HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.hpc.20020123ASPEN HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF~
JANUARY 23, 2002
110 E. BLEEKER ST. - CONCEPTUAL ................................................................................................... 1
(CONT'D FROM 12-12-2001 ) PUBLIC HEARING ................................................................................ 1
950 MATCHLESS DRIVE - CONCEPTUAL - PUBLIC HEARING ..................................................... 6
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Chairperson, Suzannah Reid called the meeting t0 order at 5i00 p.m.
Commissioners present: Gilbert Sanchez, Jeffrey Halferty, Rally Dupps,
Melanie Roschko, Michael Hoffman, Paul D'Amato, Teresa Melville and
Neill Hirst.
Staff present: Historic Preservation Planner, Amy Guthrie
Chief Deputy Clerk, Kathy Strickland
Assistant City Attorney, David Hoefer
MOTION: Rally moved to approve the minutes of Nov. 28, 2001 and
January 9, 2002; second by Gilbert. All in favor, motion carried 7-0.
110 E. Bleeker St. - Conceptual
(cont'd from 12-12-2001 ) Public Hearing
Sworn in were Sven Alstrom, and Herb Klein
Amy said at the last meeting direction was given to 'restudy the addition and
the connecting piece to the old house. Staff is enthusiastic about the
potential restoration of the house. One of the guidelines, the placement of
the addition, is not being met. If the addition were a one story it would be
compatible but in this case the addition is a two-story competitive with the
original building. Staff feels the design is not appropriate as it changes the
perception of the width and the size of the building. Staff's
recommendation is that it must be slipped back in order to be an appropriate
project and one worthy of any kind of FAR bonus. That is the sole focus of
staff's concern.
Sven said from the last meeting they took off an addition 150 square feet of
FAR bonus request and that was by pushing the stair back further into the
building and addressing the stair connector, which is about 12' 8" above
ground line. Sven said he likes the lower roof of the stair and he might be
able to shave off another six inches. The connector is an 8-foot ceiling.
The main Changes from the last meeting are'the reduction in FAR and the
sloping roof of the connector. They eliminated the porch columns on the
ASPEN HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF,
JANUARY 23~ 2002
balcony and they could reduce the main ridge one foot, more which would
reduce the ceiling height.
Regarding minor issues the client wants to keep the laundry room that is an
existing addition on the back of the houSe.
Questions:
Herb Klein said standard 10.8 talks about the minimum setback often feet
being recommended and they are now at 14 feet back. Changes have been
made to the windows and the stair tower does not have all of the glass that
was originally proposed and it has also been reduced in height. Herb said
he and Sven spent numerous hours trying to incorporate all of the boards
concerns in order to make this project happen.
Sven said it is their intent to keep the floor line the same as the existing
house. Sven also said the flat roof reads well between the two buildings.
Melanie asked if they looked at moving the addition back so that the edge of
the balcony is at ten feet. Sven said they tried but they had to address the
client's needs,
Jeffrey asked about the cross section of the staircase and could that 12'4"
plate height be reduced. PosSibly visually that might look better.
Sven said he did not want to introduce any vertical wall there. Possibly if it
was reduced and tied to the roof below that could be something that could
be studied.
Sven said the house is somewhat of a "sleeper" and with restoration will
look good. Another main component of the project is the wall that is being
added on, has a cellar and there are three different kinds of foundation
conditions on that wall. The wall basically only has foundation under the
rear one third. They intend to provide a new foundation on that wall and
they are only doing a structural basement, not a full basement.
Melanie inquired about the windows on the west elevation as some
windows indicate divided light and others d° notl sVen Said it is "form
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follows function". There are French doors on the front of the building and
French doors on the office in back. There is fixed pane glass at the stair
connector and the remainder is cottage type windows.
Teresa inquired about the connector and Sven said it was three feet taller
before and the size has been reduced. He also stated that he cannot reduce
the ceiling height anymore due to the existing floor. The building is only
18'6" wide and then there is the connector.
Chairperson, Suzannah Reid opened and closed the public hearing.
Comments:
Jeffrey said the project is massaging itself. Fundamentally the stair town is
a helpful tool but als° hurting the project some because the new addition
visually seems so close on the east west access. With the restoration of the
Victorian this could be an exemplary project and be worthy of the FAR
bonus. On the front fagade Jeffrey shares the same concerns as staff. The
lowering of the connector one foot is commendable. Possibly an
investigation could occur to lower the plate off the rear of the building.
