Historic Preservation Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening. This specially called meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission will now come to order.

Kirsten? Commissioner Conrad?

Here.

Commissioner Ellum?

Here.

Commissioner Simmons? Here. Commissioner Wolff?

Here.

Commissioner Peterson? Vice Chair Whitaker? Here. Chair Parson?

Here. Let us rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.

Item D is citizen communication. Do we have any citizen communication? If not, Item E, approval of the minutes. Consider, E1, consider approval of the minutes of the May 19, 2026 Historic Preservation Commission meeting. Kirsten will call the roll.

If no changes. Commissioner Conrad? We need a motion.

Oh, we didn't do the motion, sorry.

I move that we approve the May 19th Historic Preservation Commission minutes.

And I move to second it. Now. We're back on track.

Commissioner Conrad?

I'm going to abstain because I wasn't at the meeting.

OK. Commissioner Allen? Approved. Commissioner Simmons? Commissioner Wolff?

Yes.

Commissioner Peterson?

I'll abstain because I wasn't at the meeting.

OK. Vice Chair Whitaker? I approve. And Chairperson?

Approve. The minutes are approved. F1, consider a presentation and action regarding certificate of appropriateness application HP26-007 at 607 East Main Street, Round Rock.

Good evening, commissioners. So this concerns a property at 607 East Main Street and was built between 1896 to 1900. Different historic resources surveys described it as either Queen Anne or folk Victorian, and it's associated with the Black, Engstrand, and Nelson families. Some of you may remember a large rare addition that was added in 2019 when the front house was restored from a pretty bad state. The current request considers recent modifications made to the rare addition without a certificate of appropriateness or a building permit. This is just showing where the original section of the house is, and then the 2019 addition is behind it. So these recently completed alterations are replacing a pair of doors and two pairs of windows on the west side with three pairs of art deco style doors. adding a shallow canopy over the west doors, enclosing part of a patio with an addition, and replacing four double hung windows with one fixed window that has an Art Deco style grill, adding a new balcony with an Art Deco style railing, and converting a pair of windows on the back of the building to Art Deco dial doors leading to the balcony, also replacing a rear door with an Art Deco style door. This is the west side entrance. There used to be a pair of doors and two pairs of windows that have been replaced with three sets of doors. The doors have an Art Deco style grill over the front. This is just a larger view. And there's a small canopy extending out over the back. There's also the addition of the original part of the The original 2019 edition was connected with kind of a narrow room at the beginning that was relating to it. It was made narrow like that to relate to that kitchen that had been there before. And where the recent edition came on was to the back of that, kind of in the middle of the courtyard in there. And the window that was replaced, there had been four double-hung windows, and then this is the, from when it was being installed, this is the new Art Deco style window, which is visible from the outside, partly because with the addition, it's a little bit closer to the side. It's not quite so hidden behind the, behind the original house. This is the back wall facing the alley, where two windows have been replaced by doors and a balcony. This is, again, a closer view. So both the doors and the balcony have the Art Deco-style grill on them. And also the back entrance also has a grill. So moving to our living room. Review standards, secretary standards for rehabilitation number two is that the historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. Removal of distinctive materials or alterations of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided. Each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development will not be undertaken. Number nine, new additions, exterior alterations, related new construction will not destroy historic materials, features, spatial relationships that characterize the property. The new work will be differentiated from the old and will be compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale, and proportion, and massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment. New additions and adjacent or related new construction will be undertaken in such a manner that they can be removed without impacting the historic building. Later in the guidelines section, they elaborate on those. So for alterations, they note that some exterior and interior alterations are usually necessary, but it's most important that such alterations do not radically change, obscure, or destroy character-defining features, spaces, materials, or finishes. Alterations may include changes to the site or setting, such as the selective removal may include alterations. alter changes to the site or settings, such as the selective removal of buildings or other features of the building or site or setting that are intrusive, not character-defining, or outside the building's period of significance. New exterior additions. It said, generally, a new addition should be subordinate to the historic building. A new addition should be compatible but differentiated enough so that it's not confused as historic or original to the building. Same guidance applies to new construction. So it doesn't negatively impact the historic character of the building. Again, under exterior additions, they recommend ensuring that new construction is secondary to the historic building and doesn't attract significant significance. Not recommended adding new construction that results in the diminution or loss of historic character. Then the city's historic design guidelines, which of course are related, are based on the Secretary of the Interior standards. Additions should relate to and complement the style of the main building or should relate to the general style of the streetscape if possible. Such additions should relate to the existing buildings with simplified details. Additions should be clearly secondary to the original building. This can be accomplished by providing a clear visual break between the historic building and the addition. or by constructing a recessed area at the point where the addition and the historic building joined together, which is what the 2019 building was trying to accomplish with that narrow connection. Additions should be compatible in size, texture, color, design, proportion, and detail to adjacent residential buildings and streetscapes and should be appropriate to the architectural styles of the existing building and or adjacent buildings or those on the streetscape within the district. When a building has been subjected to numerous alterations over time, it's important to determine the relative integrity and importance of existing materials and forms. Non-historic alterations should be removed. Some alterations