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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.hpc.20010509Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 Chairperson Suzannah Reid called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with Gilbert Sanchez, Jeffrey Halferty, Susan Dodington, Lisa Markalunas and Rally Dupps present. Melanie Roschko is excused. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS 1. Lisa Markalunas asked if there is an update on the Frywall Plaque. Amy Guthrie, community development department, said she has talked to the contractor and he said it would be done. 2. Jeffrey Halferty said he took a lot of slides in New Orleans of the 3 different historic districts and would love to show these to HPC. 3. Lisa Markalunas asked why the brick is being pulled of St. Mary's. Amy Guthrie said they are putting a matching brick on the walls of the previous addition. 4. Gilbert Sanchez brought up the lanterns on the Elk's building on the Galena street side. Ms. Guthrie said she will look at these. 5. Amy Guthrie said she has monitor issues to go over at the end of the meeting. These are at the Ullr Lodge, the Hunt project, St. Mary's, Nicoletti project. 6. Ms. Guthrie said the dates for meeting with Debbie and the lecture series will be the first Wednesday of the month through August for special meetings with Debbie and the lectures are monthly in June, July and August. Gilbert Sanchez has volunteered to lead a modern architecture tour that will be part of the program. DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST Gilbert Sanchez said he will step down for 935 East Cooper Avenue. Lisa Markalunas said on 610 West Smuggler, she works with Gibson/Reno architects as a client. 1 Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 PUBLIC COMMENTS 1. Darnell Langley, 945 East Cooper, reminded HPC the East cooper Court was designated as a historic landmark. Ms. Langley said during the process, she was told HPC had design review over everything and anything different from the approved plans needed to be discussed with the HPC monitor for this project. Ms~ Langley said last fall they constructed a dry stack stone wall between two units to maintain grade. Ms. Langley said there is a 2 to 3 foot grade difference between her house and the historic barn to the west. Ms. Langley told the commission she needs to get the grade even before she can get a CO. Ms. Langley said if she is to get the grade where it is supposed to be, it will bury the neighbor's door by 2 foot. There is also supposed to be a parking space in this 10 foot space. The wall was constructed to keep the dirt back and still allow parking. Ms. Langley said she went through the monitor and got this approved. Ms. Langley said the East Cooper Court Board of Managers has voted to take the wall down and that they do not need to go through HPC approval. Ms. Langley asked if the homeowner's board has the right to do this without going to HPC or the monitor without any plans. David Hoefer, counsel to HPC, said these are legal issues. HPC does not have jurisdiction over these. Ms. Hoefer suggested this be sent to the city attorney's office in writing so that staff can look at all the issues. FINAL REVIEW, SPECIAL REVIEW AND PARKING REVIEW - 302 East Hopkins Amy Guthrie, community development department, reminded the Commission this project received conceptual approval September 1999. It was a much larger project and through public hearings this is a very successful design. Ms. Guthrie noted this is half the FAR allowed for this location in the downtown corridor. The historic house is unchanged, the shed on the alley is moved up closer to the house. A new building space along the alley has been created. This proposal is almost the same as conceptual. The issues are the staircase going to the basement, the lightwell on the west side of the property, and trash and parking issues. Ms. Guthrie said after discussing the staircase with the architect, there is no other option that meets the UBC. The staircase and lightwell will both be fine. 2 Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 Ms. Guthrie pointed out the requirements for a trash and storage area in the downtown. The proposal is for about half the required area. Staff feels this is adequate for this project as it is only half the square footage that could be build on site. Only office use is being proposed. There is the possibility of a trash compactor. Staff supports the trash waiver, The parking proposal is similar to other projects in the downtown area. There is no way to accommodate the concerns about keeping the new building low and accommodating parking on the alley. This is an important structure and the Parking waiver is an appropriate compromise. Ms. Guthrie pointed out the conditions of approval, Ms. Guthrie noted the shed will have to be located off site during reconstruction. Ms. Guthrie recommended approval. Deputy City