11-20-17 Old Towne Design Standards Update-Old Towne Historic District
TO: Chair Glasgow and
Members of the Planning Commission
THRU: Anna Pehoushek
Assistant Community Development Director
FROM: Marissa Moshier
Historic Preservation Planner
SUBJECT
COMMISSION BUSINESS: Update to the Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne
SUMMARY
Recommendation to the City Council to adopt the update to the Historic Preservation Design
Standards for Old Towne (Design Standards).
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 31-17 entitled:
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION
RECOMMENDING ADOPTION OF THE UPDATE TO THE HISTORIC
PRESERVATION DESIGN STANDARDS FOR OLD TOWNE TO THE
CITY COUNCIL
AUTHORIZATION/GUIDELINES
Orange Municipal Code (OMC) Section 17.08.020 authorizes the Planning Commission to provide
technical and advisory assistance to the City Council regarding land use matters and to encourage
the preservation of cultural historic resources, while allowing for orderly and compatible
development.
PUBLIC NOTICE
No Public Notice is required for this recommendation to the City Council.
Direct mailings to all property owners within the boundaries of the Old Towne historic districts
were sent on June 15, 2017 and August 4, 2017. These mailings requested community input on the
draft update and informed recipients of the DRC study sessions on June 21, 2017 and August 9,
Planning Commission
Agenda Item
November 20, 2017
Planning Commission Staff Report
November 20, 2017
Page 2
2017 and community meetings on August 22, 2017 and August 30, 2017 where property owners
and residents could comment on the draft update in person. More information on these public
engagement efforts is provided in the Public Outreach section below.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Categorical Exemption: The update to the Historic Preservation Design Standards is categorically
exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per State CEQA
Guidelines 15308 (Class 8 - Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment)
and 15331 (Class 31 - Historical Resource Restoration/Rehabilitation). The update clarifies and
improves the existing Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne, which were adopted
by City Council in 1995 for the protection of the local and National Register-designated Old Towne
historic districts. This update of existing procedures, policies, and standards is consistent with the
City Council’s prior action adopting the Design Standards in order to preserve the character of Old
Towne as a historic district. It assures the maintenance and protection of the environment through
the preservation of historic resources and appropriate standards for new construction in the historic
districts, as required by the Class 8 exemption.
In addition, the update to the Design Standards is written such that projects that are found to be in
conformance with the Design Standards also will be in conformance with the Secretary of the
Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (Secretary’s Standards). The update is
consistent with and uses extensive guidance from the National Park Service on interpreting and
implementing the Secretary’s Standards, including the Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating,
Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings. The update will encourage projects that are in
conformance with the Secretary’s Standards as described in the Class 31 exemption for Historical
Resource Restoration/Rehabilitation.
There is no environmental public review required for a Categorical Exemption.
BACKGROUND
The Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne (Design Standards) were adopted by
City Council on July 11, 1995 and last updated in 1999. The purpose of the Design Standards was
“to protect the historic and architectural resources which contribute to the cultural richness of
Orange” (Design Standards, 1999, Page 1). The Design Standards combined all project processing
requirements and design criteria specific to the Old Towne Historic District into a single document.
The objectives were to protect the desirable and unique features of historic neighborhoods; protect
and stabilize property values; minimize building deterioration; and ensure that new construction is
structurally and aesthetically compatible with existing historic neighborhoods.
The Design Standards adopted in 1995 are divided into three parts, along with four appendices. Part
I provides an introduction to the Design Standards and an overview of the significance of the Old
Towne Historic District. Part II covers the processing requirements and review criteria for projects
in the Historic District. Part III consists of the design standards organized by different geographic
areas in the Historic District: the Plaza, Downtown Core, Spoke Street Corridors, and Resident ial
Quadrants. The appendices include A) Definitions; B) Standard for the Use of Appropriate
Materials; C) The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation; and D) a list of
Supplemental Documents.
Planning Commission Staff Report
November 20, 2017
Page 3
The Design Standards have been very effective at guiding rehabilitation of historic buildings and
new construction to help preserve the character of Old Towne. However, staff has heard and
gathered feedback from community members, the Design Review Committee, Planning
Commission, and City Council that updates were necessary to make the Design Standards more
complete and easier to understand. In response, staff prepared a draft update to the Design
Standards. The revised Design Standards include photographs and graphics illustrating common
preservation concepts and the types of projects that frequently occur in the Historic District. It
provides updates to make the document more user-friendly for property owners and residents and
more effective for staff and members of the Design Review Committee who use it to review
projects.
