May 22, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes
Historic Preservation Commission
Regular Meeting

May 22, 2024 | 5:30 p.m. lan
Chandler City Council Chambers Bara, CHANDLER
88 E. Chicago Street, Chandler, AZ Community of Innovation
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Chair Weight at 5:30 p.m.
Roll Call
Commission Attendance Staff Attendance
Chair Kevin Weight David de la Torre, Planning Manager
Vice Chair Cheryl Bell Lauren Schumann, Principal Planner
Commissioner Bryan Saba Alisa Petterson, Senior Planner
Commissioner Mark Yost Mika Liburd, Associate Planner
Commissioner Kyle Barichello Taylor Manemann, Associate Planner
Thomas Allen, Assistant City Attorney
Absent Julie San Miguel, Clerk

Commissioner Erika Finbraaten
Commissioner Devan Wastchak

Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Commissioner Yost.

Scheduled and Unscheduled Public Appearances

Members of the audience may address any item not on the agenda. State Statute prohibits the
Board or Commission from discussing an item that is not on the agenda, but the Board or
Commission does listen to your concerns and has staff follow up on questions you raise.

CHAIR WEIGHT welcomed new Commission Member Barichello and asked if he could introduce
himself.

COMMISSIONER BARICHELLO stated that he moved to Chandler about three years ago and works
in real estate development as an entitlements manager. He further stated he has a Planning

degree from lowa State and moved here in 2017 to work as a city planner for the town of Queen
Creek. He shared that he is married with a three-year-old child with another child on the way. He
mentioned that he was on Chandler's Planning and Zoning Commission and is happy to be part
of the Historic Preservation Commission.

Action Agenda Item No. 1 and Discussion

1. Meeting Minutes of May 22, 2024, Historic Preservation Commission
Move Historic Preservation Commission approve Historic Preservation Commission Meeting
Minutes of May 22, 2024.

Action Agenda Item No. 1 Motion and Vote
COMMISSIONER SABA moved to approve Item No 1 Meeting Minutes of the May 22, 2024, Historic
Preservation Commission; Seconded by COMMISSIONER YOST.

Motion carried unanimously (5-0).

Action Agenda Item No. 2 and Discussion

2. PLH24-0017 CORDERO BASTIDAS ADDITIONS

MIKA LIBURD, ASSOCIATE PLANNER presented details regarding the request Certificate of
Appropriateness for expansion of a home within a Historic District.

COMMISSIONER SABA pointed out while reviewing the neighborhood, he noticed several homes
had auxiliary structures and asked if having a secondary structure in the backyard was historically
allowed in that neighborhood, as it appeared to be common. He asked if this was a normal feature
in the neighborhood and how the zoning or code had historically permitted such structures.

MIKA LIBURD, ASSOCIATE PLANNER stated the historic preservation overlay guidelines went into
effect in this area recently and asked the Planning Manager for clarification.

DAVID DE LA TORRE, PLANNING MANAGER explained that the zoning code allowed each single-
family lot to have an accessory building. He stated that each lot has setbacks and maximum lot
coverage that must be met. He further stated that each lot could have accessory structures in the
rear yard all permitted by code, such as an open-air Ramada, storage shed, or chicken coop.

CHAIR WEIGHT pointed out that historically, detached garages were more common in this district
than attached garages, with attached garages only becoming prevalent after World War II.

EX OFFICIO MEMBER, JODY CRAGO mentioned shortly after the war, several structures were built
in the backyards of that neighborhood, typically for airmen for the nearby Williams Air Force Base.

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He further mentioned that a few of the structures were repurposed buildings from the internment
camp at Gila River.

CHAIR WEIGHT sought clarification regarding a stipulation recommended by the staff, which
required the addition of wooden slats to the existing wrought iron fence located on the north side
of the property to screen the view of the rear yard and the new addition. Wooden slats must match
the slats and design of slats shown in the fence at the southeast portion of the front yard. He
asked for the reasoning behind this stipulation.

MIKA LIBURD, ASSOCIATE PLANNER responded according to Criterion 1, the addition should be
designed in a way that makes it subordinate to the historic property. She explained the carport in
the front yard blocks the view of the rear yard, but once the carport is removed, the screening will
no longer exist. She further explained to meet this criterion, staff asked the applicant to add wood
slats to screen the addition and minimize its visibility.

CHAIR WEIGHT asked if the project would require any zoning adjustments or variances, specifically
regarding setbacks and lot coverage as proposed.

MIKA LIBURD, ASSOCIATE PLANNER confirmed that the project, as submitted, had lot coverage of
38%, which was under the maximum allowed and it also complied with all required setbacks and

other zoning requirements.

CHAIR WEIGHT confirmed there were no further questions or comments from the Commission
Members and asked if the Applicant could come forward.

SOFIA CORDILLERA, APPLICANT introduced herself and stated her and her husband have been in
the neighborhood since 2020 and are very excited about the historic neighborhood. She stated
that she did not have a presentation prepared but would be able to answer any questions and is
excited to start a project in our backyard.