Clerk Kathy Strickland swore in Ralph Mitchell. Sanchez asked of what materials the sunshade will be made. Mitchell said the structural members will be galvanized and the shade will be hardwood. Ms. Dodington asked why type foundation is under the shed. Mitchell said it is on a 4 inch concrete slab on grade. Ms. Reid opened the public hearing. Chief Deputy Clerk Kathy Strickland swore in Cad Bergman. Bergman said he is an adjacent neighbor and is concerned about contractors parking in the lot for the Miner's building. Bergman asked if the applicant plans on getting street parking permits. Bergman said he would like to see more parking provided in the back alley. Bergman said he does not favor a community-type trash arrangement. Ms. Guthrie said she had a call from a neighbor also concerned about parking. Ms. Guthrie said the transportation department sells on-street parking spaces during construction time. Dupps said the parapet height may be excessive and it could be shortened by 6 inches. Ms. Dodington said this is a larger improvement over the previous plan for this site. Ms. Dodington noted she is pleased the two 3 Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 historic structures are being saved. Ms. Dodington said the off-site location for the historic shed should be secured so the structure does not get vandalized. Sanchez agreed the project is a good one and stated he is also concerned about the parapet height. It seems too high if the intention is just for screening. Ms. Markalunas agreed about the height of the parapet and said she would like to see the roof use and the height minimized. Ms. Markalunas said she would like protection for the trees in the city right-of- way so they are not damaged during construction. Ms. Markalunas said the city should retain approval for location of the shed. Halferty said the north wall of the existing historic resource should be shored up before excavation. Ms. Reid said she, too, feels the parapet should be lowered 6 inches; this would make a more comfortable relationship with the sunshade. Ms. Reid said the hatchway to the roof is going to be the access to the roof, not some more elaborate stairs. The hatch will limit what happens on the roof. Any future use of the roof would have to be discussed by HPC. Halfe~ty said the parapet is a nice design solution to cover up the mechanical equipment on the roof. Ms. Reid closed the public hearing. Dupps moved to grant final approval, special review to reduce the required amount of utility/trash storage area and a waiver of required parking for the project located at 302 East Hopkins Avenue with conditions 1 through 16 in Ms. Guthrie's memo plus (17) the parapet be lowered to 3 feet tall above the roof deck and that (18) the required parking permits for construction are reviewed by the parking department; seconded by Halferty. Sanchez noted in condition #6, if more intensive use such as a restaurant, the applicant should be required to return to HPC and P&Z for approval of a trash storage plan" he would like added plus revisions and additions requiring mechanical requirements. 4 Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 Dupps amended his motion to add the above comment; seconded by Halferty. Roll call vote; Halferty, yes; Markalunas, yes; Sanchez, yes; Dupps, yes; Reid, yes; Susan, yes. Motion carried. Dupps and Markalunas will be the monitors for this project. CONCEPTUAL REVIEW AND VARIANCE - 428 East Hyman Avenue Amy Guthrie, community development department, reminded The Commission they said this project last month. The work involves restoring the front of the building, removing the paint from the brick, putting back the old store front. There are some alterations on the alley side of the building, 'some parking is going in and there is a rooftop penthouse being added. Ms. Guthrie said the remaining issue is the penthouse. HPC directed the applicant they could not demolish the existing roof structure; they had to rework it to keep it under the height limit. The applicants were successful in doing that, except for the top of the elevator, which is 2 feet over the height limit. This requires a variance, to be based on hardship. Staff found this request is appropriate because of the requirement that the roof structure cannot be demolished; the AACP encourages housing downtown; the area over the height limit has been minimized; and this variance does not give them any special privileges in extra square footage. Ms. Guthrie noted there is a request for a 500 square foot FAR bonus, which staff supports based on the amount of restoration work that will be done on the buidling. Staff feels the skylights are too close to the front of the building and not appropriate to the character of the building, and will be visible from locations downtown. Ms. Guthrie said these should be flat or held below the parapet wall. Chief Deputy City Clerk Strickland swore in Chris Bebee, Michael Fuller, Janet