Carson City Historic Resources Commission Meeting – March 4, 2026
Carson City Historic Resources Commission Meeting – March 4, 2026
The Carson City Historic Resources Commission met on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 12:00 PM. All commissioners were present, establishing a quorum. The meeting covered approval of minutes, recognition of preservation efforts, planning for the annual scavenger hunt, and staff updates.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (January 7, 2026): The commission unanimously approved the minutes from the January 7, 2026 meeting. The motion passed without opposition.
Discussion Items
- Recognition of Darren Berger and RCI Project: Commissioner Don initiated discussion about recognizing Darren Berger for his exceptional efforts in preserving a historic shed, which had been discussed for ten years. Berger worked with staff and owners, including obtaining zoning map amendments and taking down and storing the structure. Some commissioners suggested waiting until the project was completed, while others supported immediate recognition for Berger's overall contributions to the historic district, including his work with Art Hanafin and efforts to streamline code for historic buildings. Staff noted that recognition for the specific project could only occur after completion, but a general award for his work in the district was permissible. The commission decided to proceed with two awards: one for the RCI project and one for Darren Berger. A motion was made and seconded, and passed unanimously.
- 2026 Annual Scavenger Hunt: The commission discussed the theme for the scavenger hunt. Commissioner Schmidt proposed focusing on the evolution of transportation-related structures such as garages, carriage houses, sheds, and carports, building on last year's streetscape theme. A connection to the U.S. 250th anniversary was considered but deemed impractical due to lack of 250-year-old structures in Carson City. The commission directed staff to adopt the suggested theme of accessory structures. One commissioner volunteered to assist with organizing the hunt. Staff requested that the complete scavenger hunt materials be provided by mid-April for processing and press release.
- Staff Reports:
- The National Preservation Conference (NAPC) forum will be held in Minneapolis from July 22–26, 2026. Grant funding through the State Historic Preservation Office (SHIPO) is available for attendance; staff will contact commissioners by early next week to gauge interest, with applications due by end of March.
- The next regular commission meeting is scheduled for May 6, 2026, at 4:00 PM, assuming there are applications to review.
- Ordinance No. [number not provided] regarding setbacks in the historic district was approved by the Board of Supervisors on February 19 and took effect March 1, 2026. The ordinance now requires HRC review and approval but eliminates Planning Commission review.
- Code enforcement continues regarding 402 West Robinson; a notice of violation has been recorded, and the next step is potential fines and liens.
- The owner of Ferris Mansion contacted staff about seeking approvals for a re-roof, solar panels, new fencing (with integrated shed), and possibly an accessory dwelling unit, but no application has been received yet.
- Staff reported approximately three to four administrative approvals since the last meeting (including re-roofing and a handicapped access project approved under reasonable accommodations).
Key Outcomes
- Minutes Approved: Unanimous approval of January 7, 2026 minutes.
- Recognition Awards Approved: Unanimous motion to recognize the RCI project for the shed preservation and Darren Berger for his work in the historic district (including his collaboration with Art Hanafin and code-streamlining efforts).
- Scavenger Hunt Theme Set: Accessory structures (garages, carriage houses, sheds, carports). Staff to finalize details; materials due by mid-April.
- Adjournment: Motion passed unanimously; meeting ended.
Meeting Transcript
All this meeting of the Carson City Historic Resources Commission on Wednesday, March fourth, twenty twenty-six to order. Zach, can we have a roll, please? Chair Drews. Here. Vice Chair Schmitter. Commissioner Block. Commissioner Darney. Commissioner Schmidt. Commissioner Spielda. Here. And Commissioner Wright. We have a quorum. Thank you. Uh next item is public comment. Is there any public comment on Historic Resource Commission items? Hearing none, we'll move to item four for possible action. We have approval of the minutes from our January seventh, twenty twenty-six meeting. Um minutes from the last meeting as presented by staff. Motion and a second, any questions. Opposed. Uh I I did have for consideration. We were playing with a shed for 10 years. And we had a gentleman come in here and step up the plate to preserve that building, you know, and I and I think that he went the extra mile. And I'd I'd like to uh you know have a discussion on Darren Berger, because I do think he went the a little bit more than uh anybody anticipated, and working with uh staff and working with the owners to get that to happen. I I just think that uh when somebody does the go to the extra mile, the consideration might be warranted. So that's just my point. That's a good point, Don. We I'm almost thinking we can wait, hopefully he gets it up by next year, and we can do it when it's up too, so that people can see the control board based on that following, and then now we're not next year, we're back. Yeah, we talked about this last year, and they hadn't quite completed the building yet. We thought let's put it off until they get the final. But it was, I mean, it is pretty amazing what they did it and they did it without anybody saying you have to do this. It was Bruce and uh the RCI guys just saying no, we need to do this. So I if I could too, I would just recommend um for Darren Berger. Um while your point's well taken, um Commissioner Smith. I I would recommend waiting until the project's completed. The project hasn't actually been completed yet. He's gone through the process for the zoning map amendment. Um he's um taken the the structure down from its original location and is storing it. Um but my understanding from him is that he's gonna be working on getting that erected on his property. Um and when that's completed, I think maybe at that point that the year that that's completed or the following year might be the appropriate time to recognize him. I'd also thought about that and uh thought is that premature. And I'm going, well, the effort was put there and successful effort because it took some hoops to get through there. And I thought, well, to recognize it even at this point, not the building, the person provides a little impetus for him to really follow through. Uh that was just something I thought about too. You know, wow, now I've really got to I've got to do the best job I can on this. But that was my stupid way of thinking. No, there's no reason why we couldn't do it for as a person and for the other work. We've done multiple awards before. So if we if you know the other thing with uh with Darren, he worked many years with art on projects that you know he was the initials on the page, but never got any of the the credit for what art was able to accomplish, but he was there. But I have no problem waiting a year and you know, moving forward with just one, you know.
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