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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-07-07 HPC MINPresent: Howard Lieberman, Chair, Micky Cook, John Brach, Robert Goodman, Jeff Johnson and Scott Zahren Staff present: Planner Mike Pogge Absent: Roger Tomten Mr. Lieberman called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Approval of minutes: Mr. Zahren, seconded by Mr. Johnson, moved approval of the June 7, 2010, minutes. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Lieberman noted that the HPC held a retreat on Jun 30, 2010, a session open to the public, and said notes of the session are available. OPEN FORUM No comments were received. City of Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission July 7, 2010 PUBLIC HEARINGS Case No. DEM /DR/2010 -11 Demolition request for the southern portion of a residence at 1117 Broadway St. N. in the RB, Two Family Residential District. George Middleton, applicant. Continued from the June 7, 2010 meeting. As requested by the applicant, this case was tabled to the Aug. 2, 2010, meeting on a motion by Mr. Johnson, second by Mr. Lieberman. Motion passed unanimously. DESIGN REVIEWS Case No. DR/2010 -12 Design review of signage for Ultima Bellezza Salon at 105 Third St. S. in the CBD, Central Business District. Mary Coleman, applicant. Continued from the June 7, 2010, meeting. The applicant was present. Ms. Coleman said with limited visibility from the street, use of window space is important. She said she had proposed removable film type images for the windows. Mr. Johnson noted that up to one -third of a window area can be utilized for signage, while what is proposed is larger than the allowable one - third. Ms. Coleman asked if there would be an issue if she just utilized the proposed neon window sign and not the window clings. Mr. Johnson said if the graphics are reduced to no more than one third of the window area, there would not be an issue. Ms. Coleman asked if it would be allowable to have an awning; it was noted any awning would have to be approved by the HPC. Mr. Johnson moved to approve the business sign in the window as presented without the addition of graphics in excess of one -third of the window area. Mr. Zahren seconded the motion. Mr. Lieberman suggested allowing staff to approve the awning if staff finds no issues with the proposal. Mr. Johnson accepted that as an amendment to his motion, as did Mr. Zahren. Amended motion passed unanimously. Case No. 2010 -21 Design review of renovation of an existing manufacturing /office building for Early Childhood Family Center at 1792, 1850, 1862 Greeley St. S. and 1825 and 1845 Industrial Blvd. in the BP -C and BP -I Districts. Steve Erickson, BWBR, applicant. The applicant spoke of the general scope of the project — to renovate the interior of the building from its prior use as a light manufacturing office into the Early Childhood Family Center, which will house classrooms, offices, large muscle exercise spaces, and accommodation for Courage 1 City of Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission July 7, 2010 Center and School District 916 programs. He said the District proposes to purchase the entire seven acres including the three buildings that front on Greeley Street and the two lots that front on Industrial Boulevard. He said at this time the proposal deals only with the central, larger of the three buildings at 1850 S. Greeley St. Mr. Erickson said to accommodate the new uses for the interior, the proposal is to cut new windows into the exterior. He said the original construction was the large bay building in rear, primarily a concrete block building with concrete piers and steel buttress roof. The portion of the building that fronts on Greeley, he stated, is a three story, primarily block and brick building. He said the majority of the windows would be cut into the painted block areas. He said essentially nothing will be done to the Greeley Street side where there are existing windows. On the south elevation which fronts on the parking lot between the two buildings, he said the proposal is to cut windows, 6x6, in each of the classroom spaces and construct a canopy to accommodate drop -offs as folks approach the building. On the west elevation, he said there are some larger openings proposed to be filled in, maintaining some of the smaller openings to give access to a developed playground, with new windows for classrooms and larger spaces. On the north elevation, in addition to the new windows, a small canopy is proposed as well. He provided samples of proposed materials and colors, which he said would not be changed. He said windows will be a clad Andersen window, with any new openings changed to new aluminum entrance pieces to match the window colors — dark, medium bronze color. Complimentary colors to blend with the brick would be used for the canopy, he said. Regarding landscaping, he said several trees would be removed to accommodate an access drive out to Industrial Boulevard. He said the City Forester reviewed the 11 trees proposed to be removed. He said the Forester found that only four of the trees were significant enough to require replacement; one of the trees is large enough that the recommendation is to replace it with multiple trees. He said the proposal is to plant 11 or 14 new maple trees, more than what is recommended by staff. Other than the trees, he said the site would remain undisturbed in terms of plantings. It was noted that the appearance of the building as viewed from Greeley Street will essentially be unchanged. Regarding lighting, Mr. Erickson reviewed the placement of poles for lighting of the parking area, noting that photometric studies indicate there will be no spillover from the site. There also will be some building- mounted lighting, all with sharp cutoff fixtures so the light sources are not visible, he said. He provided cuts of the fixtures. Mr. Johnson noted there are very little changes from the street side and moved to approve the plans as submitted with the addition that the pole- mounted fixtures be a cutoff, down - lighted companion to the wall units. Mr. Zahren seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. On a question by Mr. Johnson, Mr. Erickson briefly described the proposed uses of the other two buildings, which he said will essentially remain unchanged. Mr. Lieberman asked about rooftops or garbage enclosures. Mr. Erickson said the building has one large rooftop unit. He said plans are to remove most of the rooftop units and install an indoor air- handling system. One rooftop unit will be replaced with a new unit due to space limitations. Regarding handing of refuse, Mr. Erickson said he was not sure at this time how that would be handled; Mr. Lieberman asked that those plans be presented in conjunction with the signage proposal. Mr. Johnson asked that Mr. Pogge include the information regarding the air - handling units as part of the information presented. Case No. DR/2010 -23 Design review of signage for Fashion Boutique at 308 Chestnut St. E. in the CBD, Central Business District. Liesl Benson, applicant. 