Thursday, October 20, 2005
Rockville City Hall PRESENT
Max van Balgooy, Chair
Andrea Hartranft
Craig Moloney Staff present: Judy Christensen and Shelby Spears, Preservation Planners. I. WORKSESSION: The pre-meeting worksession included the agenda review and update. The business meeting was convened at 7:30 P.M. Chairman van Balgooy opened the meeting and introduced the Commissioners. II. COMMITTEE / ORGANIZATION REPORTS A. Peerless Rockville – Executive Director Eileen McGuckian invited the community to join Peerless at Rockville Cemetery on October 21 to visit the ghosts of Rockville’s past. The event begins at 7 P.M. On Saturday, Peerless will lead a tour of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “haunts” for the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference. On Sunday November 6, the inaugural tour of the Rockville Underground Railroad Tour will start at the Red Brick Courthouse at 9 A.M. Ms. McGuckian asked the Commission for suggestions on speakers, events topics and issues for programming in the 2006 Program season “Rockville’s Recent Past.” Nominations for Peerless Rockville Awards for historic preservation to be presented in May 2006 are due March 1, 2006. For more information on projects and activities see: www.peerlessrockville.org. B. Lincoln Park Historic Society – No report. For an update on the 2005 Maryland African American Heritage Conference October 20-23, 2005 in Easton MD see: www.lincolnparkhistorical.org. C. Comments- Historic District Commissioners/ Staff (a) Historic District Commission: Chairman van Balgooy noted that he, Commissioner Hartranft, and several staff members attended the National Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference in Portland, Or. He asked that a presentation and discussion of the conference be scheduled on the November 17 agenda. He also mentioned that the National Trust had issued a notice that Comsat Building designed by Cesar Pelli and judged to be of architectural and historical significance to the nation was threatened with demolition by owner LCOR Corporation. The issue is to go to the County Council for consideration and those with opinions are encouraged to express them to the Council.
(b) Staff: Planner Christensen noted that the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Plan and the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Conservation Plan would be presented to the community on Tuesday October 25, at the Lincoln Park Community Center from 6:30 pm to 8:30 p.m. Staff will give a presentation on methods of neighborhood preservation to the Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan Advisory Committee on November 3, 2005. Planner Spillers reported that staff was working with Peerless Rockville and the Menare Foundation to produce a tour guide to Underground Railroad sites in Rockville to be called “In their Steps.” The Rockville tour has been successfully nominated and accepted to the National Park Service Register of Underground Railroad Sites.
III. EVALUATIONS FOR HISTORICAL, ARCHITECTURAL OR CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE A. 50 Monroe Street
Owner: Lawrence Guss et al, Ronald Cohen Management Co.
Address: 50 Monroe - IBM Building, built 1958-1959 and one of 9 urban renewal conservation buildings preserved in the City Center in the 1960s.
Application: DEM2006-00064 (Application for Demolition)
Planner Christensen stated that the continuation of the evaluation had been postponed to the November 17, 2005 HDC meeting at the request of the property owner. Planner Christensen stated that the HDC should move to continue the evaluation for significance of 50 Monroe Place to the next HDC meeting on November 17, 2005. MOTION: Commissioner Hartranft moved, seconded by Commissioner Moloney, to continue the evaluation for significance of the IBM Building, 50 Monroe Place, to the next scheduled HDC meeting on November 17, 2005.