are necessary. While rehabilitation projects are frequently appropriate, it is important that alterations do not radically change, obscure, or destroy features of the building that define its historic character. Specifically on doors and entry designs, Proportion, shape, location, pattern, and size of doors contribute significantly to the historic character of a building and are particularly important in helping to identify its style and period. When the original fabric no longer exists, we create original designs and appropriate materials whenever possible. The design and replacement doors should reflect the style and period of the building. Also, the property is in the MUL zoning district, which was one of three mixed-use zoning districts that were adopted in 2013. MUL was intended to preserve a residential neighborhood for the residents, while allowing some commercial uses that could adapt to residential forms and would cause minimal disturbance to the neighbors. And MUL has design standards, which are governed by the city's historic design guidelines for residential properties, and appeals are directed to the HPC. So in consideration, the owner did not apply for any certificates of appropriateness or building permits, and was not able to provide construction plans, but did provide drawings for the custom doors. And also note, all changes were made to the 2019 edition, not the historic structure. So Steph will consider the structural alterations and the product selection separately. Regarding the structure, because the alterations were all made to the 2019 edition, Steph does not believe that the historic integrity of the original house has been diminished. Alterations could be removed without impacting the historic structure. The recent addition is probably in the least conspicuous place possible. The west entrance is in a room that was designed as a transition space between the historic house and the 2019 addition. And it's common when connecting an addition to a historic structure to kind of separate them with an area that has a lot of glazing. And having the kind of the wall of doors idea in there was consistent with that pattern. And also balconies are not uncommon on Queen Anne or folk Victorian houses. often look a little different. The main alteration here is that the adding features in an Art Deco style of the doors, canopy, window, and balcony railing. Steph does not believe that they are compatible with the house or neighborhood. Under the Secretary of Standards and the city's design guidelines specify that alterations and new features should be compatible with the historic structure's material scale, massing proportion, and detailing. And it should also be secondary to the historic structure and not attract attention from it. When contemporary parts are put onto a building, they should be understated and minimal so as not to detract attention. I mean, you can add contemporary features. And also, MUL zoning was intended to preserve the residential character of the neighborhood. Since we felt the style was the most significant feature here, we thought we'd compare them. So Queen Anne is one of the Victorian house styles. And faux-Victorian is kind of a term that you use for houses that are usually smaller and not so distinct an example of the style. They were popular in the 1870s to 1910s. characterized by asymmetrical composition and massing, made possible by light wood framing, made it possible to be very irregular there instead of big and blocky. Also an abundance of ornamentation using delicate features, such as spindle work and pattern shingles. And this also is a result of industrialization. Suddenly you can get all these decorative features affordably, so you use a lot of them. And however, the themes are rooted in nature. They're florals, leaves, et cetera, and have motifs such as graceful CNS curves, sunburst scallops, basically interpreting traditional forms with the newly available manufactured ornament. It's associated with luxury, domesticity, femininity, gracefulness, abundance, and propriety. Art deco was originally a decorative or graphic style. It was also used in architecture. It's kind of rare in houses. It's common in commercial buildings and in apartments, but single-family homes is kind of rare. In the U.S., it was popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and in architectural history classes, they talk about how it was a kind of an expression of the post-World War I world and changes that had happened in society up to then. It's characterized by symmetrical composition and massing, ornamentation that uses a few bold features rather than a lot of delicate ones. Ornamental themes are rooted in the machine age, and the social changes that had happened there, like electrification, radio, motorized transportation. It's characterized by geometrical ornamental motifs such as zigzags, lightning bolts, waves, sunbursts, steps, ziggurats, shapes that they believe relate to some archaeological discoveries at the time. It's associated with luxury, cities, energy, power, and dynamism. Steph believes that the structural alterations are appropriate per standard for rehabilitation number 10, because they're attached to the 2019 edition and have little visibility from the street. Steph believes that the specific material selections are inappropriate per standards two, three, and nine. They have a strong style that's incompatible with a historic house. have a non-residential appearance, and it appears intended to change the character of the house. Well, historic designation is intended to preserve the existing character of the house. On the west entrance, replacing one paired door and two pairs of windows on the west side with three pairs of doors is appropriate as a feature of the connector between the historic house and the 2019 addition. The canopy with down lights is not appropriate because it's not constructed under the eve and isn't integrated into the shape of the roof. The new doors on the west side are not appropriate for the structure. More compatible doors would have a much simpler design without the graphic decoration of the grills. Should either have features usually associated with traditional stores, such as panels, muntins, and moldings, or should have minimal design with one large pane of glazing. Appropriate doors should be painted or stained wood. The east-facing addition is appropriate because it's attached to the 2019 addition and is tucked behind the historic structure. However, the window on the east-facing addition is not appropriate for this building because it has an art deco style grill and a horizontal orientation. Well, the houses of Queen Anne are full Victorian, and all the windows have a strong vertical orientation, so a more compatible window would not have a grill, and would either be a set of windows with vertical proportions together, or a single window divided into lights with strong vertical proportions. Please note that windows with simulated muntins must have a grill on the exterior of the glass. Muntins between the glass is not appropriate.

The design of the balcony and doors are not appropriate on this structure.

