02-13-2007 HPC MIN - Laserfiche WebLink

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Heritage Preservation Commission Febniary 13, 2007 Page 2 Discussion followed regarding the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Commissioner Kragness commented that he feels the HPC can authorize Rebecca to put in comments for the HPC. He is okay with that. General agreement was understood from the commissioners present. 5. Downtown Redevelopment Task Force Update Chair Lindberg discussed the draft minutes of the Task Force meeting. He stated that he had not been able to obtain them unti14:45 p.m. so he had just made copies. He summarized the meeting and stated that two speakers were heard, Frank Dunbar and Mark Moorhouse. Most members of the task force felt it was an interesting meeting with several stating it was the best so far. Chair Lindberg read the comment bullet points of each of the speakers. For example, Dunbar stated that the focus should be on the downtown, south of the railroad tracks. The north side of the tracks should be reserved for businesses thatwill/would support retail on the south side. Moorhouse had commented that any project that relied upon getting purchase agreements from numerous home owners to be able to do large re-development projects has been "a nightmare" in his opinion. Another comment was that he (Moorhouse) hasn't been involved in any projects where the community didn't try to retain older downtown buildings. He added that it's important to the overall character of the downtown area and for historicity (Chair Lindberg defined this). Chair Lindberg commented that "they" are looking for finances from sales of apartments, but will be happy if they break even. Chair Lindberg added that the downtown area will probably be geared toward elderly rather than young families. Items discussed included the focus on the funeral home and dental office. A comment was made about there being so much retail downtown. Chair Lindberg read over the small group discussion items/findings. He added that Heidi had not gotten the synopsis of comments that were made on the board written up yet. Chair Lindberg asked Stewart Wilson to comment. Mr. Wilson clarified several items. First, he commented that discussion was on the Riverview apartments, not on the nursing home (guardian angels). Next, he commented that a parking ramp might be a mistake due to logistics of getting in and out. He finished by stating that Moorhouse had worked on (and owned) developments with restaurants which didn't go well. Discussion concerning this was that restaurants may be "wish list" items that may never work. A point was made concerning keeping or maintaining integrity of neighborhoods to complement downtown. Discussion followed regarding incremental change. Commissioner Christiaansen questioned whether there was any discussion regarding design standards. Chair Lindberg stated that no one asked. Mr. Wilson commented that Dominium (Moorhouse's company) owns and operates apartment buildings in Elk River. Commissioner Kragness questioned how the speakers prepared themselves for the meeting. How did they learn about the project? Was it through staff meetings? Chair Lindberg