DRAFT MINUTES OF THE HISTORICAL AFFAIRS AND LANDMARK REVIEW BOARD

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1 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY PLANNING, HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT Neighborhood Services Division Courthouse Plaza One 2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 700 Arlington, VA TEL FAX MINUTES OF THE HISTORICAL AFFAIRS AND LANDMARK REVIEW BOARD Wednesday, March 16, Clarendon Boulevard Lobby Conference Rooms Cherry & Dogwood MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS EXCUSED: STAFF: Charles Craig Robert Dudka Darren Hannabass Nancy Iacomini, Chairman Joan Lawrence, Vice Chairman Gerald Laporte Charles Matta Kevin Vincent Chris Wilson Richard Woodruff Isabel Kaldenbach-Montemayor Patricia Weichmann-Morris Rebeccah Ballo, Preservation Planner Cynthia Liccese-Torres, Preservation Planner John Liebertz, Preservation Staff CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm. Ms. Ballo called the roll and determined there was a quorum. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY 16, 2011 MEETING The Chairman called for comments on the February draft meeting minutes. Ms. Lawrence noted on page four that she was listed as Mr. Lawrence and asked that this be corrected. There were no other comments. Ms. Lawrence motioned to approve the minutes as edited and Mr. Craig seconded the motion. The motion passed with the Chair abstaining. PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS (CoAs) The Chairman noted the procedures of the HALRB meetings and directed those members of the public who wished to speak to fill out a speaker slip. The Chair stated that there are three items on the consent agenda, and one on the discussion agenda and asked the board for questions or comments. The Chairman called for a motion on the consent agenda. The Chair moved to approve the consent agenda and Mr. Craig seconded the motion. The motion passed

2 The Chairman opened the floor to discussion or questions regarding the two ACoA(s). Ms. Ballo noted that when trees are removed administratively, staff asks that replacement trees come from a list that the Urban Forester recommends. Mr. Woodruff asked Mr. Dick Miller, the Urban Forester, if he could recall the size and type of trees that were removed via the ACoA process. Mr. Miller replied that he could not. Ms. Lawrence asked for the County s position on mulberry trees. Mr. Miller replied that the County does not actively remove them, but views them as invasive. If someone wanted to remove a mulberry, he would advise replacing it with a different tree. Mr. Craig asked if the willow oak was considered native. Mr. Miller replied that it was, but that the County prefers people to plant different types of oak trees so that there will be a wider variety of oaks in the County. Willow oaks have done very well and the focus is on introducing other oak varieties. Mr. Woodruff stated that the large trees are disappearing in Maywood, and he asked if there was a County survey or count of large oaks. Mr. Miller replied that there was not. There is a street tree inventory only. The Chair asked if any neighborhood had undertaken such a survey, and Mr. Miller replied no. Mr. Woodruff stated that it would be helpful in Maywood to know the universe of resources that currently exists, to better weigh the impact of losing each large tree. There was some discussion about County funds available for planting trees. Mr. Miller described the ACE funding which allows for developers to provide funds for private groups of people to apply together to get larger trees than the whips that the County supplies. Mr. Dudka asked for clarification on the HALRB s tree replacement policy. When one hardwood tree is taken down, staff and the HALRB ask for another hardwood to be planted on a desirable location on the subject property. Consent Agenda 1) 400 North Manchester Street Reevesland Historic District HALRB Case (HP ) Request to construct a temporary gravel turnaround and a mulch path. 2) rd Road North Thomas and Rebecca King Maywood Historic District HALRB Case (HP ) Request to revise previously approved CoA in order to move two proposed windows and decrease the size of the sliding glass door on the rear elevation. 3) 1600 North Lexington Street Robert J. Neubauer Washington/Torreyson Farm House Historic District HALRB Case (HP ) Request to add gutters and install a rain barrel on an existing non-contributing shed. Administrative CoA (ACoA) 1) ACoA 11-03, st Avenue North: removal and replacement of one tree. 2