DESCRIPTION OF THE UPDATE
The purpose of the update to the Design Standards is to provide clarity for policies and procedures
that have developed over time in the Old Towne Historic District, but have not been clearly
addressed in the text of the Design Standards until now. Although the update incorporates
substantial changes to the text and presentation of the document, the underlying principles of how to
preserve historic buildings and how to design respectful new construction in the Historic District
remain the same, based on long-standing community values and professional practice by staff and
the Design Review Committee.
The document is reorganized to focus on historic features and property types, rather than geographic
areas of the Historic District. The first section of the update introduces the importance and benefits
of historic preservation in Orange; describes the Design Standards’ consistency with the federal
standards for historic preservation, the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of
Historic Properties; outlines the historic character of the Plaza and Old Towne; and explains the
process for design review in the Historic District. Design review is streamlined by clarifying the
types of projects that are delegated to staff for administrative review and eliminating the
requirement for Planning Commission review for some types of projects.
The next section of the document provides standards for historic building features, such as windows
or roofs; historic residential buildings; and historic commercial buildings. The document more
clearly addresses the treatment of non-contributing buildings in the Historic District and provides
specific standards for new construction, including additions, new infill buildings, and potentially
compatible Floor Area Ratios for new projects. Additional standards are also provided for important
aspects of the setting and streetscape in the Historic District, including landscaping in front yards
and parkways, fences, and solar panels.
The updated Design Standards are intended to be flexible enough to apply to many different
properties and types of projects, while providing clear direction to property owners on how to
design projects that are compatible with the Historic District. This approach to organizing the
Design Standards is intended to help property owners and design professionals more easily navigate
the document and quickly find the sections that are applicable to their specific projects.
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
The 1999 Design Standards include the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation as
an appendix. The update to the Design Standards more clearly and thoroughly incorporates the
Planning Commission Staff Report
November 20, 2017
Page 4
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (Secretary’s
Standards) throughout the body of the document as the guiding set of principles for historic
preservation in Old Towne. The updated Design Standards are founded on the Secretary’s
Standards, so that they are consistent with professional historic preservation practice and technical
recommendations from the National Park Service. The RELATED GUIDANCE section (pg. 2)
describes both the ten Standards for Rehabilitation, which are most commonly used for projects in
the Historic District, and the Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and
Reconstructing Historic Buildings, which offer technical guidance on applying the Secretary’s
Standards to specific properties. This section clarifies that the Design Standards and Secretary’s
Standards are consistent with each other and that projects that are in conformance with the Design
Standards will also be in conformance with the Secretary’s Standards.
Design Review
The DESIGN REVIEW section (pg. 7) describes the process for ensuring that project in the Historic
District are in conformance with the Design Standards. Design review under the updated Design
Standards is streamlined by clarifying the types of projects that are delegated to staff for
administrative review and eliminating Planning Commission review for specific types of projects.
Planning Commission Review of Second Story Additions and New Units
The update to the Design Standards eliminates the requirement for a Conditional Use Permit,
reviewed by the Planning Commission, for new two-story construction in the Historic District. It
also eliminates the requirement for Planning Commission review of additional units on lots zoned
for such purposes. Staff recommends eliminating the Planning Commission review of these project
types because the primary issues associated with these projects are related to mass, scale, design,
aesthetics, and impacts on historic resources and the historic streetscape. These issues are within the
purview of the Design Review Committee, and these projects do not typically include land use
issues that are the purview of the Planning Commission.
Issues related to neighborhood compatibility with these projects are worked out at the DRC level,
and staff has not seen that these projects benefit significantly from additional Planning Commission
review, either from the standpoint of vetting land use issues or neighborhood participation in the
public meeting process. Staff has removed the additional Planning Commission review, as it
appears to increase the applicant’s time and costs for processing projects without providing
substantial benefits to the community. However, larger projects that require entitlements such as
Variances or Major Site Plan Reviews or environmental review documents under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) will still need final determinations by the Planning
Commission or City Council as outlined in the Orange Municipal Code and Local CEQA
Guidelines.