Gilbert said he could accept the front setback of the addition if there was
some reduction in the height of the addition. The physical plan seems
appropriate. Gilbert said he likes the notion to keep the tree and he feels
lowering the roof height will accomplish the same thing. He feels the
building is pushed back far enOugh. The treatment of the facade is more
successful in the plan presented tonight. The way the mullions break down
the large expanses of glass seems to be successful. Gilbert supports the
bonus with the effort that is being made on the historic house that will be
visible from the street.
Rally also said he could support the bonus. There are many good things
about the application and his only concern is the stair element.
Teresa said what is important to her is retaining the historic elements of the
historic house and enhancing it with good fenestration.
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Neill said he is gratified with the redesign of the front of the house. The
front faCade now allows for the original historic building to be the fancy
decorative Victorian structure that it is and the south elevation is clearly a
more modem and well-defined su-ucture. Neill agreed with Jeffrey and
Gilbert that in the drawing the stair connector from the north elevation looks
massive and does disturb the boundaries of both the addition and original
house. On the model it doesn't seem that massive.
Melanie said she has mixed feelings: She would like to see what it would
look like if the addition was slipped back but from the back of the house the
addition is on the same line and that simplifies the design and back section.
If it were moved back we might create something that will be even more
disturbing. Lowering it one foot and the material selections will set it apart
from the historic house.
Michael said he felt the nine-foot setback acceptable. He also felt the new
proposed elevation appropriate. The connector is much simpler. Michael
also said he feels the height should come down in order to approve the
bonus.
Paul said he is in favor of the revised porch scheme and would prefer that
the addition be moved back some. How the building looks from the front is
what is essential to the project.
Suzannah agreed with staff's recommendation. She felt that the stair tower
should be incorporated to make it a more integral part of the addition and
allow it to be more separate from the eave line of the historic house in the
back. It seems that there are opportunities to explore that idea so that the
buildings are not so butted up against each other. If the addition gets moved
back maybe the height is less important.
The board members felt that the sloping roof over the mudroom would
work.
Sven said if we pushed the addition back the rear width of the addition
would appear larger which would be of concern. The client doesn't want
the addition pushed back and wants to save the tree. Sven said he could put
two risers in the second floor plane.
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MOTION: Rally moved to grant conceptual resolution #2, for 110 E.
Bleeker St. with conditions 1-3 of staff's memo.
4) Restudy a stair conneetor with the goal of being to increase visual
separation.
5) Lowering the addition so'that the ridge of the addition is lower than the
historic resource.
Michael second. Motion died 7~0.
MOTION: Gilbert moved to continue the application for 110 E. Bleeker
until February 13th with the folllowing conditions:
1) The addition must comply with the design guidelines by moving
further back from the front fagade of the existing structure.
2) In order for this project to qualify for the FAR bonus, the porch and
front window should be restored to original condition. Removal of
paint on the masonry is also recommended.
3) As part of an overall restoration of the historic character of the
property, staff recommends the owner work with the City Parks
Department to remove and replace the existing trees on the City
right-of-way with more appropriate trees.
4) Restudy a stair connector with the goal of being to increase visual
separation.
5) Lowering the addition so that the ridge of the addition is lower than
the historic resource; motion second by Melanie.
Amy stated that we are going onto a third hearing and these issues should be
considered important and the HPC is focusing on the concerns of the project
and these need to be taken seriously as we do not want to get into the
situation of continuing, continuing etc.
Melanie said one of the thoughts is if the addition were moved back that the
stair connector could be incorporated into it and that might solve a few
problems.
Motion carried 7-0.
Yes vote: Jeffrey, Gilbert, Rally, Melanie, Neill, Mike, Suzannah
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950 Matchless Drive - Conceptual - Public Hearing
Chief Deputy Clerk swore in Klm Raymond and Alan Richmond.
Proof of publication was entered into the record as Exhibit I.
Alan Becket letter was entered into the record as Exhibit Il.
Amy said the applicant is requesting a 500 square foot FAR bonus. Staff
recommends approval because they feel that the project is moving in the
right direction at least in terms of placement, form, and size of the addition.
The applicant will need to request from council a PUD amendment to be
able to have the 500 square foot FAR. bonus. Presently they cannot have
that due to prior agreements when they were annexed. Even with the bonus
they are under 200 square feet of what they are normally allowed to have.
