HomeMy Public PortalAbout2011-07-25 COW minutesMinutes of the Committee of the Whole Workshop of the President and the Board of Trustees Held on July 25, 2011 In the Boardroom Mayor Collins called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Board Presen t: Mayor Collins, Trustee Peck, Trustee Racich, Trustee Bonuchi, Trustee Fay, and Trustee Lamb. Board Absent: Trustee Rippy. Others present: Brian Murphy, Village Administ rator; Allen Persons, Public Works Director; Michael Garrigan, Planning Supervisor; Dean Ma rquez, Building Supervisor; Traci Pleckham, Management Services Director; a nd John Konopek, Interim Police Chief. Trustee Fay moved to approve the Minutes of the Committee of the Whole Workshop held on June 27, 2011. Seconded by Trustee Peck. Vote by ro ll call. Bonuchi, yes; Fay, yes; Lamb, yes; Peck, yes; Racich, yes; Rippy, absent. 5 yes, 0 no, 1 absent. Motion carried. PRESIDENTIAL COMMENTS Mayor Collins: • Stated that he and Trustee Fay attended a Welcome Home celebration for PFC Andrew DeJong coordinated by Warriors’ Wa tch Riders. The Village tries to have a representative at Welcome Home celebrations for Village residents. • Stated that the Village will have a Route 59 Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Grand Opening. There are 37 busine sses participating in the celebration. TRUSTEES COMMENTS Trustee Peck stated that the work on the Cloc k Tower Building is coming along and looks good. He is excited to see the finished product. Trustee Racich expressed concern regarding the closing of Lockport Street and requested to discuss this topic at a future Committee of the Whole Workshop. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. Robert Adrian, Mr. David McCleave, Mr. Josh Feagans, and Ms. Vivan Hagar, Springbank Residents, expressed concern regarding the Ocean Atlantic proposal to amend the Springbank Annexation Agreement. Trustee Racich assured the residents that the Village Board will not make any hasty decisions regarding the proposal and that any decision will be open. WORKSHOP MEETING #1 DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT Mr. Michael Garrigan, Planning Supervisor, stated that the petitioners are proposing a Downtown Plainfield Historic District that is to encompass mu ch of Plainfield’s traditional commercial corridor. The proposal for a local historic di strict, which is an area that can be defined by certain geographic boundaries and that has one or more historic landmarks and may have other properties, areas, sites, landscapes, or structur es may not be of the same architectural or scenic significance as landmarks, but do contribute to the overall visual characteristics of the district.
Minutes Committee of the Whole Workshop – July 25, 2011 Page 2 of 3 Mr. Garrigan pointed out that the Historic Pres ervation Commission held three (3) informational hearings on the proposed district and pursuant to the Village Ordinance had the required “informational meeting” on May 10, 2011 at the Village Hall. The Village sent consent forms to each of the property owners (66 pa rcels) within the proposed district and gave them the opportunity to consent or not consent to bei ng a part of the district. Each parcel owner was given one vote per parcel. The majority of the parcel owners voted for the historic district by a vote of 28 to 21, there was no response from the remaining properties. The Historic Preservation Commission and Staff recommend approval of the Do wntown Historic District. Trustee Fay asked Mr. Garrigan to explain the Certificat e of Appropriateness. Mr. Garrigan stated that only certain types of impr ovements are required to get a Ce rtificate of Appropriateness and specific standards are outlined in the Village’s Ordinance. Trustee Lamb stated that he a ppreciates history and it should be preserved. He expressed some concern regarding buildings with common walls. Trustee Lamb stated that the Village does have an East Side Historic District and f eels that it has been working well. The property owners are taking a lot of pride and he sees the same outcome for the Downtown. He understands that there is a lot of work that needs to be done to make the Downtown commercially viable, but that should not be an excuse to fail to preserve th e downtown’s historic nature. Trustee Racich stated that the ha ving a Historic District gives the group strength to preserve property values and prevent undesirable planning. Th e Village needs to preserve its history. Mayor Collins stated that he had a request from a couple of people to be able to speak to the Board regarding this topic. One person, Mrs. Bates, is unable to attend the meeting but asked the Board to take into consideration that the 28 favorable votes are from 15 diffe rent property owners whereas the 21 unfavorable votes are from 18 different property owners. Mr. Michael Lambert stated that while he is a sup porter of Historic Preserva tion, he feels that this current proposal is flawed. Mr. Lambert expresse d concern regarding the proposed boundaries of the Historic District. Mr. Carl Bryant stated that he is in favor of the Historic District and feels that having it in place will secure his investment in the Downtown. Ms. Deb Olsen pointed out that the Village of Plainfield owns several prop erties downtown and did not participate in the survey. She also pointed out that the property owners that did not respond to the survey were indifferent to a Historic District. Trustee Peck asked staff to include a statement whether or not this proposal will jeopardize the Village’s Certified Local Government Status when this comes back for a formal vote. Trustee Bonuchi asked what was the primary reason for the no votes. Mr. Garri gan stated that people did not want the additional layer of review.
Minutes Committee of the Whole Workshop – July 25, 2011 Page 3 of 3 Trustee Peck asked if the applicant of a Certifi cate of Appropriate ness could appeal the Historic Preservation Commission’s decision to the Village Bo ard. Mr. Garrigan stated that the Village Board has the final say on every decision. Trustee Peck inquire d as to whether or not th e process is difficult. Mr. Garrigan stated that it is a simple process an d a timeline is outlined in the Village’s Ordinance. Mayor Collins pointed out that the Village Board received 32 pages of in formation regarding the Historic District and will review the informati on prior to making a formal decision. The item should be brought back to the Board at an August Board Meeting. Mayor Collins read the reminders. Trustee Fay moved to adjourn. Seconded by Trust ee Racich. Voice Vote. All in favor, 0 opposed. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m. Michelle Gibas, Village Clerk