
SO YOU MAY NOT HAVE M E P DEVELOPED YET.
THAT MEANS YOU CAN STILL COME IN FOR A C O A WITHOUT HAVING TO HAVE THAT 80% OR MERELY FULLY COMPLETED DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A MEASURED AND SCALE SITE PLAN, ROOF PLAN, BUILDING ELEVATIONS, LANDSCAPING PLAN, HARDSCAPING PLAN, WALL SECTION, WINDOWS, EXTERIOR DOORS.
SO PRETTY MUCH WHAT IT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.
UM, THIS PART AT THE BOTTOM IS ALSO ADDED.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS, UM, IN OUR EXPANSION OF THE DESIGN GUIDELINES TO BETTER ADDRESS INFILL.
UM, BUT WE ARE PROPOSING THAT INFILL PROJECTS ARE A MULTIFAMILY.
SO THEY HAVE TWO OR MORE ATTACHED OR DETACHED UNITS ON A SINGLE PARCEL OR TWO OR MORE DETACHED SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING'S DEVELOPED AS PART OF THE PLA SUBDIVISION AND THE RESIDENTIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THIS ADDITIONAL, UM, SUPPLEMENT, UH, SET OF WORKSHEETS, UM, THAT WE WILL GO OVER LATER.
UM, AND THEN REINFORCING YES, JEFF, OR THIS JEFF, CAN YOU GO BACK ONE? YEAH.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THEY, THAT FOR A C O O A, THEY DON'T NECESSARILY NEED THEIR MECHANICAL, UH, SYSTEMS WORKED OUT.
UM, ONE THING THAT I'VE ALWAYS, UM, GRAPPLED WITH, WITH, AS A PROFESSIONAL IS WHEN THE, YOU'VE GOT A BUILDING DESIGN AND YOU'VE GOT A, SAY A, A PARAPET ON YOUR ROOF, AND THEN THE, THE, UH, MECHANICAL ENGINEER COMES BACK WITH A, A HUGE ROOFTOP PACKAGE UNIT, WHICH, UM, DOESN'T SHOW ON THE ELEVATIONS.
AND THE OWNERS ARE, ARE P****D OFF WHEN YOU SEE THIS BIG HONKING MACHINE ON THE ROOF AND IT REALLY AFFECTS WHAT THE BUILDING LOOKS LIKE.
SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE DEAL WITH THAT, BUT, UM, I KNOW YOU IN THE COAS, THERE'S USUALLY A STIPULATION THAT ALL MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT BE HIDDEN, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE, UH, FOR LARGE, UM, ROOFTOP MECHANICAL UNITS FOR, FOR RESTAURANT KITCHEN EXHAUST, WHICH HAVE TO BE TALLER THAN THE PARAPETS.
UM, SO THERE'S CERTAIN AMOUNT OF STUFF THAT GOES INTO A BUILDING THAT'S NOT DESIGNED BY THE ARCHITECT, BUT IT HAS AN EFFECT ON WHAT THE OVERALL THING LOOKS LIKE, OF COURSE.
AND I, I DON'T MEAN TO SUGGEST THAT THOSE THINGS WOULD NOT BE REVIEWED.
THEY WOULD, UM, BECAUSE IF THEY, IF THEY'RE HAPPENING, THEY'RE GONNA BE IN THAT PERMIT SENTENCE AND WE'RE GONNA SEE IT.
AND SO IT REALLY COMES TO STAFF.
WE'RE GONNA DETERMINE IF THERE'S BEEN SUFFICIENT DESIGN CHANGES OR CHANGES TO THE APPEARANCE THAT ARE GONNA REQUIRE ADDITIONAL REVIEW BY THE COMMISSION.
SO IF IF THEY'RE MORE PROACTIVE AND, AND THEY KNOW TO ANTICIPATE THOSE THINGS, THEN THEY WILL, THEY WILL INCLUDE THOSE UPFRONT.
UM, BUT, BUT WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS THEY DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT FULL DESIGN DEVELOPMENT IN ORDER TO GET A CERTIFICATE.
UM, THEY MIGHT NEED A CERTIFICATE TO BE REISSUED IF THAT OF THAT DESIGN DEVELOPMENT RESULTS AND CHANGES.
BUT, BUT YEAH, THEY WOULDN'T, THOSE THINGS WOULDN'T BE EXEMPT FROM FROM REVIEW.
THEY JUST WOULDN'T NECESSARILY NEED TO BE DEVELOPED AT THE TIME OF COMMISSION.
UM, SO GOING BACK TO THE COMPLETENESS REVIEW THAT WE TALKED, UM, SO THIS IS THAT SAME SECTION.
UM, SO WE REVIEW ALL APPLICATIONS FOR A CERTIFICATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE U D C, UM, AND THE APPELLATE AGENCY FOR COMPLETENESS REVIEW IS YOU ALL.
SO IF SOMEBODY, UH, DISAGREES THAT THEIR APPLICATION IS INCOMPLETE, THEY CAN STILL COME TO YOU.
UM, SO IT MAY BE WE GET AN APPLICATION THAT WE FIND THAT ONE OF THESE THINGS IS MISSING, UM, OR THE DOCUMENTATION
[01:00:01]
ISN'T ACCURATE AND THERE'S CONCERNS WITH IT BEING COMPLETE, UM, THEY CAN STILL PUSH THAT ISSUE AND THEY CAN GET TO A COMMISSION HEARING IF, IF THERE'S DISAGREEMENT, UM, THEY CAN APPEAL TO YOU.UM, SO ESSENTIALLY WE'RE SAYING THAT ANYTHING THAT YOU FIND NOW THAT IT'S YOUR DECISION ABOUT THE COMPLETENESS TO LACK ALL OF THE DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR CERTIFICATE, UM, YOU CAN MAKE THAT FINDING INTERACTION AND YOU CAN CONSIDER IT FOR CONCEPTUAL REVIEW.
AND SO, KIND OF WHAT YOU WERE SPEAKING TO JEFF, LIKE, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT IS UNDERDEVELOPED, UM, AND CLEARLY MISSING FROM THE DOCUMENTATION, UM, YOU CAN ASK FOR IT AND YOU CAN CONSIDER IT FOR CONCEPTUAL.
WE DO THAT NOW SOMETIMES, UM, IF, IF THERE'S A NUMBER OF STIPULATIONS, LIKE ALMOST TOO MANY WHERE WE KNOW THAT THE DESIGN IS GONNA CHANGE AS A RESULT OF THEM, WE MIGHT RECOMMEND THAT A REQUEST THAT CAME IN FOR FINAL BE APPROVED FOR CONCEPTUAL WITH STIPULATIONS SO THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT SECOND REVIEW.
UM, BUT THIS IS THE PROJECT, NOT THE PROJECT, BUT AN EXAMPLE OF A PROJECT THAT, THAT WE HOPE TO ADDRESS THROUGH THIS CHANGE.
AND SO THIS IS ONE THAT CAME IN FOR CONCEPTUAL, UH, THE, THE TOP ELEVATION IS WHAT WE SAW AT CONCEPTUAL.
UM, AND THE BOTTOM IS WHAT CAME IN FOR FINAL.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S LARGELY UNCHANGED.
THERE'S A FEW TWEAKS TO THE DETAILING.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'VE ADDED MECHANICAL SCREENING, WHICH IS PROBABLY A RESULT OF, OF OUR STIPULATIONS.
UM, AND SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF CONCERN OF, OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONCEPTUAL AND FINAL HERE.
IF, IF THE BOTTOM ONE CAME IN FOR THE PERMIT SET, WE WOULD LOOK AT THIS AND WE WOULD IDENTIFY THE CHANGES AND SAY THAT THIS IS LARGELY CONSISTENT.
WE MIGHT DO AN ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUE FOR THE CHANGES, BUT WE SHOULD NOT NORMALLY REQUIRE A SECOND FULL HEARING BY THE H C R C IF IT'S CONSISTENT.
THIS IS WHAT CAME IN FOR CONCEPTUAL, AND WE ALREADY KNOW HERE PRETTY MUCH WHAT THE BUILDING'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.
UM, SO WITH THE ADDITION OF SOME BUILDING SPECIFICATION AND WINDOW DETAIL, UM, THIS IS READY FOR CERTIFICATE, EVEN THOUGH THIS CAME IN FOR CONCEPTUAL.
UH, SO THE TOP VERSION IS CONCEPTUAL, THE BOTTOM IS FINAL.
UM, SO THESE ARE WHERE WE'VE OBSERVED SOME CHANGES.
AND SO IF THIS CAME IN FOR PERMIT SET, WE NOTICED THOSE CHANGES.
UM, THESE ARE PROBABLY SUBSTANTIAL ENOUGH TO WHERE IT MIGHT REQUIRE A SECOND HEARING.
SO WE JUST WANNA GIVE SOME EXAMPLES OF KIND OF WHAT THE OUTCOMES WOULD BE BASED ON THE LEVEL OF CHANGES, AND WE CAN, WE CAN BETTER DEFINE THEM IF WE DO WANT MORE OF A STANDARD FOR KIND OF WHAT THE SCOPE OF CHANGES CAN BE.
UM, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING IN PRACTICE NOW.
UM, THE CODE ALREADY REQUIRES US TO REVIEW, UM, ANYTHING THAT COMES IN FOR A PERMIT FOR CONSISTENCY, AND THEN WE MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WHAT WE CAN ADMINISTRATIVELY REISSUE THE CERTIFICATE.
SO WE DO THIS IN PRACTICE NOW.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT CONCEPTUAL REVIEW OR JUST OBSERVATIONS THAT YOU'VE HAD? SO, COREY, I, I MEAN, THE ONE, THE ONE KIND OF ISSUE THAT, THAT I RECALL THAT COMES UP FROM CONCEPTUAL REVIEW TO A FINAL REVIEW, AND I'M THINKING BACK SEVERAL YEARS NOT TO SOME OF THE MORE RECENT, RECENT ISSUES.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE USUALLY LARGER PROJECTS, UM, WHERE WE KIND OF HAVE AN INITIAL PASS, LET'S SAY IT'S A TOWER PROJECT OR, OR SOMETHING, UH, TO THAT EFFECT.
AND THERE'LL BE STAFF STIPULATIONS IN THERE THAT AREN'T ALWAYS ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION ACTION.
SO THE COMMISSION MIGHT, MAY, UH, PROPOSE CONCEPTUAL APPROVAL WITH SOME OF THOSE STIPULATIONS, AND THEN WHEN, WHEN THAT APPLICATION COMES BACK FOR THE FINAL REVIEW, UM, I'VE, I'VE FOUND ISSUES FROM THE CLIENT AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THAT THOSE STIPULATIONS THAT THE COMMISSION CONSENTED ON ARE BACK AGAIN AND, AND CAUSE SOME ELEMENTS OF FRUSTRATION.
AND I THINK THIS IS RARE, BUT YOU PROBABLY ARE MORE FAMILIAR WITH SOME INSTANCES OF THE, IS, IS THAT JUST PART OF THE PROCESS THAT, THAT THOSE, THOSE LINGER ON AND HAVE TO BE RE LITIGATED WHEN THEY WERE LITIGATED UPON THE CONCEPTUAL REVIEW? FROM A STAFF PERSPECTIVE, IF OUR STIPULATIONS WERE BASED ON SOMETHING IN THE GUIDELINES, THEN WE'RE GONNA KEEP THEM, LIKE, THE GUIDELINES DON'T GO AWAY, WE'RE GONNA DO THE SAME REVIEW.
UM, AND, AND DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT'S PASSED, I MEAN, WE MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE LOOKING AT IT, SO WE WANNA BE AS CONSISTENT AS POSSIBLE IN OUR REVIEW.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THE COMMISSION CAN ALWAYS TAKE A DIFFERENT ACTION OR FOLLOW TO BE MORE CONSISTENT WITH THE PREVIOUS ACTION.
UM, THAT'S NOT MEANT TO, TO MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT OR HARDER FOR ANYONE.
THAT'S REALLY MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR PROCESS BEING REALLY OBJECTIVE AND CONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES VERSUS JUST FOLLOWING, UH, THE PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS.
[01:05:02]
BUT I GUESS THE RUB THERE IS THAT IT, IT'S AN INCONSISTENCY IN THE PROCESS.UM, AND, AND THE, THE ONE THING THAT'S COMING TO MIND THAT I THINK, I, I THINK THERE WAS A TOBIN HILL CASE, AND IT'S COME UP MORE RECENTLY, IS A POSITION OF GARAGE DOOR, A SWAP OUT BETWEEN A GARAGE DOOR AND A CARPORT OR THINGS LIKE THAT, WHERE THAT HAD BEEN DISCUSSED AT LENGTH IN A COMMISSIONED HEARING ON, UH, A GARAGE DOOR, LET'S SAY IT'S MULTI-FAMILY, A GARAGE DOOR THAT FROM, THAT'S KIND OF AROUND THE SIDE OF THE BACK AND ISN'T VISIBLE FROM THE STREET, BUT THERE'S STILL A STAFF RECOMMENDATION THAT THE GARAGE BE DETACHED, AND IT REALLY IS IMPACTING AN, UH, KIND OF THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE TO KEEP THAT STIPULATION THERE.
AND THEN THREE MONTHS LATER IT COMES BACK AND THAT STIPULATION IS THERE THAT ESSENTIALLY DISRUPTS THE WHOLE PROCESS.
I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
I'M JUST, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE ISSUES THAT, THAT I, THAT I RECALL IS KIND OF HAPPENING AGAIN AND AGAIN FROM CONCEPTUAL REVIEW TO FINAL REVIEW.
AND MAYBE THERE'S NOT A GOOD WAY TO DEAL WITH THOSE SORTS OF THINGS, BUT YEAH, I MEAN, THE INTENT IS NOT JUST TO, JUST TO MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT.
UM, AND, AND I CAN'T RECALL ALL THAT SPECIFIC CASE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
WE DO OFTEN HAVE SOME THAT WE CONCEDE ON, LIKE IF THERE'S CLEAR, YOU KNOW, IF THE COMMISSION HAS CLEARLY MADE AN INTERPRETATION THAT THE GUIDELINES ARE NOT RECOMMENDING THE STIPULATION, AND, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT AGREE, AND SO IT MIGHT COME OFF, BUT THERE'S SOME WHERE I DON'T THINK WE'RE WILLING TO CONCEDE ON ALL THE TIME.
UM, SO ANOTHER SECTION OF CODE THAT HAS BECOME GLARINGLY OUTDATED THIS YEAR IS THE SECTION PERTAINING TO SUBSEQUENT APPLICATIONS.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW THE COMMISSION HAS FULL DISCRETION ABOUT DECIDING, UM, WHAT IS A SUBSTANTIAL ENOUGH CHANGE TO BE RECONSIDERED WITHIN THAT ONE YEAR TIMEFRAME.
UM, SO THE GOAL IS POTENTIALLY MAYBE TO BETTER DEFINE THAT, UM, AND MAYBE EVEN TALK ABOUT HOW OFTEN A PROJECT CAN COME BACK.
UM, WHAT TYPES OF CHANGES MUST OCCUR IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED, UM, WHAT TIMEFRAME NEEDS, DOES IT NEED TO MELLOW BEFORE
UM, AND ALL OF THIS IS KIND OF IN THE FRAMEWORK.
UM, KIND OF WHAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER WITH REGARDS TO APPEALS IS ENCOURAGING, UH, APPLICANTS TO KEEP WORKING WITH THE COMMISSION BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR, YOUR REALM AND YOUR EXPERTISE INSTEAD OF, UH, SUBMITTING AN APPEAL.
UM, SO I DON'T HAVE ANSWERS TO THIS, THESE ARE JUST KIND OF IDEAS.
UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS SECTION, UM, OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS.
UM, SO JUST KNOW THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IT AND WE'RE OPEN TO FEEDBACK.
UM, BUT AGAIN, SOME, YOU KNOW, FINDING A WAY TO BETTER DEFINE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE IDEAS WE HAD IS IF THERE WERE STAFF STIPULATIONS OR IF THERE WERE VERY CLEAR FINDINGS, UH, WITH A PREVIOUS DENIAL, THEN THOSE MUST SPECIFICALLY BE ADDRESSED, UM, BEFORE RETURNING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, SO THAT HASN'T BEEN DEFINED YET, BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WILL BE LOOKED AT AS WHENEVER THE U D C PROCESS GOES BACK UP.
WELL, I THINK THAT IF THE RESUBMISSION OF A, AN APPLICATION DOESN'T ADDRESS THE, UH, DENIAL STIPULATIONS, UH, OR THE REASONS IT WAS DENIED AND, AND STAFF STIPULATIONS, I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO COME BACK.
RIGHT? AND, AND SO IN ORDER FOR STAFF TO BE THAT GATEKEEPER, LIKE WE WOULD NEED SOMETHING VERY DEFINED IN THE CODE THAT WE COULD POINT TO.
OTHERWISE, IT'S ALWAYS GONNA COME BACK TO YOU FOR A DECISION.
SO, SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE ISSUE, IS WE NEED TO SOMEHOW REALLY, YOU KNOW, CREATE A THRESHOLD, CREATE SOMETHING THAT IS VERY DEFINED IN THE CODE THAT ALLOWS STAFF TO ENFORCE IT.
UM, OTHERWISE YOU'RE GONNA BE THE ULTIMATE SORT OF HELD AGENCY ON THAT, THAT REQUEST.
WELL, WOULD YOU NEED, UH, ON A COMMISSION DENIAL, WOULD YOU NEED, UH, MORE INFORMATION ON WHY IT WAS DENIED SPECIFICALLY THAT THEN, UH, Y'ALL COULD RELY ON TO REVIEW WHEN IT'S RESUBMITTED? I MEAN, WE DO NOW TECHNICALLY.
UM, SO ANY ACTION SHOULD BE BASED ON FINDINGS.
AND SO IT'S ALL ABOUT KIND OF BUILDING THAT RECORD.
UM, SO MAYBE IT IS A MATTER OF, OF US ASKING FOR CLARIFICATION WHEN A MOTION IS MADE SO THAT WE DO HAVE THAT RECORD AND
[01:10:02]
NOW WHETHER THEY ADDRESS ALL THE REASONS FOR DENIAL OR 80% OF THEM, OR, YOU KNOW, THAT'S RIGHT.YOU KNOW, THAT FALLS INTO HOW MANY ATTEMPTS CAN BE MADE.
WELL, AND IT'S POSSIBLE THAT A COMPONENT OF A PROJECT COULD ALSO CHANGE TO WHERE THIS ONE STIPULATION IS NO LONGER REALLY RELEVANT, BUT MIGHT CREATE A DIFFERENT PROBLEM.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT, IT'S TRICKY.
UM, THIS'LL BE A ONGOING DISCUSSION.
WITH THAT, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A PAUSE.
UM, I'M GONNA SEE IF, OH, I SEE JENNY.
UM, SHE IS OUR PROGRAM LEAD FOR THE SCOUT A PROGRAM.
UM, AND SHE IS GOING TO GIVE YOU A REFRESHER ON THE DEMOLITION REVIEW AND DESIGNATION PROCESS.
WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE ON YOUR SIDE? IT'S, IT'S THE VERSION THAT HAS, LIKE THE NOTES SIGN.
IF YOU GO TO SCREEN, HANG JUST A SECOND.
OH, I HAD TO SWITCH LAPTOPS TODAY, SO, UM, THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU, COREY? I THINK SO.
UM, SO I AM JENNY HAY, I'VE, UM, MET ALL OF YOU VIRTUALLY NOW, I THINK.
SO, UH, I'M THE SCOUT, A PROGRAM MANAGER.
UH, I LEAD ALONG WITH JESSICA ANDERSON, THE, UM, UH, UH, DIVISION OF OUR OFFICE THAT, UM, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SURVEYS AND DESIGNATIONS.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT TODAY ABOUT WHAT OUR, UM, RESPONSIBILITIES ARE, BUT I REALLY WANNA SPEND THE MOST TIME FOCUSING ON THE KIND OF CASES THAT COME TO YOU FROM THE SCOUTS, A DIVISION AND HOW THEY GET TO YOU.
