Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Summary - November 13, 2025
Historic Preservation Commission Meeting - November 13, 2025
The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) convened on November 13, 2025, to approve meeting minutes, discuss the 2025 Mills Act inspection cycle, and review upcoming events. The meeting featured a detailed presentation by Senior Associate Planner Matthew Buggert regarding the status of the Mills Act program, which includes 65 properties in the City of Monterey. Commissioners offered support for the program's restoration efforts while raising concerns about inconsistent maintenance plans, property owner awareness, and the need for program codification and stricter enforcement mechanisms.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval: The commission voted to approve the minutes from the August 11th field trip and the October 9th meeting. Commissioner Pizel abstained from the vote for the August 11th field trip minutes and Commissioner Smith Corvello abstained from the October 9th minutes.
- Annual Appointments: The commission confirmed the amendments regarding the appointments of the Chair and Vice Chair made on August 14th.
- Public Comments on Consent Agenda: No members of the public attended chambers or joined remotely to comment on items not in the agenda during the initial public comment period.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Public Attendance: No members of the public were present in chambers or joined remotely during the general public comment period.
- Staff Response to Public Query: Planner Matthew Buggert noted that while there was no public commentary during the meeting, a neighborhood meeting had recently occurred where homeowners expressed confusion regarding their contract responsibilities. Commissioners discussed the potential need for an informational meeting hosted by the city to clarify obligations uniformly.
Discussion Items
-
Mills Act Inspection Report (2025 Cycle):
- Presentation: Matthew Buggert presented the 2025 annual inspection report. He noted that 52 properties were inspected by the end of September, with 6 additional properties inspected in October. Six properties were marked as "no inspect" due to non-response over two cycles.
- Outstanding Issues: Commissioners and staff discussed common outstanding tasks, including the replacement of aluminum windows with wood, repair of retaining walls, falling trim, and upgrading knob and tube electrical systems. Historic plaque installation remains a frequent outstanding item, though three properties were approved for plaque text this year.
- Property Owner Awareness: Staff reported instances where new owners were unaware of the Mills Act contract running with the land, including cases involving divorce where one partner was unaware of the property's obligations.
- Enforcement Concerns: Commissioners expressed concern regarding properties with vague maintenance plans (dates ranging from 5 to 25 years) and the lack of uniformity. Staff indicated that while they strive to be flexible, they are prepared to move toward contract termination or notice of non-renewal if owners show blatant disregard for the contract or refuse entry for inspections after multiple attempts.
- Program Structure Review: Staff confirmed that the City Council recently paused discussion on eliminating the Mills Act due to fiscal analysis. However, there is a plan to bring forward program changes in early 2026 to codify the ordinance, establish stricter guardrails, require documentation/receipts for expenses, and differentiate between restorative work and general maintenance. Commissioner Barlow and others expressed support for these changes to ensure fairness and consistency.
- Plaque Database: A commissioner suggested creating an online database of historic plaques to help identify properties; staff indicated no such tool currently exists but noted plans to systematically photograph plaques in future cycles.
-
Planning Updates:
- Upcoming Meetings: No items are tentatively scheduled for the December 11th meeting.
- Historical Events: Commissioners shared details on upcoming events, including Kenery Row Days (through Dec 1), Robert Louis Stevenson's birthday celebration (Nov 15), Tree Lighting at Colton Hall (Dec 3), "Christmas in the Adobe" (Dec 12-13), and the Carmel Inns Tour (Dec 7).
Key Outcomes
- Minutes Approved: The August 11 and October 9 minutes were officially approved with the noted abstentions.
- Informational Report Received: The commission received the 2025 Mills Act inspection report without a formal motion to approve staff actions related to inspections, though the report served as the basis for future policy discussions.
- Future Directives:
- Staff is directed to prepare program changes, including codification and stricter enforcement protocols, for review by the commission in early 2026 to update the 2000-resolution Mills Act program.
- The commission supports the idea of a public informational meeting to address owner confusion and considers the potential for an online plaque database.
- Staff will continue to monitor properties for consecutive missed inspections, with a threshold of approximately three missed inspections potentially triggering termination proceedings.
Meeting Transcript
Four oh one. So we're calling the meeting to order of the historic preservation commission. Um I want to thank uh see a lot of staff. I know there's presentations, Levi, Fernanda, Matthew's probably gonna do the presentation, and Spencer. And I can't agree. Christy, thank you. Um Spencer, can you help us with uh roll call? Yes, of course. Uh Commissioner Collum. Commissioner O'Neill. Here. Vice Chair Barlow. Here. Chair Rodriguez. Here. Commissioner Rath. Here. Commissioner Pizel. Here. And Commissioner Smith Corvello. That is all uh our commissioners present. Um staff, as you mentioned, present are Planning Manager Hill, Principal Planner Sabdo, Principal Planner Roveri, Senior Associate Planner Bugart, and myself recording Secretary Argonbreit. Information on participating in this meeting and providing public comment, including remotely by Zoom or telephone is on this meeting's agenda, which is online at Monterey.gov forward slash agendas. Remote commenters will be muted until it is their turn to speak, and a timer will be shown on the screen. If you are connected on Zoom, the timer is accurate with no delay. In the chamber, we recommend keeping phones and devices muted to prevent audio interference with the meeting. So I'm gonna going to open it up for the uh uh public comment for on the consent agenda. I don't see anybody present in chambers, but I'll ask you, Spencer, if there's anybody online. All right. Okay, so do we have I assume the commission had a chance to look at the minutes? We're going to approve the minutes or look at the minutes for August eleventh, the field trip and October 9th. Um motion to approve the minutes, any comments? I was just gonna know if we need to take separate votes on those minutes. If we need to, I mean it's uh I think all the members of the commission that were at the field trip uh are present today. Okay. So we have enough if the rest of the commission wants to abstain from that vote, they can. And then all right. But I'll entertain a motion to approve it. Or um just a motion. I just have uh one. Um number four public appearance from August 14th. I see confirm annual appointments, the chair and vice chair. Your mic on, Kathy. Is your mic on? Yeah. Sorry. Oh, sorry. Okay. So number four, August 14th. Why did I put add names?
openpublica.com