If the recent slate of Historic Preservation Review Commission (HPRC) meetings are any indication, 2018 is shaping up to be the year of downtown design guideline updates in Benicia. That will not change with Thursday’s meeting where discussion topics from last month’s meeting will be carried over.

Benicia is in the process of updating design guidelines in the Downtown Historic Conservation Plan (DHCP), which was adopted in 1990 to provide guidelines for construction on commercial and residential buildings in designated areas of town. Through a grant from the State Office of Historic Preservation, the city is receiving funds for updates to make the guidelines more user-friendly.

Winter & Company, a Colorado urban planning firm, was hired by the city in December to serve as consultants for the project. After a public review draft was released in April, representatives from Winters & Company delivered a presentation at the HPRC meeting on April 24. At the conclusion of the presentation, commissioners provided feedback and began discussing specific topics in the guidelines, which had been prepared by the consultants. These topics included guidelines for balconies, vinyl windows, residential additions, awnings, galleries and canopies. Because the meeting ran long, the commissioners decided to postpone these topics until Thursday’s meeting. According to a staff report, feedback from the HPRC’s discussion will be incorporated into the final draft of the design guidelines.

In other matters, the HPRC will provide feedback regarding procedural recommendations for design review guidelines and discuss proposed text amendments to the zoning section of Benicia Municipal Code to change regulations for accessory dwelling units.

The HPRC will meet at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 24 in City Hall’s Commission Room, located at 250 East L St.

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