SO SPECIFICALLY, UM, UH, WHEN WE REVIEW DEMOLITION APPLICATIONS, HOW THAT COULD END UP IN, UH, DESIGNATION CASE, UM, AND, UH, AND SORT OF OTHER SIMILAR DESIGNATION CASES.
SO, UH, IN ORDER TO BE A PART OF THE CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM, UM, WHICH GIVES US ACCESS TO GRANT FUNDS AMONG, UH, MANY OTHER THINGS, UM, WE HAVE TO HAVE AN ONGOING SURVEY PROGRAM IN THE CITY TO IDENTIFY HISTORIC RESOURCES.
SO WE'VE BEEN SURVEYING, UM, AS AN OFFICE FOR 40 YEARS NOW.
AND SO WE HAVE QUITE, UH, THE CACHE OF, UM, OF SURVEY DOCUMENTS.
UH, IN THE LAST, UM, BETWEEN FIVE AND 10 YEARS, WE HAVE ACTUALLY MOVED EVERYTHING, UM, THAT WE ARE DOING TO A NEW DIGITAL FORMAT.
SO IT, UH, USING SURVEY 1, 2 3, WHICH IS A, AN ESRI PRODUCT, UM, UH, UH, RELATED TO ARC G I S, UM, WE ARE ABLE TO CAPTURE ALL OF OUR NEW HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEY DATA, UM, DIGITALLY, UM, OUT IN THE FIELD, INCLUDING PHOTOGRAPHS.
UM, THIS REALLY SPEEDS UP OUR, UM, UH, SURVEY INTAKE PROCESS, UH, AND IT ALLOWS YOU TO ACCESS THOSE SURVEY RESULTS USING THE EXPLORER MAP, WHICH I THINK COREY ALREADY DEMONSTRATED FOR YOU.
UM, ONE OF THE TABS IS, UH, SURVEY MATERIALS.
AND SO, UM, BECAUSE WE ARE ABLE TO CAPTURE THOSE ELECTRONICALLY AND REVIEW THEM ELECTRONICALLY AND LITERALLY JUST CLICK A BUTTON TO GET THEM TO SHOW UP ON THAT MAP, YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT, UM, THAT PORTION OF THE SURVEY PROCESS IS, UM, MUCH MORE EFFICIENT THESE DAYS.
UM, AND OF COURSE WE USE SURVEYS TO IDENTIFY, UM, RESOURCES THAT ARE POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE FOR, UH, DESIGNATION, WHETHER THROUGH DISTRICT DESIGNATION OR AS INDIVIDUAL LANDMARKS.
UM, AND THEN ALSO TO HELP INFORM THE DESIGN REVIEW PROCESS, RIGHT, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, UM, CHANGE OVER TIME WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A SPECIFIC PROPERTY, BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT, UM, UH, SORT OF, UH, UH, DEPTH TO OUR SURVEY DOCUMENTS.
UM, SOMETIMES WE'RE ABLE TO PULL IMAGES FROM THE 1970S OF SOME OF OUR, UM, DESIGNATED STRUCTURES, WHICH CAN REALLY HELP, UH, DOCUMENT WHAT, UH, THE STRUCTURAL CHANGES HAVE BEEN TO THAT PARTICULAR SITE.
[01:15:01]
UM, ANOTHER COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE, UH, PROVIDE THAT ARE RELATIVELY NEW PRODUCTS ARE DESIGNATION VERIFICATIONS AND HISTORIC ASSESSMENTS.UM, A DESIGNATION VERIFICATION IS VERY MUCH LIKE A ZONING VERIFICATION, AND, UM, REALLY JUST PROVIDES WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION ON OUR LETTERHEAD THAT, UH, THAT TELLS A PROPERTY OWNER, UM, WHETHER OR NOT THEIR STRUCTURE IS DESIGNATED.
UH, WE, WE DIG UP THE ORDINANCE THAT DESIGNATED THE PROPERTY, WE PROVIDE A STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE IF THERE'S ONE ON FILE, AND THEN ANY OTHER RESEARCH INFORMATION, WHETHER IT'S JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, NEWSPAPER RESEARCH, CITY DIRECTORY RESEARCH, UM, OR, UM, UM, ANY OTHER SURVEY DOCUMENTATION THAT WE MIGHT HAVE ON FILE.
WE PROVIDE, UH, TO AN OWNER THROUGH A DESIGNATION VERIFICATION REQUEST.
THEY DON'T CHANGE THE STATUS OF DESIGNATION.
SO IF SOMEONE DOESN'T THINK THAT THEIR PROPERTY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED, THIS IS NOT WHAT THAT'S FOR.
THIS IS REALLY JUST A SORT OF DUE DILIGENCE KIND OF PART OF YOUR, UM, PROJECT DOCUMENTATION AS YOU'RE, UM, MOVING FORWARD WITH, UM, WITH A POTENTIAL PROJECT.
SO A HISTORIC ASSESSMENT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE INVOLVED.
IT ACTUALLY DOES CONTAIN NEW RESEARCH.
YOU CAN REQUEST A HISTORIC ASSESSMENT, UM, JUST LIKE A DESIGNATION VERIFICATION ON EITHER A DESIGNATED PROPERTY OR A NON-DESIGNATED PROPERTY.
I WILL SAY THAT WE TYPICALLY, TYPICALLY GET THESE FOR NON-DESIGNATED PROPERTIES, UM, AND, UH, FOLKS ARE MORE AND MORE REQUESTING THEM AS THEY ARE EITHER CONSIDERING PURCHASING A PROPERTY OR CONSIDERING, UM, A LARGE SCALE PROJECT THAT WOULD INVOLVE, UM, BUILDINGS OF HISTORIC AGE.
SO, UM, WE LIKE TO, UH, ADVERTISE THESE AS, UM, SORT OF, UH, INCREASING THE TRANSPARENCY OF THE, UM, THE REVIEW PROCESS, ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S, UH, ANY CONSIDERATION OF DEMOLITION IN, UM, IN SOMEONE'S FUTURE PROJECT.
UH, A HISTORIC ASSESSMENT IS A GREAT WAY TO KNOW AHEAD OF TIME, WHETHER YOU'RE LOOKING AT SOMETHING THAT MIGHT REQUIRE, UM, A HEARING, UM, IF THEY DID REQUEST DEMOLITION, UH, OR IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALREADY DOCUMENT IS NOT AN ELIGIBLE STRUCTURE AND COULD, UM, ADMINISTRATIVELY BE APPROVED FOR DEMOLITION.
AND I'M GONNA TALK MORE ABOUT THAT IN JUST A MINUTE.
BUT, UM, UH, THE HISTORIC ASSESSMENT PROVIDES IF IT IS DESIGNATED, OBVIOUSLY WE PROVIDE THE ORDINANCE, UM, AND A STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE, BUT IF IT'S NOT DESIGNATED, WE PROVIDE, UM, A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ORIGINAL RESEARCH.
WE BUILD A HISTORIC NARRATIVE DESCRIBING THE CONTEXT OF THE BUILDING, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR AREA THAT IT'S LOCATED IN.
UM, WE CREATE, UH, WE WRITE AN ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION, UM, AND THEN WE DO A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF ELIGIBILITY.
SO WE LOOK AT OUR CRITERIA, WHICH I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT IN JUST A SECOND, AND SEE IF, UM, THIS, UH, THE STRUCTURE SITE POTENTIALLY MEETS ANY OF THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR BEING DESIGNATED AS A LANDMARK.
UM, UH, THESE DON'T RESULT IN DESIGNATION.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT AN UNDESIGNATED PROPERTY AND WE DO, UM, OUR EVALUATION AND WE SAY, YES, THIS IS A POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT SITE, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE THEN TURN AROUND AND TURN INTO A DESIGNATION CASE.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SIMPLY PROVIDE TO THE APPLICANT TO LET THEM KNOW, UM, THAT IF THEY DID, UH, WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH EITHER DESIGNATION OR DEMOLITION, UM, THEY WOULD KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT THE NEXT STEPS IN THE PROCESS ARE GONNA LOOK LIKE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT EITHER OF THOSE PRODUCTS? UH, THIS IS JEFF ON THE ASSESSMENT.
I KNOW THAT O H P WORKS WITH THE LOCAL, UH, REALTOR COMMUNITY.
UM, ARE THEY AWARE OF THIS AND DO THEY TAKE, UH, ADVANTAGE OF HAVING ASSESSMENTS DONE? 'CAUSE I'VE HEARD FROM SOME REALTORS THAT, WELL, I HAD A CLIENT WHO WANTED TO BUY THAT PROPERTY, AND THEY FOUND OUT AFTER THEY BOUGHT IT THAT IT'S NOW HISTORIC OR POTENTIALLY HISTORIC.
UM, JEFF, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO ACTUALLY, I JUST TAUGHT A, UH, COURSE AS PART OF OUR REALTOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM YESTERDAY, WHERE WE TALKED IN DEPTH ABOUT HISTORIC ASSESSMENTS.
SO, UM, WE ARE CERTAINLY, UH, TRYING TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THEM.
UM, I'M ACTUALLY SURPRISED AFTER EACH OF THE COURSES THAT I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN, WE TYPICALLY GET, UM, A REQUEST, UM, WITHIN ABOUT 24 HOURS FROM SOMEBODY WHO ATTENDED THE CLASS.
SO, UM, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ONE YET FROM THIS MOST RECENT CLASS, BUT YES, THAT'S, UH, REALTORS I THINK ARE, ARE, UH, ONE OF THE, UM, COMMUNITIES THAT I THINK ARE, ARE, UH, THEY WILL MOST EASILY UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF THIS PRODUCT.
CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE ON HOW MANY OF THE, HOW MANY REQUESTS FOR ASSESSMENTS HAVE COME IN IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS OR A
[01:20:01]
YEAR? OH, GOODNESS.UM, I'M GONNA GUESS, UH, EIGHT TO 10.
WE ARE NORMALLY WORKING ON ONE OR TWO ALL THE TIME, SO IT'S A, IT'S A PRETTY STEADY FLOW.
AND, UM, I GUESS YOU DON'T WANNA MAKE THESE TOO EXPENSIVE THAT SCARES PEOPLE OFF FROM GETTING THEM, BUT IS $350 A A REASONABLE FEE FOR THIS, UH, ENDEAVOR? YOU KNOW, IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK, UH, WHAT, UM, WHAT FOLKS THINK ABOUT THAT, THAT COST.
UH, WE, WE CERTAINLY IN HEARING FROM, UM, THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, UM, HAVE HEARD THAT THEY WOULD PAY MORE.
UM, WE, WE DON'T WANNA MAKE IT, UM, YOU KNOW, ASTRONOMICAL BY ANY MEANS TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM BEING, BEING ABLE TO ACCESS THE PRODUCT.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S, UH, THERE'S VALUE IN, IN OUR PRODUCING THIS AS WELL, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE ABLE TO, UM, THEN DOCUMENT WHETHER SOMETHING MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT BE, UM, AN ELIGIBLE, UH, LANDMARK.
BUT, UM, YEAH, THERE HAS BEEN DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, SHIFTING THAT, THAT FEE UP A LITTLE BIT, UM, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE, THE PRODUCT ITSELF REALLY COULD, UM, BE THE START OF A NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATION.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S SORT OF THE DEPTH OF RESEARCH THAT WE'RE PROVIDING FOR FOLKS, SO, WELL, AND JUST TO ADD, I MEAN, OUR FEE STRUCTURE HAS TO BE TIED SOMEWHAT TO COST RECOVERY.
SO ANOTHER REASON, I MEAN, IT WAS SET WHERE IT WAS SET BASED ON, YOU KNOW, JUST ESTIMATES OF WHAT TIME IT WOULD TAKE.
AND THERE WAS ALWAYS KIND OF AN INTENT THAT AFTER A YEAR OR TWO UNDER OUR BELT, WE WOULD REEVALUATE HOW MUCH STAFF TIME IS ACTUALLY BEING SPENT SO THAT THE PRICE COULD REFLECT THAT.
SO THAT PROBABLY NEEDS TO BE DONE, BUT, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF A, A TWO TIER FEE STRUCTURE, ONE FOR COMMERCIAL, ONE FOR RESIDENTIAL.
YEAH, THAT'S CERTAINLY A THOUGHT, BECAUSE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, I MEAN, IT'S A BUSINESS EXPENSE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WRITTEN OFF, RIGHT? IT'S A, A DIFFERENT ANIMAL, RIGHT? YEAH, YEAH.
I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION.
UM, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VERIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT, I'M GONNA TALK JUST VERY BRIEFLY ABOUT THE CRITERIA THAT WE USE TO EVALUATE OUR, UM, UH, POTENTIAL LANDMARKS, UM, OR ELIGIBILITY, UM, IN THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE.
UH, UNDER THE SECTION REGARDING DESIGNATION, UM, THERE'S, UM, UH, SHORT SECTION DESCRIBING THE PROCESS FOR CONSIDERING, UH, DESIGNATION, AND THEN THAT'S IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY 35 6 0 7 B, WHICH CONTAINS 16 CRITERIA THAT ARE BASED ON THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR STANDARDS.
UM, UH, THEY ARE, UM, A LITTLE BIT BROADER.
THEY'RE, UH, WE LIKE TO SAY THAT THEY'RE SORT OF FILTERED THROUGH A SAN ANTONIO LENS, AND THEY ARE, UM, UH, HOW WE ARE ABLE TO, UM, DOCUMENT WHETHER OR NOT A PROPERTY IS ELIGIBLE FOR DESIGNATION AS A LOCAL LANDMARK.
AND, UM, I'VE MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE 16, UM, AND A PROPERTY WOULD NEED TO MEET THREE OF THEM IN ORDER TO, UM, BE ELIGIBLE.
SO, UM, JUST SORT OF AN OVER GENERALISM OF THOSE, UM, UH, CRITERIA, UH, AN ASSOCIATION WITH A PROMINENT PERSON OR A PROMINENT EVENT, UM, SOME SORT OF CONTRIBUTION TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR AS A COLLECTION OF BUILDINGS.
UM, I THINK A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT ONE IS THE, UM, THE EAST FRENCH PLACE HISTORIC DISTRICT HAS, UH, A VERY DENSE COLLECTION OF CRAFTSMEN HOMES THAT WERE ALL BUILT BY THE SAME BUILDER, ACTUALLY WITHIN SIX WEEKS OF ONE ANOTHER IN 1922.
AND SO, WHILE THOSE, UM, INDIVIDUAL STRUCTURES ALL HAVE THEIR OWN SORT OF, UM, UH, SPECIAL QUALITIES, THEY ARE SIGNIFICANT AS A GROUP AS WELL.
UM, UH, PROPERTY COULD BE ARCHITECTURALLY SIGNIFICANT.
WE HAVE, UH, CRITERIA RELATED TO ARCHEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE, AND WE ALSO HAVE SEVERAL CRITERIA RELATED TO CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE.
SO, UM, UH, THE RESEARCH THAT WE DO, UM, LEADS TOWARDS DOCUMENTING, UH, THAT, UH, AT LEAST THREE OF THESE CRITERIA ARE MET, UM, UH, FOR STRUCTURES THAT WE THINK ARE ELIGIBLE.
SO THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, THE SCOUTS A DIVISION IS THE
[01:25:01]
DIVISION THAT REVIEWS ALL OF THE DEMOLITION REQUESTS WITHIN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.SO ANYTHING THAT, UM, IS DEMOLISHED WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS REQUIRES A, A DEMOLITION PERMIT.
AND, UM, THAT PERMIT REQUEST, UM, HAS TO BE SIGNED OFF BY OUR OFFICE.
SO, UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UH, ROUTES FOR APPROVING THOSE DEMOLITION REQUESTS.
UM, ONE OF THEM IS, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL.
SO IF A PROPERTY IS CLEARLY INELIGIBLE, UM, FOR INSTANCE, IF IT'S LESS THAN 25 YEARS OLD, UM, OR IF IT'S CONSIDERED A NON-CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURE, UH, WITHIN A HISTORIC DISTRICT, THEN THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, STAFF CAN SIGN OFF ON ADMINISTRATIVELY.
UM, FOR OTHER PROPERTIES, IT'S SORT OF A DIFFERENT STORY.
SO, UM, THE CODE U D C GIVES US 30 DAYS TO REVIEW DEMOLITION REQUESTS, UM, FOR STRUCTURES THAT ARE LOCATED WITHIN NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICTS, WE, UM, WE DO HOLD THOSE, UH, UH, FOR THE FULL 30 DAY REVIEW AND DO EXTENSIVE RESEARCH.
UM, AND WE ALSO NOTIFY THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN WE RECEIVE THOSE, UM, REQUESTS.
UM, IT TAKES US 30 DAYS TO REVIEW NON-CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURES WITHIN HISTORIC DISTRICTS, AND THEN ALSO, UM, POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE STRUCTURES.
SO THOSE ARE THE ONES WHERE WE, UM, START TO DO OUR, OUR INITIAL RESEARCH.
AND, UM, WE IMMEDIATELY SEE THAT IT MAY MEET TWO OR THREE OR MORE, UM, CRITERIA.
SO WE USE THAT 30 DAY PERIOD, UM, TO DOCUMENT HOW, UM, HOW A STRUCTURED DOES OR DOES NOT MEET THOSE CRITERIA.
UM, JUST, UH, I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE.
WE ALSO, WE TRY TO BE VERY PROACTIVE IN THE WORK THAT WE DO RELATED TO DEMOLITION.
AND SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE STAFF ACTIVELY MONITORING THE COMMISSION AGENDAS FOR ZONING AND PLANNING.
AND AS, UM, CASES COME IN THAT MIGHT IMPLY DEMOLITION, WE ARE ACTUALLY PROVIDING COMMENTS TO THOSE CASE MANAGERS, UM, TO LET THEM KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THAT DEMOLITION HAS BEEN REVIEWED BY OUR OFFICE.
SO, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT WE'VE HAD SOME VERY PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS AT THAT STAGE, UM, THAT HAVE, UH, REALLY HELPED AVOID SOME PRETTY STICKY SITUATIONS DOWN THE ROAD WHERE, UM, A PROPERTY OWNER OR A DEVELOPER MIGHT THINK THAT, UM, UH, THEIR, UM, THEIR IMPLIED DEMOLITION REQUEST WOULD BE, UM, APPROVED.
BUT, UH, BUT WE'RE ABLE TO SORT OF STEP IN AND HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AHEAD OF TIME SO THAT IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A SURPRISE DOWN THE ROAD, IF YOU WILL.
SO LET'S SAY THAT WE DO, UM, DETERMINE THAT THERE'S A POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE, UM, FOR A PROPERTY THAT WE'RE REVIEWING FOR DEMOLITION REQUEST.
UM, AND, UH, WE CAN TALK ABOUT SOME EXAMPLES OF THESE THAT I THINK YOU'VE SEEN RECENTLY.
UM, ONCE WE RECEIVE THE DEMOLITION APPLICATION, UH, WE TAKE THAT 30 DAY REVIEW PERIOD, UM, AND THEN, UH, IN THE, IN THESE CASES, STAFF IS ABLE THEN TO FIND THREE CRITERIA, AND WE PROVIDE A FORMAL DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY TO THAT PROPERTY OWNER.
UM, THIS IS THE TIME PERIOD WHERE WE TYPICALLY ASK FOR, UH, UH, DEMOLITION AND DESIGNATION COMMITTEE SITE VISITS.
SO, UM, UH, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF THOSE HAPPEN JUST RECENTLY, AND WE'LL HAVE A COUPLE MORE IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
ONCE WE'VE PROVIDED THAT DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY, UM, TO THE PROPERTY OWNER, UM, INTERIM CONTROLS BEGINS.
