Oct 14, 2024 Historic Landmark Commission on 2024-10-14 5:30 PM

We're gonna call the meeting to order at 5 31 p.m. on Monday October 14th 2024 and if you will stand with me for the pledge of allegiance. We don't have a flag on the screen but we're gonna act like there is okay. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. I pledge allegiance to the Texas flag. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to the Texas flag. One state under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you guys. All right we will have Mr. Lee you signed up to speak would you like to come and to the podium? Hey Mr. Lee go ahead. Well I just want to say that I'm not very happy. I'm not very happy about the decisions this board is making. As far as like the one house in 1900, I'm sorry that house has no historical value. I don't know why you're passing me making this a historical house when it's not but at the same time you have a ranch with a house that's over 100 years old that's over on a local street and then you're gonna say oh that's not historical and it's not worth saving and tearing it down and giving some rich developers to put up I don't know like a 600 apartment house that's going to destroy the aesthetics of the neighborhood. I find it really disgusting and I'm sorry I believe every single one of you should be impeached. I really do because you're not really good for many of the historians of the nature of the community. It is very disturbing. I think this is a big racket. What you're doing is shifting burdens from people that really are well to do and don't want to pay their taxes and you're shifting it over to people of middle class and lower class communities and homeowners that can barely afford to pay their taxes and rent and I think this thing just needs to be a moratorium on all the anything that you're doing on this board historical because it doesn't need to be passed on to the taxpayer and I really do believe we need to amend the charter that any decision on any historical value needs to be put for the voters of this city because I think the voters will be the best people to decide what's historical value in their community not just a small people group of people that are going to decide what's best for the community because I can see nobody around here marching around saying this house should be historical and this house should not be historical. This is you guys making these decisions and you guys shouldn't be making these decisions. This should be the people of this community and that's really all I have to say because I really do think you guys need to be impeached and that's all I have to say. Thank you. Alright, the next item on our agenda is item HLC 24043. We're going to consider the approval of the September 9, 2024 minutes. Hopefully you've all had a chance to read those minutes. Thank you. Do we have a motion to approve? I'm moving too. Thank you. Alright, all in favor raise your hands say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any opposed? Alright, item HLC 24-045. We're going to hold a discussion, consider approval of the 2025 Historic Landmark Commission meeting calendar. Hopefully you all had an opportunity to look at that. It looked like we were good for the second Monday of every month on it. I think the only one that might have been different was spring break. And I think everything else is the second Monday of every month. So, that's okay, no worries. Anyone have any issues with it, any dates we might need to look at to change? No. Lenny might have another trip. I know Lenny's going to have another trip. I think it was, it's the March spring break. So, it's the first Monday, so it's the second Monday. I'm good with it, everyone. There's our discussion, we're all good with it. Alright, the next one HLC 24-0005 is we're holding a public meeting and determine whether the presented expenses resulted in a permanent improvement or restoration of a local historic landmark property located at 1900 Westridge Street. This site is located on the north side of Westridge Street just east of Highland Park Road. Good evening Chair and Commission. As stated, this is for historic tax exemption at 1900 Westridge Street. It is just on the north side of Westridge Street just east of Highland Park Road. It was recently designated in September of this year. The request is looking at section 10-128, which is that partial tax exemption of designated historic sites. In your backup packet, there was a list of repairs and updates provided, which amounted to $19,969.24. Looking at the request, permits and inspection fees and the engineering compaction layer do not meet that qualifying improvements and/or restoration projects because it does not pertain to that general maintenance of the property. So, removing those costs to the applicant, it comes out to be $19,256.24 that were spent. Looking at staff's analysis, so this is different this time around. Usually, we're looking at section 10/128D because people are usually looking to get a new round of tax exemption. But because this property was just designated, we're looking at qualifying expenses two years prior to that destination of the historic site. So, this is looking at section C. So, staff is recommending a favorable determination that the expense is presented, with the exception of that permit and inspection fee in the engineering compaction layer, resulting in permanent improvement and/or restoration of the landmark property at my standard Westridge Street. I can stay for any questions. We do have the applicants here as well. Any questions? The only thing, not a question for me, but what I thought interesting that for us to really pay attention to, should we pass this and it go to city council, is that the applicant put in to bring it up to code. And bringing a historic structure up to code is expensive. And so, if there's a question around that, I'm just making that on record for council to know that, yes, it's about repairs and stuff, but anytime you're having to do that, it entails, it does. And that was on the application. So, I think that that's key to point out to. All right, no questions. Do we have a motion to, we can accept, deny, or, what's the third one? I believe it's to continue. Yes. Okay. So, floor is open for. I'll make a motion to accept recommendation. Okay. We have a