A more compatible balcony should have a much simpler wooden railing and would not be as deep. It should be embellished with elements such as wooden brackets, door, and moldings that relate to the details on the addition generally worked into the design of the facade. Staff recommends including a condition that replacements for the inappropriate features must be approved with an amendment to the C of A prior to ordering. HPC should specify which components of the process should be approved by the HPC and which may be approved by staff, i.e., if they come in with new doors, do you want to see the new doors? If they come in with the new balcony, do you want to see the new balcony? Please include a condition stating that the certificate of appropriateness does not replace a building permit or any other city permit. And the applicant is here if you have questions or if you want me to stay up here if you would like to ask questions of them directly.

Commissioners, any questions for the applicant?

Could I ask you a question? OK. I'm looking at page 12 of our packet. where it's listing things and it's talking about the canopy. And it's like bullet point to, they're not numbered, but... OK. It says it's not appropriate. So I just wanted to understand that more. So that's part of the 2019 addition. And it's OK to do the addition. It didn't have to be historical. But why is the canopy part? I understand it says that it's not under the eve. But I'm trying to understand why that matters if that wasn't historical. Or a misunderstanding?

An addition is still supposed to be compatible with the historic structure. And if you were here, I don't think you were here in 2019, there was a long negotiation with how the addition should be similar forms and only simpler. Mostly with the canopy, it's very separate and it has a very commercial appearance. And it's not like a Victorian porch would be integrated into the roof or into the wall design.

OK, thank you.

If I could briefly interrupt. Per the code, the applicant should be provided the opportunity to present to the commission. So I just wanted to make sure she had that opportunity if she would desire. Did you have more questions?

Am I able to speak? Yeah, sure. Thank you. Hi there. I'm the owner. And this entrance, I guess y'all can't see this photo, but one, I want to make sure that my email was shared with you guys before the last meeting, before it needed to be rescheduled. I think I was pretty clear on all the aspects. Unfortunately, having... paid somebody to do something that they didn't do. I've understood that I'm not the first one. This gentleman has seven other lawsuits against him, so I'm not even able to go after the builder to recomp any of the financial loss that I've encompassed over this time. But what I want to focus on, too, is this is our main entrance of our building. Aesthetics is our job. I've done this for 23 years. I've worked for cranial facial reconstructive surgery and then got into the cosmetic side of things 15 years ago. So aesthetics and something that looks appealing to the eye is literally what I do as a profession. This will be the entrance of our building with the first thing the patients see. And the canopy was put there, of course, for weather protection for patients coming in and out of our office. And you're looking at one component of the building. We didn't touch any of the historical side of things. We honor and value everything that we do. Even the music that we play in our office is from the 1940s. So we educate patients on history. My husband and I are history majors. We value the historical side of things and don't want to touch that. But I just want you all to understand, you're looking at one piece of an unfinished project that will create a cohesiveness between the historical Queen Anne and the Art Deco style. And if you really look at it, if we had bought this property in 1900, and our kids had gone off to college, and we finally had the finances to remodel our home, we would remodel it in the 1920 era, which is Art Deco. So looking at it from that side of things. But again, we didn't touch the historical side. We have no intention in touching that side. We want to keep the integrity of that and promote history of teaching to our patients and to other people that have come in about Round Rock and about just kind of encompassing the history in general, World War II, People look at this and they don't even understand what this style is. So we've had the opportunity to educate people on what happened in the 1920s and why this style was so important and the transition from the 1900s to the 1920s and what an impact it had. So it has led to education to our patients. So again, we really do value the historical society. I hope that you guys will take that into consideration and take into the consideration of the financial burden that it would place on us And also that you're not looking, again, at a completed picture. You're looking at a tiny project. Now, we know now what is expected of us in the future. We have taken over the building side of things. I will not hire another builder. We will figure out how to do everything on our own, because I don't trust anyone. So permits will be paid for personally. The certificate of appropriateness will be filled out personally. That will all be a responsibility that my husband and I take on. We're a small family business. My daughter-in-law works for us. We truly are a small business, a small family-owned business. So I do apologize for that not being done. I do have invoices showing that I paid for all those things. Unfortunately, that went into someone else's pocket and did not get to the city. But that has been cleared up. We don't have that builder any longer. And again, we will be taking care of all those things on our own. So apologies for that. I still take responsibility for it, because as the owner, it is my responsibility. I'm happy to answer any questions that you guys have. I just hope that y'all would really take that email and think on that. And we respect whatever decision you guys make, and we'll move forward. Thank you.

And thank you, commissioners.

It looks like the window screens that we stepped way out of the bounds and helped with in 2018, 2019. Those have been removed?

No, ma'am. They're there on the remaining windows. They're what? They're there on the remaining windows.

Window screens.

No, ma'am. Those were replaced. And we re-replaced those. And the commission allowed us to put, we paid for a trim guy to come in and recreate the muddled muttons from the front part of the house. Sorry.

You'll notice in the, do they have access to this picture?

Okay, so this back window underneath the balcony, do you see the little cross that's in the window? That's a specially designed screen that we had built from our guy that specializes in woodwork to replicate what the front of the building looks like, the historical side, to carry that. So it's an additional screen that goes in without having the netting of a screen, if that makes sense. So you see just through the glass. But it replicates the front. So we created that, again, cohesiveness from the front to the back.

