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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPB Minutes 2010-0113 SUMMARY MINUTES City of Sunny Isles Beach Historic Preservation Board Meeting Government Center, 18070 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles Beach Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 7:00 p.m. 1. Call to Order by Chairperson: Action: Chairperson Joe Masters called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The following Committee Members and City Officials were present: Committee Members: City Officials: Joe Masters, Chairperson Mayor Norman S. Edelcup Cassey Gabor, Vice Chairperson Vice Mayor Lewis J. Thaler Shari Blank Commissioner George `Bud", Scholl Phillip Chernoff Commissioner Roslyn Brezin Trina Duluc City Attorney Hans Ottinot Assistant City Attorney Fernando Amuchastegui Assistant City Manager Jorge Vera City Clerk Jane A. Hines, CMC Absent Members: City Liaison: Janet Cini (excused/ill) Richard C. Schulman; City Historian Mark Glicksman Guests: Ellen J. Uguccioni, Consultant Tricia Logan, Aide to Ms. Uguccioni 2. Approval of Minutes for the July 22, 2009 Historic Preservation Board Meeting,. Action: Trina Duluc moved and Cassey Gabor seconded a motion to approve the July 22, 2009 Board meeting summary minutes. The motion was approved by a voice vote of 5-0-2 (Janet Cini and Mark Glicksman absent) in favor. 3. Update/Report of Assistant City Manager Jorge Vera on the Reconstruction and Design of the Sunny Isles Beach/ Newport Pier. Action: Assistant City Manager Vera reported noting that he spoke to the consultants today who are finalizing the plans for the restaurant area,and pulling the permits from DEP. They expect to have the permits by mid-April, put it out to bid in May, and by June or July we will have a contractor on board and moving forward with the project. 4. Annual Report of the Sunny Isles Beach Historic Preservation Board. Action: City Historian Richard Schulman reported that the Fourth Annual Report was completed and forwarded to County Clerk Harvey Ruvin, and he distributed a copy of the report to each Board member. He noted that the cover represents the City's Artifacts that have been accumulated, and some of these are already in our parks. Summary Minutes: 2010-0113 HPB ML Page 1 of 5 5. Report on the Renovation and Design of"History Hall". Action: City Historian Schulman reported that we had a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 15, 2009 in which we rededicated the new History Hall, and he invited everyone to go see it on the first floor of City Hall across from the elevators. Commissioner Brezin noted that there have been many calls that came to her office to compliment us on History Hall 'and so we are very thankful for Richard's role in this. Cassey Gabor brought in pictures from 1996 when the Olympic Torch went through the City on Collins Avenue. 6. Temple B'Nai Zion: Discussion on Hiring a Consultant to Determine if Temple B'Nai Zion Should be Designated as an Historic Site. Action: Chairperson Masters said he hopes that the Temple does become an historic site because so many of us did belong to it, and at one time he was the Treasurer and Second Vice President. City Historian Schulman reported that since the inception of the Historic Preservation Board in 2004,the Board has accomplished some wonderful projects of preservation including:a 20-year Time Capsule to be opened on February 5,2025;a monument in Town Center Park honoring and recognizing Harvey Graves the area's founder some 90 years ago; a published book entitled "From Sandbar to Sophistication" by Seth Bramson; a 20-minute History Film of Sunny Isles Beach which runs daily on Channel 77; the placement of Artifacts Memorabilia and special landmarks displayed in various parks; and History Hall. What this Board has not accomplished is to designate a site as a source of history and heritage in our City. The Dade Preservation Board designated four (4) historic sites in our City 26 and 28 years ago which includes: the Newport Fishing Pier; the Atlantic Isle Entrance Bridge from Collins Avenue;the Lagoon Bridge inside Atlantic Isle; and the Water Court Villa home located at 334 Atlantic Isle which was built and lived in by founder Harvey Graves. Tonight this Board has the opportunity for the first time to take the initial step with staff recommendations to designate its first historic site since the Board's inception, and that is Temple B'Nai Zion. In order to do this and to justify this Board's ultimate decision, staff recommends hiring an experienced qualified person that specializes in historic preservation cases to determine the criteria and qualifications of historic sites. Assistant City Attorney Fernando Amuchastegui said in taking the first step,the City's Historic Preservation Board guided and assisted in this process through hiring an independent and unbiased outside consultant who is here with us tonight, Ellen Uguccioni,:who has a Bachelor and Master of Arts Degree in Art History as well as several years of experience, and he briefly went through her