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2026-05-05 - Historic Preservation Board

Summary

Built from the official minutes (Legistar status: Final). No video is posted.

  • Present: 4 (Board Member Musick, who acted as chair, Board Member Baumgartner, Board Member Hines and Board Member Fitzsimmons). Absent: 3 (Chair Lowenberg, Beerbaum and Potter).
  • William Gray, Senior Planner, thanked the applicants and First Lutheran Church representatives for accommodating a date confusion caused by an error in posted materials, and clarified that the Board meets on the first Monday of each month (this meeting was held on a Tuesday).
  • Because of the scheduling issue, Communications, Approval of Minutes (February 2 and March 2, 2026) and the 2026 Work Plan presentation (HPB 2314) were postponed to the June meeting.
  • Consent Calendar approved 4-0 (motion Hines, second Musick; absent Lowenberg, Beerbaum and Potter): a Report of Acceptability to convert a 728 square foot detached garage on North Cascade Avenue (Council District 5) to an accessory dwelling unit with a new 336 square foot garage (HIST-26-0002), presented by Ethan Shafer, Planner II.
  • First Lutheran Church entry way addition (2,795 square feet) approved 4-0 (motion Hines, second Baumgartner) after a presentation and public questions. See First Lutheran Entry Way Addition.
  • No unfinished business; the meeting adjourned after the work plan item was listed.
  • 5.A (HIST-26-0002): garage and accessory dwelling unit conversion on North Cascade Avenue in the Old North End area, Council District 5. Staff report attachments: county property data, the neighborhood nomination, garage permit, existing and proposed elevations, public comment, site plan and project statement. No discussion recorded; approved with the consent motion.

New Business: First Lutheran Entry Way Addition

  • 8.A (HIST-26-0003): Report of Acceptability for a 2,795 square foot entry way addition to First Lutheran Church, 1515 North Cascade Avenue, within the North End Historic District overlay (Council District 5). Gray described the church's phased development since 1959, its classification as an intrusion in a district defined by 19th and early 20th century residential architecture, and staff's finding that the west elevation addition is compatible in materials, stained-glass windows, scale and neighborhood character.
  • Applicant representative Bruce Smith said the church had studied designs for over a year and chose one based on the original 1966 mid-century modern portion rather than the "boxy" 1979 and 1993 additions: matching low-slope roof wings, a central form defining the sanctuary, cast-in-place concrete canopy elements, broad overhangs, limited glazing and red brick to match, and a single centralized entry replacing several entrances.
  • Public comment: neighbors asked about the purpose (enlarging the narrow narthex for circulation, with no added sanctuary seating, plus a stairway and elevator), construction duration (10 to 12 months, originally projected at 14, general contractor already chosen), parking (all spaces to be kept during weekday construction), height (single-story glass entry with a small second-floor component; the former entry becomes a one-and-one-half-story gathering space), reach toward Cascade Avenue (about 29 to 30 feet, leaving 34 feet of landscaped area), the bell tower (to be removed as structurally impractical to preserve or relocate) and landscaping (roses and additional trees, plans by a landscape architect tied to the church).
  • Acting Chair Musick asked about branding imagery on the church van; Smith said the imagery would be updated with a new cross form in colored or stained glass at the entry. Fitzsimmons thanked the team for keeping the original mid-century modern character rather than echoing the 1979 version.
  • Motion by Hines, seconded by Baumgartner, to approve the Report of Acceptability based on the finding that the criteria in City Code Section 7.5.528 are met. Passed 4-0 (Musick, Baumgartner, Hines, Fitzsimmons; Lowenberg, Beerbaum and Potter absent).

Presentations

Sources