and George Lapin. Chris Bebee pointed out the skylights are to add light to the front room of the living space, which is the major part of the apartment. Bebee showed the extent of the deck. The skylight is used as the railing for the back edge 5 Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 of the deck. Something is required to be 3 feet high at the edge of a deck. Bebee said they have kept the skylight as low as possible and still function. The skylight needs to be sloped so the snow does not collect; it is also a light source for the residence. Amy Guthrie asked where the mechanical equipment will be located. Bebee showed where it will be and stated it does not exceed the height. Ms. Guthrie asked if the proposed equipment would service a restaurant. The applicants said they are not designing for a restaurant; if they added one it would have to be reviewed. Ms. Markalunas asked if staff feels the height variance issue meets the hardship standards. Ms. Guthrie said it is a minimal amount of variance and it does meet the hardship standards. Ms. Reid opened the public hearing. A letter from Harley Baldwin opposing the project was entered into the record. Ms. Reid closed the public hearing. Halverty said he appreciates the restoration efforts on the historic front of the building on the mall side. Halverty stated he does not have a problem with the height variance; however, he does have a reservation about the most southern skylight. Halverty favors the massing towards the rear of the property; he has no problems with the materials proposed. This is a good scheme, except for the massing of the skylights. Ms. Markalunas does not support the project. The impacts of the north brick masonry wall too extreme. Ms. Markalunas stated she does not support the skylights, the chimney location is too visible from the street. Ms. Markalunas said she would like to see the historic glass in the windows be rehabbed. Any deck area should be confined to the rear of the building. Sanchez said he feels this is a great project. Ms. Dodington said it is a good project; however, she does not support the skylights. She would like to see the skylight made flatter. Dupps said he, too, feels this is a great project and is the type of project the city wants to see in the downtown. Dupps said he has no problem with the skylights. He is concerned about the penthouse and any shiny materials on that structures. Ms. Reid said this is an exciting project and she is pleased the applicants are restoring the 6 Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 building. The rooftop apartment is appropriately located. Ms. Reid said she has a problems with the southernmost skylight. Halverty moved to grant HPC approval and partial demolition and a height variance for 428 East Hyman Avenue with conditions (1) that the flat skylight be preferable for the southernmost skylight and that this be studied for final hearing; (2) a 500 square foot FAR bonus and a 2 foot height limit variance for the elevator tower be granted; seconded by Dupps. Halverty, yes; Markalunas, no; Sanchez, yes; Dodington, no; Dupps, yes; Reid, yes; Motion carried. CONCEPTUAL REVIEW - 935 East Cooper Avenue Sanchez and Halverty stepped down on this project. Amy Guthrie, community development department, reminded the Commission there has been a work session and a site visit. This project is listed on the inventory. The plan is to remodel one apartment in the center of the structure. Ms. Guthrie noted there have been a lot of additions to this projects, material replaced, but it is still on the inventory. Ms. Guthrie said alterations should not be made that sacrifice the status of the building. Ms. Guthrie said her only concern is the staircase on the east of the building. This is in a location that an addition would not be allowed, in the front of the building toward the historic roof pitch. Staff recommends looking at any way to reduce the size of the staircase. Chief Deputy City Clerk Kathy Strickland swore in Jerome Hatem and Mark Tye. Mark Tye said if this staircase is reduced too much, the structure becomes a one bedroom house. Tye said the architects and contractors have tried to find a staircase that would work other than a spiral staircase. Ms. Reid asked if they need 19 risers to get up to the top. Ms. Reid opened the public hearing. Deputy City Clerk Kathy Strickland swore in Bob Jacobsen, 924 East Cooper, told the Commission he has no problems with this addition. It does not affect his views. 