CHAIR WEIGHT confirmed there were no questions from the Commission Members for the
Applicant and announced that there were no speaker cards for this item. He expressed
appreciation for staffs explanation of the criteria for a certificate of no effect, acknowledging the
new structure will be a few feet taller than the existing house, but it is set far enough back that it
will not have much of an impact. He mentioned that the owners were not receiving the historic
property tax benefit and encouraged them to speak with staff about applying for the state-run
program.

SOFIA CORDILLERA, APPLICANT confirmed they had already submitted their application for the
historic property tax benefit but missed the April 15th deadline.

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Action Agenda Item No. 2 Motion and Vote
COMMISSIONER SABA moved to approve Item PLH24-0017 Cordero Bastidas Additions, subject to
stipulation recommended by staff; Seconded by COMMISSIONER BARICHELLO

Motion carried unanimously (4-0); Vice Chair Bell recused herself.

CHAIR WEIGHT congratulated the Applicants for being the first to receive a certificate of
appropriateness from the City of Chandler.

Briefing

Staff briefing on the Downtown Region Area Plan Update

ALISA PETTERSON, SENIOR PLANNER presented a briefing on an area plan update that is currently
underway for the downtown region area plan update. She stated in the presentation, staff will be covering
the highlights of the current plans and guidelines that pertain to the subject area, goals and objectives that
the Planning Division has identified, process and timelines, and then discussion. She welcomed any
thoughts the commission had on how this could apply to historic preservation. She stated there are
several existing plans and presented images and statements regarding the Chandler General Plan;
the Chandler Redevelopment Area, adopted in 1995; the South Arizona Avenue Entry Corridor
Study, adopted in 2006; and the South Arizona Avenue Design Guidelines, adopted in 2010. She
also highlighted other larger development goals outlined in the city's strategic framework and
economic development strategic plan. She explained while looking at the current guidelines, one
will see area boundaries for the redevelopment area; it spans from Ray Road to the north, to Pecos
to the south, and McQueen Road at the east over to Hartford Street at the west. She stated within
that larger redevelopment area is a more focused plan and this would be the South Arizona
Avenue Area Plan that is largely focused right in the downtown area and that plan was adopted in
2006. She presented the proposed area map for the new downtown regional area update and
pointed out the dark blue lines represent the extent of the subject area, and it has been expanded.
She explained the light blue shaded area represents the area that currently falls within that
redevelopment area, to get an understanding of where that line is being changed from area plans.
She pointed out that the new plan runs from Ray Road to the north; all the way down to the 202
freeway at the south; McQueen Road for the East Side; and all the way over to Alma School for the
west. She explained that staff has identified five districts: the Northern District, San Marcos
District, the Historic Downtown District, the Eastern District, and the Southern District. She
explained, staff has identified several priorities and first and foremost, protecting, updating, but
safeguarding the existing historical and characteristic assets that we have within these areas. Staff
also wanted to promote land use planning that is in alignment with existing development while at
the same time providing additional flexibility for new development to allow adaptive reuse and/or
traditional redevelopment. She further stated that staff would like to fine-tune the vision for
existing neighborhoods for North Arizona Avenue and East Chandler Boulevard, recognizing that
these two locations are really gateways into the downtown area. She presented further details for

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the project kickoff, project startup, and stated staff is just in the gathering input phase. She
explained staff and the consultant will be collecting information from the community and citizens
and once that is complete, staff will move into drafting and finalizing the plan. She stated the
current goal would be city council approval by the end of this year so that the final plan is in place
as of January 2025. She stated the feedback phase is going to be the most visible and interactive
with the community and there will be multiple opportunities to collect community input. She
explained that staff will be conducting several educational meetings such as this one, conducting
stakeholder interviews with identified key stakeholders and community members. She stated that
the City is getting the website ready to go and that will go live probably at the beginning of next
month. She further explained that through the website, staff will provide updates and meeting
dates and surveys. She stated that staff is also planning on three visioning workshops, the third
of which will be an immersive event. She explained this will be an exciting public event that will
allow the community to immerse themselves in three-dimensional virtual reality scenarios
prepared based on the community input that we collect and there will be ample public notification
in the hopes of engaging the widest range of the community possible. She elaborated on outreach
efforts, informing the community of project info, updates, backgrounds, and goals. She asked if
there is anything that the Historic Preservation Commission would like to see staff include in this
area plan update or something that should not be considered. She mentioned that staff is always
open for any suggestions and welcomed the commission’s input.

COMMISSIONER SABA pointed out the new districts in red. He sought clarification on the process
for how the areas were selected.

ALISA PETTERSON, SENIOR PLANNER explained the boundaries in those specific areas grew from
the middle out, with the historic downtown being clearly defined. She further explained Chandler
Boulevard was used as the boundary between the historic downtown and the Northern District,
as it provided a clear distinction between the areas north and south of Chandler Boulevard. She
stated the San Marcos District was also clearly defined and to avoid arbitrary or undulating
boundary lines, they aimed to find clear, obvious boundaries. She further stated east of the
historic downtown, the boundary between the downtown and eastern district ran along the train
tracks, another clear geographic boundary, reflecting distinct character areas. She stated the
Southern District was defined as everything south of Pecos, extending all the way to the 202 to
recognize it as a key gateway into the downtown area.