SO THAT MEANS THAT THE PROPERTY IS THEN TREATED LIKE, UH, IT IS DESIGNATED HISTORIC, UM, UNTIL, ESSENTIALLY UNTIL CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN ABLE TO MAKE A DECISION ON WHETHER OR NOT TO ACTUALLY INITIATE DESIGNATION.
SO, UM, THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT HELPS PROTECT THE STRUCTURE FROM, UM, UH, FROM BAD ACTORS, REALLY, FROM FOLKS WHO WOULD GO IN AND WANT TO MAYBE REMOVE, UM, UM, HISTORIC MATERIALS FROM A PROPERTY TO MAYBE DIMINISH ITS SIGNIFICANCE.
UM, IT ALSO CLARIFIES THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AT, AT THE POINT THAT WE SAY THAT, UM, THAT THE, THE PROPERTY IS POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE, THAT WE'VE GIVEN THEM THAT DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY, IT HELPS THEM UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM, FROM HERE ON, THIS IS THE PROCESS THAT YOU'LL FOLLOW IF YOU WANNA DO WORK ON THE PROPERTY.
UM, THE NEXT STEP AFTER THOSE, UH, AFTER THAT DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY IS TO HAVE A FINDING OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE BE CONSIDERED BY, UM, BY YOU, BY THE COMMISSION.
SO, UM, YOU'VE SEEN CASES LIKE THIS.
I THINK THE MOST RECENT, UM, CASE THAT'S GONE ALL THE WAY THROUGH IS TWO 14 LOTUS.
UM, THAT IS A, AN INDIVIDUAL LANDMARK THAT CAME TO US AS A DEMOLITION APPLICATION.
UH, STAFF IDENTIFIED THAT IT MET THREE CRITERIA, AND IT MOVED THROUGH, UM, THIS, THIS DESIGNATION PROCESS.
AND I'M GONNA GO A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH INTO THE DESIGNATION PROCESS IN JUST A MINUTE.
[01:30:01]
WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT DEMOLITION OF, UH, DESIGNATED PRIMARY STRUCTURE WOULD LOOK LIKE.SO EITHER AN INDIVIDUAL LANDMARK OR A PROPERTY WITHIN, UM, WITHIN A HISTORIC DISTRICT.
AND, UM, ACTUALLY, I THINK I WILL HAND IT OVER TO COREY FOR JUST A SECOND TO TALK ABOUT THE DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THOSE REQUESTS.
UNMUTED, I MEAN, SO AS YOU KNOW, UM, IF IT'S ALREADY DESIGNATED, IT'S GONNA COME TO H C R C FOR CERTIFICATE TO DEMOLISH THE LANDMARK.
UM, SO THEY MUST FIRST MAKE A CASE FOR ECONOMIC HARDSHIP.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THE CODE HAS BURDEN OF PROOF REQUIREMENTS, AND THERE'S A LIST OF ITEMS THAT CAN BE SUBMITTED AS EVIDENCE, UH, TOWARDS A BURDEN OF PROOF, UH, STATEMENT.
UM, AND THEN IN ITS ANALYSIS, STAFF WILL SAY WHETHER OR NOT WE THINK THAT, UM, THE HARDSHIP HAS BEEN WARRANTED BASED ON THE DOCUMENTATION.
UM, A LOT OF TIMES, UM, THERE MIGHT BE A LOSS OF SIGNIFICANCE.
UM, THE CODE ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO APPROVE A DEMOLITION IF THAT HAS OCCURRED, BUT THAT'S ONLY BARRING THAT YOU ARE UNABLE TO PROVE THE ECONOMIC HARDSHIP FIRST.
UM, SO, SO THAT IS THE FIRST KIND OF HURDLE THAT MUST BE, UM, UH, CROSSED BEFORE WE CAN START TALKING ABOUT LOSS OF SIGNIFICANCE.
UM, KIND OF TO PIGGYBACK ON, ON WHAT JENNY WAS SAYING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING THOSE INTERIM CONTROLS IN PLACE IS A LOT OF TIMES IF WE HAVE A DESIGNATION CASE THAT'S COMING TO YOU BECAUSE THE OWNER WANTS TO DEMOLISH IT, UM, THEY MAY COME TO THE HEARING AND TRY TO MAKE AN ARGUMENT FOR DEMOLITION.
AND THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THAT HEARING IS.
THE PURPOSE IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IT'S ELIGIBLE FOR DESIGNATION IN THE FIRST PLACE.
NOW, IF IT DOES GO TO CITY COUNCIL AND COUNCIL CHOOSES TO INITIATE, UH, LANDMARK DESIGNATION AND REZONING FOR THE PROPERTY, UM, AND THOSE INTERIM CONTROLS ARE IN PLACE, WHILE THAT IS GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS, THEY CAN STILL RETURN TO YOU WITH A, WITH A DEMOLITION REQUEST, UM, AS IF, AS AN ELIGIBLE, UM, UH, STRUCTURE UNDER THE INTERNAL CONTROLS.
UM, SO THAT IS ALWAYS AN OPTION, UM, FOR PROPERTY OWNERS DURING THE REVIEW PROCESS AS WELL, JUST NOT AT THAT FIRST HEARING WHERE ELIGIBILITY IS WHAT IS BEING CONSIDERED.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT DEMOLITION REVIEW BEFORE WE JUMP INTO DESIGNATIONS? OKAY.
SO, UM, UH, DESIGNATIONS COME TO, UH, THE COMMISSION FROM A, A VARIETY OF PATHS.
AND SO I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT, UM, ALL THREE OF THESE TODAY.
UM, UH, YOU CAN SEE OWNER INITIATED DESIGNATIONS, UM, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE DESIGNATIONS THAT COME OUT OF CASES THAT WERE EITHER, UM, UH, ORIGINALLY, UM, SORT OF BROUGHT UP BY O H P OR BROUGHT UP BY THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND OUR PREFERENCE IS ALWAYS TO HAVE OWNER SUPPORT FOR DESIGNATION.
I'VE DESCRIBED TO YOU THE WAYS THAT WE TRY TO BE PROACTIVE ABOUT, UM, UH, UH, GETTING, UM, IN TOUCH WITH PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE CONSIDERING DEMOLITION, BUT WE'RE DOING THE SAME FOR DESIGNATION.
WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ELIGIBLE SPACES, WHETHER IT'S DISTRICTS OR INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES, UM, AS EARLY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO, UM, TO HELP, UH, PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, KNOW AND APPRECIATE THE SPECIAL RESOURCES THAT THEY HAVE.
SO, HISTORIC DISTRICTS, UM, IN SAN ANTONIO ARE JUST TWO OR MORE STRUCTURES, UM, UH, THAT ARE, UM, ELIGIBLE, UH, BASED ON THOSE 16 CRITERIA THAT THAT WOULD REACH THAT THRESHOLD OF ELIGIBILITY, WHICH AGAIN, IS, IS MEETING THREE OF THOSE 16 CRITERIA.
UM, A HISTORIC DISTRICT HAS TO HAVE SUPPORT FROM 51% OF THE PROPERTIES WITHIN THE DISTRICT BEFORE IT COMES TO YOU AS A DESIGNATION CASE.
UM, UH, WE'VE SEEN, UM, A COUPLE OF THESE RECENTLY.
UH, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PICTURE OF THE MOST RECENT, UH, THAT'S RING CANTO DE ESPERANZA, AND THAT IS A VERY SMALL HISTORIC DISTRICT AT THE CORNER OF GUADALUPE AND, UM, COLORADO.
UM, IT'S ACTUALLY ONLY THREE PARCELS.
THEY'RE ALL THE SAME OWNER OWNED BY, UM, UH, THE ESPERANZA PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER.
UM, AND WE ARE CONSIDERING, UM, A NEW HISTORIC DISTRICT, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, ALSO IN DISTRICT FIVE ON THE WEST SIDE, UM, CALLED THE BUENA VISTA HISTORIC DISTRICT.
SO, UM, ONCE A DISTRICT IS CREATED, UH, UM, WHETHER OR NOT A PROPERTY OWNER SUPPORTED THAT DISTRICT DESIGNATION, IF THEY'RE WITHIN THE BOUNDARY, THEY'RE PART OF THE DISTRICT.
UM, AND, UH, THE, THE BOUNDARY SUGGESTIONS, THIS IS ALWAYS A QUESTION THAT WE GET ABOUT HISTORIC DISTRICTS.
UM, THE INITIAL BOUNDARY REQUEST ACTUALLY COMES FROM THE, THAT APPLICANT.
SO, UM, THE APPLICANTS ARE APPLICANTS ARE, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM,
[01:35:01]
THAT, UH, THAT OWN PROPERTY WITHIN THE PROPOSED DISTRICT.UM, UH, SO AS, UM, UH, AS PART OF YOUR REVIEW, UM, YOU CAN RECOMMEND, UM, STAFF ULTIMATELY MAKES THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION OF WHAT THAT BOUNDARY LOOKS LIKE.
AND THEN CITY COUNCIL IS THE BODY DECIDES SORT OF WHAT THE FINAL LINES WOULD LOOK LIKE IN THEIR CONSIDERATION OF THAT CASE.
SO THE BUENA VISTA HISTORIC DISTRICT, UM, UH, IS, UH, ABOUT 500 PROPERTIES IN, UM, COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE.
IT WOULD BE OUR 33RD LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT.
UM, IT WOULD NOT BE THE LARGEST, BUT IT IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE LARGEST APPLICATIONS WE'VE RECEIVED IN ABOUT THE LAST 10 YEARS.
IT'S PROBABLY THE BIGGEST, AND, UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE LIKE THE SIXTH LARGEST DISTRICT WHERE IT, UM, DESIGNATED.
SO, UH, WE RECEIVED THIS APPLICATION IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR, AND WE'RE, UM, NOW IN THE STAGE WHERE STAFF IS COLLECTING SUPPORT, UM, OR OPPOSITION TO THAT DISTRICT.
SO, UH, ONCE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO VERIFY THAT 51% OF THE PROPERTIES ARE, UM, IN FAVOR OF STARTING THE DESIGNATION PROCESS, THEN THAT CASE WOULD COME TO YOU AS A DESIGNATION CASE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT HISTORIC DISTRICTS? BUENA VISTA? OKAY, SO LET'S TALK ABOUT, UM, OWNER INITIATED DESIGNATIONS.
SO I'VE GOT THREE PHOTOS OF RECENTLY DESIGNATED PROPERTIES THAT CAME, UM, AS, UH, UM, OWNER INITIATED REQUESTS.
SO THESE ARE VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
UM, WE ARE ABLE TO, UH, PROCESS THESE CASES TO, UM, YOU AT THE HISTORIC AND DESIGN REVIEW COMMISSION.
AND, UM, UH, WITHIN ABOUT A MONTH, TAKE THEM TO ZONING, AND THEN ABOUT A MONTH AFTER THAT, TAKE THEM TO CITY COUNCIL.
IT'S A, A FREE PROCESS FOR THE APPLICANTS.
THERE'S NO COST INVOLVED TO THEM.
UM, WE, UH, WE EITHER ABSORB THE ZONING COST, UH, OR, UM, MORE, MORE LIKELY WE REQUEST A WAIVER OF THE ZONING FEES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, WITH THE LANDMARK DESIGNATION.
SO THERE ARE, UM, OTHER WAYS THAT, UM, PROPERTIES CAN COME TO YOUR ATTENTION AND, UM, THOSE CAN THEN RESULT IN DESIGNATION CASES.
SO, UM, WE JUST IN GENERAL, REFER TO THESE AS THIRD PARTY REQUESTS, BUT, UM, UH, THE WAY THEY WOULD APPEAR ON AN AGENDA WOULD BE, UM, AS A FINDING OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE.
SO, UM, STAFF CAN REQUEST, UH, THE FINDING OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE, UM, OR A COMMUNITY MEMBER OR A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION CAN REQUEST A FINDING OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE.
UM, WE TYPICALLY HAVE, UH, THESE PROPERTIES, UM, OR THESE PIECES COME WHEN THERE'S A THREAT TO A PROPERTY.
SO, UM, WHETHER IT'S A DEMOLITION OR AN INSENSITIVE DEVELOPMENT, THAT'S, UM, UH, TYPICALLY WHEN IT SORT OF RISES TO THE ATTENTION OF, UH, A COMMUNITY MEMBER, AN ORGANIZATION, UM, OR, UH, THROUGH DEMOLITION REVIEW, IF O H P STAFF IS ABLE TO DOCUMENT THAT THERE ARE THREE, UM, CRITERIA THAT ARE MET BY A PROPERTY, UM, THAT WOULD RESULT IN, UM, THIS FINDING OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE.
SO THERE'S A RULE INTERPRETATION DETERMINATION ON FILE FROM, UM, IT'S DATED 2019, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY FROM, EARLIER, FROM EARLY THIS YEAR.
UM, AND IT CLARIFIES THE SEQUENCE FOR THE WAY THAT THESE CASES ARE CONSIDERED, UM, TO, UH, BE JUST VERY EXPLICIT ABOUT HOW OUR PROCESS CONFORMS WITH, UM, HB 24 96, WHICH WAS PASSED BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IN 2019.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT LEGISLATION, UM, IT ESSENTIALLY LAID OUT, UM, THE SPECIFIC, UH, WAY THAT A, A LANDMARK CAN BE DESIGNATED, UM, WHEN THE OWNER IS OPPOSED TO THAT DESIGNATION.
AND IT ALSO SETS SOME, UM, REQUIREMENTS FOR, UM, THE KIND OF INFORMATION THAT'S PROVIDED TO THE PROPERTY OWNER THROUGH THAT PROCESS, AS WELL AS THE TIMELINE FOR THAT INFORMATION BEING PROVIDED.
UM, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN OUR, IN OUR NEXT SLIDE TOO.
UM, UH, ESSENTIALLY THOUGH, UH, THE WAY THAT THIS, UM, THE PROCESS WORKS IS THAT THE PROPERTY IS BROUGHT TO YOU TO CONSIDER ELIGIBILITY INITIALLY.
SO THAT'S THAT FINDING OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE HEARING.
UM, AND THEN THE NEXT STEP, IF THE OWNER IS OPPOSED TO DESIGNATION, THE NEXT STEP IS FOR THAT CASE TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL, WHERE CITY COUNCIL WOULD BE THE BODY TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO INITIATE THE DESIGNATION.
UM, IF THEY APPROVE A RESOLUTION TO INITIATE THE DESIGNATION, UM, THEN THAT CASE, UH, THAT PROPERTY RETURNS TO YOU AS A DESIGNATION REQUEST, UM, AND WOULD GO THEN TO ZONING.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, AGAIN, TO CITY COUNCIL.
[01:40:01]
UM, UH, AGAIN, AS PART OF THAT, UH, LEGISLATION, UM, THAT WAS PASSED IN 2019, UM, IT SPECIFIED THAT THERE NEEDED TO BE A SUPER MAJORITY APPROVAL OF EITHER H D R C OR ZONING AND OF CITY COUNCIL, UM, THROUGH THAT DESIGNATION PROCESS.SO, UM, UH, AGAIN, TWO 14 LOTUS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS, UM, THIS PROCESS.
SO, UM, UH, THE H D R C REVIEWED, UM, REVIEWED IT FOR ELIGIBILITY THROUGH A FINDING OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE, FOUND THAT IT WAS ELIGIBLE.
UM, THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, PASSED A RESOLUTION TO INITIATE DESIGNATION, AND THEN IT WENT THROUGH THIS H D R C ZONING AND CITY COUNCIL DESIGNATION PROCESS AGAIN, UM, UH, TO BECOME, UH, AN INDIVIDUAL LANDMARK.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT
UM, AND THAT, UH, NOW THERE IS A, A, I THINK, ADDITIONAL CLARITY IN THE PROCESS SO THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE CONSIDERED SEPARATELY.
SO YOU'RE JUST, INITIALLY, YOU'RE SIMPLY SAYING WHETHER OR NOT, UM, YOU, UH, YOU FEEL THAT IT HAS MET THE, THE ELIGIBILITY THRESHOLD, AND THEN, THEN THE DESIGNATION QUESTION COMES AFTER CITY COUNCIL DIRECTS US TO DO THAT.
SO IN THE ELIGIBILITY, UH, REVIEW BY H D R C, THAT IS JUST A, UH, SIMPLE MAJORITY OF, UH, COMMISSIONER'S PRESENT AT THAT HEARING? THAT IS CORRECT.
AND YOU MAY GET TO THIS LATER, BUT, UM, UNDER DEMOLITION OF A LANDMARK PROPERTY, UH, DOES THAT ALSO REQUIRE A SUPER MAJORITY OF H D R C? IT IS A TWO THIRDS MAJORITY OF THOSE PRESENT, SO IT JUST DEPENDS.
BUT YES, IT'S A HIGHER NUM A HIGHER THRESHOLD THAN CIVIL MAJORITY, BUT IT'S NOT A MAJORITY OF, OF THE MEMBERSHIP, NO MEMBERSHIP.
JUST WONDERING WHETHER THOSE VOTES FOR DESIGNATION AND THEN FOR REMOVAL OF DESIGNATION NEEDS TO BE THE, SHOULD BE THE SAME, UH, AMOUNT OF VOTES
UM, SO WE HAVEN'T HAD TO INTERPRET
UM, BUT, BUT YES, THAT IS THE THINKING IS THAT WOULD FOLLOW A SIMILAR PROCESS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THESE CASES?
YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GIVE IT BACK TO ME.
DOES ANYBODY NEED A BREAK? I THINK WE HAVE NO MORE THAN 90 MINUTES LEFT.
UM, AND AGAIN, THAT WILL DEPEND ON HOW MUCH WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT WINDOWS.
UH, WHY DON'T WE TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK? SURE.
UM, WE'RE GONNA SPEND THE NEXT AMOUNT OF TIME KIND OF LOOKING AT OUR DRAFT POLICY DOCUMENTS THAT WERE DEVELOPED TO ACCOMPANY THE PROPOSED U D C AMENDMENTS.
WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, WE'RE NOT GONNA LOOK AT ALL OF THEM.
I WANT TO FOCUS ON THE SUSTAINABILITY DOCUMENT, WHICH SPEAKS TO SOLAR PANELS, UM, WINDOWS, WHICH WAS, UM, A REQUEST FROM THE COMMISSION, UM, AS WELL AS OUR, OUR, OUR NEW, UM, APPENDIX TO THE GUIDELINES AS IT RELATES TO MULTI-FAMILY CONSTRUCTION.
UM, SO THE DRAFT DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN ON OUR WEBSITE ALL YEAR LONG.
UM, THEY ARE HOUSED UNDER CURRENT PROJECTS.
WE DO SEE UPDATES, UM, AND THERE'S SEVERAL DRAFT DOCUMENTS HERE.
THERE'S THE PROPOSED CHANGES IN
[01:45:01]
SUMMARY, UM, OF THE AMENDMENTS.UM, SINCE THE PROCESS HAS BEEN PAUSED, WE HAVE REMOVED THE LINK FROM THE DRAFT, AND WE WILL RERELEASE THIS ONCE THE PROJECT PICKS BACK UP.
UM, WE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE PEOPLE, UH, NEEDED TO BE REVIEWING THOSE AND COMMENTING RIGHT NOW, SO WE JUST PUT A PAUSE IN THAT.
UM, INFILL DESIGN UPDATES, WHICH WE'LL DO LAST.
UM, BUT FIRST LET'S LOOK AT THE SU SUSTAINABILITY DOCUMENT.
UM, SO OUR STAFF HAS DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB AT PUTTING THESE TOGETHER.
UM, STEPHANIE WORKED ON THIS ONE.