I was by there this weekend. I didn't see any screens on the front. I didn't think.

No, ma'am. We don't have screens. You're talking about the netting of a screen? No, ma'am. The screen. Correct. Those were allowed to be replaced by these.

Oh, I don't remember that coming in front of us.

The back story on this is when they did the addition, contractor did a great job in restoring the original. I mean, we probably would have lost the building if we hadn't done that. However, he used windows that had the muntins between the glass and the grills between the glass, which we don't allow. So ripping them out at that point would have cost him, it would have bankrupted him. And so it allowed it to stay if they put the screens over it. And he made the black screens that are, Oh, here. That's a picture of what the black ones looked like. And one year for the tax exemption inspection, I went by and noticed that a lot of the screens had been removed and explained why the screens were necessary. And then she went and had custom screen frames made. So they fit in just like a regular wooden screen. They just don't have any screening in them. So it's to cover up the grills between the glass.

The double pane that was added in 2019. On the addition.

So Kirsten, did you say that this house was a Queen Anne house? From the 19, up to 1890, I'm thinking.

About somewhere between 1896 and 1900.

OK. So it's not a 1920s art deco house.

No. No. It's a different era. Again, characterized by a lot of ornamentation. The difference between a Queen Anne and Folk Vicatorian is mostly a matter of degrees. This has the cross-gabled form, which is kind of the key feature. So even though it's really small and it doesn't have tons and tons of elaboration on it, I'd lean toward the Queen Anne as opposed to the Folk Vicatorian.

And then just to make sure, maybe a redundant question, but the items that are listed as not appropriate are the things that were put in place that go more with art deco style rather than the style of the house, which is Queen Anne? Yes.

Yeah, like the wall of doors that would be, if they were more subdued, having a wall, it would be a contemporary statement, but it wouldn't be inappropriate. Whereas I feel like this was with the girls and everything, it kind of fights with it.

If I'm understanding correctly, it's not that it's not appropriate. It's not appropriate. It's that the materials that are used are what the staff is deeming as inappropriate. The material use, not necessarily the...

It's partly that they're metal and not... Sorry. Sorry. I don't know if it's necessarily the material. I probably would... Metal doors really weren't something that were used even in fancier... Victorians era homes. The grill is the decorative grill. Mostly it's the motifs that are used there. So I can't think of a metal door that would be appropriate for it, but I could be surprised. Mostly it's the motif.

Another word for motif? The style of it? Yeah. OK.

I did like the story that you told about how the house could have been, I guess, reimagined as kids move out. And it kind of fits as far as that time scale works from when the house is built to when you would go through and do a normal remodel that we would see today. I live in a house that was built in the 70s, and my whole neighborhood was kind of built in that same time period, and we're seeing those kind of additions made, changes made to houses of that that would kind of bring in that new style. So I could definitely see how this would kind of play to the same thoughts that are going on today as far as moving up like one era of housing or one era of design. So I can definitely see how you were able to Pull that off in what you created.

I will say that if you could see the inside of the building, it's even more impressive as far as even though the guy, anyway, the work is amazing. I may have paid three times what I was supposed to have paid for it, but we have a patient that has worked for Architectural Design Magazine, and they want to do a complete spread when we're completely done with the remodel. I'm very proud of what it turned out to, especially inside. Literally everything that we have in there has been custom made. That's why it's been three and a half years, and I'm still not done with the remodel, because we've taken our time to such attention to detail to those things. But the other thing, too, with the landscaping, there's going to be a parking lot eventually in the back. Whenever they did the zoning rechange before we were able to purchase the building, we were required to provide parking. I just haven't financially been able to provide that yet. So patients will drive through the drive-through, park in the back of the building where the parking will be, and then walk in through the side of the building. So also, when the landscaping is done in the front and on the sides, it will just move and flow a little bit better. But also, no one else will have access to that. We're appointment only. So they would have to come back and trespass, basically, on my property to be able to see that, unless it was during normal business hours. And the back lot is also we own all the way back to McNeil and is considered private property. But to that regard, we really have value trying to make every effort into every piece that we've chosen to do is to just pay homage to history and not take away from the front part of that historical home, but to make it all collaborate together. And I think when you see the final project, you'll really appreciate that it does flow. It doesn't stand out. Like right now, I can understand why it stands out as an eyesore. But we're in the middle of remodeling. We're not completely done. And I understand that those plans were never submitted. But I'm working with a new planner to be able to get those to you so that you can see all of the future things that we want to have done so that it looks complementary to each other.

What other exterior changes are you?

Landscaping. Which, I mean, is major. That's like showing up in undergarments versus your clothes. I mean, when you put the finishing touches on things, it really ties. That's what puts the final picture to everything.

Do we consider landscaping when we're considering a certificate for a property?

Yes, ma'am.

No, I was checking with Kirsten.

We haven't turned anything in yet. Our builder took everything with him and We have not had communication other than lawyers speaking between each other. We're trying to get those plans back.

My question is just a general as our role here when we're talking about certificate of appropriateness. Kirsten, are we looking at landscaping at all or just the building?