resume, and handed it out, along with a Memorandum on designating historic sites. The Consultant will determine if Temple B'Nai Zion located at 200 NE 178`s Street meets the criteria for historic site designation under Chapter 171 of the City Code. Ms. Uguccioni has submitted a proposal to assist the Board in making this determination, and•this would involve visiting the Temple and to find out whether it meets at least one of the standards under the City Code to qualify as an historic site. She would also be attending the Board meetings and presenting a written designation report to the City. After that if the Board elects to retain the services of Ms.Uguccioni,we would conduct a public hearing at which time we would invite the property owner, and the Historic Preservation Board will make a presentation at that time. The purpose of tonight's meeting is to take the preliminary step in hiring the outside consultant,and we have submitted a proposal in the amount of 54,790.00 to assist the Board in this analysis. Summary Minutes: 2010-0113 HPB Mtg Page 2 of 5 Assistant City Attorney Amuchastegui went over the steps of what is involved in making a determination as to whether a site qualifies as an historic site under Chapter 171 of the City Code: Step 1 — Petition for Designation. The first process is to have a petition for historic site designation,the proposal does not need to be made by the property owner, it!can be made by the City's Historic Preservation Board, and it can also be made by the City Commission. The criteria is set forth under Section 171-5 of the City Code which gives a comprehensive list of factors that would be considered in determining whether or not this building will be considered an historic site under the City Code. Step 2—Prepare a Designation Report. The next step would be to prepare,a designation report and this is where Ms. Uguccioni would come into play. Under the City Code it indicates that we must prepare a Historic Designation Report which must contain(1)a statement of significance; (2) a listing of legal boundaries; and (3) a recommendation as to whether the Board should designate the property as an historic site. Step 3 — Hold a Public Meeting and Vote on Proposed Designation. After the written Designation Report is filed the next step would be to hold a public meeting and actually have a vote on the proposed designation. At this meeting the Historic Preservation Board would be asked to vote and make a determination as to whether the site meets the criteria for historic site designation under Chapter 171 of the City Code. The Historic Preservation Board will have the option to approve it, approve it with conditions, amend it, or deny the proposed designation. Step 4 — Right of Appeal by Aggrieved Party. After that meeting takes place, the property owner would have the right to appeal any decision to the City Commission, and the City Commission would have the final vote. This Board would merely be making a recommendation to the City Commission. Assistant City Attorney Amuchastegui introduced Ms. Uguccioni who said that she has been in this business for 30 years. She has worked with several cities in Florida,and has been appointed by Governor Bush first and then by Governor Crist to be a member of the Florida Historical Commission, and she is currently the Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Miami. She read Seth Bramson's book and found it very interesting, and the Church, which then became a Temple, to her is instantaneously amazing, it grows from the ground, and one of the most interesting designs that she has seen. She has also learned about the Holocaust Ceremony that was held here which was very inspiring and an effort that is commendable. Vice Mayor Thaler asked how long the process will take,and Ms. Uguccioni said the research is the most time consuming, and she feels it is important to provide context. Before you begin talking about a building, it is important for you to understand who is living here,where you came from,the fact that you are part of Miami-Dade County,the political impetus that brought you to create a city of its own, and so she would like to talk about that for a little:bit and then speak to the building itself and its history and its transition from the Lutheran Church to the Temple and what happened there and the ceremonies that took place,etc.,and so the answer to the question is that it will take at least a month for her to get a feel of what is out there and to extract the information. Summary Minutes: 2010-0113 HPB Mtg Page 3 of 5 City Historian Schulman said that research has been done and some of the facts involved in designating the Temple as an historic site are: (1)it was initially named the Miami Beach United Lutheran Church of the Epiphany in 1956, the building as it stands now was not there;(2)this is the legal description,the property sold to Temple B'Nai Zion in 1977:(3)the actual construction of the building, the ground work was started in 1962; and(4) what was builtat that time is what we are discussing here as an historic site. City Historian Schulman said