UM, AND SO THIS IS GOING TO ADDRESS SEVERAL ASPECTS AS IT RELATES TO SUSTAINABILITY.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, UM, A COMMON REQUEST IS WINDOW REPLACEMENT AND ENERGY RETROFITS.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN MAKING THEIR OLDER HOMES MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT.
UM, THEY HAVE HIGH ELECTRICITY BILLS, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS THAT.
UM, SO THE, THE MAIN MESSAGE OF THIS STATEMENT IS JUST OF, OF THIS DOCUMENT IS JUST BY OWNING A HISTORIC HOME OR HISTORIC PROPERTY, YOU'RE ALREADY DOING A, A, A BIG PART OF, UM, ADDRESSING YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.
UM, THIS EXPLAINS THAT THERE'S TWO TYPES OF ENERGY THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE'RE EXPLORING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT, THE EMBODIED ENERGY, UM, AS WELL AS OUR OPERATIONAL ENERGY, UM, AS IT PERTAINS TO BUILDINGS.
SO THIS IS YOUR HEATING AND COOLING AND ELECTRICITY.
UM, POWER DEMAND FOR BUILDING, UM, EMBODIED ENERGY, UM, IS GOING TO BE ALL OF THE, UH, ENERGY AND PROCESSES THAT WENT INTO CREATING YOUR HOME.
SO THE EXCAVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES, THE TRANSPORTATION OF THOSE RESOURCES, THE PREPARATION OF THEM TO BECOME A HOUSE, UM, THAT'S ALL EMBODIED ENERGY.
AND WHEN WE MAKE DECISIONS TO REMOVE ORIGINAL MATERIALS FROM A HOME TO REPLACE 'EM WITH NEW MATERIALS OR OFF THE SHELF PRODUCTS, UM, THAT'S GONNA HAVE ITS OWN SORT OF CARBON FOOTPRINT IMPACT AS WELL.
UM, SO KIND OF EXPLAINING THAT WE DO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO, WE DO A WHOLE STRUCTURAL APPROACH WHEN THEY'RE ANALYSIS, DOING AN ANALYSIS OF, UM, THE BEST, UH, RETROFITS FOR THEIR HOUSE, UM, ENERGY AUDITS.
SO IT'S EXPLAINED HERE, UM, JUST SOME DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHERE THEIR HEAT GAIN AND LOSS IS OCCURRING.
UM, MANY PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT REALLY, UM, ROOFS AND WALLS ARE THE MAIN THING, AND THAT THE WINDOWS AREN'T THE BIGGEST CULPRIT.
UM, NOT TO SAY THAT A LEAKY WINDOW ISN'T A CULPRIT, BUT, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT REPLACING WINDOWS ON A HOUSE THAT HAS OTHER ISSUES THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ADDRESSED, IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE, UM, FROM AN ECONOMIC STANDPOINT, FROM ALSO JUST AN ENERGY STANDPOINT.
UM, SO THERE'S SOME, UH, RETROFIT STRATEGIES THAT ARE RECOMMENDED HERE.
UM, UH, WE KNOW THAT SOME OF THE BEST OPTIONS, UM, IN SAN ANTONIO ARE ATTIC INSULATION AND RADIANT BARRIER INSULATION.
UM, SO THERE'S, UH, SOME, A GUIDE TO REPAIR VERSUS REPLACING UNDERSTANDING WHEN SOMETHING, UM, SHOULD BE REPLACED AND KIND OF WHAT TO CONSIDER.
UM, LOOKING AT TRANSPORTATION COSTS AND MATERIALS, THE ENERGY, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF EXTRACTING THOSE RESOURCES AND MANUFACTURING THEM.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THE REPLACEMENT CYCLE.
SO A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT THE REPLACEMENT WINDOWS HAVE A LIFESPAN, AND SO IT IS POSSIBLE THAT WITHIN YOUR OWN TIME YOU MIGHT BE REPLACING THEM.
SO UNDERSTANDING THOSE COSTS WHEN YOU MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
SO IF THEY STILL WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF THESE, UH, SOLUTIONS, UM, WE DO HAVE A SEPARATE, UH, POLICY DOCUMENTARY REGARDING WINDOWS, AND THEN WE ALSO ADDRESS SOLAR PANELS IN THIS DOCUMENT.
UM, SO THIS IS REALLY JUST A, UH, KIND OF REITERATION OF WHAT IS ALREADY IN OUR EXISTING HISTORIC DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT ARE APPLIED CITYWIDE.
UM, WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT ACTUALLY THIS IS THE, THE ACTUAL, UH, DIAGRAM THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE GUIDELINES.
UM, BUT WE'VE SAID NOW WHAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL UNDER THE PROPOSED U D C AMENDMENTS, WHICH ONES MAY REQUIRE FURTHER H C R C REVIEW? UM, AND SO WE RECOMMEND THAT THEY ARE CITED TO THE REAR OF THE, OF THE PROPERTY THAN POSSIBLE.
UM, WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THEY'RE ALWAYS CITED AT LEAST 18 INCHES FROM EAVES, UM, THAT KIND OF HELPS CENTER THEM ON ROOF PLANES AND MAKES THEM A LITTLE MORE PROPORTIONATE, UM, WITH THE ARCHITECTURAL FORMS OF THE HOUSE, UM, THEY MUST BE INSTALLED FLUSH WITH THE ROOF PITCH AND NOT BE I STILTS.
UM, AND, AND MOST SOLAR PROVIDERS ARE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE ALL, ALL THESE THINGS.
AND SO WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF REQUESTS COME TO THE COMMISSION THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES AND HAVE BEEN UNSENT.
UM, WE'VE ALSO BEEN APPROVING ADMINISTRATIVELY REQUESTS WHERE WE CAN, WHERE THEY'RE, WE'RE TRULY CITED TOWARDS THE REAR OF THE PROPERTY AND DON'T HAVE MUCH OF A VISIBLE IMPACT FROM THE STREET.
COREY, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION WHILE WE'RE ON THAT SIDE.
IS THERE ANY, ANY GUIDANCE IN HERE ABOUT A CORNER PROPERTY WHERE ESSENTIALLY IT HAS TWO FACES BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY LIMITING ON? WELL, AND IT'S THE SAME THING.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF, A LOT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, THE, UM, STREETS RUN EAST TO WEST,
[01:50:01]
AND SO HALF THE HOUSES ON A BLOCK FACE NORTH AND HALF THE HALF THE HOUSES FACE SOUTH.AND OBVIOUSLY THE SOUTHERN EXPOSURE HERE IS, IS BETTER FOR SOLAR.
UM, SO I, I DO THINK, UM, WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL WHEN WE SAY THAT BECAUSE OF WHERE YOUR HOUSE IS LOCATED, YOU CAN'T HAVE SOLAR PANELS EVER.
UM, WE DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE, HAVE FOLLOWED TO THE FULL A EXTENT POSSIBLE, AND WHEN THEY CAN'T, THEN WE'RE GONNA CONSIDER WHAT THE BEST SOLUTION IS, RIGHT? UM, SO AGAIN, UM, OUR, OUR POLICY THAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS IT'S NOT ABOUT VISIBILITY ANYMORE.
IT'S MORE ABOUT WHETHER YOU'RE DOING ALL THESE OTHER THINGS FIRST.
UM, WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS, UM, WE HAD A, A MEETING, UM, IN JANUARY WITH OUR HISTORIC DISTRICTS COALITION LEADERSHIP WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT ALL THESE THINGS.
UM, THIS DID RAISE SOME EYEBROWS, BUT ONCE WE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT, UM, WHAT APPROPRIATE INSTALLATIONS LOOK LIKE AND WHAT THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE, UM, I THINK THAT HAS ADDRESSED SOME CONCERNS.
WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN A LOT OF PUSHBACK ON THIS, UM, WHITE ROOFS.
AND SO WE DO HAVE, UM, A PROGRAM HERE, UM, UH, IT'S, IT'S ONE OF OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS WHERE QUALIFYING HOMEOWNERS CAN RECEIVE A NEW ROOF ROOF.
UM, AND WE ARE ENCOURAGING WHITE OR REFLECTIVE COATINGS AND SHINGLES, UM, WHEN THOSE ROOFS ARE INSTALLED.
UM, SO THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO LOSE, REDUCE THE HEAT ISLAND EFFECT.
UM, SO SOME OF THESE HAVE HAPPENED AT HISTORIC PROPERTIES, AND WE'VE PUT THEM ADMINISTRATIVELY, AND WE DO HAVE GUIDANCE FOR HOW THOSE CAN BE INSTALLED.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO, UH, H C R C REQUIREMENT FOR CHANGING THE COLOR ON A SH ROOF.
AND SO WE CERTAINLY ENCOURAGE THAT WHEN IT SENSE.
UM, WE ARE ALSO, UM, ENCOURAGING THAT METAL ROOFS CAN BE PAINTED WITH HISTORICALLY APPROPRIATE COLORS.
UM, HISTORICALLY METAL ROOFS WERE SOMETIMES PAINTED, UM, WHITE OR EVEN METALLIC COLORS, UM, FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE.
UM, SO, SO WE ARE APPROVING THOSE ADMINISTRATIVELY AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN THIS IS RELATING TO OUR DECONSTRUCTION INITIATIVE AND JUST, UM, REINFORCING THE IMPORTANCE OF CIRCULAR CIRCULAR ECONOMY, UM, USING SALVAGE AND RECLAIM MATERIALS WHEN POSSIBLE, REUSING MATERIALS THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE AVAILABLE ON YOUR PROPERTY WHEN POSSIBLE, UM, ALL IN THE GOAL OF PRODUCING WASTE, BUT SORT OF THE BYPRODUCT OF THAT IS YOU ALSO CAN SORT OF RESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF YOUR PROPERTY BY, BY USING THOSE, THOSE RECLAIMED AND, UH, EXISTING MATERIALS.
UM, SO THERE'S THREE ISSUES WITH WINDOWS.
IT'S WHEN CAN THEY BE REPLACED ON EXISTING PROPERTY? IT'S WHAT IS USED WHEN YOU DO AN ADDITION TO A STORE PROPERTY, AND IT'S WHAT IS USED FOR HISTORIC OR FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AND HISTORIC DISTRICT.
UM, LET ME ACTUALLY GO TO OUR OLD POLICY DOCUMENT THAT IS ALSO ON OUR WEBSITE.
SO WE'VE HAD A VERSION OF THIS SINCE I BELIEVE, YEAH, THE END OF 2015, SO ALMOST FIVE YEARS NOW.
UM, AND THIS WAS REALLY TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE WITH INCONSISTENT DECISION MAKING REGARDING WINDOWS.
UM, HALF OF THE APPLICANTS THAT CAME IN WITH A REPLACEMENT WOULD SOMETIMES BE APPROVED AND THE OTHER HALF WOULDN'T.
UM, AND NEW CONSTRUCTION WAS PROBABLY EVEN WORSE, UM, IN TERMS OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WINDOWS THAT WERE BEING IMPROVED OR DENIED AND WHY.
AND SO THIS WAS REALLY, UM, AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE CONSISTENCY WITH DECISIONS ABOUT WINDOWS.
UM, WHY THEY'RE IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THEY REALLY ARE, UM, SO
UM, AGAIN, RELATING TO SUSTAINABILITY, THERE'S SOME RECOMMENDED RETROFIT SOLUTIONS THAT YOU SHOULD ATTEMPT BEFORE YOU REPLACE.
UM, SO WE HAVE INFORMATION HERE ABOUT WHEN TO CONSIDER REPAIR VERSUS REPLACEMENT, UM, MORE OFTEN TO NOT, AND NOT, UM, A HISTORIC WOOD WINDOW IS DESIGNED TO BE REPAIRED OVER TIME.
IT CAN BE FULLY TAKEN APART EVEN WHEN A, A WINDOW SASH IS COMPLETELY DETERIORATED BEYOND REPAIR.
THAT SASH CAN BE REMOVED FROM THE, FROM THE WINDOW AND NEW SASH OR A SALVAGE SASH CAN BE INSTALLED.
UM, SO IT DOESN'T OFTEN REQUIRE A FULL REPLACEMENT OF THE WINDOW PRODUCT WITH A NEW OFF THE SHELF PRODUCT.
UM, SO WE ALWAYS RECOMMEND, UM, REPAIR TO THE FULL ASSISTANT POSSIBLE BEFORE WE START TALKING ABOUT, UH, WHEN A WINDOW CAN BE COMPLETELY REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH A OFF THE SHELF PRODUCT, UM, IT MOSTLY HAS TO BE NON-EXISTENT, SO THE WINDOW SHOULD BE ALMOST MISSING, OR 50% OR MORE OF THE ORIGINAL MATERIALS ARE MISSING IN ORDER TO WARRANT REPLACEMENT ACCORDING TO THIS DOCUMENT.
UM, THIS DOCUMENT IS ALSO KIND OF FILLING THE GAP.
SO WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE OUR HISTORIC DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT HAVE BEEN REPLACED SINCE 2012.
UM, IF YOU GO TO NEW CONSTRUCTION AND YOU LOOK FOR GUIDANCE ON WINDOWS, YOU'RE
[01:55:01]
NOT GONNA FIND A LOT.WHAT YOU'RE GONNA FIND IS GUIDANCE ON MATERIALS.
AND WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT MATERIALS IS THAT NEW MATERIALS SHOULD BE COMPLIMENT, COMPLIMENTARY AND TYPE COLOR AND TEXTURE OF MATERIALS TRADITIONALLY FOUND IN THE DISTRICT.
SO IT DOESN'T SAY THAT THEY SHOULD BE MATCHING HISTORIC MATERIALS, IT JUST MEANS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE DISSIMILAR OR DISTRACTED FROM THE HISTORIC INTERPRETATION OF THE DISTRICT.
WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF ROOM FOR INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THAT MEANS IN REGARDS TO SOMETHING AS SPECIFIC AS WINDOWS OR EVEN SIDING.
UM, BUT FOR SIDING IT'S A LITTLE MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD.
UH, WE CAN USE ANY SORT OF MATERIAL AS LONG AS IT LOOKS LIKE WOOD.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET THEIR, SOME OF THE PRODUCTS AVAILABLE, UM, ON THE MARKET TODAY.
THE ISSUE WITH WINDOWS IS THERE'S SO MANY, UM, DIFFERENT PRODUCTS, DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS, SUCH A RANGE IN QUALITY.
UM, THERE'S WINDOWS THAT YOU CAN BUY FOR $60.
THERE'S WINDOWS THAT YOU CAN BUY FOR $600.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY GONNA IMPACT THE APPEARANCE OF NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
UM, WHERE DID MY WINDOWS DOCUMENT GO? I, UM, SO IN 2015, UM, WE CAME OUT WITH THIS DOCUMENT THAT PRODUCED SOME GUIDANCE BASED ON WHAT WE WERE FINDING IN CASES AT THE TIME.
UM, SO THERE WERE A FEW ISSUES THAT WE WERE IDENTIFYING WITH THE TYPES OF WINDOWS THAT WERE BEING INSTALLED IN CONSTRUCTION.
UM, ONE OF THE MAIN ISSUES IS THAT THEY'RE TYPICALLY NOT RECESSED LIKE HISTORIC WOOD WINDOW IS, UM, THAT IT'S BECAUSE MOST WINDOWS WILL HAVE A NAILING STRIP, UM, OR A FLUSH FLANGE WITH THE EXTERIOR OF THE WINDOW, UM, THAT IS INTENDED TO SLIP RIGHT UNDERNEATH THE WINDOW TRIM.
AND SO THAT CREATES A NOT VERY, YOU KNOW, REALLY A FLAT APPEARANCE TO THE WINDOWS AND DOESN'T GIVE YOU THAT SHADOW LINE THAT A HISTORIC WOOD WINDOW WOULD HAVE.
UM, THERE ARE BLOCK FRAME PRODUCTS THAT DO A BETTER JOB OF DOING THAT.
UM, THE RANGE OF CONSTRUCTION TYPES CAN ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THAT.
WE FIND THAT SOMETIMES, UH, DEPENDING ON THE, UH, USE OF THE PROPERTY OR BUILDING CODE REQUIREMENTS, THERE MIGHT BE TWO BY SIX FRAMING INSTEAD OF TWO BY FOUR.
AND SO THAT OBVIOUSLY MAKES IT EASIER, UM, FOR MOST CASES, A, A HOUSE FRAMED WITH TWO BY FOURS IS NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO UTILIZE A NEW WINDOW PROJECT PRODUCT, UM, AND HAVE IT RECESSED WITHOUT BUILDING OUT THE TRIM SOMEHOW.
IT JUST, UM, IT'S NOT HOW WE BUILD ANYMORE.
AND SO WE'VE HAD TO BE, UM, KIND OF CREATIVE IN HOW WE ALLOW PEOPLE TO ADDRESS THE STIPULATIONS AND COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS AND THE WINDOW TRIM AND WINDOW SPECIFICATIONS TO, TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED EFFECT, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT LOOKS SIMILAR IN APPEARANCE TO WHAT YOU WOULD FIND HISTORICALLY IN A DISTRICT.
UM, SO THAT WAS KINDA WHAT WE STARTED WITH, UM, OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS OR SO SINCE THIS EVEN.
UM, SO THIS WAS IN PLACE FOR ALMOST FIVE YEARS, AND THEN IN THE PAST THREE YEARS, WE'VE HAD PRETTY MUCH THE SAME STIPULATIONS THAT WE'VE APPLIED TO NEW CONSTRUCTION CASES REGARDING THOSE.
AND THAT WAS ALL BASED ON JUST EXPERIENCE, BUT THE ONES THAT WE KNEW WERE TRULY, UM, MOST LIKELY TO MEET, UM, THE REQUIRED STIPULATIONS.
UM, AND A VERSION OF IT IS HERE, UM, WE ZOOM IN.
SO IN GENERAL, NEW WINDOWS ON ADDITIONS SHOULD RELATE TO THE WINDOWS OF THE PRIMARY SOURCE STRUCTURE IN TERMS OF MATERIALITY AND OVERALL APPEARANCE.
SO THIS MEANS IF YOUR ORIGINAL STRUCTURE HAS WOOD WINDOWS, THEN YOUR ADDITION SHOULD HAVE WOOD WINDOWS OR SOMETHING THAT MIMICS THE APPEARANCE OF WOOD, WINDOWS, WOOD, WINDOWS AND WINDOWS USED IN NEW CONSTRUCTION SHOULD BE SIMILAR IN APPEARANCE OF THOSE COMMONLY FOUND IN THE DISTRICT IN TERMS OF SIZE, PROFILE AND CONFIGURATION.
UM, AND THEN WE'VE ADDED THIS LATELY BECAUSE THERE'S VERY, UH, CLEARLY MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT, UM, WHETHER OR NOT THE COMMISSION OR STAFF REQUIRES A CERTAIN WINDOW PRODUCT OR A CERTAIN MATERIAL.
UM, AND WE FIND THAT IN OUR REVIEW VIEW OF THE GUIDELINES, IT DOESN'T REALLY SAY THAT ANY SORT OF MATERIAL IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED.
AND SO WE'RE SAYING THAT HERE.
BUT WE DO FIND THAT ALUMINUM CLOUD, WOOD WINDOWS, OR A HIGH QUALITY WOOD WINDOW, OFTEN MEETS THE GUIDELINES IN THE STIPULATIONS LISTED BELOW.
THEY JUST HAVE THE RIGHT DIMENSIONS AND THE RIGHT PROFILE NORMALLY.
UM, AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PHOTOS THAT WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH AND KIND OF SHOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE MAKE THESE SPECIFICATIONS.
UM, WHOLE WINDOWS SYSTEM SHOULD MATCH THE SIZE OF HISTORIC WINDOWS AND PROPERTY AND IT'S OTHERWISE APPROVED.
UM, WINDOWS SHOULD FEATURE TRADITIONAL DIMENSIONS AND PROPORTIONS AS FOUND WITHIN THE DISTRICT.
