2026 July 27 Lafayette Historic Preservation Commission

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[0:02] All right. >> [clears throat]
[0:03] » Well, we have a quorum here, so I'll call to order
[0:06] the Historic Preservation Commission meeting
[0:09] of July 27th, 2026. First on the agenda is approval of the
[0:15] minutes from the June 22nd meeting. Everyone read them? Do I have any
[0:20] motions to approve the minutes? >> Make motion to approve.
[0:24] » All right. Second? >> I'll second.
[0:26] » All right. Thanks, Shauna. All those in favor say aye.
[0:28] » Aye. >> Aye.
[0:30] » Public Relations and Education Committee, it did not meet. Is that
[0:34] correct? I don't even think the chair is here.
[0:38] And the District Committee >> We did not meet.
[0:40] » Did not meet, but the COA Committee did to meet.
[0:44] My goal, 800 Cincinnati Street, if you'd like to introduce the demolition.
[0:48] » Yep. So, St. James Church is here. They are demolishing or submitting
[0:52] application to demolish a utility structure uh on the property. Uh it's
[0:57] kind of a stand-alone uh boiler room that I don't think has been used since
[1:02] the '90s or the early 2000s, so the '90s. Um it's just out uh
[1:07] it's outlived its use. Um and it's causing now
[1:12] um problems with the pavement around it.
[1:15] The tunnel that connects to the to the church back is is kind of sagging in a
[1:20] couple spaces, so we want to demolish the building, fill in the tunnel,
[1:24] backfill for the parking lot, and uh repave um
[1:29] repave that structure. I'll get to the overhead map.
[1:36] Uh you can see right there on your screen. It's indicated there by the red.
[1:40] It's not attached to um the main school. It kind of sits out
[1:45] on its own, so this one was pretty straightforward. They're
[1:49] um essentially asking for approval for the demolition on site. And then in
[1:55] addition, they are asking uh that we waive the uh 60-day waiting period. That
[2:01] is not a parameter that we set. Typically,
[2:05] that's what Board of Works does for structures that don't pose a safety
[2:12] or health threat to the public. Um but because um
[2:17] because this is a utility structure, um
[2:21] I had the conversation with David ahead of
[2:23] the application that that he could ask for us to waive the that 60 days. Now,
[2:29] commission could oppose a week, they could oppose 2 weeks, they could oppose
[2:32] 30 days, they can waive it. It's kind of you you're not held by the Board of
[2:36] Works standards. Board of Works just sets a standard that if it's not um
[2:41] if it's not a threat to public safety, then they then they uphold the 60 days.
[2:45] But typically, those are on structures that have some that we might be able to
[2:49] move the house or remove um details from inside the house, kind of
[2:55] like what we did up at the um the house that the Catholic church owned
[2:59] up on South Street. So.
[3:03] If there's any questions, this one was a pretty
[3:07] pretty straightforward um
[3:10] there's some pictures here from the utility
[3:13] or from the structure. Sorry, excuse me. Any questions?
[3:21] » This one's kind of something happened in the ground.
[3:24] » [clears throat] >> Uh and this was recommended by the C-Bay
[3:27] Committee for approval.
[3:31] » And do you want to explain your position?
[3:33] » Uh as a member of St. James, I'm I guess
[3:36] I'm recusing myself of it. Um this is a structure that
[3:41] when we did the grant or the old school historic preservation grant, walked
[3:46] around the building with um
[3:49] Division of Historic Preservation Archaeology, they excluded it from the
[3:52] grant because they knew that it would at some point in time need to to be come
[3:57] down and they did not want to put it under their covenants.
[4:00] So, um so >> [clears throat]
[4:03] » It it does have you know, a few things that could be
[4:06] salvaged off of it at this time, but it is a structure that's been in
[4:10] deteriorating condition for a long time. >> When the COA committee did meet as you
[4:15] said, um
[4:18] we agreed to uh approve the demolition and wave uh 60-day period both.
