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Historic Preservation Board Meeting of January 15, 2015
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DEFERRALS: None.
INTRODUCTION OF CITY MANAGER:
Ms. Spain introduced and welcomed City Manager, Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark, who briefly addressed Board members, expressing appreciation for their volunteerism and service to the City of Coral Gables.
RESIGNATION OF BOARD MEMBER:
Ms. Spain reported that Ms. Guerrero resigned on January 15, 2015 from Board service due to travel commitments related to her employment. There followed a discussion about the appointment of a registered architect or a preservation architect.
LOCAL HISTORIC DESIGNATIONS:
CASE FILE LHD 2014-005 and COA (SP) 2014-020: Consideration of the local historic designation of and an accelerated Certificate of Appropriateness for the property at 239 Sarto Avenue, legally described as the W ½ of Lot 40, and all of Lots 41, 42, 43 and 44, Block 7, Coral Gables Coconut Grove Section Part 1, according to the Plat thereof, as recorded in Plat Book 14, Page 25 of the Public Records of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The applicant requested design approval for an addition and alterations to the property.
A motion was made and seconded to approve local historic designation for the property located at 239 Sarto Avenue. (Ayes: 6, Nays: 0)
A motion was made and seconded to approve issuance of a Special Certificate of Appropriateness for the design of the additional and alterations, with the condition that a score line be added to the stucco to delineate the addition from the original portion of the residence. (Ayes: 6, Nays: 0)
SPECIAL CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS:
CASE FILE COA (SP) 2014-013: An application for the issuance of a Special Certificate of Appropriateness for the property at 641 North Greenway Drive, a contributing resource within the "Country Club of Coral Gables Historic District," legally described as Lots 27 and 28, Block 22, Coral Gables Section "B," according to the Plat thereof as recorded in Plat Book 5, Page 111, of the Public Records of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The applicant requested approval to demolish the existing two-story garage structure with exterior stairs and to build a new garage.
A motion was made and seconded to approve demolition of the existing garage and replacement of the structure with improvements shown in the plans, and with the addition of decorative brackets that do not have to be identical to brackets on the existing garage (Ayes: 7, Nays: 0)
CASE FILE COA (SP) 2014-019: An application for the issuance of a Special Certificate of Appropriateness for the property at 517 Hardee Road, a contributing resource within the "French Country Village Historic District," legally described as the West ½ of Lot 15 and all of Lots 16, 17 and 18, Block 125, Second Amended Plat of Coral Gables Riviera Section Part 10, according to the Plat thereof as recorded in Plat Book 31, Page 1, of the Public Records of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The applicant requested approval for an addition and alterations to the property.
A motion was made and seconded to approve the addition and alterations to the property at 517 Hardee Road conditioned on the applicant reviewing with staff the colors of the stone pavers and accent banding at the carport, and issuing of a Special Certificate of Appropriateness. (Ayes: 7, Nays: 0)
OLD BUSINESS:
2622 Country Club Prado: The City Commission approved ad valorem tax relief for the property.
Historic Home Plaques: Regarding plaques for the City's historic homes, Ms. Spain will meet with the City Attorney's office to review the process for having plaques made, and will give a report at the February meeting.
NEW BUSINESS:
Application Photographs: Ms. MacIntyre suggested cutting back on the reproduction of often-redundant photographs for application case packets for purposes of resource preservation, cost containment and efficiency.
Board Member Replacement: Regarding the appointment of a Board member to replace Ms. Guerrero, Ms. Spain asked the City Clerk to reach out to Dade Heritage Trust for possible qualified candidates. Board members suggested contacting the local AIA chapter and the UM School of Architecture as well. Candidate resumes may be submitted to the City Clerk.
Florida Trust Conference: Ms. MacIntyre announced that Florida Trust's annual conference will be held in Miami May 7th to 9th, and encouraged all Board members to participate, particularly as the City is a Silver Sponsor of the event.