Markleeville Design Guidelines

Sierra town, circa late 1800'sA high level of community participation is one of the most important features in developing design guidelines that embrace the historic character of a downtown.

Founded in the quest for gold and silver, Sierra Nevada towns provided for the needs of miners and settlers. Following the terrain, the towns were built compactly along narrow winding streets that accommodated the pedestrian. Sierra Nevada towns are now looking to the development patterns of the past, to the concept of mixed-use, walkable communities, to the models presented by their very own historic cores.

Draft Historic Design Guidelines for the Townsite of Markleeville were developed in the spring of 2007 by the Sierra Business Council to assist Alpine County in the revision of the County’s Design Historic Combined Zone Ordinance. Founded in 1861 with the toll crossing of the Middle Fork of the Carson River, Markleeville developed as a trade center for the ranching and lumber businesses supplying the Comstock Lode mines and became the seat for Alpine County in 1875. Markleeville’s historic roots are apparent in its core historic street pattern and its variety of treasured building surviving from the mining era. In revising the ordinance which has been in place since 1982 to protect the historic district, Alpine County contacted the Sierra Business Council to lead a community process and write a set of draft historic design guidelines focusing on buildings and architecture. Streetscape design will be a separate process.

Objectives

• To develop processes and guidelines for protecting the historic resources of the Sierra Nevada
• To use a community collaborative approach to determine the issues, interests and opportunities for historic design guidelines
• To detail the community’s standards for design of the built environment
• To preserve historic resources and to enhance the overall design character of the town

Process
The Sierra Business Council led a collaborative community process that included three public workshops as well as interviews with stakeholders and interested parties. Participants in the interviews and workshops included local residents, business owners and employees, historical society members, property owners and developers plus county staff and officials. The workshops were designed as a series. The first workshop was intended to introduce the community to the process; to identify and discuss big-pictures issues and opportunities; and to define the topics of historic design of most importance to the community. The purpose of the second workshop was to understand the community’s interests in specific design topics in order to draft a set of Draft Historic Guidelines with options. At the third workshop, the preliminary Draft Historic Design Guidelines were reviewed with a focus on the options to determine which options were preferred by the community and which issues needed further work. Following the third workshop, Sierra Business Council revised the Draft Historic Design Guidelines to reflect the comments and discussion received from the community. This draft was delivered to the county along with recommendations for further work not covered in the scope of this process. Also prepared for the County was a summary report of the public process and the identified issues and opportunities.

Results
The small town atmosphere preserved in the historic character was identified by the community as a top priority for the future of Markleeville. Long time residents recalled the experience of growing up in Markleeville where people gathered in the downtown, stopping to chat with neighbors, and where tourists and visitors added vibrancy to the community. The river and mountain setting influencing the core historic town pattern and the historic buildings are how the community defined the physical character of Markleeville, and there was an expressed desire to see the town revitalized. Many of the buildings in the commercial core are in disrepair, and several have been torn down. While most people agree that redevelopment and historic preservation will benefit the town, the direction of this work is controversial. Additionally, undeveloped land adjacent to the historic area is being considered for development and the process has been contentious. Historic Design Guidelines are a timely addition to the existing ordinance. The discussions surrounding their content help bring the community together to understand their common interests and to try to work out their disagreements in a town wide context. When completed, the Historic Design Guidelines will serve to inform property owners about the design policies of the town and acceptable approaches to design that will sustain the traditional character of Markleeville. They will provide information that property owners may use in making decisions about their buildings and land. And they will give a basis to the county through its design review process for making informed, consistent decisions about proposed new construction and alterations to buildings and sites in the townsite during its formal permitting process.

For more information email Program Director Nancy Richards or call 530.582.4800 ext.21.