VOTE: 3-0
IV. COURTESY REVIEW Amendment to Glenview Mansion, Civic Center Long Range Plan
Nine changes pertaining to traffic circulation and parking
(Continued from September 15, 2005.) Civic Center Park Superintendent Lew Dronenberg and Mary Fertig from Apex Engineering reviewed the comments and suggestions submitted by the HDC on the proposed changes at the Civic Center. Mr. Dronenburg went through the suggestions and responded to those received thus far. He mentioned that raised crosswalks would be provided throughout and several crossings were to be moved or adjusted for better sight distance. Some sidewalks were slightly realigned. Commissioner Hartranft noted that lighting can be designed to encourage pedestrians to stay on the walkways and utilize crosswalks. Mr. Dronenburg concurred and said a lighting upgrade was the next step. He said that the large Sycamore Tree that shelters the east side of the Mansion is failing, according to the City Forester, and will probably need to be removed next year. As many of the proposed improvements near the Mansion were designed to avoid damage to the tree, these areas will probably be redesigned somewhat and presented at the next round. It will also allow expansion of the Mansion parking lot to the north and allow better one-way traffic through the lots. Chairman van Balgooy noted that the Mansion and its landscaping were formal in character and the redesign should continue that character as much as possible. Walkway material and transition areas were not yet decided. Mr. Dronenburg estimated that the final plans would return to the HDC for approval in about three months. V. PLANNING PRESENTATIONS A. Proposed Lincoln Park Neighborhood Conservation District - Judy Christensen Planner Christensen presented a visual overview of the unique character elements of Lincoln Park and the Committee’s strategy to protect the essence of that character. She noted that the committee was charged with finding a suitable preservation tool for this area of the City and looked at historic districts and other methods before deciding on a conservation district. Conservation districts are based on existing conditions rather than historic or architectural details and do not require design review for new construction as long as the proposed work meets the conservation development standards. Also, there are no limitations on materials as in a historic district. The standards reduce the allowable maximum height to 25 to 29 feet and limited lot coverage to be compatible with existing conditions. She noted that the HDC would still review demolition of buildings over 50 years old for significance to the community and Rockville and make an eligibility recommendation to the Mayor and Council. Non-binding design guidelines showing best practices to retain character of the existing houses will be prepared and issued in the future. A community history and National Register nomination of this unique community are also on-going. A listing in the National Register would allow owners who wish to maintain the character and original materials of their property to obtain Montgomery County and Maryland state benefits for maintenance and rehabilitation of historic properties. In response to HDC questions, Planner Christensen said that the Neighborhood Plan and the Neighborhood Conservation Plan are two separate documents, but the conservation plan is an implementation of the goals of the Neighborhood Plan. Therefore they are being presented to the public and reviewed by other bodies at the same time. The Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the Neighborhood Plan and the Conservation implementation on November 16, 2005. The Mayor and Council public hearing is currently scheduled for December 19th. B. Twinbrook Housing Survey – Shelby Spillers Planner Shelby Spillers said that this survey project was a component of the Twinbrook Neighborhood Plan project and was focused on housing. As there are nearly 4,000 structures in the Twinbrook planning areas, the survey broke the area down into subdivision neighborhoods and did a street by street drive through. During this survey, the “historic” houses that predated the first “Twin-Brook” houses of 1946-1948 were identified. Most of these are part of the Janeta subdivision, which is identified more with East Rockville, but extends into this planning area. There are a few country houses that remain in other sections of Twinbrook.and predate the tract housing that was built around it. Ms. Spillers showed the houses that predate the tract development and then proceeded to typical houses. The survey identified a number of housing types that are found in the area, illustrated their characteristics, and presented examples from the community. She noted that the popular perception of the Twinbrook subdivisions is that all houses are the same, but this is not true. There is a wide variety of housing types which stylistically follow the popular U.S. trends from the mid 1940s to the 1970s. The housing styles include Cape Cod, Minimal Front Gabled, Ranch, Levittown Ranch, Split Level, Split Foyer, NeoColonial, and Shed among others. Following the typologies, Common additions and alterations were illustrated.
VI. DISCUSSION / UPDATES A. Planning Activities and Projects Staff is currently working on the following significance evaluations prompted by demolition proposals: 112 North Street, 714 West Montgomery Avenue, 9104 Darnestown Road, 804 and 806 Great Falls Road and 605 Douglas Avenue. Most of these will probably not require a formal HDC review. The Commission asked staff to keep a record of houses that are removed for redevelopment, the kind of structure replaced them, and indicating those which have undergone HDC review. The Pump House historic designation has proceeded with no opposition. The historic designation of 315 Baltimore Road is currently scheduled for a public hearing before the Mayor and Council on November 11, 2005. The Mayor and Council directed staff to file an application for historic designation of the Fleet Street and Maryland Avenue houses, the proposed Rockville Heights historic district, on October 17 but want to review it concurrent with County development plans for the site. The Staff is planning a King Farm building survey on October 28 to prepare a Maryland Historical Trust Site Inventory form for the farmstead.
VII. MINUTES Commissioner Hartranft clarified her comments on the context of 50 Monroe Street on page 4 of the minutes. MOTION: Commissioner Moloney moved, seconded by commissioner Hartranft to approve the minutes of the September 15, 2005 HDC meeting as amended
VOTE: 3-0
VIII. ADJOURN: The HDC adjourned at 9:35 pm. Respectfully submitted, Judy Christensen, staff. | 
