New opening on Idyllwild Historic Preservation board

The Local Review Board (LRB) of the Idyllwild Historic Preservation District (IHPD) met Thursday, Jan. 26, at Idyllwild Library. Present were President Terry Shirley and new board members Stephanie Yost and David Cutter. Members Warren Monroe and Ron Kamermeyer were absent and Kammermeyer has stepped down, leaving an opening. Representing the county was Bridget Lawlor, historic preservation officer. She is responsible to Tony Pierucci, now bureau chief of Planning, Development and Interpretation.

In answer to a question from the Crier about last year’s dispute regarding the murals adorning Wild Idy and its neighboring Proud Mary cottage, Shirley said, “There is really nothing new to report about Wild Idy. That went to the county Planning Department and the resolution came back on that allowing the art to remain but requiring Wild Idy to lower the fence to comply with the guidelines the county has set for it, which I believe require a 1-foot reduction in the height of the fence.” Yost added that it is was “passed along but it’s up to county Code Enforcement to do something about it.”

Supervisor V. Manuel Perez’s office is considering an application for the open LRB seat. The office will make a recommendation and pass it back to Lawlor.

A new IHPD website is being planned. A bid was presented at the last meeting by the person who set up the Idyllwild Community Center (ICC) website. The board asked the designer for, and received, a commitment that cost will not exceed the bid, and that the final site will include 14 pages. Lawlor confirmed that the county has cleared the expenditure. “I’ll get her set up with our buyer; she will make sure she is registered as a vendor for the county.” This should take a couple of weeks, she concluded.

Shirley said the next step is to prepare the content for the website: “That’s what the three of us will be working on.” Yost, also ICC president, explained the process and accessibility for the creation and updating of idyllwildcommunitycenter.org. “This will go a long way to really help heighten the awareness of the group within the community. We want … to have businesses located within the district, and residents, be able to access information quickly by going to the website.”

She outlined a process for the website. She will create a first draft and share it with the other board members. Shirley continued “We know everything is going to have to go through Parks and Rec.” Yost added that there will be opportunity for public comment. Having just completed a two-hour training on Brown Act compliance (for IFPD) she asked for clarity about what kind of communication is allowed between board members outside meetings. Lawlor said she could set up a special meeting or working session to help with ethics training for board members.

The other major item on the agenda was signage for the district. Shirley positioned this as “creating heightened awareness of the organization and how it can really be a partner with the community and … help the business community … We’ve talked in the past about placards to identify the businesses within the district. We’ve talked about street signing, we’ve talked about entrance signing to the historic district, and we’ve also estimated, thanks to [Bridget] and Tony … the amount of money that we might need. We want to get that back to the county and get a commitment for $200,000 to come up with a sign program throughout the district … Now we’re going to Supervisor Perez’s office. We do know that there are discretionary funds allocated to each supervisor … We’re making that request.” Yost told the board she had met Perez at a meeting of First 5 (an education initiative) and that he is planning a meet and greet on the Hill.

Shirley told the board he had begun looking into the cost of plaques. Ones like the dedication marker on Town Hall range in price from $150 to $500. Yost said the cost for that particular 12-inch-by-8-inch plaque in 2021 was $649. With 57 “contributing” buildings in the district, perhaps there could be a quantity price break. Street signs were also discussed, and the added difficulty of dealing with the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Then there are the “pointer” signs seen around town, placed on private property. Many of Shane Stewart’s properties already sport such signs. An example of this type of signage at the corner of Cedar Street and North Circle Drive was shared. Back within the ambit of DOT would be off-Hill signs to send people up here. Something that identifies the IHPD and gives directions, then on-the-Hill signs directing visitors to points of interest.

Shirley outlined a process: “Once we get an idea of funding it would be nice to go ahead and invite the businesses in to give us feedback on what they would consider helpful and appropriate.”

Shirley also mentioned that he had begun talking to Supervisor Chuck Washington’s office about a charging station for electric cars.

Yost brought forward a bit of information she had gleaned from DOT: new paving for the remainder of North Circle is “in the queue of projects” for the first half of this year. Shirley had heard the same thing, possibly as soon as February. Also in that queue is paving for Saunders Meadow Road from Highway 243 to Astro Camp.

Shirley brought up the idea of moving meetings to Town Hall if there is a larger public participation. The library only opens at noon, so the room is set up a little late. Possibly meetings should be scheduled for 12:15 p.m. There may be issues in holding the meetings at a private facility as opposed to the library. Next meeting is at noon Thursday, April 27, at the library.