Amador County – The Jackson City Council on Monday appointed five members and three alternates to its all new Design Review Committee, which will have limited powers to decide historic design review and historic variance, and also make recommendations regarding demolition and project master plans.

The council received eight applications for the Design Review Committee, and appointed five to the committee. They are Eduardo Avelar, Errol Esbit, Phillip Giulani, Lucy Hackett and Ron Regan. The Council also appointed the three other applicants, Robert Burdick, Robert Carr and Lesley Davis to be alternate members of the committee.

City Manager Mike Daly said the council discussed the number of committee members, it was considered to appoint all eight applicants to the committee, and to have an eight-member committee. Daly said the Architectural Regulations Committee recommended that the Design Review Committee have five members. He said architectural regulations also stipulate that the Committee must have five members. He said an eight-member committee would make it harder to have a quorum, and could lead to split votes.

The Committee will have regularly scheduled bi-monthly meetings, open to the public, which can be cancelled if there are not applications for review. Daly said the Committee will meet on an as-needed basis, and City Planner Susan Peters is still working with committee members to determine the best meeting time and day of the week for the committee.

The first work will be to look at an application for a façade improvement for Café de Coco on Main Street. The council recently approved a façade improvement plan for Richard and Sherry’s antiques shop.

The committee will review city design standards mandated by the city development code, to ensure high-quality neighborhoods and commercial centers, sensitivity to the city’s unique character, and compatibility with the surrounding structures and neighborhood while incorporating the Mother Lode style. It also keeps them sensitive to the natural environment.

The Design Review Committee will make recommendations on demolition and master plans, and will make decisions on Historic Design review, and Historic Variance. The committee’s historic decisions could be appealed to the Planning Commission, then to the City Council.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.