UM, WE HAVE DIMENSIONS THAT ARE RECOMMENDED FOR MEETING RAILS.
UM, THERE'S SOME WIGGLE ROOM, LIKE, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S, THERE'S HUNDREDS OF WINDOW PRODUCTS OUT THERE, AND THEY'RE ALL GONNA VARY SLIGHTLY, UM, JUST BASED ON THE MANUFACTURER.
UM, AND SO WE WILL REVIEW ALL OF THEM ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
AND IF IT'S WITHIN A QUARTER OR A HALF OF AN INCH OF ONE OF THESE DIMENSIONS, THEN IT'S USUALLY FOUND TO BE APPROPRIATE.
BUT, BUT THESE DIMENSIONS WERE BASED ON LOOKING AT HISTORIC WINDOW PROFILES AND THEN ALSO LOOKING AT, UM, SOME OF THE TOP SELLING WINDOWS FROM THREE DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS AND FOUND THAT THEY WERE ALL ABLE TO MOVE THESE SPECIFICATIONS FOR DIFFERENT PRODUCTS THAT THEY OFFERED.
THE WINDOW SHOULD BE A MINIMUM OF TWO INCHES IN DEPTH.
[02:00:01]
EXISTING CODE LANGUAGE FOR RIO.UM, SO WE KNOW THAT THIS CAN ALWAYS BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH JUST THE WALL CAVITY ITSELF, AND THAT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO BUILD UP THAT TRIM A LITTLE BIT IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH IT.
BUT, UM, WE'LL, YOU'LL SEE IN THE, THE PHOTOS THAT WE HAVE THAT, UM, IT DOES ACCOMPLISH, UH, PROVIDING THAT SHADOW LINE, WHICH REALLY HELPS, UH, MAINTAIN THAT QUALITY WITHIN THE CONSTRUCTION AND STORE DISTRICT.
UM, WINDOW TRIM IS FEATURE OF TRADITIONAL DIMENSIONS AND ARCHITECTURALLY APPROPRIATE CASING AND SLOPE SEAL DETAIL.
UM, WE HAVEN'T ALWAYS REQUIRED THAT, BUT WE'VE HAD SO MANY INFILL CONSTRUCTION REQUESTS, AND WE HAVE FOUND THAT THE ONES THAT DO HAVE A STILL PROFILE ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL, UM, IN GUIDELINES.
UM, AND SO WE'LL, WE'LL SHOW YOU EXAMPLES OF WHY WE'RE MAKING THAT RECOMMENDATION.
UM, VERY OFTEN WINDOW PRODUCTS WILL HAVE A TRACK COMPONENTS, UM, THAT ARE A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN THE REST OF THE WINDOW, AND SO IT IS POSSIBLE TO PAINT THOSE IN SOME CASES OR TO ORDER THEM A CERTAIN COLOR.
UM, AND SO WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT AS WELL.
UM, WINDOWS SHOULD FEATURE CLEAR GLASS, LOW E OR REFLECTIVE COATINGS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR REPLACEMENTS.
UM, AND THEN THE LACING SHOULD NOT FEATURE FOUR DIVIDED LIGHTS AND SHOULD JUST BE A TRUE ONE OVER ONE WOOD WINDOW UNLESS, UM, THERE'S HISTORIC PRECEDENT THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GUIDE THAT DECISION.
UM, I KNOW WE'VE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT COLOR TOO, AND SO WE'RE MOSTLY GONNA LOOK AT PICTURES AND TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT WOOD WINDOW SHOULD FEATURE A PAINTED FINISH, UM, OR A CLAD PRODUCT IS USED.
UM, WE DON'T RECOMMEND THAT WHITE OR METALLIC MANUFACTURERS COLORS BE USED.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WE DO RECOMMEND THAT THE, UM, THE TYPE OF WINDOW BE A BLOCK FRAME WINDOW.
UM, WE'VE GOT A TYPO HERE, SO THIS IS VERY MUCH A DRAFT AND WE'LL FIX THAT
UM, BUT WINDOW OPENING SIZES SHOULD NOT BE ALTERED TO ACCOMMODATE STOCK SIZES PRIOR TO APPROVAL.
UM, SO FROM HERE, LET'S GO LOOK AT THE PICTURES.
SORRY, I SHOULD HAVE ALREADY HAD THIS PULLED UP.
UM, LET'S TALK ABOUT COLOR FIRST.
SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE WHERE WE HAD A, A SINGLE FAMILY DEV HOME DEVELOPMENT.
IT'S MULTIPLE SINGLE FAMILY PROPERTIES WITHIN THE SAME DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND ALL THE HOMES WERE BUILT WITHIN A RELATIVELY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
THE FIRST TWO HOUSES YOU SEE HERE WERE BOTH MODEL HOMES.
UM, SO THEY WERE THE FIRST TWO THAT WERE DEVELOPED, AND THEY USED DIFFERENT WINDOWS, AND WE ACTUALLY ENCOURAGED THEM TO USE A DARKER WINDOWS SORT OF AS MITIGATION, UM, ONCE WE SAW THE INSTALLATIONS GOING IN.
AND SO WE, THEY WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH US ON THAT.
UM, AND WHAT WE HAVE FOUND JUST FROM THIS CASE STUDY IS THAT THE DARKER WINDOWS, EVEN THOUGH IT'S THE SAME PRODUCT AND SAME INSTALLATION METHOD, DO A LITTLE BIT A BETTER JOB OF APPEARING RECESSED AND THEN ALSO JUST LOOK LESS LIKE A PLASTIC WINDOW.
UM, THESE ARE ACTUALLY ALUMINUM WINDOWS, I BELIEVE.
UM, WHAT'S INTERESTING HERE IS THAT THESE WERE THE MODEL HOMES, AND AS NEW HOMES WERE BUILT, THE DEVELOPER GAVE THE BUYERS THE OPTION TO SELECT THE COLOR OF WINDOWS, UM, AS THE HOMES WERE BUILT.
AND PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER HOUSE ON THIS DEVELOPMENT HAS THE BLACK WINDOWS, JUST BECAUSE THEY TEND TO BE A LITTLE BIT NICER.
UM, I REALIZE THAT SAYING THAT SOMETHING LOOKS NICER ISN'T VERY OBJECTIVE, BUT I DO THINK IT LOOKS NICER BECAUSE IT GIVES MORE OF A RECESSED APPEARANCE.
UM, IT TENDS TO SET BACK FROM THE PRIMARY WALL COLORS, UM, MORE SO THAN THE WHITE.
UM, THAT IS WHY WE MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION.
I DO REALIZE THAT HISTORICALLY WOOD WINDOWS CAN BE PAINTED WHITE, AND SO THAT IS, UM, THAT IS OF COURSE STILL ALLOWED.
UM, IF YOU PAINT A WINDOW WHITE, UM, WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS THAT, UM, PRE CLAD OR PRE-FINISHED, UM, UH, WINDOWS NOT FEATURE THE WHITE COLOR JUST BECAUSE IT DOES TEND TO STICK OUT MORE WITHIN A HISTORIC SETTING.
UH, COREY, THIS JEFF, UH, QUESTION HERE MM-HMM.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANY, UH, ALUMINUM OR ALUMINUM CLOUD WOOD WINDOWS PROVIDE OR CAN PROVIDE FULL, UH, SCREENS.
SO THAT'S ALSO AN ISSUE THAT WE WILL LOOK AT WHEN WE GO THROUGH THESE PHOTOS.
UM, THAT'S ANOTHER ISSUE WITH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SINGLE HUNG WINDOW AND A DOUBLE HUNG WINDOW.
UM, LET'S JUST, LET'S LOOK AT SOME, UM, ACTUALLY I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE GONNA SEE 'EM.
SO LET'S GO THROUGH THE VINYL WINDOWS FIRST.
UM, I WANTED TO SHOW THESE BECAUSE I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY EASY FOR US JUST TO SAY NO VINYL WINDOWS IN NEW CONSTRUCTION EVER, BUT I, I THINK WE NEED TO LEAVE IT OPEN TO POTENTIAL, UM, SOLUTIONS.
[02:05:01]
WINDOW THAT WAS INSTALLED.IT IS THAT BLOCK FRAME, AND SO THEY WERE ABLE TO RECESS IT A LITTLE FURTHER.
UM, I DO THINK IF THIS WASN'T THE WHITE, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SUCCESSFUL.
THEY DO HAVE A NICE STILL DETAIL.
UM, SO IT DOES KIND OF MIMIC THAT HISTORIC INSTALLATION.
UM, IT'S NOT PERFECT, BUT IN TERMS OF WINDOWS AND NEW CONSTRUCTION, THIS IS GETTING PRETTY CLOSE.
IT HAS A PRETTY NICE THIN PROFILE BECAUSE IT'S DOUBLE HUNG.
YOU SEE, YOU GET THIS LITTLE BIT OF A DOG LEG HERE.
UM, SINGLE HUNG WINDOWS ARE GONNA HAVE AN EXTRUDED FRAME THAT GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN.
AND SO YOU GET LESS OF THAT SHADOW LINE BETWEEN THE SASHES.
UM, THESE ARE FIXED WINDOWS, AND SO OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT GONNA HAVE THE DIFFERENCE IN SASHES.
UM, BUT THIS IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE ONES THAT WE WOULD TRY TO AVOID IS BECAUSE IT IS INSTALLED FLUSH WITH THE EXTERIOR, HAS NO SORT OF DEPTH WHATSOEVER.
CORY, WHAT CATEGORY ARE, ARE YOU CONSIDERING THE COMPOSITES KIND OF ON YOUR FILE STRUCTURE? BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S ONE OR TWO COMPOSITES THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED A NUMBER OF TIMES.
WE HAD A MOCKUP, AND I THINK YOU'LL VERIFIED SOME OF THE DIMENSIONS.
I CAN'T,
THEY'RE ALL, THEY'RE MADE SORT OF DIFFERENT AND STUFF.
UM, LET ME, IT'S, IT'S JUST NOT REALLY CONSIDERED A CLOUD PRODUCT, I GUESS.
SO I, I I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHERE THOSE KIND OF FALL.
YEAH, I'M TRYING TO FIND ONE THAT HAS THE SCREEN.
SO THIS IS, UM, THIS IS A SINGLE HUNG WINDOW.
AND SO THE TOP SASH IS FIXED AND THE BOTTOM SASH, AND THAT SAME PLANE HAS THE PLACE OF WHAT THE SCREEN.
UM, SO ONCE YOU DO THAT, YOU DO GET KIND OF A FLAT APPEARANCE.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY WE USUALLY RECOMMEND A DOUBLE HUNG WINDOW BECAUSE IT'S NOT GONNA HAVE THAT OPTION TO STICK THE SCREEN THERE.
UM, AND YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO POTENTIALLY GO OVER THE WHOLE THING WITH A MORE TRADITIONAL WOOD SCREEN.
LET'S, SO THIS IS A HUGE ISSUE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE GUIDELINES SAY IT'S A NEW BUILD THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, FIND SOMETHING THAT'S COMFORTABLE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
BUT THEN AGAIN, IT'S A NEW BUILD, SO EVERYBODY WANTS NEW WINDOWS, WINDOWS, WHATEVER, LOW ENERGY.
SO IT JUST, ONE THING, I MEAN, I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH REPLACING AND KIND OF REPLACING AN OLD WINDOWS, AN OLD HOUSES REMODELS, BUT THE NEW BUILT IS JUST, AND LIKE THE FIRST EXAMPLE YOU SHOW, WE ALREADY KNOW THAT'S A DEVELOPER, AND NOW HE'S GONNA USE THAT WINDOW IN EVERY SINGLE PROJECT HE'S DOING ALL OVER THE CITY BECAUSE WE APPROVED IT ONCE A LONG TIME AGO.
UM, SO LET'S LOOK AT THIS ONE.
THIS IS A ALL WOOD DOUBLE-HUNG WINDOW, AND IT'S WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, WOULD NORMALLY BE CONSIDERED COMPLETELY COMPATIBLE FOR A HISTORIC PROPERTY, EVEN AS A REPLACEMENT.
UM, THE PROBLEM IS THE QUALITY OF THE WOOD IS JUST NOT WHAT YOU WOULD GET IN A HISTORIC WINDOW, SO YOU MIGHT GET SOMETHING SIMILAR IN APPEARANCE, BUT WE HAVE HAD OTHER CASES WHERE, UM, REPLACEMENTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND WITH, IN FIVE YEARS, THEY'RE ALREADY STARTING TO DECAY FROM THE OUTSIDE.
UM, THEY REQUIRE MORE MAINTENANCE THAN EVEN A HISTORIC WINDOW WOULD.
UM, THEY HAVE TO BE CONTINUALLY REPAINTED AND, AND SEALED AND WEATHERPROOFED.
UM, AND SO WE DO WANT TO GIVE PEOPLE OPTIONS AND WE DO BELIEVE THERE'S A NUMBER OF PRODUCTS OUT THERE THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY A WOOD WINDOW THAT CAN, THAT CAN MIMIC THE APPEARANCE OF THIS.
UM, BUT A DEVELOPER'S NOT GONNA CARE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN FIVE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.
SO THEY'RE JUST ALL ABOUT COST AND YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE WINDOW MEN SALES GUYS THAT, YOU KNOW, THINK THEY'RE GONNA SELL IT.
AND THIS HONESTLY ISN'T THE, YOU KNOW, THE MOST EXPENSIVE OF A LOT OF THE WINDOWS.
THERE'S, THERE'S ALUMINUM ONLY WINDOWS THAT ARE PROBABLY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN, THAN THIS WOOD WINDOW.
UM, LET'S, LET'S KEEP LOOKING AT THE, THE IMAGES.
SO THIS IS ALSO, UM, DOUBLE HUNG WOOD WINDOW, SO IT'S OBVIOUSLY REALLY SUCCESSFUL.
UM, THEY'VE PAINTED THIS ONE, UM, AND IT'S GOT A NICE INSTALLATION DEPTH AS WELL.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON WINDOWS WE SEE, I'D SAY A FULL ALUMINUM I GEM WINDOW.
WE RECENTLY DID NOT APPROVE IT FOR A PROJECT.
UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE IT'S BEEN APPROVED IN A LOT
[02:10:01]
OF DIFFERENT PLACES.AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT ALL THE INSTALLATIONS ACTUALLY.
SO IT'S THE SUPPLY GYM 37 10 SERIES.
UM, THE FIRST PLACE WE SAW IT WAS HERE, THIS IS 8 0 8 EAST CARSON.
UM, THIS WAS ACTUALLY EVERYTHING ON THIS PROJECT WAS APPROVED, GIVEN FINAL APPROVAL EXCEPT FOR THE WINDOWS.
AND SHE HAD TO COME BACK WITH, UH, WITH INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT SHE WANTED TO DO.
UM, SO SHE CAME IN WITH A VERY DETAILED, UM, WINDOW SECTION.
UM, THIS IS TWO BY SIX FRAMING.
SO THEY WERE EASILY ABLE TO RECESS THIS INTO THE OPENING.
THEY HAD A, HAD A NICE MODERN SEAL DETAIL.
UM, AND SHE HAD THE ACTUAL WINDOW PRODUCT ON WHEELS WITH HER.
AND SHE MEASURED ALL OF THESE DIMENSIONS AND VERIFIED THAT THEY, THEY MET THE, THE RECOMMENDED DIMENSIONS FOR, FOR MEETING RAILS AND STYLES AND ALL THAT.
AND SO THIS WINDOW WAS APPROVED, UM, FOUND TO MEET THE GUIDELINES, AND FOR A WHILE, STAFF KIND OF FOLLOWED THE COMMISSION'S LEAD ON THAT.
WE HAD A STRING OF PROJECTS RIGHT AFTER THIS ONE THAT, THAT WANTED TO USE THE SAME WINDOW, AND WE HAD RECOMMENDED THEM AND THEY WERE USUALLY APPROVED, UM, WITH, WITH AN APPROPRIATE INSTALLATION DETAIL.
SO THESE ARE THOSE WINDOWS ON, ON ANOTHER PROJECT.
UM, COREY, CAN I, CAN I ASK A QUESTION? AND IT MIGHT BE A SILLY QUESTION.
DIMENSIONALLY, IS THAT MORE OR LESS IDENTICAL TO AN ALUMINUM CLA WOOD? IT'S JUST ALL ALUMINUM, SO IT DOESN'T HAVE THE WOOD PIECE IN, IN THE, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE THICKER.
UM, THE ALUMINUM CLAD TEND TO BE THE MOST SLENDER IN APPEARANCE.
SO THE ALL ALUMINUM IS A LITTLE BIT THICKER IN PROFILE, BUT IT'S STILL WITHIN OUR DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
SO THAT'S THE OTHER THING IS, IS, YOU KNOW, UNLESS THOSE STIPULA, IF A IF A WINDOW IS APPROVED, THEN, THEN IT'S APPROVED.
IF THERE'S STIPULATIONS THAT ARE APPROVED AND THE WINDOW'S NOT REALLY DEFINED AT THE TIME THE COMMISSION TAKES ACTION, THEN THEY HAVE TO MEET THEM.
LIKE THAT'S THE STANDARD THAT'S BEEN APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION.
AND SO THERE'S BEEN INCONSISTENCY AND KIND OF THE APPROVALS.
AND SO SOMETIMES THIS WINDOW HAS BEEN APPROVED, EVEN THOUGH THE MEETING RAIL IS A LITTLE THICKER THAN WHAT IS NORMALLY STIPULATED.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT'S, THEY'VE ALL BEEN HANDLED SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TOLERANCES, BUT IN MATERIAL APPEARANCES AND GENERAL DIMENSIONS, AN ALL ALUMINUM WINDOW IS MORE OR LESS IDENTICAL TO AN ALUMINUM CLAD WOOD WINDOW IF IT, IF IT HAS A PROPER INSTALLATION.
I WOULDN'T SAY THAT, UM, YOU'RE, SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S AN A, AN ADDITIONAL DIMENSIONAL DEPTH IN THE ALL ALUMINUM, AND I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I'M JUST TRYING TO YEAH, HERE'S, UM, SOME ALUMINUM CLOUD PILLOW WINDOWS.
I THINK THESE ARE A PRETTY SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT IN TERMS OF HAVING THAT HISTORICALLY VERY SLENDER MEETING RAIL.
AND SO IT DOES HAVE A TRACK COMPONENT THAT GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN.
AND SO THERE'S, THERE'S PROS AND CONS TO ALL OF THESE, RIGHT? AND SO THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU WOULD NORMALLY SEE ON A HISTORIC DETAIL.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THIS CAN BE, UH, THE COLOR CAN BE CHANGED.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A WHITE TRACK, I DON'T BELIEVE.
UM, I'VE GOT ANOTHER IMAGE FROM ANGLE.
I THINK COREY, I THINK TOO, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE ISSUES FOR ME IS LESS ABOUT THE DE THE SLENDERNESS OR WHATEVER YOU WANNA SAY OF THE MEETING RAIL, BUT IT'S THE DEPTH FROM FRONT TO BACK.
LIKE SO MANY REPLACEMENT WINDOWS JUST LOOK SO FLAT, EVEN IF THEY'RE DOUBLE HUNG.
AND, AND A AND A TRUE WOOD WINDOW IS JUST, IT'S THICKER, LIKE THERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S JUST MORE, A LOT MORE DEPTH TO IT, WHICH I THINK IS WHAT DOES IS NOT SUCCESSFUL IN A LOT OF EXAMPLES.
I HAD A PE GUY COME OUT TO MY HOUSE JUST FOR FUN,
THERE'S, THERE'S NO OPTION TO NOT HAVE THOSE TRACKS IN THOSE DOUBLE HUNG, AND HE PUTS THEM AND INSTALLS THEM ABOVE, I MEAN, OVER WHAT'S THE EXISTING FRAME.
THEY DON'T CHANGE THE FRAMING.
