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1998 02 19 HPC Minutes REGULAR MEETING OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall Council Chambers 78-495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta FEBRUARY 19, 1998 This meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was called to order by Vice-Chairman DeMersman at 3:32 p.m. who led the flag salute and asked for the roll call: I. CALL TO ORDER: A. Present: Commissioners Irwin, Puente, Wright and Vice-Chairman DeMersman. B. It was moved and seconded by Commissioners Irwin/Vice-Chairman DeMersman to excuse Chairman Millis. Unanimously approved. C. Staff Present: Planning Manager Christine di lorio, and Secretary Carolyn Walker. II. PUBLIC COMMENT None Ill. CONFIRMATION OF AGENDA: Confirmed. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR: A. It was moved and seconded by Commissioners Wright/Irwin to approve the Minutes of January 15, 1998, as submitted. Unanimously approved. V. BUSINESS ITEMS A. Presentation by Kathryn Hull Chairman of the Cultural Commission on the Draft Cultural Plan. 1. Chairman Hull thanked the Commission for the opportunity to discuss the Draft Cultural Plan, a copy of which is on file in the Community Development Department. 2. Ms. Hull informed the Commission, they have been visiting with all the City Commissions and organizations to discuss the plan A community meeting had been held, almost a year ago, to determine what each of the different groups were doing in the City. They then sent out questionnaires and took the information received and incorporated it into the Plan. Now that the Plan is in the final stages they thought it was important to get input from each of the Commissions. P:\CAROL YN\HPC 2-19.9R.wpd -1- 3. Ms. Hull stated the Cultural Commission was established to work in the community to promote the visual performing and literary arts, and to work with cultural heritage aspects of our City that deal with culture, and, to advise the City Council on such matters. 4. Ms. Hull went on to answer the question of "Why have a Cultural Plan?" by sharing the Cultural Commission's philosophy on their preparation of the Cultural Plan. a. A comprehensive plan is, first of all, a set of guidelines and it gives direction to future cultural and artistic development in the community. It defines guideposts, pathways, opportunities for expansion, support and nurturing of our cultural foundation. It plays a vital role in addressing societal problems by providing shared cultural experiences for families. It reduces school dropout rates, teaches respect and appreciation of cultural differences, builds self-esteem, develops creative outlets to channel energy and builds community pride and identity. b. A plan such as this would provide direction for community organizations as they set their goals and develop programs that service the needs of their constituents and of the community. c. Commissions and organizations in the community work together to implement this plan. It's not one that will be done just by the Cultural Commission. It will be done by all the segments of the community. d. Because of the Commission's work with the communities throughout the valley, the nine cities were invited to meet with us. Another cultural conference was held in December and there will be another one in the spring that Palm Desert will host. Since we started this, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs have developed Cultural Commissions. So we feel that La Quinta has really taken a leadership role in the Valley to promote an awareness of culture not only for the quality oflife, but for the economic impact these programs can make. 5. Ms. Hull then asked for feedback from the Historic Preservation Commission. a. Commissioner Irwin complimented Ms. Hull on the report stating it was a very extensive plan, very cohesive for the community and the first time she had seen anything that touched every aspect of our community. b. Ms. Hull replied that perhaps one of the reasons it did was because cultural life does touch every aspect of the community. P:\CAROLYN\HPC 2.19-98.wpd -2- c. Commissioner Wright commented that the report was excellent and he wished to commend Ms. Hull and the Cultural Commission on what was an enormous undertaking and an incredible amount of work with very little support from the community-at-Iarge. He stated it was a very positive report and obviously the rest of the Valley was picking up on it and following the Commission's lead. d. Commissioner Puente commented about the programs for the youth. She noted that where she is teaching, a lot of talent that is wasted due to a lack of motivation, or ways to direct the talent, such as music. This plan could be a benefit to the youth. e. Commissioner DeMersman commented that he was very impressed with the document and the fact that La Quinta is showing a real leadership role for the rest of the Valley. He was concerned, however, that culture was being defined by visual and performing arts and there wasn't enough of a balance between some of the other aspects of modern culture. f. Ms. Hull replied that the Cultural Commission had struggled with the definition of culture because it's different to each person. The Commission started with the Cultural Arts Program and then realized that culture brings in other things. The Commission was asking the HPC if there were any areas to be clarified in the Plan. The Cultural Commission is going to be finishing the Plan and submitting it to the Council on March 17th. 6. Ms. Hull thanked the Commission for their supportive comments. B. Investigation at the Buming Dune Site (CA-RIV-4754) Avenue 48 Extension! Adams Street widenin~ proiect La Ouinta California by James Brock and Brenda D Smith. AAG 1. Planning Manager Christine di Iorio commented on the staff report, on file in the Community Development Department. She then introduced James Brock, of the Archaeological Advisory Group, who was in attendance to answer any questions about the report. 2. Mr. Brock then gave a brief presentation on what the report contained and commented on the importance of what was discovered at the site. He gave some interesting hypotheses on the fishing and cooking activities in th(: local area as evidenced in clay and charcoal deposits found at the site. P,\CAROL YNlHPC 2-19-98.wpd -3- 3. Commissioner Irwin asked about the disposal of the fish bones found at the site. Mr. Brock advised her that the City would be handling the curation of the items. 4. Planning Manager di Iorio advised the Commission of current and future City curation procedures. 5. There followed general discussion on what had been fishing techniques and fish trap use in the area. 6. Commissioner DeMersman asked if this was an important site in the archaeology ofthe Valley. Mr. Brock answered that it has the best preserved fish bone collection and it's the first site where an archaeologist has pointed out that these lenses of mesquite burning are probably a cultural activity. The site was of significant importance and he felt it might be eligible for the National Register. 7. Commissioner DeMersman asked if there were any plans to reprint the report. Mr. Brock answered that he had thought of printing a few copies but the main consideration, in the publication of this report, was money. He would, however be publishing his report for the Society for California Archaeology, in April. 8. There being no further comments, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners Puente/Wright to approve Minute Motion 98-002 accepting the report. Unanimously approved. VI CORRESPONDENCE AND WRITTEN MA TERlAL A. Planning Manager Christine di Iorio reviewed the correspondence. Of particular interest was the literature regarding tax benefits for historic preservation; as well as the Mills Act. She stated these were items to be kept in mind when setting up the Preservation Plan; which would be the next step in what the City needs to do, now that the Historical Survey has been prepared. VII. COMMISSIONER ITEMS A. None. VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners IrwinlWright to adjourn this regular meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission to a regular meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission on March 19,1998. This meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was adjourned at 3:58 p.m. Unanimously approved. -4-