At this time, no. At this time, you're only looking at what has been done, what is proposed. The landscaping does fall within the commissions. Purview, most of it would end up being administratively reviewed instead of actually coming to the commission. It's an interior lot, so it has an alley. There's part of an alley there, but it doesn't have direct access to it unless they build it. And that's kind of the expense that's holding up right now.

So I just need to make sure. The balcony is visible from the street?

No. It's in the back part of the property that's private, and it faces the empty lot. OK.

So it's the only east facing that you can see from the street right now.

Well, in that photo, too, you can see it because that board was behind it. Now that the glass has been put into it, it's not as visible. And then hopefully once the landscaping is approved, then it will be even less noticeable. Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

Is the idea to go ahead and kind of block that view and kind of enclose that area in landscaping?

Yes, that would be the goal with the greenery and have an outside seating area for patients. Well, when it's not 200 degrees out.

Kirsten, correct me if I'm wrong, but are we saying that the wall of doors They're not the same style. They're a different era from Victorian.

Seeing it's a combination of using for that kind of connecting room between an addition and another thing, it's very common to have a very strongly glazed room or thing. And wall of doors, it's a lot of glazing. If they were just plain glazed doors, that would be fine. They're very attention getting doors. And it's a strong style statement, whereas under the guidelines, it's supposed to be secondary and complementary. So there's complementary and there's kind of a reaction against.

And just to clarify, the middle one is a door and it opens. The other two are windows. They look like doors because it would look weird to have. Design wise to not have them matching, but that middle section is a door There are two opening doors for the entrance of the waiting room to our office And then those side ones that look like doors are actual windows They don't open in other words. They don't function. They open as a window on the inside Florida ceiling yes, they are floor ceiling

So if we, sorry. No, go for it. If we had received a certificate of appropriateness prior to these being put in place, and we were looking at the guidelines you presented to us to be seen if the things that were being suggested went with the style of the house, I would imagine because it doesn't go I'm looking to make sure I get the right phrase, with the Queen Anne style of the house, then we would not have approved that certificate of appropriateness because it didn't go with the.

Yeah, I would have given the same recommendation if this had come in beforehand. guidelines from the Secretary and the city's standards is that when there are additions or new elements, like if you don't know what the door looked like, then you either get something that's in the same style as the house or you get something that kind of fades in the background. If you put something that's contemporary on it, it can tell the story of when things changed. So this house didn't become commercial until 2024 and not 1920. We bought it in 2022. 2022, OK. So it's mostly that it's a strong style statement. When they talk about an edition being contemporary but minimal, it's more so that it's not attracting attention, so that it kind of fades in the background and tells the story of when something was actually changed.

Can I ask a question in addition to that? Had our builder turned in a certificate of appropriateness for the entirety of the project, including the landscaping and the railing being removed on the left side and the parking lot that makes the project more cohesive, would that have changed in regards to the decision that could have made in adding to the question that she had?

I can't speak to what the decision would have been. I think the staff recommendation would have been the same. Yeah. The interior is not subject to our review.

But the planning that comes with the landscaping and whatnot.

The landscaping and then the railing things that you were talking about changing would fall under review.

Are those grills removable?

No, sir. It's one custom-designed piece. It's an entire frame. An engineer came out and engineered it, and they made sure that it could hold the weight, and it's one piece. It was custom-made for that space. I'm sorry.

Richard, were you saying the railing, or were you saying the doors?

The grills for the Art Deco for that.

It's not an actual grill. That's the actual frame.

It's all one piece. I'm just reading what the staff was, the terminology of the staff. The art deco style grills with the faux bronze finish. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Those are the ones that have been deemed inappropriate. Yeah. We will have to make a motion on each one that's in contention.

Yeah.

OK, thank you.

Go ahead. I'd like to make a motion to approve the additions and changes as is, except for anything that's anything required by building permits or city permits otherwise. The one thing I would like to see is the landscaping come back in and make sure that the street view is reduced so you can't see the changes made from the street so that it is completely enclosed and acts as a separate part and kind of adds to the story of the house.

OK. Can we pause a second? For your motion, I believe You're supposed to say that you make a motion that the work is compliant.

I make a motion that the work is compliant with all the changes. And then you have to state which standards. With what?

Which standards?

Compliant with the standards. What do you mean?

Secretary of the Interior Standards.

Yeah, the Secretary of the Interior Standards. If all the work is compliant or some other work is compliant.

I'm saying all the work is compliant with the Secretary of the Interior Standards. It's listed out here in 2-9. Where are they? 2-6. 2-3, 9, and 10. Okay. There needs to be a second.

Right. No second. Then the motion fails.

We have to discuss the others. Number five, the window on the east-facing addition is not appropriate for this building.

The motion just stopped.

Yeah, the motion has died. That's why we're moving on to more discussion, I thought.

Okay. Okay, I just want to make sure you're good.

Yeah, thank you. Oh, I appreciate it.

It's a team sport.

Trust me.

Let me know if there are different slides you want.

Maybe we can ask the attorney. So does that kill the entire presentation? Oh, no, no, not at all.

