Sacramento Preservation Commission Meeting – November 15, 2017
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Sacramento Preservation Commission Meeting – November 15, 2017
The Sacramento Preservation Commission convened on November 15, 2017, at 5:30 PM at New City Hall, 915 I Street Council Chambers. The meeting covered updates on infill development guidelines, the Old City Cemetery Technical Advisory Committee, the relaunch of the Mills Act program, the Director’s Report, and public comments. The commission voted unanimously to forward recommended modifications to the Central City design guidelines and approved the October 18, 2017, minutes.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes – The commission approved the minutes of the October 18, 2017, meeting by a unanimous motion (Commissioner Volonia moved, Commissioner Bounds seconded). No corrections were requested.
Public Comments & Testimony
- William Burg – Representing Preservation Sacramento and Sacramento Heritage, Mr. Burg expressed concern that city staff ignored the unanimous recommendations of both the Preservation Commission and the Planning and Design Commission regarding two proposed ordinance changes (Sections 17.808.140 and 17.808.120). He questioned whether the changes would allow staff-level approval of projects without public notice and urged the commission to request that the City Council postpone action until design guidelines are in place.
- Margaret Buss – Speaking for herself and the Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association Board, Ms. Buss supported the commission’s stance on infill guidelines and the ordinance issues. She emphasized that eliminating public notification and delegating decisions to staff level undermines good governance and urged postponing the ordinance changes until comprehensive guidelines are ready.
- Additional public comments were made on the Old City Cemetery TAC (via Ms. Buss reading a statement from Anita Clevinger) and on the Mills Act program (Mr. Burg reading an email from Johanna Welty, highlighting the lack of an active Mills Act program in Sacramento and the need to allow contributing properties in historic districts to apply without first becoming individual landmarks).
Discussion Items
Ad Hoc Committee Status Report on Infill Development (Item 3)
- Commissioner Whitelam reported attendance at the October 26 Planning and Design Commission meeting, where the commission supported deleting Sections 17.808.140 and 17.808.120 from the proposed ordinance. He also attended a November 13 town hall (District 4) for the now-named Central City Specific Plan, which raised concerns about height transitions near historic districts and trust in maintaining height limits. At the November 14 Law and Legislation Committee meeting, the committee deferred consideration of the two sections to November 28 due to time constraints. Chair Marshak attended the town hall and emphasized that the commission’s rationale for its positions needs to be clearly communicated to subsequent decision-making bodies.
Ad Hoc Committee Report on Design Guidelines (Item 2)
- Commissioner Whitelam presented the committee’s detailed recommendations to modify the proposed second editions of the Central City Urban Design Guidelines and Central City Neighborhood Design Guidelines. Key recommendations include: clarifying applicability to historic districts, retaining the preservation commission’s role, adding references to the interim infill development principles, preserving detailed guidance on scale, height, materials, and context, adding guidance for mid-century modern styles, and retaining the index. The commission voted unanimously (motion by Commissioner Volonia, second by Commissioner Bounds) to forward these recommendations to the Planning and Design Commission and City Council, along with the committee’s rationale. Staff noted that a revised draft incorporating comments will be brought back to the commission in January 2018 before final adoption.
Old City Cemetery Technical Advisory Committee (Item 4)
- Staff provided an update on the October 25 kick-off meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). Commissioner Bounds, the commission’s designee, noted the TAC’s focus on using a GIS database for a holistic master plan, the extension of an RFP for an operations assessment, and the need for transparent minutes. Public comment (via Ms. Buss) relayed Anita Clevinger’s concern that draft TAC minutes had not yet been shared with members. Staff clarified that the TAC is not a Brown Act body and will report back on meeting records dissemination.
Proposed Mills Act Program Relaunch (Item 5)
- Preservation Director Carson Anderson presented an administrative framework for restarting the Mills Act program, which has been on hiatus. Proposed elements include: an enrollment cap (e.g., 10 contracts initially), two categories (one focused on lower-income homeowners and deteriorated properties, another for better-preserved buildings), a scoring system, low application fees to encourage participation, and multiple workshops. Commissioners discussed the need to allow contributing properties to apply without first becoming individual landmarks, to set fees that do not outweigh tax benefits, and to involve other city departments. Staff will refine the proposal and return to the commission for review before final approval.
Director’s Report (Item 6)
- Director Anderson announced the hiring of Tom Pace as the new Planning Director (starting December 11), a qualified candidate for the associate planner position, and several other staff changes. He noted the release of the draft EIR for the Sacramento Convention Center renovation and 15th & K Street Hotel project (comment period through January 2). Upcoming events: the Preservation Forum on November 18 (featuring the Sacramento Valley Station Master Plan) and National Preservation Institute seminars. Commissioners requested that training opportunities be emailed to them.
Key Outcomes
- Approved consent calendar (unanimous).
- Approved motion (5-0) to forward the Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendations on the Central City Design Guidelines to the Planning and Design Commission and City Council, with rationale.
- Received and discussed the status report on infill ordinance changes; the commission will continue to monitor the November 28 Law and Legislation Committee meeting.
- Received and commented on the Old City Cemetery TAC update; staff will follow up on minutes dissemination.
- Provided direction on the Mills Act program relaunch; staff will refine the framework and bring it back to the commission for review.
- Received and filed the Director’s Report.
- No formal action taken on public comments or commissioner comments beyond discussion.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. November 15th meeting of the city of Sacramento's Preservation Commission is called to order. Before I start, we'll review procedures. Copies of the agenda for tonight's meeting are in the kiosk outside the door. Commission will refer to each item according to the order provided on the agenda, with the exception of we're gonna shift two and three. So three will come before two. Each item uh in the agenda will begin with a presentation by staff, followed by questions of staff by commissioners. There are no applicants this uh tonight, so we won't have applicant presentation. Followed by public comments, and once public comments have been closed, then discussion by commissioners. Speaker forms for members of the public are on the table at the back of the room. If you'd like to speak, please fill out a form, note the agenda number uh on which you'd like to speak and bring it up to the clerk uh to the left of the dais. You'll be called to speak at the appropriate time. And no, we normally have a three-minute limit, but seeing that we have such a throng here tonight, we may allow a little leeway in that regard. Um members of the audience are uh also may also address the commission on items not on the agenda, which is uh item number seven on our agenda. So if anybody wants to speak, then uh please fill out the speaker slip and it indicate item seven at this time. Please turn off all cell phones, including my own paging devices, or at least put them on silent mode. Okay, so we'll now proceed with the agenda. Roll call. Commissioner Abrahams. Commissioner Bounds. Here commissioner Fuller. Commissioner Moffat. Commissioner Volonia. Yeah, Commissioner Whitlam. Here and Chair Marshak. Here. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is the consent calendar, which includes just one item, approval of the minutes from the October 18th, 2017 meeting of the preservation commission. Uh recommendation is to pass a motion to approve the minutes. Um are there any questions about the minutes? Um seeing none, any any corrections. All right. May I have a motion. Commissioner Velania. Move that we approve the minutes. Commissioner Bounds. Okay. We have a motion and a second. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions. Motion passes. All right. Next we will take item number three on the agenda. As I mentioned, we're taking that out of order. Status report from the ad hoc committee on in fill development within historic districts. And there's uh presentation by Commissioner White Lamb. I'm having some okay.
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