Preservation Commission Meeting – June 19, 2019: Shiloh Bell Tower, Sign District, NRHP Nominations
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Preservation Commission Meeting – June 19, 2019
The Sacramento Preservation Commission met on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, at 1:30 PM in City Hall Council Chamber (915 I Street, 1st Floor). The meeting lasted approximately seven hours, adjourning shortly after 8:30 PM. Commissioners considered a public hearing on a proposed telecommunications tower at Shiloh Baptist Church, reviewed and commented on the Entertainment and Sports Center (ESC) Special Sign District, and supported National Register nominations for two properties. Two new commissioners (David Lemon and Christine Miller Cruz) were welcomed.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of May 15, 2019 Meeting Minutes – Approved with a minor edit (changing "To Be Announced" to "Received"). The motion passed 5-0, with newly seated Commissioners Lemon and Miller Cruz abstaining. (Commissioners Bounds, Carter, Miller, Velania, and Chair Whitelum voted yes.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 3 – Shiloh Baptist Church Telecom Tower: Two speakers voiced opposition.
- Scott Gowin (resident two blocks north) argued the 52.5‑foot tower is inconsistent with the surrounding one- and two-story bungalows and that more suitable locations exist (e.g., near McGeorge Law School or the Bimbo factory).
- Elizabeth Esparza (resident on 7th Avenue) criticized the minimal neighborhood outreach, expressed fears about cancer risk from radiofrequency emissions, and stated that the tower would be an act of environmental racism. She also noted the church would receive financial compensation.
Discussion Items
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Item 3 – P19-011 Shiloh Baptist Church Faux Bell Tower Telecom Tower – Public hearing on a proposal to construct a 52.5-foot stealth bell‑tower telecommunications facility and a 25’×25’ equipment compound on the site of Shiloh Baptist Church (a historic landmark listed on the Sacramento, California, and National Registers). Staff recommended approval of the Environmental Exemption (CEQA Guidelines Section 15303) and the Preservation Site Plan and Design Review, finding the tower compatible with the Secretary of the Interior Standards.
- Commissioners raised concerns about Secretary of the Interior Standard 3 (avoiding a false sense of historical development), noting the tower’s design closely mimics the church’s architecture and could appear to be an original feature.
- Two motions failed:
- A motion to recommend denial of the site plan and design review (failed 2-4?).
- A substitute motion to approve with conditions (remove bell, substitute cross symbol) (failed 2-4?).
- A third motion to approve the site plan and design review with the condition that the faux bell be removed passed 5-1 (Commissioner Velania dissented). The recommendation will be forwarded to the Planning and Design Commission.
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Item 4 – M14-004 Entertainment and Sports Center Special Sign District – Staff presented the draft sign district boundaries, guiding principles, and proposed signage for four historic properties: Fruit Exchange, Traveler’s Hotel, Hotel Clayton (Marshall Hotel), and the Ramona (which opted out). Commissioners provided comments without a formal vote.
- Key concern: Any signage over historic fenestration (windows) should be reversible and not permanently obscure character‑defining features. Commissioners preferred projections or perforated materials over direct painting on historic surfaces.
- The sign district includes a 10-year sunset clause and will be managed by property owners through CC&Rs and the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.
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Item 5 – NRHP Nominations for 2640 and 2672 Montgomery Way – Commissioners expressed unanimous support for advancing the National Register of Historic Places nominations for these two properties, which are already listed on the Sacramento Register.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Minutes approved.
- Item 3 – Shiloh Baptist Church: The Commission voted (5-1) to recommend approval of the site plan and design review to the Planning and Design Commission, contingent on removing the faux bell from the tower. The Environmental Exemption and Conditional Use Permit will be decided by the Planning and Design Commission.
- Item 4 – ESC Sign District: No formal action taken; staff will incorporate commissioners’ comments on historic fenestration, material reversibility, and use of projections before finalizing the ordinance for City Council.
- Item 5 – NRHP Nominations: Support noted.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30 PM.
Meeting Transcript
I'm going to call the June 19th, 2019, 2019 meeting of the Preservation Commission to order. The agenda and speaker slips are in the back of the room, so and we will follow the agenda in uh agenda order tonight. So if anyone is interested in speaking on the um on any of the agenda items, they're welcome to fill out a speaker slip and give it to the clerk. So with that, I will support it. Oh, the the rule the rules of order, yes. Each speaker um you have um uh three minutes to speak, and um there will be a uh timer that will show up on the screen to let you see that. I told that already, I said that already. Okay. All right. Well, thank you. Then Carson, do you want to go in? Yes. Okay, we're going to start tonight by welcoming our two new commissioners, um, David Lemon and Christine Miller Cruz. Okay. Um so welcome uh to the commission. We have been looking forward to your arrival. And um, I don't know if any of if you have like to say, tell us something about yourself or or what you hope to you know, why you want to serve on the commission. It's not a second interview. On your large screen. Yeah. Uh yeah, my name is David Lemon. Um it's very good to be here. I look forward to working with everyone. I have um several uh years in uh consulting in the private sector, uh working with uh CEQA and Section 106 and uh Secretary of the Interior Standards, and um uh feel that it is a uh good time for me to um do some good in the public and offer my services and time um on the preservation committee, and it's very good to be here. Yeah, the first thing is learning how to do this. How to make the microphone work. Um I'm in the same boat. I've been an architectural historian for almost 20 years now, new to Sacramento, and I'm really excited to bring my experience here to get more involved in my new community. That's great. You've both come on board in a particularly interesting time because we're going to be having the historic district plans coming before us later in the year. And um I think it's it's very you know, it's that's been a long time coming, so we're very happy to be proceeding with that. Okay, so with that, can we go on to roll call? Commissioner Bones. Commissioner Carter here, Commissioner Lemon. Commissioner Miller. Commissioner Miller Cruz. Commissioner Volania. And Chair Whitelum. Here. So quorum attained. And there's only one item on the consent calendar tonight, which is the approval of the preservation commission minutes of the May 15th 2019 meeting. And have the commissioners reviewed it. And do they have any comments or on the minutes? I just have one and it's kind of minor. It's down at the very bottom under member comments, ideas, questions, and meeting conference reports. On the minutes as they've been get provided of us still say to be announced, which is what they do when it's on the agenda. I'd like to just change that to received because you know we did receive them on the May 15th meeting. So with that, may I have a motion from the commissioners who were present at that meeting to vote? Okay. Commissioner Bounds.
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