No, anyone is free to make an alternate motion. I think it's also probably important for the sake of discussion, kind of two different items. First of all, commission should discuss if they think the structural changes are appropriate. Staff has presented that they were OK with the structural portion, and then also then you know, what you believe is not appropriate or appropriate in terms of the specific components. That would make it easier maybe when you make the motion.

So can it be two different motions? One motion about the things that are appropriate and we vote on that? And then another motion if there's something thought to be inappropriate?

No. It really should be that, you know, for example, I move to issue a certificate appropriateness conditioned on and then say the things that you're not okay with that need to be changed. So it should be covered in one motion.

That's a long motion.

It's a long motion. This one's complicated. That's why I'm here. Thank you. Thank you for being here.

Thank you.

OK, I guess I'll give it a try. Somebody keep track. I make a motion to approve the structural alterations that staff said was appropriate. including a condition stating that a certificate of appropriateness does not replace a building permit or any other city permit required, and to not approve the items that were listed as not appropriate by staff, which includes the canopy, And includes the new doors on the west side. And includes the window on the east-facing addition. And the balcony on the south wall. The design of the balcony and doors on the south wall. and including a condition that replacements for the inappropriate products must be approved with an amendment to this certificate of appropriateness prior to ordering and be approved by staff.

Can you just please add? Which guidelines do you believe that those do not comply with?

And I am basing this motion on the guidelines for rehabilitation numbers two, three, and nine. I hope I don't have to repeat that.

Were you saying a staff or HBC approval of alternates?

Can I add to that motion? We also need to include the applicant needs to have the house inspected, building inspection, or hire a structural engineer to inspect the work and take responsibility for certifying that it is structurally sound.

Yeah, I believe that was covered in your motion. You said I mentioned sound.

Because I mentioned city permit or building permit?

Right, which would require the inspection. So at this point, we would need a second.

Anything else? I second the motion.

Commissioner Conrad? Yes. Commissioner Ellum? Yes. Commissioner Simmons? Yes. Commissioner Wolff?

No.

Commissioner Peterson?

Yes.

Vice Chair Whitaker? Yes. Chair Parson?

Yes. Yes.

Can I add something I don't want to take it more of your time But I do want y'all to know that I will have to close my business There is no way that we can financially afford the burden of changing these items That is exactly what will happen we have already incurred a financial hardship with our builder stealing over five hundred thousand dollars from us we will not be able to keep our doors open if we are required to change the hundred thousand dollars that we've already invested just in these items alone it will completely put my husband I both out of work and back hopefully in a hospital setting if I can but my employees will be out of work I have three other employees and I will have to let them go as of tomorrow because I cannot afford to keep them, and I cannot afford to change anything. I will have to try to put this house on the market as soon as possible to try to financially unburden my family with the situation. So hopefully, whatever the decision is, if that's what it is and we need to leave, then we will.

CHRISTIE WOODARD- Ma'am, I will tell you that you do have the right to appeal to the city council within 15 days. You can file an appeal with the city clerk if you would like to appeal to the city council, and then you can present to the city council

Thank you. That's the decision that was made here, correct?

Yes.

Item G, presentations. G1, consider an update and discussion regarding revision of the design guidelines for historic, commercial, and residential districts and properties.

I just want to talk a little bit about the design guidelines before they start their presentation. So they'll go into the details, but I wanted to just mention that the purpose of tonight's meeting is to provide an overview for you before we sort of dive into the review of the design guidelines draft. So there will be further discussion. There'll be public comment. There'll be all kinds of things happening from now, but this is sort of the kickoff. of the draft before you even receive the draft.