COMMISSIONER SABA thanked staff for the explanation.
COMMISSIONER YOST asked about the Springs Neighborhood located east of McQueen and north

of Frye. He noted redevelopment appeared to be stretching between and south of Chandler
Boulevard and asked for clarification on that area and what redevelopment entailed.

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ALISA PETTERSON, SENIOR PLANNER referenced the Redevelopment Element, dating back to
1995, which marked the first focus in defining a future vision for those areas. She mentioned in
1995 those areas were undeveloped, hence included in that core focus area, but that today most
of those areas are now stable and therefore excluded. She deferred to the Planning Manager to
give additional historical context.

DAVID DE LA TORRE, PLANNING MANAGER agreed with the explanation, that the area east of
McQueen had remained vacant for many years but had since seen development, such as Quick
Trip, offices, a carwash, and Andy's to the south. He explained at the time, those areas were vacant,
which is why they were originally included in the area plan and that the current effort was to
update those boundaries, removing areas already developed that are unlikely to change and
including areas that might transition from potential redevelopment or adaptive reuse to existing
neighborhoods. He pointed out that this resulted in a wider boundary to the north of Chandler
Boulevard up to the railroad.

COMMISSIONER YOST mentioned that during a board meeting for the Springs, two homeowners
expressed concerns about some low-income apartment buildings being planned along McQueen,
south of Chandler, and how it might affect property values.

DAVID DE LA TORRE, PLANNING MANAGER confirmed that the site mentioned was owned by the
City of Chandler and the Public Housing Authority had recently decided to proceed with a new
low-income housing development on that property. He offered to provide more details offline.

VICE CHAIR BELL sought clarification on areas outside the boundaries that were color-coded for
redevelopment, noting that light blue represented redevelopment and dark blue the actual
boundary.

ALISA PETTERSON, SENIOR PLANNER explained the light blue represented the 1995 plan, while
the light-yellow shaded areas were part of the 2006 area plan for redevelopment. She stated the
images are superimposed it to provide a sense of what has been previously considered. She
further stated as areas developed and stabilized, the boundaries were adjusted, and the dark blue
lines represent the boundaries for the current area plan update.

CHAIR WEIGHT thanked staff for the presentation and expressed appreciation for goals including
those to safeguard historic assets and promote land use planning that aligned with existing
character, including historic character. He asked if staff could provide a presentation on historic
preservation within Chandler in the future. He asked the Commission from a historic preservation
perspective, if there was anything they would like to see included in the updated plan. He noted
the Historic Downtown Commercial District and other areas such as Southside Village, Silk
Stocking, San Marcos, and Chandler High School. He pointed out that some of these areas had
some formal historic recognition, either through the city's process or the National Register of

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Historic Places and suggested that the list might not be comprehensive as he believed as there
are other properties within the boundary, even if not formally listed, that had been considered
eligible for recognition. He emphasized that the more inclusive staff could be in identifying and
proactively encouraging preservation and compatible land use with those properties, the better.

ALISA PETTERSON, SENIOR PLANNER stated that feedback has already been received with
comments from the public asking about those historic areas and that it was one of staff's priorities.
She acknowledged that there were also other areas they hoped to encourage and that the
comments presented will be carried forward.

Member Comments/Announcements

CHAIR WEIGHT announced this year's Arizona Historic Preservation Conference is scheduled June
25" through 28" in Prescott at the Hassayampa Inn. He stated the conference has fantastic tours
and speakers and is a great opportunity to network and to learn about preservation.

DAVID DE LA TORRE, PLANNING MANAGER announced if any Commission Members were
interested in attending, the city would cover the registration costs.

CHAIR WEIGHT asked if the City of Chandler had an updated inventory of historic properties
available. He pointed out, while the city has properties that are formally listed on the historic
register, there are other historic properties that were surveyed back in the 1990's that still might
exist today. He suggested staff update the list and create a plan for outreach to encourage
properties to considered registration, like what was done with the Silk-Stocking neighborhood and
other properties that have been brought before the Historic Preservation Commission.

Calendar
The next Regular Meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission will be scheduled as needed
the fourth Wednesday of the month.

CHAIR WEIGHT pointed out that the fourth Wednesday of June is during the Arizona Historic
Preservation Conference and asked staff the likelihood of a meeting that week as he will be
attending the conference.

VICE CHAIR BELL stated that she will also not be available that week in June.

DAVID DE LA TORRE, PLANNING MANAGER stated there will most likely not be a June meeting.

CHAIR WEIGHT thanked staff and asked the Commission Members to stay tuned for the next
meeting date.

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Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 6:07 p.m.

Kevin Weight, Chair

David'de la Torre, Staff Liaison for City Center
District Matters and Reviews

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