Minor Design Review
Under the existing Design Standards, certain types of minor projects are delegated to staff for
review; however, there is no formal application for this type of project. The update to the Design
Standards creates an application type called Minor Design Review (MDR) for these minor changes
to historic properties, such as new fences, patio covers, and re-roofing. The Minor Design Review
(MDR) application will be filled out at the Planning Division counter and is currently proposed as
Planning Commission Staff Report
November 20, 2017
Page 5
no fee application. Typically, the application will be processed in one visit to the Planning Division
Counter. This formal application will allow Planning Division staff to track the number and location
of MDR projects throughout the Historic District. It will also allow the Code Enforcement Division
to confirm whether projects have been approved by Planning staff when complaints are received
about work being done in the Historic District.
Common Projects in the Historic District
The following are common types of projects that are reviewed in the Historic District. These
sections of the Design Standards have been updated to incorporate long-standing policy
interpretations of the existing Design Standards and to ensure that the standards are clear and
transparent for property owners and design professionals planning for projects in the Historic
District.
Solar Panels
The installation of solar panels is addressed in the section on STANDARDS FOR HISTORIC BUILDING
FEATURES – MECHANICAL SYSTEMS (pg. 26). The permitted locations for solar panels have not
changed from the existing Design Standards: the rear 50 percent of the roof of a primary building or
the interior 25 percent of roof of a primary building on a corner lot. However, in some cases, solar
panels in these permitted locations may be visible from the street. Staff has added language that
allows additional review and modification of installations that are visible from the street to
maximum allowed under the Solar Rights Act. Generally, staff can request modification to
installations that do not decrease the efficiency of the system by more than ten percent or increase
the cost of the system by more the $1,000. Staff has also added requirements for panels to be
parallel to the roof plane, attached using non-destructive means, and installed without gaps between
the panels. Staff recommends that these additional standards will improve the outcomes of solar
panel installation in the Historic District, while complying with state law regarding solar panels.
Fences and Landscaping
Front yards, parkways, and fencing play a large role in preserving the character of the Historic
District. These elements are addressed in the section on STANDARDS FOR HISTORIC RESIDENTIAL
BUILDINGS – SETTING (pg. 27). The updated Design Standards do not require specific types of
landscaping or review of landscaping projects for residences in the Historic District. However, the
update encourages the use of compatible plantings in front yard and parkways to support
preservation of the neighborhood’s character. Vinyl, chain link, and plastic fences are prohibited.
Artificial turf in areas visible from the street is also prohibited, but compatible drought tolerant and
low water plantings in these areas are encouraged. Paving and non-porous surfaces should also be
minimized. The DRC recommended that these standards related to landscaping are important to
preserve the historic streetscape in Old Towne’s residential neighborhoods.
Garages and Accessory Structures
The existing Design Standards do not specifically address the treatment of historic garages and
accessory structures in the Historic District, which is a topic that frequently comes up as property
owners are planning for preservation of their historic houses. The update covers this topic in the
section on STANDARDS FOR HISTORIC RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS – GARAGES AND ACCESSORY
STRUCTURES (pg. 31). Because the Historic Resources Inventory forms for the Historic District do
Planning Commission Staff Report
November 20, 2017
Page 6
not specifically identify accessory structures as character-defining features of the properties, staff
has been identifying accessory structures as historic features on a project-by-project basis under the
existing Design Standards. The update specifically addresses the circumstances under which an
accessory structure will be considered a character-defining feature of the property, so that property
owners can better plan for the treatment of these historic features. A garage or accessory structure
will be considered to be a character-defining features of the property if: 1) it was constructed during
the Historic District’s period of significance (1888-1940); and 2) retains physical features from that
time period.
The section also addresses relocating historic accessory structures on a property; proposing
demolition of a historic accessory structure due to its condition; and recommendations for new
garages and accessory structures. A proposal for relocation of a historic accessory structure on a
property will require providing a plan for relocation of the structure intact and wit h minimal loss of
historic material. A proposal for demolition of a historic accessory structure due to its condition will
require providing specific evidence on the feasibility of preserving the structure and a detailed plan
for its reconstruction using salvaged materials.
New Construction Related to Historic Buildings
The STANDARDS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION RELATED TO HISTORIC BUILDINGS (pg. 43) address
additions to historic buildings and new infill construction in the Historic District. The standards
address the mass, scale, height, roof form, windows/doors, and materials of additions and other new
construction. Additions are required to use traditional building materials and should be designed so
that there is minimal loss of materials and character-defining features on the historic building. New
infill construction is encouraged, but not required, to use traditional building materials. Alternative
materials may be considered if they are compatible with historic materials on comparable historic
buildings.