SO THAT'S WHY THAT TRACK HAS TO BE THERE.
AND I THINK THAT'S ALSO ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THAT DECK IS NOT THERE ANYMORE.
BECAUSE, I MEAN, I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN, BUT I MEAN, LIKE, THERE'S, THERE'S THE FRAMING THEY'RE GONNA GO OVER, THEY'RE GONNA, THEY'RE GONNA BE THINNER BECAUSE THEY'RE PUT LIKE FROM THE OUTSIDE IN FOR REPLACEMENT.
YEAH, THIS WOULD, I MEAN, THIS IS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, WELL, I THINK YOU SHOWED EARLIER, UH, NOT A NEW CONSTRUCTION THING WAS A REPLACEMENT.
DOESN'T IT LOOK LIKE A REPLACEMENT? IT'S NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, YEAH, THIS ONE ACTUALLY IS A, JUST A SUCCESSFUL HOUSE IN MEETING ALL OF THE GUIDELINES.
THE, THE SIDING IS A FOUR INCH PARTY REVEAL, WHICH LOOKS A LOT LIKE WOOD.
AND SO THEY'VE DONE A GOOD JOB WITH THIS ONE.
UM, SO GOING BACK TO THE ALUMINUM ONLY,
[02:15:06]
UM, PLY GYM ACTUALLY MAKES A COUPLE VERSIONS OF THIS.UM, SO LET'S, LET'S SEE IT HERE.
UM, SO THIS WAS A, THIS WAS SHOWN RECENTLY AT A HEARING.
UM, THIS IS AN ALUMINUM ONLY ONLY WINDOW.
AND YOU CAN SEE IT DOESN'T HAVE QUITE THE SAME DEPTH AS A WOOD OR WOOD CLAD PRODUCT.
UM, BUT THEY'VE DONE A GOOD JOB WITH THIS TRIM DETAIL.
IT IS RECESSED, IT'S GOT A CELL.
UM, THE SAME MAKER DOES THESE, SO THIS IS AN ALUMINUM CLAD PRODUCT.
THEY HAVE A FULL SCREEN ALUMINUM SCREEN OVER THE WHOLE THING, SO YOU DON'T SEE IT AS WELL IN THESE PICTURES.
UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT ACCOMPLISHES QUITE A BIT MORE DEPTH THAN, THAN THE ALUMINUM ONLY.
SO, I MEAN, TO FOLLOW UP ON KIND OF SHANNON'S POINT, THE, THE IN THE DEPTH IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PIECES OF THIS.
THE INSTALLATION DEPTH AND THE DEPTH AT THE MEETING RAIL IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PIECES.
YOU KNOW, OUR STANDARD STIPULATION, WHILE IT'S REFERENCING THE DEPTH AND THE DIMENSION OF THE MEETING RAIL, IT'S REALLY GETTING INTO THE MATERIAL ON ALUMINUM CLOUD WOOD OR ALL WOOD.
AND IF THERE IS ALUMINUM PRODUCT THAT IS MEETING THE DIMENSIONALITY, I'M NOT, I'M JUST NOT CERTAIN WHY THAT WOULD BE EXCLUDED.
SO THERE'S KIND OF TWO TRACKS AT THIS, RIGHT? WE DEFINE THE DIMENSIONALITY PRECISELY, OR WE DEFINE THE MATERIAL PRECISELY.
AND GENERALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE CLAD WOOD PRODUCTS, WE'RE SAYING, WELL, THE MATERIAL TENDS TO PRODUCE BETTER DIMENSIONALITY, RIGHT? NOT THAT IT'S, I, I GUESS THAT'S THE LITTLE PART OF THE DUAL TRACK THAT I ALWAYS GET KIND OF TRIPPED UP ON THE QUAL THE QUALITY OF THOSE TWO PRODUCTS, A WOOD WINDOW OR AN ALUMINUM CLAD WOOD WINDOW, LIKE WITHOUT QUESTION, OR IT'S JUST EASIER FOR THOSE PRODUCTS TO MEET ALL THE STIPULATIONS.
AND SO PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FIND, FIND A SOLUTION EASIER THAN IF THEY WERE GIVEN SORT OF A BLANK SLATE TO LOOK AT ALL VINYL OR LOOK AT ALL ALUMINUM AND TRY TO FIND ONE THE RIGHT SPECIFICATIONS.
LIKE I WOULD LOVE IF WE HAD THE PERFECT WINDOW THAT WE COULD JUST TELL PEOPLE TO BUY, BUT IT JUST DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY.
UM, SO WE'VE GOTTA GIVE PEOPLE OPTIONS TO KIND OF EXPLORE AND SEE WHICH ONES THEY THINK CAN BE THE RIGHT SOLUTION.
UM, SO THIS IS THE ALUMINUM ONLY.
SO THIS IS NOT THE CLOUD PRODUCT.
IT'S NOT A WOOD WINDOW UNDERNEATH THERE.
AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT IT MEETS ALL THE STIPULATIONS, BUT IT'S GETTING CLOSE AND IT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION AFTER REVIEW.
SO IF, IF WE COLLECTIVELY DECIDE THAT WE NEED TO GET AWAY FROM THIS, THEN, THEN WE NEED TO BE KIND OF CLEAR IN THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS MOVING FORWARD, UM, TO GO TOWARDS SOMETHING MORE LIKE THIS.
WE CAN, WE CAN EASILY TWEAK THE, THE SPECIFICATIONS IF WE FIND THAT THIS IS MOST CONSIS CONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES, WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT.
WELL, I THINK, UH, THIS WINDOW WITH THE FULL SCREEN, UM, IS MORE CONSISTENT WITH HISTORIC WOOD WINDOWS.
UH, WHETHER THIS IS AN ALUMINUM PRODUCT, WHETHER IT'S A VINYL PRODUCT, WHETHER IT'S A, YOU KNOW, ALUMINUM CLOUD PRODUCT.
UM, I THINK THE FULL SCREEN REALLY HAS, UH, SOMETHING TO, UH, RECOMMEND IT.
BUT I DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE'RE LIMITING THE, THE OPTIONS TO THE HOMEOWNERS.
J WELL, JEFF, I, I THINK THAT THAT BEGINS TO LIMIT THE PRODUCT AVAILABILITY ON, ON THE SCREEN CHECK OPTIONS, WHETHER IT'S DOUBLE HUNG OR SINGLE, SINGLE HUNG.
UM, AND MAYBE THAT'S THE DIRECTION WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT.
I, I'M JUST TRYING TO GRASP IT FROM THE APPLICANT'S, FROM THE APPLICANT'S STANDPOINT.
AND THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF, OF A DUALITY IN THE WAY THAT WE'VE APPROACHED IT FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.
AND WHEN THE COMMISSION HAS PRESENTED A WINDOW THAT APPEARS TO MEET THE DIMENSIONALITY, APPEARS TO HAVE AN APPROPRIATE INSTALL, UH, MAYBE IT'S ALUMINUM CLA WOOD, OR MAYBE IT'S ONE OF THESE COMPOSITE ONES THAT WE, WE HAVE THAT WHEN WE SEE THAT WINDOW IN THE DIMENSIONS OF THOSE WINDOWS AND THE MOCKUPS, I THINK WE'VE APPROVED IT MANY, MANY TIMES PROBABLY IN THE LAST THREE YEARS.
I MEAN, IT, IT HAS A MODIFICATION TO A FINISHED MATERIAL PERHAPS, BUT IT'S MEETING THE INTENT OF THE GUIDELINE THAT WE PUT FORWARD.
[02:20:01]
FROM THE COMMUNITY IS THAT WE'RE TREATING PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY BY ACCEPTING A WINDOW THAT SLIGHTLY TWEAKS A MATERIALITY, BUT IS ESSENTIALLY MEETING THE DIMENSIONALITY.AND TO ME, THAT'S WHERE PEOPLE REALLY GET UPSET.
LIKE, WHY IS SO AND SO WHY WAS SO AND SO ALLOWED THIS ONE PARTICULAR KIND OF WINDOW? AND I'M NOT ALLOWED A WINDOW THAT'S MAYBE INITIALLY APPEARS SIMILAR TO THAT ONE.
RIGHT? AND THAT'S OFTEN THAT, THAT CONVERSATION IS TALKED ABOUT IN TERMS OF MATERIALITY INSTEAD OF DIMENSIONALITY.
BUT I, I MEAN, WHATEVER, IF, IF WE'RE MAKING TWEAKS HERE, I THINK ONE OF THE GOALS SHOULD BE TO DO IT IN A WAY THAT PEOPLE PER THE, THE COMMUNITY AND DEVELOPERS PERCEIVE AN EQUITABLE APPROACH FROM THE COMMISSION AND FROM STAFF.
AND IT, THE, THE TIGHTER, THE TIGHTER WE MAKE THE CONTROLS ON THE POLICY, THE MORE YOU'RE GONNA GONNA SEE PROBABLY INCONSISTENT ACTION AND SLIPPAGES ON PRODUCTS THAT WE'RE JUST NOT CAPTURING.
SO I MEAN, I'M, I'M, I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT WE DO ANYTHING AT ALL TO THE POLICY THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE NECESSARILY.
I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT THE ISSUES WE HAVE WITH THE WINDOW POLICY.
AND, AND ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES WITH WINDOWS IS REALLY IN MY, IN MY VIEW IT'S COMPLIANCE CASES.
IT'S, IT'S, UH, APPLICANTS AND OWNERS WHO DON'T INSTALL APPROPRIATE WINDOWS OR DON'T INSTALL THE WINDOWS THAT ARE APPROVED.
AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE MOST TORTUROUS CASES
YOU KNOW, HAVING THE DIMENSIONS IN THE GUIDELINES I THINK IS PROBABLY THE STRONGEST PIECE FOR CONSISTENCY.
UM, I MEAN, NOT, NOT TO MAKE THIS TRICKIER, BUT I MEAN THERE'S ALSO SO MANY VARIABLES IN HOW IT'S INSTALLED AND HOW THE BUILDING IS FRAMED AND TRIMMED OUT AND ALL OF THAT.
UM, LIKE I ACTUALLY THINK THIS IS REALLY SUCCESSFUL.
THIS ISN'T, UM, A FANCY WINDOW AND IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A HISTORICAL TRIM DETAIL EITHER, BUT IT'S, IT'S DONE IN A REALLY KIND OF TASTEFUL WAY AND HAS A SILL AND UM, IS RESPONDING TO KIND OF HISTORIC CONDITIONS IN A MODERN WAY.
UM, AND SO IN SOME WAYS THIS IS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN, THAN SOMETHING THAT JUST HAS THIS BOX FRAME TRIM.
COREY? I AGREE WITH YOUR OBSERVATION,
UM, IT'S, IT'S JUST A MATTER FROM, FROM AN APPROACH STANDPOINT, HOW, HOW BEST DO WE CONTROL THIS SO THAT, SO THAT EQUITY IS, IS MOST VISIBLE AND PEOPLE DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING, PEOPLE IN NEIGHBORHOODS IN PARTICULAR DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING TREATED DIFFERENT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S THING TO DEAL WITH, TO HAVE REALLY TIGHT CONTROLS AND THEN KIND OF DEAL WITH THE FRINGES AT THE, AT THE COMMISSION LEVEL.
AND, AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE DO.
I THINK, I THINK OUR SPECIFICATIONS AND OUR GUIDELINES ARE PRETTY PRECISE AND WE REALLY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE FRINGY THINGS.
THE, THE PERCEPTION ISN'T GOOD, BUT MAYBE THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THINGS LIKE THAT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S MAYBE IT, IT, IT'S, THERE'S NOT GONNA BE A PERFECT SOLUTION HERE, BUT THE TIGHTER YOU SQUEEZE THE, THE POLICY GUIDELINE, THE MORE WE'RE GONNA HAVE AROUND THE FRINGES.
UM, I MEAN, WE ALSO JUST NEED TO BE CAREFUL.
LIKE, WE DON'T WANT TO EXCLUDE AN ENTIRE TYPE OF PRODUCT BECAUSE IT'S OFF BY A QUARTER OF AN INCH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT STILL BE APPROPRIATE DEPENDING ON HOW IT'S INSTALLED AND, AND ALL OF THE DETAILS ASSOCIATED.
UM, IT'S JUST NOT ALWAYS BLACK AND WHITE.
BUT WE DO, I THINK, I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING THERE, WE'RE ADDING A LOT OF KIND OF DETAIL TO THESE NORMAL SPECIFICATIONS.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS A LOT FOR SOMEBODY WHO HASN'T EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT WINDOW THEY WANNA INSTALL AND THEY'RE READING THIS AND THEY NEED STAFF TO HOLD THEIR HAND AND HELP THEM PICK THE WINDOW.
UM, SO I, I THINK IT'S GETTING THERE.
I DO THINK THAT ONE OPTION IS DISCARDING ANY, UM, LANGUAGE ABOUT MATERIAL HERE AND FOCUSING MORE ON THE DIMENSIONALITY, LIKE YOU SAID, OR THE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A DOUBLE HUNG VERSUS SINGLE HUNG, I THINK MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, A DOUBLE HUNG IS ALWAYS GONNA BE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN A SINGLE HUNG, JUST IN TERMS OF MEETING ALL THESE OTHER REQUIREMENTS.
BUT IN TERMS OF KIND OF ARCHITECTURAL REQUIREMENTS OR DESIGN REQUIREMENTS, DOUBLE HUNGS ARE NOT ALWAYS APPROPRIATE.
AND, AND JUST TO CONTRADICT WHAT I WAS JUST SAYING, SHANNON
AND, AND MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO DO BOTH WITHOUT BEING SO PRESCRIPTIVE IN THE MATERIAL.
[02:25:04]
HAVE THERE BEEN ANY VINYL WINDOWS THAT HAVE MET THE, UH, DIMENSIONAL CRITERIA? I, UM, UH, AGAIN, IT'S MORE, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE APPROACHED IT.UM, THAT'S WHAT IT'S, UM, THESE JEL ONES I SHOWED YOU THAT WERE PRETTY GOOD, THESE WERE ACTUALLY BEFORE WE, WE IMPLEMENTED THE STIPULATIONS.
I THINK THE ANSWER IS THEY HAVE THE MOST DIFFICULT TIME.
I, AND COMPOSITE COMPOSITE CLOUD PRODUCTS USUALLY HAVE A LOT MORE DEPTH THERE THAN A, THAN A PURE VINYL PRODUCT.
HONESTLY, WE DON'T SEE THEM AS MUCH.
MOST PEOPLE ARE GOING FOR THE ALUMINUM.
AND SO, I MEAN, YOU CAN SEE THIS ONE DOES HAVE THE DEPTH.
IT IS JUST THE, THE THICKNESS OF THE MEETING RAILS JUST IS USUALLY A LOT MORE THAN WHAT IS NORMALLY FOUND APPROPRIATE.
UM, I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT LIKE WE DO, LIKE WE APPROVE WINDOW SECTIONS AND SOMETIMES END UP WITH FRAMING LIKE THIS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE FOCUSING ON THAT DEPTH.
UM, SO OBVIOUSLY THIS IS NOT APPROPRIATE AND THIS IS A CASE WHERE WE ACTUALLY WORK WITH THEM TO CORRECT IT.
IT, IT'S HARD TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO TELL PEOPLE EXACTLY HOW TO TRIM OUT THEIR WINDOW.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, OUR JOB ISN'T TO, TO DESIGN A WINDOW TRIM AND THEN ENFORCE IT ON ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, BUT WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING WAS, WAS MORE APPROPRIATE THAN WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY INSTALLED.
SO INSTALLATIONS IN TWO BY FOUR WALLS IS DIFFICULT TO GET THE, THE DEPTH WITHOUT OVER TRIM.
DUE CONSTRUCTION, IT SHOULDN'T BE A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE BECAUSE THOSE ARE TWO BY SIX, I BELIEVE, AND ALMOST
SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT AN ISSUE WITH REPLACEMENT.
YEAH, IT'S JUST THE NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, WHAT IS, WHAT IS KIND OF Y'ALL'S TAKE ON THESE COMPLIANCE CASES THAT COME BACK WHERE DIVIDED LIGHT VINYL WINDOWS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED? THEIR FIN THERE, THERE'S THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF WINDOWS INSTALLED ON A NEW CONSTRUCTION.
I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT DO WE DO?
WELL, YOU, AND, AND THE LAST THREE OR FOUR CASES YOU HAVE APPROVED SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WAS INSTALLED.
SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD ABOUT.
UM, IT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE DONE THE RIGHT THING BECAUSE WE'VE BUILT THE RECORD.
THERE'S VERY CLEAR, UM, PAPER TRAIL OF WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INSTALLED.
UM, WITH, IN REGARDS TO WHAT STAFF DOES IS WE WORK WITH THEM REALLY IN MANY CASES, DEPENDING ON OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE APPLICANT, AND WE SIGN OFF ON WHAT THEY'RE ORDERING BEFORE THEY ORDER IT.
SO IT JUST DEPENDS ON, ON HOW EXCITED THEY GET TO ORDER THE WINDOWS WITHOUT WORKING WITH STAFF.
MOST CASES NOW WE HAVE A WINDOW SPEC.
BY THE TIME SOMETHING COMES THROUGH FINAL APPROVAL, WE'VE BEEN REQUIRING IT THAT WORKS FOR PROJECTS THAT GO THROUGH THE SYSTEM.
BUT THESE COMPLIANCE CASES WHERE WINDOWS GET INSTALLED BEFORE, UM, THEY'RE CAUGHT, UM, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT NEW CONSTRUCTION OR REPLACEMENT WINDOWS? IT'S MORE FREQUENT AND NEW CONSTRUCTION, BUT IT OCCASIONALLY HAPPENS IN REPLACEMENT.
IN THOSE CASES FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION, THERE WAS AN APPROVED WINDOW AT SOME POINT THAT IS NOT WHAT ENDED UP GETTING ORDERED INSTALLED.
SO THAT IS NOT, AND SO THEY'VE COME BACK TO YOU BECAUSE THEIR PREFERENCE TO TRY TO SEEK APPROVAL FOR THE DIFFERENT WINDOW THAT WAS INSTALLED VERSUS DOING WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY APPROVED.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S NOTHING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN HANDLED DIFFERENTLY FROM, FROM YOUR SIDE.
UM, THAT'S THE MISTAKE OF THE APPLICANT.
BUT IF THE QUESTION IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO ONCE IT HAPPENS, I, I THINK YOU HAVE TO REVIEW IT.
LIKE THEY DIDN'T MAKE THE MISTAKE.
THEY DON'T, THAT SHOULDN'T HELP THEM ALONG THE PROCESS BECAUSE THEY ALREADY DID IT AND NOW THEY'RE ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS.
AND, AND IN, IN A LOT OF THOSE CASES, A FULL REMOVAL OF THE WINDOWS THAT WERE INSTALLED IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY IN SOME CASES.
YEAH, IN SOME CASES WE EXPLORE, UH, OPTIONS OF OVER FRAME AND ADDITIONAL SCREENS.
[02:30:01]
WAS PUT IN THAT DIDN'T MEET OUR, UH, OUR, UH, STIPULATIONS, UH, IS LESS EGREGIOUS.AND, AND JUST TRYING TO FEEL THAT OUT IS ALWAYS A LITTLE BIT TRAUMATIC FOR THEM AND, AND FOR YOU ALL.
AND FOR, FOR US, AND I CAN THINK OF, UH, ONE CASE IN DIGNITY HILL WHERE THERE WERE JUST A LOT OF FIXED GLASS FEND, MAYBE EVEN VINYL WINDOWS.
AND IT, IT'S JUST, UM, I DON'T KNOW.
I, I GUESS I'M JUST, I'M JUST HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF P T S D OVER, OVER THOSE COMPLIANCE CASES.
I THINK WITH, THERE'S TWO KINDS OF COMPLIANCE CASES.