[4:24] Um with the school schedule coming up, it made sense to
[4:28] wave this structure that is not contributing and it's
[4:33] pretty much out of view. It's it's barely visible, right? Um
[4:37] and some of the materials could be salvaged, right? So,
[4:41] the petitioners would like to say anything else. They provided some good
[4:44] documentation in our packet. Got a couple pages worth.
[4:48] There's any questions from the commissioner if you guys like to say
[4:51] anything, it's up to you.
[4:55] » I think Michael Carver and what we discussed except with the COA committee.
[4:58] » Perfect. Are there any Yeah, right.
[5:05] landscape view. I think you're seeing the picture of the
[5:08] structure that's not aesthetically pleasing.
[5:13] And a safety concern to us. >> If this structure was attached to the
[5:18] school, this would be a much different conversation, but because there is a
[5:21] separation from the building, this one's a
[5:24] » Yeah, and frankly, it's utility is kind of left its it
[5:29] in history, right? >> Yep.
[5:30] » Um so >> With the removal of the smoke stack
[5:34] years ago, if that's what it indicated what it was,
[5:38] you know, that's that's what kind of made it a landmark. With the
[5:42] removal of that, there is not much history left.
[5:47] » Any questions or comments from the commission?
[5:50] I have a motion. >> I'll make a motion.
[5:52] » All right. Would anyone like to second? >> I'll second.
[5:56] I'll second the point. >> Any seconds? All those in favor say aye.
[6:00] » Aye. >> Aye.
[6:01] » All those opposed? Motion carries.
[6:03] » Approved with waving the 60 days, correct?
[6:06] » Yes. And the demolition both. >> Thank you.
[6:08] » I think it's both actions, right? >> Demolition and
[6:11] » Clarify that we voted Should we vote twice on that?
[6:15] » No, you can Essentially, that's a caveat of the approval. We're approving the
[6:19] demolition and waving any kind of You could just say any kind of waiting
[6:24] period. So, it It's one and the same.
[6:32] » Next to staff report. >> Yep. So, um I'll get you out of here
[6:36] quick. The only real question I have is a couple times
[6:40] um this meeting time at 7:00 p.m. has come up
[6:44] as to why we have it this late. Um so, I'm going to without a full commission,
[6:50] I'll probably send an email ahead of next month's meeting, but we could
[6:54] potentially um move this meeting to 5:30, 6:00 p.m.
[6:58] start, anything that's earlier if that works for the majority. We can have a
[7:04] conversation about how many votes it would do. We don't actually have to vote
[7:07] on it in um in the ordinance. It just states that if
[7:11] we have business, we have to we have to meet once a month. Doesn't indicate a a
[7:15] day or a time. Um so, we use this time for um to attend
[7:20] after work. Uh anyone to attend after work. Um
[7:25] you know, people are still working that are on this commission, and so um you
[7:29] know, if 5:30 doesn't work, or 3:00 doesn't work, or noon doesn't work, or
[7:32] whatever. But I think for the purposes of starting the conversation, we would
[7:37] probably be looking between 5:30 and 6:00 start time. Just to bring it down a
[7:41] little bit earlier if that works for the group, but I'll send an email out Uh
[7:45] ahead of next month's meeting. Speaking of next
[7:48] month's meeting, if we don't have a CFA, next month will be the Harn Museum. So,
[7:53] we'll keep this day and time. However, if we do have a meeting this meeting in
[7:59] here next month, I'll need to move the Harn meeting to a different day.
[8:05] So, I'll probably send out a Doodle Poll or something to see what day and time
[8:09] would work best for the majority of us. >> So, right now it's the 24th?
[8:13] » It is the 24th, yeah. Yep.
[8:16] » Great. >> So, that's it.
[8:19] » Awesome. All right. Is there any comment from the
[8:22] public?
[8:26] Do I have a motion to adjourn? >> I'll motion.
[8:28] » Second. >> Second.
[8:30] » Thanks, Julie. All those in favor say aye.
[8:32] » Aye.