Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2025-06-11 PM APPROVED: 07/09/2025 503-635-0290 380 A AVENUE PO BOX 369 LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034 WWW.LAKEOSWEGO.CITY CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Paul Espe, Staff Coordinator, called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm, in the Dogwood Conference Room, 380 A Avenue, Lake Oswego, OR, and then called the roll. Present: Meg Matsushima, Chair; Mary Bosch, Vice Chair; Denise Bartelt; Jen Wiley (arrived at 6:03 pm); Robin Quon (joined remotely at 6:12 pm); and Trudy Corrigan, City Council Liaison Absent: Kasey Holwerda; and Jahzeel Ormeno Staff Present: Paul Espe, Associate Planner/Historic Resources Advisory Board Staff Coordinator Guests: Ben and Annelie Adams 1. INTRODUCTION: Newest HRAB Member, Jahzeel Ormeno This item was tabled until the next meeting, as Jahzeel was not present. 2. COUNCIL UPDATE - Councilor Trudy Corrigan (the order was switched during the meeting for items #2 and #3) Councilor Corrigan shared details on the following recent City Council activities with HRAB members: the City held the Pride Month, National Public Works Week, and Historic Preservation Month/Awards celebrations; the Library's Strategic Plan progress report for 2024 was accepted; a legislative update was received; Standards/Procedures were adopted for hiring a new Municipal Judge; Gun Violence Awareness Month was proclaimed for June; the adoption of the 2040 Parks Plan was finalized in June; the Mayor's appointments were approved for a Tree Task Force; a public hearing was held for the new biennium Budget; a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) plan update was received; a budget was adopted for the Urban Renewal Lake Oswego Recreation and Aquatic Center (LORAC) Board; and the Judge awarded "prevailing party" attorney fees to the plaintiff on the Oswego Lake case, where the State will pay 20%, Lake Oswego will pay 35%, and the Lake Corp will pay 45%. Staff mentioned the update on the non-profit corporation (Hacienda Corp) tax exemptions for low-income housing. Members briefly discussed possible impacts. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES May 14, 2025: There were no adjustments noted. Vice Chair Bosch moved to approve the Minutes of May 14, 2025. Seconded by Denise Bartelt and passed unanimously. HISTORIC RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES JUNE 11, 2025 APPROVED: 07/09/2025 Historic Resources Advisory Board Meeting Minutes June 11, 2025 Page 2 of 4 4. DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS - Sharon Mirarchi and Veronica Park Staff extolled the enthusiasm displayed and a willingness to help by both Sharon and Veronica, adding that he enjoyed having them present during the meetings and events. Their awards will be delivered at a different time. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT/ANNOUNCEMENTS Ben and Annelie Adams, 17901 Stafford Road (Carter House): Annelie passed out an outline for members to follow, along with photos of their view of the cell tower. After stating that they were raising their five small children in this home, she shared their concerns over the co- location cell phone tower that is being installed across from their home (approximately 89' from their property, 50' off of the ground, and 123' feet from an existing co-location cell phone tower). This tower will be in the sight-line of their bedrooms. She stated that they were told the new tower was just a modification to an existing tower, which was decommissioned in 2021 and had been acting solely as a light pole. The new tower is lower and holds more cell arrays. Ben stated that things were missed during the construction approval (consideration for the proximity to a historic home, and other towers in the City are taller). He also shared statistics gathered by Lake Oswego School Board regarding the dangers posed by the cell towers, when configured such as this new tower (output of 178,000 versus 6,000 radiation exposure). He noted that they were able to obtain a stop-work order to stay construction during their appeal. They requested that HRAB members submit a statement to SHPO regarding the potential impact to the historic home and that they offer guidance on how to protect their house. Chair Matsushima asked Ben and Annelie if they had reached out to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Annelie affirmed that they had contacted SHPO because their property was eligible for the National Register of Historic Properties but it has not been nominated yet. They further stated that a Section 106 review should have been completed due to the proximity of this tower to the historic home. Staff said that he would contact SHPO to determine if Section 1061 review would apply to a property that was adjacent to a historic property. Robin asked who owned the property where the tower was being installed. Annelie replied that it was being installed on the baseball field of Lakeridge High School. Members discussed public safety and health risk impacts that may be triggered, as well as City permitting and outdated Code data. Ben stated that they would be sharing this same information during the Palisades Neighborhood Association meeting the following day. Staff noted that HRAB was limited in what they could discuss, outside of the Preservation Code (LOC 50.06.009), which most likely would not apply to their property since the code does not apply to (impact adjacent to, not on). Staff noted that he should be able to contact Ben and Amelie, with a reply from SHPO, prior to the next meeting. 