THERE'S THE COMPLIANCE CASES WHERE THEY, WELL, WHETHER THEY SAY THAT THE WINDOW WAS INADVERTENTLY CHANGED IN CONSTRUCTION AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT DIDN'T MEET THE REQUIREMENT OR KIND OF THOSE, THAT MORE OBVIOUSLY JUST, JUST CHANGED THE WINDOW LATER FOR COST IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT AND DIDN'T CONSULT WITH STAFF OR THE COMMISSION.
BUT THE, THE OUTCOME IS, UH, IS A DIFFICULT ONE BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S, IT'S RARE THAT A, THAT A, A SOLUTION CAN BE FOUND.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT THE PROCESS IS FOR, FOR AN OWNER OR A CONTRACTOR THAT FINDS THEMSELF IN, IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SPECIFICATION OR DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
SO GENERALLY THAT'S GONNA GET A DENIAL WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN THEY'RE SEEKING, UH, A, A WAIVER OR AN AMENDMENT TO THEIR APPLICATION FROM THE COMMISSION, WHAT HAPPENS FROM THERE? YEAH, I MEAN, SOME OF THEM ARE ONGOING.
UM, SO I, I SPOKE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT APPEALS, AND SO WE HAD THE LAST TWO OF THESE CASES THAT WERE A DIFFERENT WINDOW AND WAS INSTALLED THEN WAS APPROVED, WAS INSTALLED.
THEY CAME TO H C R C AND WERE NOT APPROVED FOR THE ALTERNATIVE INSTALLATION AND HAVE GONE SINCE TO BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT WHERE THEY WERE ALSO DENIED.
UM, SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH THOSE.
THEY HAVE THE OPTION TO COME UP WITH A, A THIRD SOLUTION AND SEE IF, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THE H C R C CAN APPROVE, UM, BUT FOR ALL OF THOSE CASES, IF THEY JUST GO BACK AND INSTALL WHAT, WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY APPROVED AND, AND THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE ANY FURTHER ACTION BY THE COMMISSION.
UM, I MEAN, AND IT'S, IT'S PARTLY OUR PROBLEM.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T ISSUE THE CERTIFICATE UNTIL WE VERIFY THAT ALL STIPULATIONS HAVE BEEN MARKED.
AND SO AT SOME POINT WE'VE SEEN A WINDOW SPEC THAT MEETS THE STIPULATION.
UM, SO IT'S NOT THE ISSUE THAT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE ISSUED THE C O A, IT'S THE ISSUE THAT'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WAS INCLUDED IN THAT, THAT C O A ENDED UP HAPPENING.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN MORE CAREFUL IN SOME OF THESE COMPLIANCE CASES WHERE THEY'RE ORDERING, YOU KNOW, FOR THE SECOND TIME, A DIFFERENT WINDOW, UM, OF HAVING THEM SHOW US EXACTLY WHAT WINDOW AND WHERE ON THE HOUSE IT'S GOING TO GO BEFORE THEY ORDER ANYTHING.
SO WE'RE, WE ARE TRYING TO BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THAT.
UM, IT'S, IT'S A LOT MORE MICROMANAGING THAN, THAN I THINK ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR, BUT
UM, I THINK WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL, UM, WE'LL TAKE ANOTHER PASS AT THESE RECOMMENDED STIPULATIONS, UM, AND WE WILL DISTRIBUTE THEM FOR FEEDBACK.
UM, AND, UM, IF THERE'S CONSENSUS, THERE'S REALLY NO REASON WHY, WHY THE COMMISSION COULDN'T ADOPT THE UPDATED WINDOW POLICY NOW.
UM, THIS IS ALREADY SOMETHING WE HAVE, IT'S JUST REALLY AN UPDATE TO THAT.
AND SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT IN THE FUTURE POTENTIALLY.
ANYTHING ABOUT WINDOWS, SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE US TO TAKE ACTION ON NOW? NO,
I MEAN, OUTSIDE OF THE U D C CYCLE OUTSIDE, I DON'T THINK THE POLICY DOCUMENTS NEED TO WAIT FOR THE U D C CYCLE.
NO, I MEAN, SOME OF THEM WERE BEING NECESSITATED BY BY CHANGES TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL LIST.
THIS IS JUST AN UPDATE TO MY EXISTING DOCUMENT, SO I, I JUST DON'T THINK THERE'S A NEED, BUT I THINK EVEN THE NEW ONES THAT ARE TIED TO THE FUTURE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS COULD, I MEAN, IF IT HELPS US WITH REVIEWING APPLICATIONS AND KEEPING THEM ON CONSENT AND MOVING THINGS AHEAD MORE SMOOTHLY, I THINK THOSE COULD BE ADOPTED EARLY TOO.
AND WOULD THAT REQUIRE COMMISSION ACTION? YEAH, THEY WOULD COME TO A HEARING.
UM, ALL OF THESE, SO THE EXISTING WINDOW POLICY DOCUMENT WAS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED, UM, IN LATE 2015.
[02:35:02]
OKAY, SO UPDATES TO INFILL.SO THERE'S THREE DOCUMENTS HERE.
UM, SO WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS ADDING AN APPLICATION REQUIREMENT, UM, IF YOU'RE CONSTRUCTING MULTIFAMILY OR MORE THAN ONE SINGLE FAMILY STRUCTURE AS PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT WHERE YOU WOULD SUBMIT THIS SERIES OF WORKSHEETS.
UM, SO THIS IS TELLING YOU HOW TO COMPLETE THE WORKSHEETS.
UM, REALLY IT'S ABOUT, UH, CREATING A DEFINED CONTEXT AREA THAT THE COMMISSION SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN REVIEWING YOUR APPLICATION.
UM, AND IT KIND OF INSTRUCTS YOU LIKE, VERY SIMPLY HOW TO KIND OF DETERMINE ADJACENT BUILDING HEIGHTS, ADJACENT SETBACKS, AND TO PUT THAT INTO THE WORKSHEETS IN A WAY THAT IS DIGESTIBLE BY THE COMMISSION.
UM, SO THIS IS A HOW TO GUIDE.
I'M GONNA SHOW YOU THE ACTUAL WORKSHEETS TEMPLATE.
IT'S A WORD DOCUMENT THAT WOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE TO APPLICANTS, UM, REQUESTING A NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ENTER INTO THE FIELDS.
UM, WE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH, UM, CONSULTANT TO PRODUCE THIS AND, AND HAD A SMALL WORKING GROUP THAT KIND OF HELPED DEVELOP IT.
UM, THERE'S A PLACE WHERE YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO INPUT YOUR MAP AND YOUR PHOTOS, UM, AND YOUR CONTEXT PHOTOS.
SO YOU WOULD HAVE, UM, A PHOTO OF AN ADJACENT HISTORIC HOUSE.
UM, YOU WOULD TELL US WHAT THE ADDRESS IS AND YOU WOULD TELL US WHAT THE SETBACKS IS, ARE, EXCUSE ME, SO THAT WE COULD EASILY EVALUATE KIND OF CONSISTENCY OR NONCONFORMANCES WITH, UM, THE ADJACENT HISTORIC STRUCTURES.
AND SO IT KIND OF PROMPTS YOU TO DO THAT.
UM, ONCE THAT IS DONE, THAT BECOMES PART OF THE, UM, CASE FILE FOR THE CASE.
WHAT WE ARE ALSO PROPOSING IS, UM, AN UPDATE TO THE GUIDELINES FOR DECONSTRUCTION.
UM, THIS WOULD LARGELY REMAIN THE SAME, UM, EXCEPT WE'RE ADDING A NEW SECTION AT THE END.
SO THAT NEW DRAFT SECTION IS HERE TO LOOK AT.
UM, THERE'S A LITTLE STATEMENT ABOUT APPLICABILITY AND USING THE WORKSHEETS.
UM, THE MAIN THINGS THAT, UM, THAT ARE DIFFERENT HERE THAN THEY ARE IN OTHER SECTIONS OF, OF THIS CHAPTER ARE, WE'RE NOW SPEAKING ABOUT PRESERVATION OF OPEN SPACE.
UM, SO THERE WAS REALLY KIND OF A, A BROADER GUIDELINE ABOUT NOT OVERDEVELOPING A LOT BY BY MORE THAN, UH, 50%.
UM, IN SOME CASES THAT MIGHT MAKE SENSE, BUT WE, WE ASK THAT IT FOLLOW THE DEVELOPMENT PATTERN FOUND, UM, WITH NEARBY HISTORIC PROPERTIES.
AND SO THAT MEANS, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WHERE OPEN SPACE IS OCCURRING, THAT IT'S IN PLACES THAT ARE HISTORICALLY OPEN.
SO EITHER THE FRONT YARD SPACE, UM, OR EVEN THAT SORT OF MIDDLE SPACE, UM, THAT'S TRADITIONALLY THE BACKYARD, UM, SPEAKS TO KIND OF SEPARATING UNITS IN A WAY THAT IS, UM, CONSISTENT WITH THE BUILDING PATTERN FOUND IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT.
UM, AND SO THERE'S SORT OF EXAMPLES OF ACHIEVING SIMILAR SCALED PROJECTS IN WAYS THAT ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL AND COMPATIBLE WITH THE DISTRICT THAN NOT.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE SOME, SOME GUIDANCE ON BUILDING HEIGHT, UM, AND HOW WE ADDRESS SORT OF TRANSITION BETWEEN ONE AND TWO STORY HOUSES TO SOMETHING OF HIGHER SCALE.
UM, WE, WE HAVE THE GUIDELINE THAT SAYS NEW CONSTRUCTION NOT EXCEED THE AVERAGE HEIGHT OF BUILDINGS WITHIN THE ESTABLISHED CONTEXT AREA BY MORE THAN 50%.
UM, SO THAT'S A HARD AND FAST RULE, BUT UNDERSTANDING THAT SOME PROJECTS COULD BE DESIGNED TO EXCEED THAT RULE WITHIN, UM, WITHIN REASON, UM, AND BE DONE APPROPRIATELY IF SORT OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE STRATEGIES ARE FOLLOWED.
SO EITHER UTILIZING HALF STORIES, UM, UTILIZING, UM, TRANSITION OR SET DOWNS, UM, AND BUILDING WALL HEIGHT, UM, FROM, FROM NEIGHBORING STRUCTURES INTO A MORE CENTRAL AREA ON THE SITE.
UM, UTILIZING ROOF FORMS THAT REDUCE VISUAL PROMINENCE WHEN VIEWED FROM THE STREETS, SUCH AS HIP OR SIDE GABLES OR HIP ONE GABLE ROOFS.
UM, WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT HERE THAT WE MODELED.
UM, SO THESE ARE TWO HOMES THAT ARE IDENTICAL IN HEIGHT AND ELEVATION.
THEY LOOK VERY SIMILARLY IN TERMS OF MASSING, BUT BECAUSE THEY'RE UTILIZING DIFFERENT ROOF FORMS, UM, THEY'RE GOING TO BE PERCEIVED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY WHEN VIEWED IN PERSPECTIVE.
UM, AND SO, UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE STARTED ENCOURAGING LARGER PROJECTS TO UTILIZE SOME OF THESE STRATEGIES, AND THEY'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN SOME PLACES.
UM, THIS PROJECT PICTURED HERE DOES THAT AS WELL.
UM, SO THEY'VE UTILIZED A SETBACK FOR THE THIRD STORY.
UM, AND THEY ALSO HAVE THIS KIND OF COLONATE OF BALCONYS AND PORCHES HERE THAT REALLY BRINGS THE EYE ON THIS TWO STORY SCALE VERSUS A THREE STORY.
UM, THERE'S A CHANGE IN MATERIALS, THERE ARE CHANGES IN WALL PLANES, AND THOSE ALL ARE ALL ARE ALL GOOD STRATEGIES FOR, UM, ALLOWING FOR DENSITY AT A, AT A SCALE THAT IS COMFORTABLE WHEN WE LOOK AT IT.
[02:40:01]
IMPROVEMENTS, UM, TO OUR EXISTING, UH, GUIDELINES.UM, AND YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE THE SIMILAR, UH, FORMAT OF KIND OF, THESE ARE GOOD IDEAS, THESE ARE NOT GOOD IDEAS, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, BUILDINGS ARE ORIENTED TO THE STREET AND FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS, MAKING SURE WE'RE ALIGNING FRONT PORCHES, UM, AND ADDRESSING THE STREET SCAPE, UM, WITHIN FILM.
UM, THIS IS PROBABLY A MORE IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION FOR ANOTHER DAY.
UM, AND WE HAVE WORKED WITH A LOT OF GROUPS, UM, OUR TASK FORCE, BUT THEN ALSO A SMALLER WORKING GROUP, UM, THAT LOOKS SPECIFICALLY AT DEVELOPING THE WORKSHEETS, UM, AND FEEL LIKE THIS ISN'T A GOOD PLACE.
UM, SO A LOT OF THESE ARE STRATEGIES THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO USE NOW.
UM, IT JUST HASN'T BEEN FORMALLY ADDED TO THE GUIDELINES YET.
UM, AND AGAIN, THESE WINDOWS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION SECTION WILL BE, UM, CONSISTENT WITH, UH, ANY UPDATE TO THE, TO THE WINDOW POLICY DOCUMENT.
SO THIS INFILL PART OF THE APPLICATION WILL BE A REQUIREMENT FOR ALL, UH, MULTIFAMILY SMALL PROJECT.
IT'S, IT'S SORT OF THE, THE MISSING MIDDLE.
UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE GUIDELINES FOR SINGLE FAMILY.
WE, WE HAVE GUIDELINES FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS AND DOWNTOWN PROJECTS.
WHAT WE'RE REALLY MISSING IS, UM, THESE PROJECTS THAT HAVE FOUR OR FIVE UNITS IN A LOT, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY POPULAR IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
UM, IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING ZONING IN OUR HISTORIC DISTRICTS ALLOWS FOR THREE OR FOUR UNITS.
AND SO, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DEAL WITH.
UM, SOMETHING ELSE THAT HAS COME UP IN DISCUSSION WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS IS, UM, LIKE ADDING DENSITY, UH, TOWARDS THE BACKS OF LOTS OR ON ALLEYWAYS OR SORT OF SECONDARY STREETS.
UM, LIKE TRADITIONALLY, I MEAN, SO THIS PICTURE HERE, HISTORICALLY, THIS IS WHERE DENSITY HAS OCCURRED.
UM, SO WE'VE GOT, I THINK THIS IS FOUR UNITS HERE, KIND OF IN JUST A, A BACK HOUSE ACCESS FROM THE ALLEY.
UM, AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE HISTORICALLY APPROPRIATE WHEN THE BUILDINGS ARE SORT OF SIDED, WHERE THEY WOULD BE HISTORICALLY AND, UM, AND RELATE TO THE PRIMARY STRUCTURE IN TERMS OF SCALE AND APPEARANCE.
UM, BUT IT ALSO ADDS, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF, OF ISSUES WITH PARKING AND ACCESS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
AND SO HOW CAN THOSE SITES BE UTILIZED IN A WAY THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT PATTERN, BUT THEN ALSO SORT OF APPROPRIATELY WITH THE DISTRICT AS IT EVOLVES OVER TIME.
I DON'T GUESS WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY SEEKING, YOU KNOW, IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK RIGHT NOW.
UM, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT KIND OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE CAN ANSWER THAT.
IF WE WANNA LOOK AT THIS AS WE GET CLOSER, UM, TO BEING ABLE TO ADOPT CHANGES, THEN WE CAN DO THAT AS WELL.
I MOSTLY WANTED TO TOUCH ON SORT OF THESE BUILDING HEIGHT STRATEGIES AND, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT ROOF FORMS AND HALF STORIES AS DORMERS AS STRATEGIES FOR, FOR ADDING APPROPRIATE, UH, SCALE AND DENSITY.
CAN YOU UNPACK THE HALF STORIES FOR US? YOU TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE, UH, WHAT THE DEFINITION OF HALF STORY IS HERE.
YEAH, I MEAN, TEXT, I THINK HERE, UM, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT, SO, SO THERE IS A CODE DEFINITION, AND IT'S MEASURED BY, BY COMPARING THE FLOOR PLAN OF THE HALF STORY TO THE FLOOR PLAN OF THE, OF THE MAIN STORY.
SO IT NEEDS TO BE 50% OR HALF THE SIZE OF THE PRIMARY FLOOR.
UM, HERE, I THINK WE'RE SIMPLY SAYING THAT IT COULD BE TUCKED INTO WHAT WOULD HISTORICALLY LOOK LIKE AN ATTIC SPACE OR, UM, YOU KNOW, A DORMER OR A ROOF FORM THAT ISN'T A FULL WALL PLATE.
[02:45:03]
'CAUSE EVEN, EVEN IN THIS PHOTO, YOU KNOW, THE THIRD STORY THERE, THAT'S PROBABLY NOT A HALF STORY TECHNICALLY IF YOU, IF YOU FOLLOW THE CODE DEFINITION, BUT IT IS SUCCESSFUL IN, IN DOING THAT VISUAL TRICK OF, OF, UH, REDUCING THE, THE THREE STORY WALL PLANE THAT YOU WOULD SEE NORMALLY IN FROM THE STREET.SO I GUESS THE, YOU KNOW, THE ASPECT OF, I AGREE WITH YOU THAT I, I DON'T THINK THAT IT, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE THAT THAT WOULD BE KIND OF AS A HALF STORY.
IT'S A FULL STORY AND THEY'RE PULLING IT BACK AND SETTING IT ON, YOU KNOW, LOWER KNEE WALLS TO MINIMIZE THE MASS, BUT TALKING ABOUT THE ABILITY FOR A DEVELOPER TO ONE STORY GREATER, ONE STORY GREATER IN HEIGHT THAN THE AVERAGE IN THE, IN THE CONTEXT AREA.
UM, SO CURRENTLY, UM, THE CITYWIDE GUIDELINES SAY THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION SHOULD NOT EXCEED THE MAJORITY OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS BY MORE THAN ONE STORY.
THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ISSUE.
UM, AND SO WE ARE ACTUALLY PROPOSING TO REDUCE THAT.
SO WE'RE SAYING THAT OF ADJACENT OR NEARBY HISTORIC BUILDINGS BY MORE THAN 50%, AND THEN WE'VE MIRRORED THAT LANGUAGE IN THE NEW SECTION BELOW 50%.
UM, SO THAT WOULD TYPICALLY RESULT IN SOME SORT OF HALF STORY OR CREATIVE SOLUTION WHERE SOMETHING IS TUCKED UNDER, YOU KNOW, A TRADITIONAL ROOF FORM.
UM, SO YEAH, THAT IS A CHANGE THAT WE'RE OKAY, THAT THAT CLEARS IT UP FOR ME.
AND KEEPING IT AT, UH, THE 50% RATHER THAN ONE STORY MAY KEEP SOME OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS FROM HAVING, YOU KNOW, 10, 10 FOOT CEILING HEIGHTS ON TWO FLOORS.
UH, AND THEY'RE SAYING, WELL, IT'S JUST ONE STORY HIGHER THAN THE ADJACENT PROPERTY.
WELL, THE OTHER THING THIS DOES IS 50% REQUIRES YOU TO TELL US A NUMBER IN FEET.
AND SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE MEASURING IN FEET AND YOU'RE TELLING US WHAT THE NEW NUMBER IS.
ONE STORY DOESN'T TELL US HOW TALL IT NEEDS TO BE, RIGHT? IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, A 12 FOOT STORY, IT COULD BE AN EIGHT FOOT STORY, WE DON'T KNOW.
AND THAT WAS ALWAYS THE AMBIGUITY, UH, THE AMBIGUITY BUILT IN, KIND OF BAKED INTO THE HALF STORY IDEA, RIGHT? YEAH.
HOW DOES THAT, HOW WOULD THE HALF STORY BE CONTRIBUTED? THANKS FOR THAT.
