Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-07 HPC MINate THE EINTNILACE Of NINNEIOTE HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEETING January 7, 2013 7:00 P.M. Commissioner Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Commissioners Brach, Goodman, Johnson, Krakowski, Larson, Zahren, Council Representative Cook Absent: Chairman Lieberman Staff: City Planner Pogge APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of December 3, 2012 meeting minutes Motion by Commissioner Zahren, seconded by Commissioner Brach, to approve the minutes of the December 3, 2012 meeting. All in favor. OPEN FORUM Brian Larson, 2008 Hazel Court, spoke regarding Larry Cramer's Rafters rooftop project. The applicant has a proposed alteration to the stair going to the roof and wants the Commission's input. After meeting with the building official, Mr. Cramer determined there was a way to stay completely on his property and create a three foot wide stair on the exterior of the building, entering the building on the second level. The building official was OK with this concept. Mr. Larson presented a preliminary sketch showing the exterior structure. Commissioner Johnson pointed out the elevation where the exterior stair is proposed is not historic, but the exterior stair looks a little awkward on the building. Mr. Larson responded its shape and form are governed by the space that is available. Commissioner Zahren agreed it is awkward and looks like a warehouse, which hinders the City's attempts to beautify Water Street. Commissioner Goodman said the exterior fire escape is a look seen on older buildings. He doesn't have a problem with it. Commissioner Zahren asked if Mr. Cramer realizes that the customers' view will be impacted by the addition of the stairway. Commissioner Johnson suggested a different 180 degree turn for the stairway which would make the platform nearer the top. Mr. Larson said that would lead right into about the middle of the bar. City Planner Pogge expressed concern about the treatment of the sidewalk on Water Street. Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting PUBLIC HEARINGS There were no public hearings. DESIGN REVIEWS January 7, 2013 Case No. DR/2012 -36. Design review of awnings and building painting located at 102 Main Street South, 106 Main Street South and 279 Myrtle Street East in the CBD, Central Business District. Acme Awning, applicant. Continued from the December 3, 2012 meeting. Anthony Misenor of Acme Awning presented revised renderings of awnings proposed for the Main Street side of the building which cover the space above the windows. He also resized the awning on Myrtle Street to match No Neck Tony's. Regarding signage, Mr. Misenor stated the tenant of the bookstore doesn't want to cover up the white space above the windows with awning, but wants to put a sign there. Commissioner Johnson suggested putting the sign above the awning like at No Neck Tony's. City Planner Pogge clarified that because there are two street elevations for the business, a sign can be placed on each. A representative from ACME Awning representing building owner Olivia Horning stated he doesn't like the awning changes and prefers just two awnings over the doors of the businesses. Commissioner Johnson commented that different sizes of awnings lack continuity. Awnings add to the storefront appearance by covering up some of the closed transom area that no longer exists, giving more uniformity to the front. Commissioner Zahren added that the new awnings will improve the look of the building. City Planner Pogge pointed out the applicant has two years to install awnings if approved. Motion by Commissioner Johnson, seconded by Commissioner Krakowski, to approve awnings and painting as revised. All in favor. Case No. DR/2013 -01. Design review of signage for DiaSorin located at 1990 Industrial Blvd located in the BP -C, Business Park Commercial District. Douglas Schuenke, applicant. Bill Waterhouse, facilities manager, and Suzanne LaBarron, assistant to the vice president of operations, offered to answer questions regarding the application for a new sign that is proposed to contain the words "DiaSorin" in individual aluminum channel letters painted white on a blue background. Motion by Commissioner Larson, seconded by Commissioner Krakowski, to accept the proposal as submitted with conditions. All in favor. Case No DR/2013 -03. Design review of window replacement for Marx located at 241 Main Street South in the CBD, Central Business District. Mark Hanson, applicant. Page 2 of 5 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting January 7, 2013 Mark Hanson, applicant, indicated he wants to redo the windows for the apartments. The exterior trim will be the same as it is now and the windows will look the same but are more energy efficient. Awnings will remain. Motion by Commissioner Zahren, seconded by Commissioner Brach, to approve the proposal with conditions. All in favor. NEW BUSINESS New Web Site highlighting St. Croix Valley history City Planner Pogge introduced Matt Thueson, digital content manager for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and a Stillwater resident who has served on the the board of the Washington County Historical Society. He proposes to develop a web site with historic content on the St. Croix area. Mr. Thueson said he has a long -time interest in Stillwater history. He presented an experimental concept for a web site that uses the internet to let people see Stillwater as it was historically and as it is today. It would have smartphone and GPS capabilities and would