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Historic Preservation and Historic Education Grant Applications: Members discussed each of the following Applications (the first six for the Historic Preservation Grant ($7,500 total available) and the last four for the Neighborhood Education Grant ($17,500 total 1 A Section 106 Review mandated by the Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to consider the impact of their undertakings on historic properties. A section 106 review is triggered when a federal agency undertakes a project that could affect historic properties. APPROVED: 07/09/2025 Historic Resources Advisory Board Meeting Minutes June 11, 2025 Page 3 of 4 available). Staff will run another analysis to ensure there are no over-matches.  13100 Riverside Drive (Outside City Boundary): Eliminated due to ineligibility.  1798 Fern Place (Window Repair): Requested $800 / Allocated $800.  257 Iron Mountain Boulevard (Porch Repair): Requested $5,000 / Allocated $1,675.  2725 Iron Mountain Boulevard (Repairs to Arena Area): Requested $2,470 / Allocated $1,675.  411 Kenwood Street (Roof Repair): Requested $5,000 / Allocated $1,675.  469 7th Street (Window Repair): Requested $5,000 / Allocated $1,675.  2725 Iron Mountain Boulevard (History and Heritage of Lake Oswego Hunt): Requested $2,500 / Allocated $2,500.  Lakewood Neighborhood (History Project): Requested $5,000 / Allocated $5,000.  Oswego Heritage Council (Preserving and Promoting History): Requested $5,000 / Allocated $5,000.  Bruce Poinsette (Respond to Racism, interpretive art installation at the Lake Oswego Library): Requested $5,000 / Allocated $5,000. Chair Matsushima moved to allocate monies at the fully requested value for the four applications of the Neighborhood Education Grant, and to redistribute the remaining monies into those available for the Historic Preservation Grant, allocating the fully requested amount of $800 to 1798 Fern Place and equally dividing the balance between the four remaining applications (a total of $1,675 each). Seconded by Jen Wiley and passed 4:0, with 1 abstention. Denise Bartelt requested to have her email sent on June 12 that summarizes her position regarding the grants to be included in these minutes. HRAB members, Paul and Councilor Corrigan, I am sending this email to clarify some thoughts that I did not articulate clearly at our meeting. These are for discussion perhaps at our next meeting and I will happily defer to the group on any of these points. First, my understanding of the Neighborhood grants is that their purpose is to encourage citizen interest in Lake Oswego’s history. The Lakewood neighborhood walking tour project is the perfect example. Residents have participated in researching the history and architecture that makes their neighborhood special. Students from the local robotics club have also worked on this, raising their awareness of historic places. I truly appreciate what the Oswego Heritage Council does for our town, but by directing our funds to organizations, including the Lake Oswego Preservation Society and Oswego Heritage Council, we keep history and historic preservation within the institutions that are already doing this work rather than encouraging the participation of citizens who might not otherwise get involved. As to the allocation of the Historic Preservation Grants, most properties on the LO Landmarks list are in private hands. But we must see some public value in the preservation of these places because if we don’t, why do we even have a Landmarks List? Owners of these properties accept restrictions, lower property values, and higher costs to repair (Like for Like). In our brochure about landmarks we tout the Historic Preservation APPROVED: 07/09/2025 Historic Resources Advisory Board Meeting Minutes June 11, 2025 Page 4 of 4 Grants, but when it comes time to fund them we balk because the properties are under private ownership. If part of our mission is to preserve our historic places and encourage more property owners to place historic buildings on the Landmarks List, we need to be prepared to support them. And finally, I would like clarification regarding the HRAB members’ role in the allocation of these grant funds. What is our budget allocation? If it is $25K, should HRAB members have some say in how much funding goes towards each grant? And If it is going to be the policy to simply divide the money up evenly between every request that meets the basic criteria, then it’s a waste of administrative time to send the applications out to HRAB members to read. I believe that we have a responsibility to be critical and ensure that we direct the funds go towards the projects that best fit the mission of our board. Thank you for your time and attention. Denise Bartelt 6.2 Farmers Market - July 12, 2025: Staff indicated that the list had been set for booth attendees. 6.3 Reconnaissance Level Survey of McVey - Southshore: Staff will be sending out the Request for Proposal (RFP) soon and will also bring in map fragments for members’ use. 7. OLD BUSINESS 7.1 1850 Northshore Boulevard (Jantzen Mansion): There were no updates on this item. 7.2 4375 South Shore Boulevard (Duncan House): There were no updates on this item. Robin Quon raised an issue off-agenda: The State of Oregon has proposed legislation to return a tax credit to commercial properties that are of an historic nature. Staff relayed that they are bringing back something similar to the special assessment that was previously available. ADJOURNED at 7:19 pm Next Meeting: July 9, 2025 Respectfully Submitted, Paul Espe, Associate Planner