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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-12-08 HPC MIN HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEETING December 8, 2021 REGULAR MEETING 7:00 P.M. Chair Mino called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Chair Mino, Commissioners Finwall, Holmes, Larson, Thueson, Walls Absent: Commissioner Heimdahl, Councilmember Junker Staff: City Planner Wittman APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of minutes of October 20, 2021 Regular Meeting Motion by Commissioner Thueson, seconded by Commissioner Finwall, to approve the minutes of the October 20, 2021 meeting. All in favor. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. CONSENT AGENDA There were no items on the Consent Agenda. PUBLIC HEARINGS Case No. 2021-38: Consideration of a Design permit for a new single-family home to be constructed on the property located at 505 Elm St W in the Neighborhood Conservation district. Emily Blaser, of Oevering Homes, applicant. Michael Russ of Archangel Assets 4 LLC, property owner. Ms. Wittman reviewed the case. Michael Russ of Archangel Assets 4 LLC owns the property at 505 Elm Street West which has been split from 819 William Street North. The applicant has requested Design Permit approval for a new split-level single family residence with attached garage, to be built by Oevering Homes. The home will be sided with LP siding and also will have vinyl trim and shakes. The mix of siding will include horizontal lap siding and vertical board and batten trimmed with appropriately-sized corner, frieze, fascia, and trim boards. The single, oversized garage door is flanked by stone columns. Architectural shingles are proposed for the 12/6 and 12/8 pitched roof areas. Window styles are mostly consistent. The home’s modern suburban design would not fit in most places of the Neighborhood Conservation District. Staff has proposed eight conditions of approval that could help make the structure more conforming to the Conservation District guidelines. Commissioner Larson asked about garage setback zoning rules. Ms. Wittman replied the front yard setback is 20 feet for homes and 30 feet for garages. The site plan shows the entire structure set back 33.5 feet. One of the staff-recommended conditions is to move the whole structure closer to front property line, to 30 feet, to better align with other homes on the street. Commissioner Larson recognized it would probably take a significant redesign of the whole structure to bring the house forward and leave the garage farther back. Ms. Wittman explained that floor plans are not public data and cannot be shared but it would require some redesign of the home especially given the split level nature. Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting December 8, 2021 Page 2 of 4 Chair Mino opened the public hearing. Kathy Coffman, 501 Elm Street, asked that the conditions of approval include submission of an ingress/egress plan and a plan for material storage to be submitted to the City and the neighborhood. She is also concerned that there be a plan for runoff both during construction and afterwards. Emily Blaser, Oevering Homes, said they can replace the board and batten with shakes or traditional LP siding and can remove the stone to make materials more consistent. The building pad for the lot is small and the surveyor placed the home on the best location considering water sloping away from house. She can check to see if the house may be moved forward but cannot move just the house and not the garage, as that would affect the upstairs design. Minor changes on the front would be amenable. The company pays a surveyor to ensure that the water runs away from the home and away from neighboring houses. Ms. Wittman stated that an ingress/egress plan, storage of materials, and construction runoff are not for the HPC to consider. Other departments in the City are charged with addressing those concerns. A rain garden will be required to accommodate post construction runoff, and the City requires property owners to rectify it if any water goes from their property onto adjacent property. Chair Mino closed the public hearing. She asked why this type of house is proposed in this neighborhood? Ms. Blaser replied the building pad is very small and not many designs fit. A two story structure would tower over the neighboring homes. This design makes the most sense for the topography. Chair Mino said a front-facing garage is not traditional. She asked if the garage could be pushed back. Ms. Blaser answered they would need to redesign the house and that would affect the upper story. Commissioner Larson noted that people who buy property in the Neighborhood Conservation District should know there are special rules. A floor plan that works somewhere else might not comply. Ms. Blaser answered the house was design specifically for this lot because of the building pad size. Commissioner Larson responded there are an infinite number of house designs. The proposed design doesn’t work well in this district. There are houses on either side that probably would not comply with today’s design guidelines but it is not reason enough to design a new home in a similar way. For instance, one side of the house having no windows is not consistent with four-sided design. Commissioner Finwall noted