allow users to zoom in on the 1870 bird's eye map to see their current location in 1870 Stillwater. City Planner Pogge said he hopes this project will generate some grant opportunities. Commissioners expressed positive comments about the project. CLG Grants City Planner Pogge said staff discussed doing a reuse study for the Shoddy Mill /Bergstein site since the City will own these buildings soon. He will look into a grant for this and for Matt Thueson's project. A subsequent grant might be sought for improvement of the buildings, for instance for restrooms, meeting space, and possibly a concession area for bikes or canoes. He added that Stillwater is partnering with the Washington County Historical Society on a grant to get the Brunswick Inn on the National Register. A private group has approached the City about doing some rehabilitation work, which could be eligible for tax increment financing if it's on the National Register. iPads City Planner Pogge said it would be a huge cost savings to the City for the Commission to use iPads rather than paper packets. Fees to applicants would be raised $25 to help pay for it, but would save applicants the cost of providing so many duplicate copies of application materials. The purchase of iPads for the Commission will go before the Council in January. Aiple Property Commissioner Johnson noted he heard the property owner offered the City first right of refusal to purchase the property north of the Zephyr. City Planner Pogge said tomorrow night, the Council will discuss what role the City would like to have in purchasing this property if any. There have been extensive conversations with the National Park Service, Department of Natural Resources and other agencies about this property. Page 3 of 5 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting January 7, 2013 Commissioner Johnson said long ago the City looked at creating an entrance into that end of the downtown. It would be a shame to lose the property to the construction of private homes. He would like to see the area preserved as a natural entry into the City. DESIGN REVIEW continued Case No DR/2013 -02. Design review of signage for Abra Auto Body & Glass located at 2000 Curve Crest Blvd in the BP -I, Business Park Industrial District. DeMars Signs, applicant. City Planner Pogge explained that the monument sign is an aluminum panel. The building sign is individual internally lit channel letters. The applicant proposes a black aluminum panel behind it. In the past, the City has not allowed an aluminum background behind channel letters. Staff recommends approval with the omission of this black background. An option may be to include a black border around the letters themselves. Commissioner Johnson noted that the black background is on the smooth wall surface and does not cover any architectural elements. Motion by Commissioner Johnson, seconded by Commissioner Zahren, to approve the monument sign and wall sign as submitted, deleting condition 3 which would have eliminated the black background. All in favor. NEW BUSINESS continued Discussion of Demolition Ordinance City Planner Pogge informed the Commission that the City Council denied demolition for both properties owned by St. Paul Lutheran Church, which triggered staff to begin a local designation process. Staff talked to five or six firms and received one proposal that was rather high. The proposal was presented to the Council, which elected not to hire the firm. This means that if the designation is not completed by May 5, the church will be allowed to demolish the two houses. He pointed out that the process has revealed that the Commission needs to tweak some parts of the ordinance: 1) to add a $5,000 escrow requirement for all demolition permits 2) review the demolition ordinance. Currently there is a six month timeline to complete local designation, which should be lengthened to nine months. He stated that qualified historians are currently backlogged which, combined with the City's tight timelines, drove the cost estimate up. Commissioner Johnson pointed out that there is a second point of Council approval or denial for a local designation process in the requirement that the expenditure requires Council approval. This means the demolition of a building could ultimately be based on fiscal rationale. Council Representative Cook reviewed the discussion that took place at the City Council meeting. She suggested talking to newly elected officials immediately to educate them on this type of issue. Commissioner Johnson said there also should be an expectation of what is reasonable cost for such designation. Having the client pay via the escrow will help. He expressed surprise that the Council opted not to take it through the designation process after the Commission recommended that the designation process proceed. He would like to ensure that even if a Commission vote on an issue is split, individual commissioners stick together and support the decision of the group. He has heard there may have been uncertainty on the part of some Council members that the designation may not have been wholeheartedly supported by the Commission. Page 4 of 5 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting January 7, 2013 City Planner Pogge agreed that it would be good to meet with the Council to emphasize the role of historic preservation in Stillwater. OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Goodman, seconded by Commissioner Krakowski, to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. All in favor. Respectfully Submitted, Julie Kink Recording Secretary Page 5 of 5