2 City of Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission July 7, 2010 The applicant was present and described her plans. She said the plan is to utilize the existing wall sign board, with raised metal lettering of a similar font. The proposed projecting sign, which she had at her former store location, will have just the wording fashion boutique, not the business name, she said. There will be no lighting, it was noted. Mr. Brach, seconded by Mr. Goodman, moved approval as conditioned. Motion passed unanimously. OTHER BUSINESS Stillwater Veterans Memorial plaque — Jon Larson, temporary acting chairman of the Stillwater Memorial Committee, said the Committee didn't not think the proposed verbiage of the plaque would be offensive to anyone and asked HPC members what they might consider offensive. Mr. Goodman pointed out from an historical perspective the use of the term "hallowed ground" usually refers to a battle site or military cemetery. Mr. Goodman also pointed out that the wording on the plaque might not be entirely accurate as the Civil War veterans listed on the Wall of Honor might not have attended Stillwater schools. Mr. Lieberman suggested a possible addition to the wording such as "or resided near Stillwater." A representative of the Veterans Committee spoke of the use of "hallowed ground" in reference to other memorial locations and said the Stillwater site is just as important as those sites. Mr. Johnson said "hallowed ground" is defined as a location of religious or ethnic significance; he suggested several wording options that he thought would better represent the connection between Stillwater schools and veterans in wars. Mr. Lieberman said he had no problem with the proposed wording; Mr. Zahren agreed, referring to the dictionary definition of "hallowed" as including venerated. Mr. Larson read a letter from John Kramer regarding the historical significance /appropriateness of the requested wording. Mr. Lieberman moved to approve the proposed plaque with the addition of the wording "living in or near Stillwater." Mr. Zahren seconded the motion. Mr. Brach questioned what portion of the site is considered hallowed ground — just the spire or the entire site. Mr. Johnson said he had a concern from an historical perspective and definition of the term "hallowed ground," noting there was no battle at this site and no people buried at this site; he said he thought the wording misses the connection between the schools and service to country. Mr. Lieberman called the question. Mr. Johnson voted no; Mr. Brach stated he abstained. Mr. Lieberman noted the motion passed on a split vote, 3 (Lieberman, Zahren, Goodman) -1 -1 and will now go to the City Council. Presentation by Amy Sponq, St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission — Ms. Spong gave a Power Point presentation about the St. Paul Commission. The presentation highlighted: federal legislation and the role of the Commission, which is changing with the addition of federal stimulus money, she said; state enabling legislation; local ordinance /processes including the designation of historic districts, design guidelines, demolition review. She spoke of the typical agendas of the two monthly meetings; the duties and powers of the Commission; membership and areas of expertise; number of historic districts, inventoried properties and archeological sites; the design review process, including what can be approved by staff and what must go to the Commission; and areas required for design review. She provided numbers of the various types of reviews, including after- the -fact reviews. She spoke of issues related to demolition and gave examples of buildings lost to demolition; she noted St. Paul has adopted in -fill guidelines. She spoke briefly of education /outreach efforts. She highlighted design guidelines for the various districts. Regarding signage, she noted staff can approve signs of up to 30 square feet. 30 -day temporary sign permits — Mr. Pogge said Ms. Cook asked that this be placed on the agenda due to a concern about a sign at the Wolf Brewery. He noted the code currently allows the Community Development Director to issue a 30 -day temporary sign permit for special 3 City of Stillwater Heritage Preservation Commission July 7, 2010 business events; he said there is policy regarding size and number per year, but the policy has been fairly content neutral. He asked for Commission input about continuing to allow the temporary banners. Mr. Johnson said the potential problem comes in putting a different style banner up at the same location after the initial 30 days so the banner becomes something of a permanent billboard. Mr. Pogge said he thought Ms. Cook would like use of the temporary signs limited to a specific business events, such as anniversary sale or grand opening. Mr. Johnson said the ordinance seems reasonable, it's the abuse that is causing the problem. Mr. Lieberman said he thought banning the signage would be unenforceable, but said he would like the use limited to specific events, such as a grand opening. Mr. Johnson suggested the use of stickers with an expiration date to assist in enforcement. Mr. Pogge spoke of staffing limitations for enforcement. Mr. Pogge summed up the discussion as that the Commission is comfortable with special event signs, but in issuing such permits staff should make sure that the signs are related to a special event and make sure that time limits are observed. Commission members added that if there is an obvious abuse or complaint, staff should look at enforcement of the ordinance. Several additional comments were made related to the Memorial discussion. Mr. Johnson stated he raised his issues related to historical correctness as the Commission's action is only a recommendation to the Council. Mr. Pogge suggested Aug. 2 as the time for a boat trip depending on the number of agenda items. He said the meeting would likely start at 6 p.m., with the trip immediately following the meeting. Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. on a motion by Mr. Lieberman, second by Mr. Goodman. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording Secretary 4