3 2) ACoA 11-04, st Avenue North: removal and replacement of one tree. Discussion Agenda 1) rd Street North & 2211 North Kenmore Street Christine and Philip Robinson, and Edith Marshall Maywood Historic District HALRB Case (HP /HP ) Request to remove two shared trees on their property line. Also, a request by the Robinsons to remove one tree from their property. The Chair invited the applicants to the table. Ms. Edith Marshal spoke first. She stated that the box elders are in terrible condition. One no longer leafs, and she is concerned both are going to come down. Chris and Philip Robinson spoke next. They stated that the arborist report does not that the trees are declining, and they would like to address their removal now before they become an immediate hazard. They have already planted oak, red maple, sweet gum and magnolia trees on their property. Their goal is to create a forest habitat for wildlife. The Chair called for the DRC report. Mr. Dudka confirmed that the arborist s report does note that the trees are declining, but that they are not an imminent hazard. The DRC asked Mr. Miller to attend the meeting, and if possible, revisit the trees in between the DRC and HALRB meetings. The Chair recognized Mr. Dick Miller, the County s Urban Forester, and asked for his comments. Mr. Miller stated that he did resurvey the trees after the DRC meeting. One box elder has a hollow inside and he observed insect borer damage. This hollow was not visible on his last visit and was only made visible because a limb recently came down. He stated that box elders are of concern, and that many get easily broken up from storm damage. The tree is weakwooded, in general. The second tree, also a box elder, has dead branch stumps and a good deal of dieback in the crown. He also stated that box elders are a pioneer species. They take root first in newly cleared areas and then die young. He stated that the decline of these box elders in Maywood is part of the natural cycle of these trees. The cherry tree on the Robinsons property measures slightly less than 15 at four feet of height it measures Therefore, it does not require a CoA to be removed, and could be removed administratively. The arborist standard height to measure trees is 4 6, but in Maywood the measurements are taken at 4. After this latest assessment, he feels that one box elder is definitely hazardous (the one with the hollow) and that the other is in serious decline. The Chair asked Mr. Miller for a general idea about how long the box elders might continue to live. Mr. Miller replied that with more pruning of the dead branches, they could possibly survive another 3-5 years. The branches will keep dying, and the tree will keep getting smaller and smaller. Mr. Miller added that box elders are not a landscape tree; one cannot go to the nursery and buy a box elder to plant. Mr. Woodruff stated that these were not the types of trees he had in mind when he discussed saving trees in Maywood. Mr. Matta asked for clarification about the height at which arborists measure trees. He asked where the standard height of 4 6 came from and where Maywood s standard of 4 came from. 3

4 Mr. Miller replied that the 4 6 height is an old logging standard. The higher you go up the tree, the smaller the diameter. Ms. Lawrence stated that the more stringent requirement was written in to protect more of Maywood s trees. Mr. Craig moved to approve the removal of the box elder trees, with the condition that the applicants replace them with suitable hardwood trees from the list Mr. Miller would provide. Ms. Lawrence seconded and the motion passed AZEK Policy Discussion Ms. Ballo reported that the Draft amendment to the Maywood Design Guidelines on PVC trim (AZEK) would go to the Maywood Civic Association for their comments on March 26 th. She asked who would be the willing HALRB representative at the meeting. Ms. Lawrence, who is also a Maywood resident, volunteered to attend along with HP staff. Historic Marker: Dr. Roland Bruner Mr. John Liebertz presented the historic marker for Dr. Roland Bruner. The marker will be erected in front of Dr. Bruner s former home, which is now part of the property owned and managed by AHC, Incorporated. AHC offered to pay for this marker in 2000 if HP staff developed the text. It has taken many years to research this marker and find suitable photographs. Mr. Wilson asked if the house was currently landmarked and Ms. Liccese-Torres replied it is not. Designation was not discussed as part of the redevelopment of the property. Mr. Vincent moved to ask staff to approach the owners about a possible local historic district designation for the house. Mr. Wilson seconded and the motion passed The members had a number of edits which were incorporated into the draft. Mr. Dudka asked for a way to make the page searchable on the internet, considering how important Dr. Bruner was to the local community. Ms. Ballo suggested creating a Wikipedia entry. The Chair stated that it would be helpful to see the text one more time before approval. Mr. Woodruff suggested that before the marker is installed that HP staff should contact the owners of the house to inform them of the marker s installation and the history of the house. REPORTS OF STAFF AND STANDING COMMITTEES A) Chairman s Report: The Chair stated that there is updated information on the Columbia Pike housing study available on the County s website. The study is still in a Draft phase. On the Overlee Pool, it is the opinion of the Zoning Administrator that the Overlee community does not need to amend their use permit in order to demolish the old house. There is no public process or approval required prior to demolition and construction of the new pool and pool house. The Chair urged members to reach out to friends in the Overlee community and other preservationists. The Arlington Heritage Alliance has sent out a notice to members, and the Chair wrote an article to send to AHA and to the Historical Society. 4

5 Another upcoming issue involves Buckingham. When AHC redeveloped the complex, and received a preservation award from the National Trust, they had unused density. Now they are proposing to use that extra, unused, density from Buckingham to demolish and redevelop the historic Key Boulevard apartments. There are larger issues (GLUP changes) that may discourage the project. There is also a question as to whether the density bonus is available as it was used at one point for another project. Nothing has been filed with the County, but it is expected. Mr. Dudka asked what happened to the HALRB recommended language that density swaps as part of TDRs not be used to demolish historic buildings. The Chair replied that the County Board did not include that language in their final adoption of the TDR policy. The Chair also reported that an artist has been selected for the Ballston substation Mr. Ben Furman. He is installing an Ipe fence around the enclosure. There should be more info on the County s Public Art page soon. B) Survey Report: Ms. Liccese-Torres stated that the survey and research work for three designation requests (Calloway Cemetery, Green Valley Pharmacy, and W&OD siding) is still in progress. C) Site Plan Committee: None. D) Staff and other Reports: Ms. Liccese-Torres updated the board on the Historic Resources Inventory (HRI). She stated that there will be a public meeting on March 30 th. This will be a community meeting for the four main category owners. Commissions, including the HALRB, are also invited to attend. The timeline is for a Request to Advertise to the County Board in May, with County Board adoption in June. Staff has met privately with the Essential and top 1/3 Important category owners already. Staff is looking to bring the HRI to the HALRB in April for further discussion. E) Other: Ms. Ballo distributed an updated HALRB member contact list. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm. 5