| Director's Report November 12, 2007 Action Items. 1. A second graduate student from UNCC, Bill Jeffers, is serving as an intern for the Commission this Fall. His charge is to assist the Commission in documenting prospective historic landmarks. He is working 9 hours per week for 15 weeks. I request approval of a $1500 fee for this internship. 2. Bryan Turner has been working to obtain a site plan that will accompany the application for a rezoning request for the Grier-Rea House. Initially, Staff believed that office zoning would be most appropriate in terms of market. However, the land design firm suggested that a conditional rezoning allowing for residential infill would be more marketable. Bryan Turner is presenting this issue for your consideration. Click here for plan.
3. Robert Wodke, owner of the Whitley House in the Hopewell community, has requested that his $100 application fee for a potential historic landmark status for the aforementioned property, be refunded. As directed by the Survey Committee, Staff considered the eligibility of the property for landmark status and determined that it did not meet the standard of special significance. Information Items. 1. Stewart Gray and I met with prospective buyers of a portion of the property owned on W. Morehead St. by Beazer Homes. The prospective buyer stated that he is considering submitting a proposal to move or dismantle the Coffee Cup Restaurant and relocating it to W. Morehead St., approximately a block from its current location. We suggested that he submit a specific proposal which we assume will be forthcoming if the purchase is consummated.
2. Staff contacted the owner of the William Newell House and expressed again the Commission's interest in working to preserve the house. The Commission approved on June 11th a Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of the house but delayed its demolition for 365 days. It is clearly the most historic house in the Newell Community. Staff would be interested in hearing from the Commission as to how aggressively it wishes to pursue this property, even to the extent of recommending to the City that it purchase the property through eminent domain.
3. The Pineville Town Board is scheduled to vote on the designation of the remaining prospective historic landmarks in Pineville on November 13th. Staff plans to secure a buyer's agent to determine if any of the owners of these properties is interested in selling any of the properties and at what price.
4. The Town Board of Huntersville voted on November 5th to designate the McAuley Road Farmland as a historic landmark. To my knowledge this is the first roadway and surrounding area that has been designated in North Carolina as a local historic landmark. Congratulations to everybody involved.
5. The Joint Use Task Force has reviewed the request to have the Torrence Lytle School Building conveyed from the County to the Historic Landmarks Commission. It will be considered by the Planning Committee of the Planning Commission on November 13th. Staff hopes to bring the issue before the Board of County Commissioners in December.
6. Patricia Nystrom is continuing to discuss with CSX the prospective purchase of the P&N Thrift Depot.
7. Staff has no updates on the prospective rezoning of the Tomlinson Wilson House and its possible destruction. Staff will keep you informed.
8. Upfit of the kitchen and a bathroom is underway at the the Sidney & Ethel Grier House. Lexie Longstreet continues to market the property.
9. Current tenant arrangements will change with the new year at White Oak. A caretaker will be living in the cabin to the rear of the main house. The main house will be vacant. This will reduce the cost of utilities and perhaps make the property more marketable. The Commission has executed some repairs on the tenant house on the east side of Hood Rd.
10. Staff will be working with CATS about the use of the Commission's Charlotte GM Fishbowl bus.
11. The listing agreement with Linda Kidd to market the Rozzel property has expired. As authorized, staff has extended the contract and has agreed to an extension for six months. Ms. Kidd believes that the Commission will be receiving an offer in the near future.
12. Stewart Gray is still working with Bryan Turner to secure bids for moving and restoring the McAuley House on the Huntersville-Concord Road.
13. A temporary handicapped ramp has been built in front of 2100 Randolph Road. A more permanent ramp will be constructed after review by the Design Review Committee and Building Standards. 14. Mujeeb Shah-Khan, Assistant City Attorney, will be attending the November 28th meeting of the Design Review Committee to explain the options the Commission has in pursuing the exercise of its powers to prevent demolition by neglect. 15. Staff believes that the time has come to do strategic planning with respect to the HLC's website. Staff continues to receive comments from this community and elsewhere about the value of the information on the website. I am asking Lisa Gray to develop a proposal for devoting time to planning how the Commission might obtain grants and other means to improve the website. I anticipate that a proposal will come before the Commission in December. 19. Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools has requested a meeting to discuss with Staff the prospective designation of the Garinger High School as a historic landmark.
Respectfully submitted,
Dan L. Morrill
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