At a Planning Commission meeting, commissioners approved a landmark-alteration permit and discussed several downtown historic-preservation matters, including a planned restoration of the Black Bart stagecoach mural and procedures for notifying property owners of landmark status.

The discussion began when a downtown building owner said she was surprised to learn that work to repaint a concrete building had triggered historic-review requirements. "I just couldn't figure out why my concrete building is a landmark," the owner said during public comment. She asked staff to clarify whether paint over a historic painted business sign should be treated as a mural or as a commercial wall sign.

Planning staff told commissioners the feature at issue is a historic lighted wall sign and that, because it "reflects elements of the city's history" and "did have special aesthetic or artistic qualities that are of historic value," the request was processed as a landmark-modification permit rather than a simple sign permit. A planning staff member also pointed the commission to the zoning-code definition of mural in section 17O406O and explained that murals and signs can overlap in treatment: "a mural...is a work of art on the exterior wall of a building...put there for the purpose of decoration or some kind of artistic expression," but commercial elements can still trigger signage rules.

The owner said she had paid for a landmark-alteration permit after applying for ordinary repair permits and that the landmark status had not been disclosed in earlier permit communications. Several members of the public and commissioners urged the city to make the landmark list and related workflows clearer and to notify affected property owners earlier in permitting.

Commissioner comment was supportive of a procedural change: "So then can we kinda shore up the landmark status of buildings and signs and make a new list and add...and then notify every single building owner that has one and have it available to them," a commissioner said during discussion.

After staff explanation and public comment, a commissioner moved to approve the permit as agendized; another commissioner seconded the motion. The commission recorded the result on the record as "Motion passes." The motion, as presented, approved the landmark alteration permit to address the covering of the historic lighted sign and allowed the applicant to proceed under the terms of the permit.

Separately, the commission discussed and received updates on other downtown historic-preservation matters. The city’s art commission has approved a proposal by local artist Jack Townsend to refresh the Black Bart stagecoach mural on the side of a downtown building owned by Bud Tracy (Northwestern Trading Company LLC). Tracy attended the meeting and described planned changes to repair wall damage, refresh imagery (including reinserting historical figures), and replace an aging plaque noting the mural’s history. Tracy said the mural has been on the wall since about 1980 and that staff and the artist are lining up plaque text and wall repair work.

Staff also reported recent activity on other historic facades and a homeowner rehabilitation loan to address rot, roofing and porch work at a historic property; those items were informational and do not change property-owner obligations at this time.

What happens next: staff said they will develop clearer workflows and notification processes for landmark properties in the historic downtown overlay, and they will coordinate any physical work on the mural and sign with building owners, public works and code enforcement as needed.

Quote-at-a-glance
"I just couldn't figure out why my concrete building is a landmark," — downtown building owner (public comment)
"A mural...is a work of art on the exterior wall of a building...that doesn't preclude signage where they're commercial in nature," — planning staff member

Ending
Commissioners directed staff to prepare clearer notice and process steps for downtown landmark properties and to return to the commission with any procedural recommendations; staff said they would work on the notification workflow and bring follow-up items back to the commission as needed.