7 Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 Ms. Reid closed the public hearing. Dupps said his only concern is that the stair issue be studied to see if it can minimized. It could be built with fewer risers. Dupps said he supports this project. If there is a way to simplify the roof forms, he would like to see that. Ms. Dodington agreed this building has been compromised. She would like to see the addition made lower, if possible. Ms. Markalunas supports the project. If it refreshing to see a project being rehabbed rather than totally redone and that it retains the messy vitality. Ms. Reid suggested moving the walkway and shrink the width of the piece and lower the roof off the ridge. This would still allow a space underneath for a bedroom. Ms. Reid said she would like to see the south elevation more clearly defined for final approval so it is easier to understand. Dupps moved to grant conceptual approval for 935 East Cooper Avenue, lots H and I, block 118, conditioned upon restudying the staircase to minimize its size and reduce the bulk of the 2na floor on the east side of the house; seconded by Ms. Dodington. Roll call vote; Markalunas, yes; Dodington, yes; Dupps, yes; Reid, yes. Motion carried. Dupps said he would like to see fewer peaks and valleys. CONCEPTUAL REVIEW AND VARIANCES - 610 West Smuggler Sanchez and Halverty rejoined the Commission. Amy Guthrie, community development department, reminded the Commission a lot split was approved for this property last fall, resulting in this property being a 3,000 square foot lot with a floor area of 1340 square feet. Ms. Guthrie pointed out a non-historic piece on the back of the property will be demolished and replaced by a 1.5 story addition. Ms. Guthrie said staff feels this is an outstanding project with a reasonable addition that will not be visible from the front of the building. Ms. Guthrie said some windows on the historic house would be affected. Ms. Guthrie said staff does not feel it is appropriate to remove historic windows. There are setback variances required. The garage is closer to 8 Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 the rear property line than allowed because there is a living space above the garage. Staff does not have a problem with that variance. Ms. Guthrie noted the trim on the historic house will be slightly different than the original windows to distinguish them. Chief Deputy City Clerk Kathy Stricldand swore in Jeff Davis, and David Gibson. Gibson told the HPC the existing house is 782 square feet and they are about 550 square feet plus a one car garage and a basement. Gibson showed the street elevation of the house. This addition will be invisible from the street. The shed will be rebuilt. The siding material will be similar in texture but will be different material. Gibson said they are amenable to varying the window trim. Ms. Reid opened the public hearing. Amy Guthrie swore in Ann Burrows, neighbor to the east. Ms. Burrows said she generally supports this; however, she hopes that whatever is built will not completely darken the west side of her house. Ms. Reid closed the public hearing. Dupps said this is a wonderful preservation effort. He would like to see the building stepped back away from the historic resource. Dupps said he does not support removing the window on the east side. Ms. Dodington agreed this is a great project, small, the link between the two is one story. Ms. Dodington, too, does not want the window on the historic side removed. Ms. Dodington asked if the architects could restudy the peak over the great room to see if it could be lowered. Sanchez said this is a good project. He would not like the window in the master bedroom window removed. Sanchez asked if were possible to leave the window and sheetrock over it on the inside. Sanchez said the hip roof is less bulk and makes sense and makes the addition less dominant over the existing house. 9 Historic Preservation Commissions May 9, 2001 Ms. Markalunas agreed she would like to see the east window retained; she likes the double hung windows more than modern western windows on the existing house. Ms. Markalunas agreed the east indentation should be more pronounced to provide more of a historic wall. Halferty agreed this is a charming proposal, the historic restoration is good. Halferty agreed with Sanchez about the pitch change; the plate may be lowered. Halferty said he likes the double hip to connect the two styles of architecture. Halferty said he would like the window on the east to remain. Ms. Reid agreed this is a successful design; there are discrete volumes that are very simple. Ms. Reid said the 12/12 pitch feels right for the roof. Ms. Reid said she wants the historic window in the master bedroom retained. Ms. Reid supports the variances. Gibson said they would consider retaining the east window with some type of privacy treatment. Gibson said the trim variation and indentation are acceptable. Dupps moved to approve Resolution #22, Series of 2001, finding that the review criteria have been met with conditions 1 through 3 in staff's memorandum and (4) that they step back indentation from the building on the east side; seconded by Halferty. Roll call vote; Halferty, yes; Markalunas, yes; Sanchez, yes; Dodington, yes; Dupps, yes; Reid, yes. Motion carried. Halferty moved to adjourn at 7:45 p.m.; seconded by Dupps. All in favor, moti°n carried. 10