This section also addresses the concept of a compatible Floor Area Ratio for new construction in the
Historic District, in response to the Grand Street Study, which was a study of the development
patterns and zoning and General Plan designations of the 300 and 400 blocks of South Grand Street
directed by City Council in 2004. The study made a number of recommendations on updates to the
Design Standards to better protect the character of the Old Towne’s residential neighborhoods and
to provide clearer direction to applicants proposing projects in the Historic District, including
recommendations related to lot coverage.
On February 3, 2016, staff held a study session with the DRC on the recommendations of the Grand
Street Study. The Committee discussed using Floor Area Ratio (FAR) as a way to evaluate
compatible new development in the Historic District. Based on this discussion of appropriate FAR
and lot coverage for the Historic District, the updated standards include FAR as one measure of
compatible new development in the Historic District. New construction is recommended to use the
average FAR of contributing properties on the surrounding block as an appropriate benchmark.
Non-contributing properties would not be included in the FAR average. The updated Design
Standards provide a description and graphic on how to calculate the FAR for a property.
Staff anticipates that a project involving new infill development would include FAR calculations for
the surrounding block as part of the submittal to the DRC, so that FAR can be evaluated as one
component of compatibility of the project. Rather than providing a fixed maximum for the entire
Historic District, the FAR average focuses on the context of the neighborhood surrounding the
Planning Commission Staff Report
November 20, 2017
Page 7
proposed project site and how the project fits into that setting. The intention is to treat FAR as one
of a number of factors that guide the development of a project that can be found in conformance
with the Design Standards.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
The draft update has been linked on the Historic Preservation page of the City website for public
comment since June 2017. Property owners were informed of the draft update and DRC and
community meetings and asked for comments through mailings sent on June 15, 2017 and August
4, 2017, supplemented by social media contact from the Old Towne Preservation Association.
Two community meetings on the draft update were held in August. The first was a Town Hall in
partnership with the Old Towne Preservation Association held on Tuesday, August 22 at 6:00 p.m.
in the Orange Public Library Community Room. The second was run by City staff and held on
Wednesday, August 30 at 6:00 p.m. in the Orange Public Library Community Room. Thirty-eight
community members attended the first meeting. The second was attended by approximately 10
people. At both meetings, attendees had positive reactions to the draft update, and the discussion
included comments on:
The use of alternate materials, such as vinyl
Fences
Solar panels
Garages and accessory structures
Landscaping
Staff has incorporated the DRC and community recommendations from these meetings into each
section of the updated Design Standards, based on the meeting minutes and additional notes from
the study sessions and community meetings. In general, the revisions from the DRC were focused
on:
Updating photographs and graphics for clarity
Providing additional information on the project review process
Incorporating references to other City ordinances that apply to the Historic District,
including the Demolition Review Ordinance and Tree Preservation Ordinance
Updating the text of specific standards, particularly related landscaping, fences, and
mechanical equipment
Clarifying the standards related to non-contributing buildings
Incorporating additional language from the Secretary’s Standards into the standards for
additions and other new construction related to historic buildings
Planning Commission Staff Report
November 20, 2017
Page 8
DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Design Review Committee reviewed the draft update to the Historic Preservation Design
Standards for Old Towne at the November 1, 2017 meeting, and recommended approval to the
Planning Commission.
At the DRC meeting, the Committee recommended a number of minor text changes to the updated
Design Standards for the Planning Commission’s consideration. These recommended changes are
indicated by orange numbered labels in the update to the Historic Preservation Design Standards for
Old Towne provided as Attachment 1 – Exhibit A to the Staff Report. The numbered labels
correspond to numbered rows in the DRC Recommended Revisions, which describe in detail the
recommended revisions. The recommended revisions focuses on changes in word choice and minor
additions to the sections on roofs, windows, and landscaping. Staff concurs with the DRC’s
recommended changes and requests that the Planning Commission consider and recommend
approval of the update, as amended by the DRC, to the City Council.
REQUIRED FINDINGS
The update to the Design Standards will be adopted by City Council Resolution. The update is
consistent with the City’s General Plan, as described in Attachment 1 – Planning Commission
Resolution No. 31-17.
General Plan Findings:
1. The project must be consistent with the goals and policies stated within the City’s General
Plan.
ATTACHMENTS/EXHIBITS
Attachments to Report:
1. Planning Commission Resolution No. 31-17
Exhibit A: Update to Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne and DRC
Recommended Revisions Table
2. Existing Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne, 1999
3. DRC Minutes from Study Sessions on June 21, 2017 and August 9, 2017
4. DRC Staff Report from November 1, 2017
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