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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-01-03 HPC MIN City of Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission Jan uary 3, 2007 Present: Phil Eastwood, Gayle Hudak, Ken Harycki, Roger Tomten and Scott Zahren Staff present: Planner Mike Pogge Absent: Jeff Johnson, Howard Lieberman and Larry Nelson Acting chair P hil Eastwood called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. and introduced new member, Gayle Hudak. Approval of minutes : Mr. Zahren, seconded by Mr. Tomten, moved approval of the minutes of Dec. 4, 2006. Motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC HEARINGS Case No., DEM/07 - 02 Public hearing on a demolition request for a residence, storage building and remnants of an old garage at 1902 William St. N. in the RB, Two Family Residential District. Bob Clark, Lynskey and Clark Companies, applicant. Mr. Tomten recused himself fro m participation in consideration of this case. Representing the applicant were Bob Clark and Mickey Lynskey. Mr. Clark stated they plan to develop the site; the development proposal was included in the demolition application. Mr. Clark stated they feel ver y strongly that it will be extremely expensive to bring the house up to a saleable condition. He noted that the house has been offered free to anyone interested in moving the structure off site. Mr. Clark suggested that with several members absent, the Com mission consider continuing action on this case if it is not comfortable with granting approval at this time. Mr. Eastwood briefly reviewed the nine requirements of the City’s demolition permit and noted that the applicant had addressed each of the nine p oints. Mr. Eastwood questioned the City building official’s report and whether the building official should address the issue of economic feasibility. Mr. Pogge stated the building official’s function is primarily limited to review of life/safety issues. Don Empson, who prepared a report on the house and property for the applicants, briefly reviewed his position – that while not “sensible or practical” to convert the house into a modern house with modern amenities, given a “realistic purchase price” and “c ommitted buyer,” the th house could be preserved as a “very authentic example of a 19 century vernacular house.” Mr. Eastwood opened the public hearing. No comments were received, and the hearing was closed. Mr. Eastwood said he was inclined to continue th is case given that three members were absent and another member abstaining. Mr. Clark reiterated that it would require a lot of work and money to make the house livable, pointing out that there is no modern heating system; Mr. Lynskey added that plumbing a nd heating issues need to be resolved. Mr. Harycki spoke of the house across from the Post Office that was saved from demolition and encouraged members to visit the property. Mr. Clark added his invitation for members to visit and view the house. Ms. Hudak , seconded by Mr. Zahren, moved to continue Case No. DEM/07 - 02 to the February meeting; motion passed 3 - 0, with Mr. Tomten abstaining. 1 City of Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission January 3, 2007 DESIGN REVIEWS Case No. DR/07 - 01 Design review of proposed signage of Great Northern Sound Co. at 217 N. Second St. in the CBD, Central Business District. Stephen M. Huntley, applicant. The applicant was present. He explained that there is an existing knockout above the light on the front elevation that he wanted to cover up. He said one large sign would not look as good or represent his logo as well as the proposed signage. Mr. Huntley also noted that his request is under the allowable square footage for signage, but said he would be open to placing the signs side - by - side to look like one sign. Mr. Eastwood noted the only issue is the proposal to utilize two signs. Mr. Tomten suggested attaching the framework of the two signs. Mr. Pogge raised the issue of a similar request from Grumpy Steve’s. Mr. Tomte n pointed out that Grumpy Steve’s involved two separate sign, with different style lettering. In this proposal, both portions of the signage are of the same style and lettering, with the bottom portion a generic tag line. Mr. Zahren suggested notching the bottom portion of the sign so the circle portion could slide into the space and appear as one sign. Mr. Tomten moved approval with the condition that the two portions of the signage be mechanically fastened together to form one sign, along with the other recommended conditions of approval – all revisions to the approved plan be reviewed and approved by the Heritage Preservation Commission, the sign shall not be lit, and that there be no additional signage. Mr. Zahren seconded the motion. The applicant ques tioned whether he would be allowed to place a sign on the rear elevation at some time in the future. It was noted an additional sign could be placed on the rear elevation, as that represents another street frontage, but would require another application an d review by the HPC. Motion to approve as conditioned passed unanimously. OTHER BUSINESS Case No. DR/06 - 13 Infill design review of new construction in the Neighborhood Conservation District at 404 Fifth St. S. Mark Willis and Greg Stokes, applicants. Mr. Willis and Mr. Stokes were present and provided samples of the proposed colors and type of stone. The proposal is a monochromatic theme utilizing gray tones, they said. Shingles would be a bronze color (heather). Mr. Tomten noted that one of the condition s of approval was the use of stone appearing lintels, rather than metal lintels; the applicants provided a sample of the proposed stone - appearing lintels which will be used on the majority of the windows. Mr. Eastwood reiterated his concern that the propo sed use of stone is not consistent with the neighborhood and thus not consistent with the infill design guidelines. Mr. Tomten noted that the intent of the infill guidelines is not to require that new construction replicate the style of immediately adjacen t houses, and he noted that there are only two or three houses visible from this site, and the style of those houses is varied. Mr. Tomten moved approval of the color samples as submitted in the color - coded drawing for Case No. DR/06 - 13, with the conditio n that exterior lighting fixtures be recessed or fully shielded down lighting. Mr. Zahren seconded the motion. Motion passed 3 - 1, with Mr. Eastwood voting no. 2 City of Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission January 3, 2007 Case No. 06 - 05/ZAT Height re visions for the CDB District. Mr. Zahren, seconded by Ms. Hudak, moved to table this discussion until the February meeting. Mr. Tomten expressed a concern about the potential for having a streetscape in which all the building heights are the same, rather t han varied as the downtown currently is. Motion to table passed unanimously. CLG grant application – Mr. Pogge told the Commission the City is submitting a grant application to begin implementation of the Heirloom/Landmark Homes program. He said the $7,50 0 matching grant would cover three years. The final application is due Feb. 14 and the final proposal will be available for the next HPC meeting, he said. Mr. Pogge briefly reviewed the schedule of proposed work. Don Empson, who developed the Heirloom/Land mark House program, said it would be his suggestion to implement the web site in the first year of the grant cycle. Mr. Empson also suggested that the Commission/City develop a demolition policy to help the Commission deal with the conflicting values and issues that become involved in the demolition permit process. Comprehensive Plan update – Mr. Pogge said the City Council is asking that a member of each Commission/Board appoint a member to assist in selecting the consulting firm for the Comprehensive Pl an/Downtown Plan update. Mr. Eastwood expressed his interest in serving as the HPC representative. Mr. Tomten, seconded by Ms. Hudak, moved to appoint Mr. Eastwood to serve as the HPC representative. Motion passed 3 - 0, with Mr. Eastwood abstaining. Nation al Trust Conference field trip – Mr. Tomten distributed copies of the proposed field trip session to be held in conjunction with the National Trust Conference in the fall of 2007. Mr. Tomten said two field trip proposals were submitted for consideration – one focusing on the lift bridge/new bridge issues and one on downtown Stillwater. Mr. Tomten’s proposed session is titled “Residential Development Within a Small Town Commercial Historic Business District." A proposed itinerary and list of some potential s peakers was included. He said a decision on selected field trip sessions likely would be made in March or April. Mr. Tomten, seconded by Mr. Zahren, moved to adjourn at 8:50 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording S ecretary 3