Good evening, commissioners. I'm Pramista Josi, long-range planner with the Planning and Development Services. Today, I'll be walking you through the applicability of the historic design guidelines, why the guidelines were updated, how they are used, and some of the key updates regarding the proposed 2026 historic design guidelines. Starting with the applicability, historic design guidelines applies to two categories of properties. The first one is the properties with historic overlay zoning. So for these properties, certificate of appropriateness is required for any alteration to exterior structures or permanent site features. The second one is historically significant areas. Even though these areas do not have historic designation, the historic design guidelines is used as design standards to promote compatibility with the character of the surrounding historic areas. Next, moving on to how do we use the guidelines, I'll briefly explain the review process. Once the property owner or occupant proposes the project, the first step is determining whether the certificate of appropriateness is required or not. If the certificate of appropriateness is required, then staff and historic preservation commission will review the application for conformance before making any decision. So why update the guidelines? The historic design guidelines was last updated more than 25 years ago, so the update was necessary to reflect current preservation practices, policies, and development patterns, provide clearer guidance for applicants, property owners, and staff, expand guidance in areas that were previously limited or dispersed throughout the document, and finally, address preservation of streetscapes, public spaces, and cultural landscapes. So how are the guidelines used? The historic design guidelines are intended to be a resource for everyone who's involved in the preservation process, including property owners, applicants, staff, and the Historic Preservation Commission. Moving on to the proposed changes, the 2000 guidelines had only four chapters, so the 2026 historic design guidelines has been reorganized and expanded to seven chapters to improve the overall organization and making information easier to locate. Some of the key addition includes a new chapter on planning a preservation project, a dedicated chapter for maintenance, and a new chapter for streetscapes, the public realm, and cultural landscapes. Next, I will explain 2026 historic design guidelines, updates by chapter. The first chapter is introduction. This chapter was reorganized to provide clearer guidance regarding the purpose of the historic design guidelines, how the guidelines relate to city policies and regulations, what content is included in the document, and when the guidelines apply. The second chapter is planning a preservation project. This is completely a new chapter. This chapter was added to help property owners understand what they need to know before they begin a preservation work. The key concepts include historic designation, historic character, appropriate treatment approaches, and certificate of appropriateness process. It also includes summary of the Secretary of Interior standards for the treatment of historic properties. It also provides guidance on historic designations, such as local historic landmarks and districts, recorded Texas historic landmarks and properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And it provides guidance for researching historic properties. This is a treatment approach table. So this table introduces the city's preferred treatment approaches for historic properties, which helps property owners determine the most appropriate treatment based on the condition of historic properties. The treatment are presented in the order of preference. Whenever possible, the first approach is to preserve the original historic materials. When preservation is not feasible, the second appropriate treatment method is to repair rather than replace. If repair is no longer possible, the guidelines provide direction on when replication or a compatible new design may be appropriate. Continuing to the treatment approach table, the table addresses situations that involve more substantial work, such as restoration, rehabilitation, relocation, and reconstruction. Each treatment is intended for a different circumstance, and the table helps property owners select the approach that best fits their project while preserving the historic character of the property. Another important content that we added in this chapter is expanded guidance on certificate of appropriateness process. It explains when a certificate of appropriateness is required, what type of work may qualify as ordinary maintenance and repair, how the review and approval process works, and penalties for inappropriate work. The remaining updates of the chapter will be explained by our senior planner, Lily.

Good evening, commissioners. I'm Lily Park, a senior planner. I'll cover the remaining chapters for the 2026 update. Chapter 3 is the guidance for maintenance, and this is a new chapter. It does consolidate maintenance standards that were previously contained in the residential and commercial sections of the 2000 guidelines. The inclusion of this as a standalone chapter is to emphasize the importance of preservation long-term to prevent the need for major repairs or alterations in the future. It does include general principles to assist with maintenance planning for properties. This chapter expands guidance for specific materials, as well as for building parts and features. And it also addresses appropriate ways to improve energy efficiency for historic structures and introduces standards for mothballing, which is the temporary stabilization of properties pending future restoration. Chapter 4 provides design guidelines for commercial properties, and Chapter 5 addresses residential properties. So on this slide, we're looking at the organization of the 2000 guidelines and how that translates to the 2026 update. So we'll discuss these changes in tandem. At a high level, the update, as Pramistha had discussed earlier, includes content that was previously addressed in the 2000 guidelines, but it's been reorganized and expanded for clarity and ease of use with the intention that a user can easily access the standards that pertain to their project. Both chapters do provide guidance for their respective building form, the commercial or residential, for building form and fabric, both for the preservation of existing structures and for new construction. For both the commercial and residential chapters, we have included background information on historic building form by era, and this is to provide more context on how Round Rock developed and to describe the architectural characteristics of different building types. This also includes mid-century building characteristics, which had not aged into Eligible eligibility at the time of the 2000 adoption so that is new content The building fabric section for the commercial properties It does include a dedicated section for facades and it's broken down by frontage type. So the primary frontage storefronts Auto-oriented facades and alley facades and it expands to and clarifies guidelines for other categories that you see on the slide, doors and entrances, windows, roofs, et cetera. For the residential building fabric section, these categories have also been expanded and clarified for ease of use. A new section was added to both Chapters 4 and 5. to address adaptations for contemporary use. So these guidelines will address appropriate ways that a property may be adapted for accessibility standards or to accommodate service areas, mechanical equipment, signs, wall-mounted equipment, and similar alterations while still preserving character defining features and preserving the historic integrity of the property. In the building form section of both chapters four and five, there is now general guidance for the overall composition and character of the historic structures, guidelines both for the preservation of the existing structure or for new construction. And when we discuss new construction, we're talking about the construction of entire buildings, additions, accessory structures, and for commercial properties, parking structures. And this section also has guidance for appropriate materials for new construction. Both four and five include a section on landscape and site features. This does consolidate some standards that were previously addressed, but bring them all together. So the landscape is referring to the whole exterior of the property. So this includes the landforms, softscaping or vegetation, hardscaping, meaning patios, paved areas, walls, parking that's located on the site. and other site features. Chapter 6 is new, and it is specific to elements that are contained within the public realm, elements such as streetscapes, so sidewalks, sidewalk furniture, street lighting, and such. It does address cultural landscapes and natural features. This consolidates some information that had been contained in the guidelines previously and also expands on elements such as pedestrian infrastructure, parking that's located on public streets, historic cemeteries and grave sites. End of note, it does include guidance for the treatment of features like historic markers, for example, that are located on private property but are visible from public view and serve a public purpose. And with that, I believe Joelle Jordan is going to discuss the adoption process.