A lot of the square footage has been placed in the detached garage with the
ADU. The other concern is the deck which is encroaching on top of the
historic building and that needs to be restudied in order for the project to be
outstanding and worthy of a bonus. There is very little work specifically
that needs done on the historic house right now.
Kim said regarding the deck on the east elevation there will be no problem
to shorten that and the way she wo~ld like to do that is put a little post up
offthe wall of the existing building and shorten the deck up so that you can
read the entire house completely. The comment about the window on the
east elevation they can add mullions.
Amy said the large undivided piece of glass is a scale issue with the historic
house and there are lots of ways that can be handled.
Klm said she could also break up the long skinny window on the west
elevation in order to break it up.
Suzannah and Gilbert said the drawings on the west elevation needs to be
redone to reflect what is happening with the roof line.
Alan Richmond said all the house owners would be applying for the PUD
amendment together. They are trying to amend the ordinance that
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establishes the maximum floor area for the units. Alan said the 1976
document is superseded by annexation and rezoning.
Michael said he has concerns about the agreement without some
clarification.
Chairperson, Suzannah Reid opened and closed the public hearing.
Comments:
Paul said he needs floor plans before he can approve anything especially
when an FAR bonus is involved. He is unclear how the connector ties in to
the front elevation.
Gilbert said the drawings need to be complete and coordinated so that we
have a real understanding of what is going on.
Michael said, other than his concern about the neighbors he supports staff's
comments and recommendations.
Melanie said Kim relayed that she could do a drawing on the connector
making it clearer and open and that should be presented at the next meeting.
Neill said the height seems rather imposing; it is too high especially when it
is faced with stucco.
Teresa said she is Ok with the height of the addition and would support a
different window on the connector.
Rally said referencing standard 10.6 the addition over towers the historic
house. He would also prefer a one-story connector, which is recommended
in the standards. As far as the bonus goes the project needs to be an
outstanding restoration and that includes bringing the historic house back
the way it was. The penetrations into the gabled roof form of the addition
flat roof are not in keeping with the historic character and he would not
support the bonus.
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Gilbert said the overall concept is fine. The concerns are the two-stow
connector and the fact that it does extend beyond the roof form of the
existing building. Clearer drawings would help us figure out how that really
works. The tower element in terms of its massing and location on the site
are fine. What concern's him on the tower will be the architectural finished
materials. It is contrasting with the historic building by virtue of its shape
and the window patterns and shape of the windows. It seems that something
has to tie them back to the historic building. He also said he would be
concerned if stucco is being used for the finishing materials because that is
another contrasting element. He also has concerns about the tall slim
window on the western elevation,
Jeffrey said the two-stow link has a strong visual presence from the east
side. The massing and placement is OK but their needs to be a tie to the
existing building. The large window on the hiStoric resource is troubling in
its proportion. Jeffrey commended the applicant for keeping the massing
down.
Suzannah said the connector and the impact on the historic gable needs to
be looked at. She would also like to see a study of the pitch of the roof on
the tower and possibly bring that down a little bit. The height could be
reduced easily and the lower pitch might be more in character with the
architecture of the tower. The deck supported by its own colunm would be
preferable instead of coming off the back shed of the historic house.
Suzannah also concurred with the other commissioners about the window
on the west side.
Michael said he is concerned about the right of the neighbors to review
these plans before they can be built. The concern is that they go through the
entire process and then the neighbor says they have these rights and they
want to exercise them and it would be much more difficult to do so at that
point. The declaration of covenants provides for an architectural review
committee to approve the plans. Michael would like something from the
applicant or lawyer that the covenants etc. for Alpine Acres are ineffective.
Amy said as a policy the City does not get involved in property agreements.
It is a private agreement and we would not stop the review from going
through.
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Alan Richmond said he would be glad to look into this and provide an
answer.
MOTION: Rally moved to continue Conceptual Development of 950
Matchless Drive until February 13, 2002; second by Melanie. All in favor,
motion carried 7-0.
Yes vote: Jeffrey, Gilbert, Rally, Neill, Melanie, Michael, Suzannah
Worksession - Holland House - no minutes
MOTION: Jeffrey moved to adjourn the meeting, second by Gilbert. All in
favor, motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 7:00 p,m.
Kathleen J. Strickland, Chief Deputy Clerk
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