motion and a second. All in favor, raise your hand, say aye. Aye. Any opposition? No opposition. Nice. Thank you, guys. All right, on to section four, HLC 24-3041, receive a report and hold the discussion and give staff direction on the Historic Landmark Commission request for local historic designation of eligible historic properties. Do we have any properties? Any additional properties? Next question, historic property. I did run into, so regarding the Women's Club building, it was on Quaker Town Park property. It was there at the Warts and Jazz Fest, and they had a tenant, and they were selling cookies and baked cookies and things like that. I said, "Hi." I said, "Hey." I'm from the Historic Landmark Committee, and I'm just curious if you guys have responded to our invitation to come talk to us, because we'd love to talk a little bit about your house. And at first, they were, they kind of looked at each other and they called somebody over, and the current president happened to be close by, and she came over, and so she should be reaching out to you shortly. Their request was that they don't check their mail really regularly, so perhaps contacting them via their webpage was something that they were super interested in. I noted that, you know, because the plan's coming up with Quaker Town Park, et cetera, et cetera, and I said, "We're just interested in being good partners and getting your input and talk about, you know, what the future's going to look like, and we'd love to hear you and your members do with it." So just as an FYI, make available. If they have a reply back, perhaps maybe another reach out would be warranted, because they certainly are on their radar. I do have a question. On the property of Sherman that sold, and they're talking about donating the house, and it was possibly a great church. Not the church, no. Oh gosh, I particularly remember the name, what they're calling it. Right there off, not Sherman, Locust and— It's close to the library, isn't it? Yes, the old farm there. So I read, and that's why I'm asking if this is true. Oh, you're talking about Evers Farm. Yes. So I read, because I'm checking, because I want to know if it's true. They were talking about donating the structure and a portion of the land to the parks and rec. So that's being proposed as part of the plan development, which is going to council next week. Okay. My question is this. If that happened, would that structure eventually fall under HLC? If the parks department decided to designate it. If they did. If the plan development passed and then the parks department decided to designate the property. Sorry. Then we can invite them to. Since we're on this topic, that's what I'm saying. Do we need to— Invite them for a discussion about it? Yes. Yes, I would recommend to, we could invite them if it were to, if it does pass, if it passes next week on the 15th. Okay. I like that. Is there a motion before you? I don't think we can wait for it to, we have to wait to see if it passes, right? If it passes, we can extend an invitation. Right, yeah, if it passes, then we can, yeah, so you can get three, if you get three votes, then we can add that. Would you guys, anyone else be in favor? It's fine with me. Okay. Yeah. That works. All right. Any other business to discuss tonight? So I did see that the matrix was not on there, but, yeah, Commissioner Tree's discussion of the Denton Women's Club. So that is, I was going to state that that is actually on hold because of the Quaker Town Park Master Plan. And we want to make sure that the history and conversation, everything, the storyline and the narrative are all cohesive with one another. Obviously, with the Quaker Town Park Plan, if that does come to fruition, there also has to be multiple engagement opportunities, but then also will have to be part of a bond election. So it's many years down the road. So I'm glad you made that introduction. I had not reached out because that was something I was going to make. So that's probably why they were a little shocked. No, it's okay. No worries. So I wanted to let you all know that that was on hold. And then we, I know it's been a few, it's been about two or three months since we talked about the historic tax exemption. That's something that I am working on currently. Unfortunately, just kind of got pushed down my to do list, but that is something that we're going to be bringing back out back next month for certain to have more discussion regarding that. And then those are the only updates for me. I did find out more, but because I couldn't really figure out who the property owner was, the property owner would have to sign off on it being designated is the problem. And I don't know who the property owners because I've heard it's in flux. So, like, Zillow has the property owner, but that's also out of date and that supposedly it's under a corporation. So I can, I can keep doing digging. I can continue to start to dig on that and see if I can get like an actual address that it's not going to just sit in the mailbox and hopefully someone will respond. I was wandering around over there. You're wondering. So I wonder around sometimes Cameron. Don't tell me or legal that. No, we were out at the Enterprise Airport. Trick or wing. Right. A lot of fun. And I had a long time didn't tonight with me and so we went looking for pig man's bridge. And Hong Valley. You know what I'm talking about. I think we found it. But yeah, that road that passes over that's shut down that goes on the back of that ranch. We wanted to come from the other side. And we just played eyes on it. I didn't. There was no trespassing involved no fence jumping this time. Oh, well, sometimes fences need to be jumped, Scott. But no, I didn't even see any signs of anything that would indicate that like ownership, much less like a mailbox is just blank. So, yeah. So we're so if anyone finds anything. The big cow, please let me know. She wants to know that I don't want to do that, but I'm going to call it dead cow ranch right now. And I'm going to see what I can find out more about it. Yeah, if you come across that, if you come across a reliable address, Sean, let me know. Okay. Well, there's got to be some improper. Yeah, there's there. Yeah. All right. Anyone else? Anything? I don't have anything. All right. We're adjourned. And then I did bring.