there are nearby ramblers and split levels built prior to the designation of the district, but this house takes away from the neighborhood. It does not match the vernacular, mass and scale of other homes and should not be approved. Commissioner Thueson stated the design is garage-dominant. It does not fit with the homes around it. Commissioner Larson suggested having the designer work more with staff to get to where the Commission needs the design to be. Chair Mino pointed out the Commission is not opposed to modern design but must consider massing, scale, four-sided design and traditional garage setbacks. Ms. Blaser thanked the Commission for its feedback and Ms. Wittman offered to meet with the applicant in the next week. Motion by Commissioner Holmes, seconded by Commissioner Larson, to deny with prejudice Case No. 2021-38, Design permit for a new single-family home to be constructed on the property located at 505 Elm St W. All in favor. NEW BUSINESS Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting December 8, 2021 Page 3 of 5 Case No. 2021-39: Consideration of a Design Permit for a Master Sign Plan for the property located at 402 Main St N in the Downtown Design Review District. ABS Co., property owner. City Planner Wittman stated that the applicant is requesting approval of a Design Permit for a multi- tenant sign plan for the Isaac Staples Sawmill. The property has 211 feet of building frontage, allowing it to have 211 square feet of wall frontage. City Code indicates each business is permitted to have no greater than 25 square feet of wall signage. The applicant is proposing the following signs: four six- square-foot wall signs to be located on each side of the main entrance; one 20-square-foot wall sign for the southern-most, ground-level tenant space; four 25-square-foot wall signs for the northern- most, ground-level, mill tenant spaces; one 30-square-foot sign wall sign for ground-level tenant space “B”; one 35-square-foot wall sign for ground-level tenant space “C”; and one 30-square-foot free-standing sign for Staples Mill Antiques. The property has had signs for a long time with no sign plan. Overall, staff finds the proposed sign plan conforms to the Downtown Design Manual and City Code and recommends approval with four conditions. Commissioner Finwall noted that normally a sign plan would have more detail on materials, size, location and lighting. Ms. Wittman answered when the new sign code standards were adopted, most sign guidelines were converted into sign standards which allow City staff to administrative approve sign permits downtown. The Commission still reviews sign plans. Sign locations and sizes are shown and signs must meet City code. Commissioner Larson stated a graphic showing intended location of signs would help, rather than a spreadsheet with numbers. Chair Mino asked if the signs may be smaller than the existing signs. Ms. Wittman answered staff would be able to administratively approve smaller signs. The sizes shown would be their maximum sizes. Commissioner Finwall said the main sign, Isaac Staples Sawmill, should be included in the sign plan. Additionally, the sign plan should be done so that any turnover in signage would be consistent with the overall plan. She suggested a condition that all tenants should have the same size sign. Ms. Wittman pointed out that currently, signs A-G are not the same size. They will end up being 2.5’ tall in different widths depending on the number of lights they have. Commissioner Finwall asked if the plan should also identify lighting. Ms. Wittman answered that lighting, if changed, would have to come back to the Commission. Commissioner Thueson suggested adding a condition that signs should be centered in the lighting space between the top of the window and the light. Ms. Wittman suggested the Commission may want to see a more comprehensive sign plan with greater detail which could help future staff implement the approval. Commissioner Finwall said she would like a verbal description of all signage on the building, including the Isaac Staples Sawmill sign size and location; an exact location for tenants’ signs; including the existing freestanding sign and its location; and noting whether lighting is part of signage. Motion by Commissioner Walls, seconded by Commissioner Finwall, to table Case No. 2021-39, Design Permit for a Master Sign Plan for the property located at 402 Main St N, directing staff to work with the applicant to update the sign plan and bring it back before the Commission. Motion passed 5-1 with Commissioner Holmes voting nay. Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting December 8, 2021 Page 4 of 4 Case No. 2021-40: Consideration of a Design Permit for exterior modifications for the property located at 315 3rd St S in the Downtown Design Review District and the Central Business District Bluff Top overlay. Catherine Kriewald, property owner. Ms. Wittman stated that Catherine Kriewald has submitted a Design Permit application to alter the structure used as her residence, to open a small commercial retail food space on the first floor. New storefront windows will be installed, as well as mosaic on the stoop, and the possibility of a rotating wall mural. The structure is a wood frame structure that has been wrapped in different non-historic materials. The brick façade where the wall mural is proposed may not be historic brick. With the exception of the window design (two designs being considered), the proposed building alteration does not materially impair the architectural or historic integrity of the building and site, adjacent buildings and sites, or the neighborhood as a whole. The applicant is willing to mirror whatever window style the Commission favors, on the other side of the door. Granting the design permit will not negatively alter the essential character and significance of the building, site, or its surroundings. Commissioners Thueson, Larson and Walls said they see no issues with the mosaic proposed for the doorway and do not see it as part of signage calculations. Chair Mino noted the slide window style is more traditional but either style would be appropriate. Commissioner Larson added that if the windows are vertical, he would want four panes with a divider. Ms. Wittman said if the whole Commission prefers the slider style, a condition could be added that the windows be 4 over 2 and be symmetrical. Commissioner Larson said he would like to require the applicant to submit the window style, once chosen, to staff for review and approval. Regarding the murals, he wondered if approved, what stops anyone from painting a graphic design on their house? Ms. Wittman explained the applicant is not ready to submit any mural designs. The Commission does not allow painting on historic brick but it is uncertain whether the brick wrap is historic. Commissioner Thueson said the Commission should review the specific mural design whenever it is available. He likes having murals in town but they must follow the guidelines. Painting masonry is a process that would be hard to reverse. He would like more research to see whether the wall proposed for the mural predates 1945. If so, a panel on top of the brick may be a better option. Commissioner Larson commented there is a product that shrink wraps onto brick and is removable. Motion by Commissioner Walls, seconded by Commissioner Holmes, to approve Case No. 2021-40, Design Permit for exterior modifications for the property located at 315 3rd St S, with the five conditions recommended by staff, modifying Condition #2 to state the mosaic shall not be considered signage; adding Condition #6 stating that the windows shall have a 2 over 2 symmetrical design on both windows regardless of whether a flip up or slide over; and adding Condition #7 stating that specific mural design shall come back before the HPC for a design permit in advance of installation. All in favor. Chair Mino suggested having a future discussion about murals and what is appropriate. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS 125 Main Street South Mural Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting December 8, 2021 Page 5 of 5 Ms. Wittman informed the Commission that earlier this year the Commission approved an aluminum composite mural to be placed on a stucco wall. The mural as installed does not look exactly as proposed but staff approved it as being substantially similar. In late October a downtown resident emailed saying they do not agree that it is similar to what was previously approved in terms of the type of aircraft in the painting. Staff’s interpretation is that it was consistent even though they added a helicopter. She asked Commissioners to look at the mural and prepare to discuss it in January. 2040 Comprehensive Plan Review & 2022 Workplan Ms. Wittman stated that “analyze and prioritize designation opportunities, local and national” is still on the 2022 workplan. Additional activities involving the HPC will be development of the Chestnut Plaza, planning for reuse of the Bergstein Building, stabilization and rehabilitation of the Lowell Park Gazebo, and possibly rehabilitation of the sunken garden in 2023. 2022 Holiday Meeting Schedule The Commission agreed to move the November and December 2022 meetings one week earlier. Stillwater Women’s Reading Club Presentation Ms. Wittman said she and Commissioner Thueson will speak to the Stillwater Women’s Reading Club in April 2022 about the work of the HPC. FYI Commissioner Larson and Commissioner Holmes will put together a booklet with examples of good infill development in the Neighborhood Conservation District. Commissioner Larson brought up the question of how much downtown lighting is too much? The lighting on Chestnut Plaza is animated and seems to be multiplying. Commissioner Holmes remarked it’s hard to define what is too much holiday lighting. It makes a difference whether it is permanent or temporary. Commissioner Finwall commented that lighting is an important design element for the historic district. An overall lighting study would be helpful, to include seasonal lighting guidelines. Ms. Wittman explained there were previous conversations with the downtown business community but there were never any guidelines or standards set. Staff can look at what has been done in the past regarding decorative lighting, and look at possible grant funding toward the end of 2022 to help with this analysis. The community will need to be involved in the discussions. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Holmes, seconded by Commissioner Walls, to adjourn. All in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 9:06 p.m. Amy Mino, Chair ATTEST: Abbi Wittman, City Planner