After nearly a year of discussions at various commissions, amendments design guidelines in the Downtown Historic Conservation Plan (DHCP) will go for a second round of votes at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting. The guidelines were previously adopted at a Historic Preservation Review Commission meeting, and— if approved by the Planning Commission— will go before the City Council for a full adoption.

The DHCP was adopted in 1990. With it came a set of guidelines for construction on commercial and residential buildings in designated areas of town. The city is planning to update the guidelines to make them more user-friendly while remaining consistent in the design review process, reinforcing the character of the historic district and providing a basis for clear and equitable decision-making within the district, according to a staff report. The guidelines would be more graphic and resource-based than the current text.

Currently, the DHCP contains five chapters in addition to six appendices, which will be revised to make room for the adoption of new guidelines and the zoning text amendment for design review procedures. The preface and first two chapters— dealing with a plan overview and historic resources— will be retained. Chapter 3, design review procedures, will be removed as the topic will now be addressed in an amendment to Chapter 17 of the Benicia Municipal Code. Chapters 4 and 5, which discuss design guidelines for commercial and residential building types respectively, will also be removed to clear the way for the design review guidelines.

The appendices will also be eliminated for various reasons. Two of these appendices— the glossary of terms and the designation of historic properties within the Downtown Historic H Overlay District— will be included in the appendix of the new guidelines.

The guidelines would retain some aspects of the current DHCP while also providing additional information about planning a preservation project and aligning with Secretary of Interior standards regarding the treatment of historic properties. The guidelines would now consist of an introduction, general design guidelines for all projects, design guidelines for historic structures, guidelines for new construction and instructions for signs. The appendix would feature a glossary, historic property addresses in the Downtown Historic District and advisory guidance for environmental sustainability.

Staff is recommending the commission adopt a resolution recommending the City Council approve the proposed design guidelines. The council could adopt the guidelines as early as Oct. 2.

In other matters, the commission will be voting on the continuation of a zoning amendment for donation and collection bins to October and a use permit modifying a billboard at Bayshore Road. The latter item was scheduled to be voted on at the August meeting, but it was not held due to a lack of a quorum.

The Planning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13 in the Council Chamber of City Hall, located at 250 East L St.

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