AND I GUESS HAVING THE, LET'S SAY NEW CONSTRUCTION SHOULD NOT EXCEED AS OPPOSED TO NEW CONSTRUCTION, SHALL NOT EXCEED, UH, GIVES THE COMMISSION AND O H P SOME LEEWAY IN DETERMINING WHETHER A DESIGN IS, IS REALLY APPROPRIATE.
IT'S, IT'S ALL ABOUT WHAT THAT DESIGN SOLUTION IS.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, THAT IS VERY MUCH BY DESIGN THAT THE GUIDELINES ARE WRITTEN AWAY WHERE, WHERE YOU CAN REVIEW IT AND MAKE A DECISION BASED ON THE MERITS OF THE APPLICATION AND CONTEXT THAT IT'S IN.
UM, ARE THERE ANY, DID ANYBODY ELSE WANNA LOOK AT THE POLICY DOCUMENTS? I, I THINK WE'RE NOT PROPOSING TO LOOK AT THESE ANY FURTHER AND WE CAN JUST TALK ABOUT VIRTUAL HEARINGS AND SOME IDEAS THAT WE'VE HAD GOING.
SO YOU SAID SCAPING IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT.
I FEEL LIKE IT'S GONNA START COMING UP MORE AND MORE.
I MEAN, WE CAN, UM, THIS IS REALLY PUTTING ONTO PAPER THINGS THAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING.
UM, THIS IS REALLY MORE OF A, OF A RESOURCE FOR PEOPLE, UM, SO THAT WE DON'T GET INTO A SITUATION WHERE SOMEBODY DOESN'T UNDERSTAND, UM, X ESCAPING IN THE TERMS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT VERSUS HOW THEY TALK ABOUT IT
UM, AND SO THIS REALLY EXPLAINS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE, INCLUDING NATIVE, UM, AND X SPECIES, UM, SO THAT POLLINATORS DON'T STARVE AND THAT WE AREN'T CONTRIBUTING TO THE ISLAND EFFECT.
UM, AND IT REALLY EXPLAINS WHAT WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED CONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES.
SO PREDOMINANCE OF ROCK OR HARDSCAPE AND, UH, VERY FEW PLANTS.
UM, SO THIS FOLLOWS ALL OF THE EXISTING RULES.
IT'S NOT A REALLY A CHANGE, IT'S JUST MORE OF A RESOURCE DOCUMENT SO THAT PEOPLE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND BEFORE THEY EITHER POTENTIALLY COME TO THE COMMISSION OR SUBMIT AN APPLICATION AND THEY'RE WORKING THE STAFF.
[02:50:01]
TO SEE THE REQUIREMENT FOR FRONT LAWNS, UH, TURF, WHICH IS CURRENTLY A MINIMUM 50%.I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT INCREASE TO AT LEAST 70%.
I DON'T THINK 50% IS ADEQUATE.
UM, THAT WOULD BE A CHANGE TO THE ACTUAL CITYWIDE GUIDELINES.
UM, C D WIDE GUIDELINES ALLOW FOR 50% NOW, AND IT'S NOT THAT YOU CAN'T, IT'S NOT THAT YOU'RE REPLACING TURF WITH, I, I GUESS I WANT CLARIFICATION.
UM, IS IT TURF OR PLANTS THAT YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT? UH, TURF.
CAN I ASK WHY? BECAUSE I THINK, UM, 50% IS NOT ADEQUATE FOR A HISTORIC SITUATION.
I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH WHEN I WAS, UM, DOING A MASTER PLAN FOR THE STEVE'S HOMESTEAD SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
AND PLANT BEDS WERE THEN MORE LINEAR ALONG FENCE LINES, DRIVEWAYS, ENTRY WALKS AND SO FORTH.
AND THE REST OF THE, OF THE, UH, PROPERTY WAS TURF.
SO I, I THINK THAT'S MORE IN KEEPING WITH HISTORIC DISTRICTS THAT WE SHOULD SHOOT FOR.
UM, I'LL JUST ADD SOME CONTEXT.
UM, IN 2012 WHEN WE DEVELOPED CITYWIDE GUIDELINES, THIS WAS A VERY CONTENTIOUS ISSUE, UM, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH, WITH THOSE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN WATER CONSERVATION.
UM, AND SO CERTAINLY THERE ARE SPECIES OF GRASS THAT ARE MORE DROUGHT TOLERANT THAN OTHERS, AND WE WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THOSE.
UM, BUT THERE WAS CONCERN ABOUT REQUIRING PEOPLE TO, TO KEEP TURF LAWNS, TO MAINTAIN THEM AS IS WITHOUT INTRODUCING SOME, SOME AREAS OR POCKETS OF PLANTS THAT WERE, WERE WATER ADAPTABLE.
AND SO THIS, THE 50% RULE IS REALLY INTENDED TO GIVE PEOPLE'S LIKE FLEXIBILITY, UM, WITH THEIR PROPERTIES, UM, MAKING THAT CHOICE WITHOUT COMPLETELY REMOVING KIND OF THAT, THAT SENSE OF, OF LAWN AREA, EVEN IF IT'S NOT TURF, BUT YOU HAVE LOW PLANTINGS OR SOMETHING THAT'S PRESERVING THAT, THAT GREEN SPACE IN THE FRONT YARD SPACE.
WELL, IN MY OPINION, WE'RE SEEING WAY TOO MANY APPLICANTS WHO ARE COMING IN WITH, UM, INORGANIC MATERIALS, DOMINATING THEIR FRONT LAWNS.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S APPROPRIATE.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT THIS DOCUMENT IS TRYING TO DO IS ENCOURAGING KIND OF A, A LOW MAINTENANCE AND, AND WATER OR DROUGHT TOLERANCE, UH, LANDSCAPING PLAN THAT IS ALSO APPROPRIATENESS OR DISTRICT.
BUT YEAH, THAT'S GOOD FEEDBACK.
UM, WE'LL HAVE TO KEEP TALKING.
A QUESTION ABOUT THE, THE 50% OF GREEN SPACE, UM,
LIKE THAT ONE YOU SHOWED PREVIOUSLY WITH THE, THE GRAVEL AND THE LITTLE BITTY SHRUBS IN IT.
UM, THEY COULD SAY, WELL, THESE SHRUBS ARE GOING TO GROW A LOT LARGER AND EVENTUALLY WILL COVER 50% OF THIS.
SO FOR YEARS IN THAT GROWTH PERIOD, UH, TECHNICALLY WOULD THIS, UH, COMPLY? WE ARE NOT SAYING THAT THIS PICTURE HERE COMPLIES, UM, WE PROBABLY NEED TO MAKE THESE X'S RED NOT GREEN, BECAUSE THAT'S PROBABLY CONFUSING.
SO, SO THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE ENCOURAGING.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED AN APPROPRIATE LANDSCAPE.
THIS IS AN OVER BEN OVERABUNDANCE OF HARDSCAPING.
UM, NOW GETTING INTO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT.
[02:55:01]
LIKE WE CANNOT YEARS DOWN THE LINE GO AND MEASURE PLANTS AND MAKE SURE THEY'RE COMING INTO COMPLIANCE OR MAKING SURE THAT THESE PLANTS ARE EVEN BEING WATERED AND MAINTAINED.UM, IT'S, IT'S REALLY CHALLENGING.
UM, SO OUR REVIEW IS ALWAYS GONNA BE MOSTLY FOCUSED ON THE INTRODUCTION OF PARTS SCAPE AND WHAT THOSE AREAS ARE.
UM, THAT IS PRETTY MUCH IT FOR OUR AGENDA TODAY.
UM, I WANTED TO BRIEFLY GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF DISCUSS, UM, VIRTUAL MEETINGS, UM, HOW EVERYBODY FEELS LIKE IT'S GOING.
UM, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE HIT OUR STRIDE AND WE'VE GOTTEN SOME PRETTY POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM, UH, PUB THE PUBLIC THAT'S BEEN PARTICIPATING.
UM, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT WE'VE LEARNED THAT WE THINK ARE, ARE HELPFUL TO OUR NORMAL PROCESS WHEN THINGS KIND OF DO RETURN TO NORMAL.
UM, FOR INSTANCE, WE'VE BEEN DOING THE COMMITTEE MEETINGS, D R C, UM, VIRTUALLY.
UM, AND I SEE NO REASON TO, TO NOT CONTINUE DOING THAT.
I THINK IT'S MORE CONVENIENT FOR YOU ALL AND WE'RE ABLE TO ATTEND MORE FREQUENTLY IF WE DO IT THAT WAY.
UM, ANY, ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT? I WOULD AGREE WITH KEEPING DRCS AS VIRTUAL.
I THINK WE CAN GET BETTER PARTICIPATION AND IT'S PROBABLY LESS
YEAH, AND I MEAN, IT WAS TRICKY AT FIRST, BUT I THINK THE APPLICANTS HAVE PRETTY MUCH GOTTEN THE HANG OF IT AT THIS POINT.
UM, SO NOBODY RECENTLY HAS REALLY HAD ANY TROUBLE JUMPING ON THAT MEETING AND SHARING THEIR SCREEN.
UM, I GUESS THE ONE COMMENT I HAVE ON DRCS BEING VIRTUAL, UH, AND THIS I'M WOULD NEED TO BE A A A STAFF CALL IS WHETHER SOME OF THESE LARGER PROJECTS, UH, NEED TO BE SCHEDULED FOR A LITTLE MORE TIME.
WE'RE ACTUALLY TRYING TO BE MINDFUL OF YOUR TIME WHEN WE GET THE TRUE A 30 MINUTE TIME SLOT.
UM, WELL, THERE'S A, THERE'S A GOOD POINT THERE.
I CAN THINK OF A FEW EXAMPLES WHERE MAYBE THE PRESENTATION A LITTLE BIT LONG BUT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THERE WAS, THERE WAS MUCH SPACE TO COMMENT ON IT.
I THINK GENERALLY WE CAN ANTICIPATE CASES LIKE THAT.
MAYBE WE CAN ACCOMMODATE A LITTLE BIT EXTENDED TIME FOR THOSE THAT WE THINK WE MIGHT NEED A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA TIME ON.
YEAH, I MEAN, WE DO, EXCUSE ME.
WE DO, UM, PREPARE OUR APPLICANTS.
LIKE WE, WE GIVE THEM KIND OF A ONE PAGER OF WHAT TO EXPECT WITH THE COMMITTEE AND THE TIME'S LIMITED AND THE FEEDBACK YOU'RE GETTING IS LIMITED.
UM, AND SO WE, WE DO TRY TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO BE BRIEF IN THEIR PRESENTATIONS, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE SOMETIMES HAVE REALLY COMPLEX PROJECTS THAT REQUIRE ADDITIONAL TIME AND MAYBE YOU WARN OR FOREWARN THE APPLICANTS THAT, UM, IF WE CAN'T GET TO ALL OF THE, THE ISSUES ON YOUR PROJECT IN THE ALLOTTED TIME, UH, THERE MAY NEED TO BE A SECOND D R C BEFORE YOU COME BACK TO THE COMMI, BEFORE YOU COME TO BEFORE THE COMMISSION.
AND WE ALSO CAN SCHEDULE SPECIAL D R C MEETING, YOU KNOW, LIKE THINKING BACK TO FROST TOWER AND SOME OF THOSE LIKE BIG HIGH PROFILE PROJECTS.
LIKE WE JUST SCHEDULE A COMPLETE STANDALONE MEETING FOR SOME REALLY LARGE PROJECTS.
I, I HAVE A REQUEST THAT MIGHT HELP FOR THOSE CASES THAT GET DEFERRED OR REFERRED TO D R C WHERE WE HAVE CASE FILES AND STAFF COMMENTS AND COMMUNITY COMMENTS.
CAN WE HAVE A ONEDRIVE SO THAT THAT STUFF FOLLOWS INTO THE D R C AND WE CAN, WE CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THE, THE FILES DURING THAT CONVERSATION? I AM SORRY, CAN YOU REPEAT THAT? WAS I BREAKING UP? I'M SORRY.
SO FOR, FOR CASES THAT ARE REFERRED FROM THE H D R C TO THE D R C, CAN WE HAVE A, A ONE DRIVE WHERE THE
[03:00:01]
TOO, TOO ONEROUS ON, ON Y'ALL'S PLAN? NOT ALWAYS DOES THE APPLICANT PROVIDE US WITH THAT.SO SOMETIMES THEY COME IN WITH A PRESENTATION, BUT THEY'RE NOT READY TO MAKE THAT A PUBLIC RECORD DOCUMENT.
BUT CURTIS IS ASKING ABOUT ONES THAT WERE REFERRED, I THOUGHT, OH, I'M SORRY.
I'VE ALREADY SEEN THEM, SO I'M SORRY.
YEAH, ONLY THE ONES THAT ARE REFERRED.
UM, SO WE'VE ALSO IMPLEMENTED RECENTLY SPEAKING TIMES.
UM, THAT'S BEEN A LITTLE CHALLENGING TO, TO DO.
SO WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN PUTTING THE CLOCK ON, UM, ON THE SCREEN WHILE COMMISSIONERS ARE SPEAKING, UM, TO KIND OF HELP EVERYONE BE MINDFUL OF THEIR SPEAKING TIME.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY EVERYBODY HAS FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS AND THEN THEY THINK OF SOMETHING AND SO IT'S REALLY HARD TO STOP AND START THAT CLOCK.
UM, BUT WE CAN KEEP TRYING IF THERE'S INTEREST IN THAT.
I THINK KEEPING THAT IS A GREAT IDEA.
AND LIKE I SAID, I KNOW IT'S HARD TO START AND STOP WHEN, FOR INSTANCE, A COMMISSIONER HAS FIVE MINUTES AND THEN, YOU KNOW, HE HAS SUPPOSED, AND THEN THE APPLICANT TAKES UP THREE MINUTES OF THAT FIVE MINUTES AND THINGS OF NATURE.
SO I KNOW THAT'S DIFFICULT, BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA BECAUSE I THINK THAT HELPS US TO FLOW THROUGH THE CASES A LOT EASIER AND QUICKER.
AND IT HELPS US TO BE MORE SUCCINCT WITH THAT.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE THAT AS WELL.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE, THAT IS WORKING SURPRISINGLY WELL IS THE ABILITY OF SOMEBODY WHO'S WANTS TO GIVE COMMENT ON A CASE TO LEAVE A VOICEMAIL THAT IS PLAYED AT THE HEARING.
UM, PERSONALLY, IF, IF IT WAS ME, LIKE I WOULD PREFER TO LEAVE A VOICEMAIL INSTEAD OF COMING AND SITTING IN A HEARING FOR THREE HOURS TO SPEAK
UM, AND SO THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE LOOK AT TOO.
UM, IT'S, IT'S REALLY NOT UTILIZED AS MUCH AS WE EXPECTED IT TO BE.
MOST PEOPLE ARE LEAVING WRITTEN COMMENTS.
UM, BUT I, I THINK IN THE FUTURE THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD OPTION AS WELL TO MAINTAIN FOR LIVE MEETINGS.
FOR LIVE MEETINGS, EVEN IF, IF WE CAN.
I I THINK OUR TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS IT FOR US TO PLAY.
I HAVE VOICEMAIL OR IS SHRUGGING? I THINK SO, YEAH.
I SEE, I SEE A SPEAKER IN THIS ROOM.
OH, THERE, THERE'S ABSOLUTELY A WAY TO FIGURE IT OUT.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S A HUGE CUSTOMER SERVICE IMPROVEMENT.
LIKE, 'CAUSE PEOPLE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE TO TAKE OFF WORK AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE OFF WORK TO LEAVE A VOICEMAIL.
AND ESPECIALLY FOR, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S A LONG AGENDA AND THE, THE CASE IS AT THE END OF THE END OF THE DAY AND UH, FOR SOMEONE WHO READS THE AGENDA, THEY, THEY COULD LEAVE A VOICEMAIL FOR THAT.
IT'D BE A ASSET TO THE PUBLIC.
I THINK LAST TIME ON THE COMMISSIONER FOLDER IT WAS BY ADDRESS AND NOT BY CASE NUMBER.
JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO IT BY CASE NUMBER AND NOT BY ADDRESS WHEN YOU UPLOAD THEM.
I DON'T IF THAT WAS AN ERROR, JUST ONE TIME THING.
YES, THAT WAS A ONE-TIME THING.
WE USUALLY DO IT BY CASE NUMBER, BUT IT WILL ALSO TELL YOU THE ADDRESS SO YOU DON'T GET LOST.
UM, I, ANYTHING ELSE? IF NOT, WE CAN WRAP UP.
UH, I WANNA THANK ALL OF O H P STAFF WHO PUT THIS TOGETHER AND, AND, UM, MAKE THE COMMISSION'S LIFE AS AS EASY AS IT CAN BE.
JUST A REMINDER, WE HAVE SCHEDULED A SITE VISIT FOR FRIDAY MORNING AND WE'RE ALL INVITED.
SO THE ONLY THING I HAVE IS THERE'S A LOT MORE THINGS ON THE CALENDAR.
I KNOW THIS MONTH, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OVER AS USUAL.
I KNOW, I MEAN, I'M BEING AT WORK TOO.
UH, BECAUSE THE ABILITY OF GOING VIRTUAL THEN I FEEL LIKE A LOT MORE IS PUT ON US, YOU KNOW, SIDE VISIT AND THEN WE HAVE TO GO AND, YOU KNOW, LOG IN FOR A CONFERENCE CALL ON THAT SITE VISIT.
IT'S JUST, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF VIRTUAL MEETINGS I IN WORK BECAUSE IT'S SO EASY TO JUST, HEY, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE TO SEE EACH OTHER, LET'S JUST DO VIRTUAL CALL, CONFERENCE CALL ABOUT IT.
AND IT'S JUST AMOUNT OF CALLS IN.
I THINK IT IS JUST, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S, IT WAS EASIER WHEN WE, WHEN
[03:05:01]
WE MET, IS THERE AMOUNT MORE CASES? AND WHY DO I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A LOT MORE MEETINGS? WELL, THE REASON THAT THE SITE VISIT IS TECHNICALLY TWO INVITATIONS IS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HAVING DISCUSSIONS ON SITE.SO THE INTENT IS NOT THAT LIKE YOU GO TO THE SITE VISIT ON YOUR OWN TIME AND THEN THE ACTUAL LIKE D R C DISCUSSION IS, IS OVER THE, UM, PHONE.
SO IT WOULDN'T, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO TAKE THAT WHOLE TIME FOR YOU.
IT'S TECHNICALLY DAY ON FRIDAYS.
I'M NOT DOING IT ON TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS AS WE HAD TO, YOU KNOW, INITIALLY SAID THAT THAT'S ALL THE DRCS ARE IN THOSE DAYS.
YEAH, I I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHY FRIDAY WAS PICKED UP SPECIFICALLY ON THAT.
I ALWAYS TRY TO RELATE BUSINESS TO THAT.
WELL, I MEAN REGARDING THAT SPECIFIC ONE, IF LIKE LET US KNOW, LIKE IF IT'S NOT GONNA WORK, WE CAN ABSOLUTELY RESCHEDULE.
WE ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE EASIER THAN, THAN A WEEKDAY EVENING.
UM, WE ARE, WE DO TRY TO BE MINDFUL OF EVERYBODY'S TIME AND WE UNDERSTAND LIKE IT'S A HUGE COMMITMENT.
THERE'S AT A MINIMUM OF FOUR POTENTIAL MEETINGS YOU'RE COMING TO EVERY MONTH.
AND SO WE ARE MINDFUL ABOUT ADDING THINGS TO THE AGENDA.
UM, AND WE DO, WE DO MAKE PEOPLE WAIT.
WE TELL PEOPLE NO, SOMETIMES IT'S NOT NEEDED.
UM, THIS THINGS HAVE NOT REALLY SLOWED DOWN THIS WHOLE TIME.
UM, WELL THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME AGAIN,