there are basically three pieces of the Temple that would be designated as an historic site: (1)the Memorial Tower;(2)the Main Sanctuary;and(3)the Front Walkway. This building is very similar to Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture,who died in 1959 but left a lot of architectural buildings in tact. Bill Kreidt, Sr., a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright,designed Temple B'Nai Zion, and if you take a look at the photos you will see that a lot of the roof structures, the stone work, the archways, and a lot of the towers structures were all very similar, and that is one of the reasons that we think this is very unique. In conjunction with the architecture, a significant major event took place on March 28, 2004 when we held the Holocaust Program (programs from that event were distributed). We are the only City in the United States that has located, honored, respected, and paid tribute to the 300 Holocaust survivors who resided in this City in 2004,not only did we recognize them,but we also provided them with a medallion. It therefore meets at least two of the five criteria for designation and staff recommends that we retain the services of Ms. Uguccioni to assist the Board in deciding whether to designate Temple B'Nai Zion as an historic site. City Clerk Hines read the following Resolution title into the record: A Resolution of the Historic Preservation Board of the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, Expressing Support for the City's Efforts to Enter into a Consulting Agreement with Ellen J. Uguccioni to Evaluate the Significance of the Temple B'Nai Zion and Determine Whether it Meets the Standards for Historic Site Designation Under the City Code; Providing for an Effective Date. Cassey Gabor moved and Phillip Chemoff seconded a motion to approve the Resolution. HPB Resolution No. 2010-12 was adopted by a voice vote of 5-0-2 (Janet Cini and Mark Glicksman absent) in favor. Commissioner Scholl asked if the property owners were notified of this meeting, and it was noted that the meeting was advertised and posted. He said he thinks that you should proceed with an abundance of caution because ultimately you are really putting a burden on the property rights by passing something like this. We need to move very slowly on this to make sure that the property owners understand what is going on because he heard a lot of things about the building but nothing about the rights of the property owners. City Attorney Hans Ottinot noted that is why tonight we are only hiring a consultant to create a designation report. If this Board moves toward designation, the property owners would have adequate notice and due process. We are not under a legal requirement to give a notice but we could give a courtesy notice. He is not going to make a full fledged conclusion that the Board and Commission is going to approve the designation, this is just the process. He said that right now all we are doing is creating the research and the data for this Board and then the Commission to make an objective decision do this. No petition has been filed by us, once that petition is filed, that would be the trigger point. Summary Minutes: 2010-0113 HPB Mtg Page 4 of 5 A question was asked whether the interior and exterior of a site would be considered for historic site designation. Ms. Uguccioni said in her experience, interiors are not normally designated unless the interiors are regularly available and accessible to the public, but there is usually a provision in the ordinance itself for the designation of interiors and she does not see that in the City's Ordinance. Do we need that language to even evaluate it. and City Attorney Ottinot said to pursue it as it is for right now. Mayor Edelcup and Vice Mayor Thaler said there is no inside, it has already been taken apart and is irrelevant to the building for purposes Of whether it should be considered an historic site. 7. Old Business. Action: • Lights for Horses and Carriage in Gwen Margolis Park: Cassey Gabor asked about lights for the horses and carriage, and City Historian Schulman reported that they have not made the survey yet on where to put the light and electrical hookup but they are still working on it. • Update on a Walkway/Pathway in the Mangroves: Cassey Gabor asked about a Walkway/Pathway in the Mangroves of Town Center Park. 8. New Business. (none) 9. Date and Time of Next Meeting. Action: After discussion it was decided to schedule the next meeting on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Edelcup suggested that the Chair contact each of the members to be in attendance at this very important meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the possible designation of Temple B'Nai Zion as an historic site. 10. Adjournment Action: Phillip Chemoff moved and Shari Blank seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting,and Chairperson Masters adjourned it at 7:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, • / . ffitt&a, q 20io • Jane A:Hines, CMC, City Clerk Date I i • i - F. . Summary Minutes: 2010-0113 HPB Mtg Page 5 of 5