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1997 06 19 HPC Minutes MINUTES HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEETING A regular meeting held at the La Quinta City Hall North Conference Room 78-495 Calle Tampico. La Quinta. CA June 19. 1997 3:30 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER A. This meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission was called to order at 3:33 P.M. by Chairman Millis. B. ROLL CALL I. Chairman Millis requested the roll call: Present: Commissioners DeMersman. Puente. Wright. Lauren Weiss-Bricker. Advisor. and Chairman Millis. 2. Staff present: Planning Manager Christine di Iorio. Associate Planner Leslie Mouriquand. and Executive Secretary Betty Sawyer. III. CONFIRMATION OF THE AGENDA: A. Staff asked that the approval of the Minutes for May 22. 1997. be deleted from the Agenda. Unanimously approved. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: A. Ms. Barbara Irwin stated she was interested In becoming a member of the Commission. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR: None V. BUSINESS ITEMS A. Certificate of Appronriateness 97-003; a request of KSL Land Corporation for a Historic Resources Evaluation of the La Quinta Hotel and architectural appropriateness of proposed houses and spa buildings within the Hotel compound. I. A stat I report was presented by Associate Planner Leslie Mouriquand. a copy of which is on file in the Community Development Department. HPC6-19 Historical Preservation CommIssion June 19,1997 HPC6-19 2. Mr. Chevis Hosea. representing KSL Land Corporation. stated this phase of development concerning the historic and cultural aspect of the project was one of their primary concerns. The charm and romance of the resort cannot be duplicated and they want to be sure to preserve this. Due to the number of requests from guests asking to own their space at this site. they have created a space that would allow individual ownerships and not lose the ambience of the Hotel. As it relates to the units adjacent to the historic Casitas units. they will be one story. The consultants and design team are long-time personnel who are very familiar with the Hotel and have a personal interest. In regard to the statf report. they would like to question staffs recommendation that an archaeologist be on statf during the grading. It is their contention that since this area has been under development for several years. all of the artifacts have already been gone over, recovered. or buried during compaction. They would like to reduce their costs wherever possible.. 3. Associate Planner Leslie Mouriquand stated it was her understanding that part of the project site had never been graded or covered. Forrest Haag, representing KSL. stated the only portion that appears to not have been disturbed is the vacant land and parking area. Mr. Haag went over the different development areas of the site. 4. Associate Planner Leslie Mouriquand stated that if there was to be grading or trenching for utility lines that would be below ten feet or more. they could be touching native soil and a monitor would be beneticial. Mr. Haag asked if the condition could be changed to require a monitor after a certain depth was reached. Mr. Hosea concurred that they would agree that if a certain depth was reached during the excavation/construction. the would agree to bringing a monitor on site. 5. Chairman Millis asked if it would be appropriate to look at the past development to determine if anything had been found before. Discussion followed regarding what was known about the previous construction. Staff stated other projects had been tinding artifacts during their utility trenching. 6. Chairman Millis asked if the applicant could do spot monitoring. Staff stated they was possible. Planning Manager Christine di Iorio stated the conditions could be changed to read that a monitor would be required for any trenching below ten feet (Condition #3). 2 I-I.istoncal Preservation Commission June 19. 1997 7. 8. 9. 10. HPC6-19 Commissioner Wright stated he agreed with the condition change and commended KSL on their ballroom addition. Commissioner DeMersman stated it was important to keep the difference between the old and new. He concurred with the spot monitoring and stated that long range planning was necessary for the future. It is important to maintain the historic character of the property. Mr. Hosea introduced Scott Delacio who also stated his primary interest was in preserving the history and culture of the building. Advisor Lauren Bricker stated she was struck by the San Vincente court and asked lor its history. Judy Vossler. representing KSL. stated it was not a part of the original complex and may have been the caretakers house. Mr. Hosea stated it is currently being used as the housekeepers unit. Planning Manager Christine di Iorio asked if the applicant knew when it was built. Ms. Vossler stated it was unknown. Staff asked if it was included in the Mellon Report. Mr. Haag stated it was not. Advisor Bricker stated that the City should have more information on it. ]1. Advisor Bricker stated the proposed project was a very handsome design. It is more of a vertically oriented design in composition than is the character of the overall design of the Hotel. even to the addition of the Hotel. If it is to be more dense as far as the ratio between the built and open space. it would be interesting to see if they could have the same square footage, but more similar to the La Casa units; more horizontal. Discussion lollowed regarding the architectural styles of the old. present. and proposed structures. l2. Advisor Bricker stated that in terms of perception. would there be a way to use the external staircases. Mr. Hosea stated they were able to do this on the Carriage units, but it creates a problem securing the lower units. This vertical element was introduced because it was the most popular to their guests. In trying to capture the guest experience. it was determined that the vertical experience was the most desirable. Advisor Bricker stated her only objection was th'e visual aspect as all the historical aspects of the site were horizontal. Historically it is a very horizontal experience. 3 Historical Preservation Commission June 19. 1997 13. Advisor Bricker asked if the east elevation windows were very large and whether or not this would be an issue. Mr. Hosea stated that it is the elevation that is forward of the hotel. An effort to create a nice break up of the wall in front as they wanted a more private and special environment on the inside. What is special about the La Quinta Resort is the outside experience. This does create a wall mass and they have tried to break this up and they could look into breaking it up further. Advisor Bricker suggested making the openings less symmetrical. Mr. Hosea went on to explain their design features for the proposed units. 14. There being no further discussion. Chairman Millis thanked the KSL representatives for their presentation. i5. Associate Planner Leslie Mouriquand previewed the Mellon Report with the Commission in respect to the Hotel and stated the Hotel. Casitas. and the surrounding grounds were eligible for designation as a historic district at the local level under the local criteria. The report does not contain any discussion regarding eligibility for the National Registry. The report needs to have a current site plan showing all the structures with dates of construction. calling out historic buildings and whether there was ever a Master Plan for the Hotel. Staff continued through the report noting items that needed to be completed and returned to staff for review. 16. Advisor Bricker explained what the Hotel would have to do to qualifY for the National Register. 17. Chairman Millis asked if the criteria for the National Register was a separate issue. Planning Manager Christine di Iorio stated it requires the filling out of papers and submining them to the State office. but the reasons as to why it should be submitted could be done at this level. The report needs to give a conceptual and significant discussion of the Resort, specifically the Casitas.. 18. There being no further discussion, it was moved and seconded by Commissioners WrightlDeMersman to adopt Minute Motion 97-011 recommending approval of the Mellon Report with the addition of the eight recommendations made by staff. documenting and adding the Casitas and the San Vincente Courtyard area to the report and returned for Commission approval. HPC6-19 4 Historical Preservation Commission June 19. 1997 19. [t was moved and seconded by Commissioners DeMersmanlPuente that a condition be added that if the trenching or digging go below ten feet, a monitor will be present. Unanimously approved. VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND WRlTTEN MATERlAL: None VII COMMISSIONER ITEMS A. Commissioner DeMersman gave a presentation on the Historic House Museums. specifically the Molly Brown. located in Denver. Colorado. VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business. it was moved and seconded by Commissioners DeMersmanlWright to adjourn this meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission to a regular meeting of the Historical Preservation Commission on June 19. 1997. This meeting of the Historical Preservation Commission was adjourned at 4:57 P.M. Unanimously approved. HPC6-19 5