So we've been working on putting together an adoption process. We will be providing a draft to you in the coming two weeks or so. We want to give you ample time to review. It is a very... long document. One of the things we've done that's, I think, going to be very helpful is in the residential and commercial sections, we've divided the subsections up by features. So now you can look at everything regarding windows in one subsection. So hopefully you'll get the context at the beginning, and then you'll see some details about those features. So hopefully it's much more user friendly and When we're doing case review, you can look at specific sections instead of running paragraphs of text like we have right now. We do want to give the public the opportunity to comment. We'll be posting the draft on the city's website. We'll also have some office hours where anyone from the public can attend. We will be reaching out to historic property owners specifically to let them know that this project is occurring. And then your main discussion time will be at the work session in September. So hopefully you have time to review the document prior to that. We plan to, with the draft, give you specific questions that you can mull over to discuss at the work session. We're really interested in whether you think that there is sufficient information in each of these subcategories, whether you think there's adequate graphics to help both property owners and staff and the commission utilize the design guidelines. so this document needs to go to the HPC for Consideration so that will follow the work session that will include a public hearing And then it needs to go to City Council City Council considers Design guidelines by resolution or that's what they did in in 2000 anyway so I'm assuming it will be the same and and then hopefully be adopted by the end of the year and then it's just a question of implementation so becoming familiar with the document we're sort of testing it out right now so when projects come in we're seeing whether the the new design guidelines give us adequate information to do case review. So hopefully by the time we get to adoption, we're really happy with what's in the document. If we're editing it every 25 years, I feel like there's a lot of pressure to get it right. But I think this is miles above where we are now with our current set of design guidelines.

I think this is so important, especially with so many mid-century homes. that are coming into play now. And people sometimes don't even realize that their mid-century home is now a historic home and falls into all these guidelines, kind of like us being historic. So I think this is great. Good job.

We're excited for you to see it.

And thank you so much for breaking those up into new sections and taking into consideration what have been challenges and bringing them into a solution to where it's visible for all.

Well, item H is for updates. So do you have any other updates from the staff or commissioners relating to historic preservation projects, goals, events, and activities?

Now is your chance.

I do. Oh, OK. August the 15th through September the 27th in Taylor, Smithsonian exhibit will be, it's called Moms, M-O-M-S, and it's museums on Main Street. And it was only designed a couple of years ago. And it's through THC and Smithsonian and federal, actually, too. And the way that you're appointed to be able to do this is the smaller communities, which is so important because the small communities don't have the funds to bring people in to have big exhibits, to have special events. So this is so important. And I'm sorry I was in a hurry to get here. And I didn't bring the rest of the information. But you can look it up. It's M-O-M-S. And it's in Hutto. And I don't remember. Not Hutto. I'm sorry. In Taylor. I don't remember the name of the building that it's in. But it'd be well worth your time to see it and get a taste of what it's about. Like I said, especially supporting the smaller communities that don't have the ability to do so many of the other things that the large communities can do.

So these are just highlights from the updates. The work session will be September 15th from 4 to 8 PM. We will be serving dinner. We also will have an August meeting. This is not the August meeting. The August meeting will be the 18th. Yeah, the 18th. And we do have cases that will be on that. Local legend nominations have closed. We did not receive any new nominations. When the 2025 nomination was overlooked and will be treated as new, And then there are seven carryover nominations since 2021. Work has begun on the land pass's dumpster enclosure. And work continues on the Palm House. The latest things are they installed the stone porch skirting, the ceiling lights, and the HVAC system. They repaired the turbine damage. I believe right now they're doing the siding. They've selected door and shutter hardware and paint colors. And they're working on the cedar shake roof, the porch columns in the beam. They're redoing the porch columns so that they're in the same spacing as they historically were. The columns were moved when it went downtown in 76. There's a picture of the temporary columns. And the ramp on the right, there will be a metal railing and different steps. Those are temporary steps. Shagufta and I went to the forum this year. It's offered every other year. This year it was in Minneapolis. So takeaways from that is they've had, for the sessions that I went to, a number of ideas for engaging stakeholders and decision makers and tailoring your message to meet them at where they are and not overwhelm them with too much information. There were also sessions on design guidelines and see how a couple other communities are doing them and how they do illustrations, how they illustrate concepts. One of the presenters was Austin, and they just finished updating their design guidelines. It took some four years. There was also a session on historic landscapes and landscaping, which I thought was interesting and I hope will be informative. A section on what we've learned after 40 years of infill, which was a lot of different communities and how they interpret compatible. for new buildings in a historic district. Most places seem to have multiple historic districts on just one and thousands of properties. So like 40% of San Francisco is historic and like 5% of Denver. Also, there were some sessions on enforcement where the idea is to prevent violation rather than correct them at the end, but afterward, after the fact. But they did have some thoughts on communicating that.

Thank you, Kirsten.

So I'd like to share. Go ahead. It just reinforced going to the forum how valuable the Secretary of Standards requirements are, especially when it comes to litigation, essential knowledge as those things that we need to be aware of and be consistent with. And it's made me a better commissioner to make sure that we are following the guidelines Secretary standards. And when we do have concerns or questions that we've got the planners to make sure that we're all on the same page and we do a due diligence for everybody on the same board. I know this is a learning process, but it has made me a better commissioner.

Thank you.

Anyone else? Before I make the big announcement, We are adjourned.