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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-08-16 HPC MIN HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEETING August 16, 2017 7:00 P.M. Chairman Larson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Chairman Larson, Commissioners Hadrits, Krakowski, Steinwall, Welty, Council Representative Junker Absent: Commissioners Mino and Goodman Staff: City Planner Wittman APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of July 19, 2017 meeting minutes Motion by Commissioner Welty, seconded by Commissioner Krakowski, to approve the minutes of the July 19, 2017 meeting. All in favor, 5-0. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. CONSENT AGENDA Case No. 2017-26, Design Permit for a projecting sign to be located at 214 Main Street South. Mary Ferraro representing Downtown Divas Boutique, applicant and Mike and Barbara Lynskey, property owners. Case No. 2017-27, Design Permit for business signage to be located at 402 Main Street North. Monty Brine, property owner and Cheri Bell, applicant. Motion by Commissioner Welty, seconded by Commissioner Hadrits, to approve the Consent Agenda. All in favor, 5-0. NEW BUSINESS Case No. 2017-25: Design Permit for the construction of a garage on the property located at 102 Cherry Street East. Chris Rustad, property owner. City Planner Wittman explained that the applicant has submitted a Design Permit application to construct a 480 square foot, two-car garage. The property owner purchased the property recently and has been conducting significant renovations to return the property to a single family residence. At its August meeting, the Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve variances for the proposed improvements as the garage will be located in the exterior (corner) yard setback area and will increase the total structural coverage on the property. Staff recommends approval with five conditions. Chairman Larson said he would prefer two doors rather than a large single door if possible. Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting August 16, 2017 Page 2 of 5 Chris Rustad, applicant, informed the Commission he plans to have a single door but would not be opposed to two smaller doors if they could accommodate standard cars. The door or doors would have panels and windows in a carriage house style. Chairman Larson expressed concern about the use of concrete block. Mr. Rustad stated that very little of the block will be visible from the street. The soil line will be only 6” below the trim. He would be willing to use rough faced concrete for everything except the top block to accommodate the trim. Motion by Commissioner Hadrits, seconded by Commissioner Welty, to approve Case No. 2017-25, Design Permit for construction of a garage at 102 Cherry Street East, with the five staff-recommended conditions, amending Condition 2 to state that rockface concrete block shall be used on all visible foundation courses with the exception of the top course. All in favor, 5-0. Case No. 2017-28: Design Permit for amended parking plan for the property located at 232 Main Street North and 251 Second Street North. Midnight Real Estate, property owner and Anne Loff, applicant. City Planner Wittman stated that in late 2016 the HPC conditionally approved a design permit for the Crosby hotel to be located on North Main Street. As part of the project, Midnight Real Estate Group proposed a two-story parking deck, to be accessed off of North 2nd and Mulberry Streets, as well as a three- story office building to be located at that intersection. However, investigation of the site revealed that it would not be able to accommodate the hotel, all necessary and required off-street parking as well as the office building. Therefore, the office structure was removed from the development plan and the two-story parking deck design has been expanded to fill in the area on the northwest corner of the development site. The applicant is now requesting approval of a Design Permit to construct the two-story parking deck and redesigned trash enclosure. Ms. Wittman pointed out that staff finds the scale, setbacks, and most of the materials are consistent with the Downtown Design Review District. However, the use of modern materials (precast concrete) is not encouraged, although precast concrete has been approved for this type of use. Staff recommends approval with three conditions. Matt Coopet, H.A.F. Group, explained that the parking garage had previously been proposed as brick but now precast concrete is proposed due to the larger size. There will be no precast used on the hotel. Chairman Larson commented that the use of precast concrete for the parking garage is a big change. The nearby City parking garage is precast but has a full brick face with detailed precast tops. It is a high quality building that matches the quality of surrounding buildings. He has difficulty envisioning the stamped concrete and feels there is a big difference in quality between stamped concrete and real brick. Councilmember Junker asked if the setback from the sidewalk will be landscaped. Mr. Coopet responded that the setback will be a minimum of 15 feet and will be landscaped with a green “living wall.” Commissioner Welty agreed that using precast concrete would be a poor choice especially for the two public views of the garage from Mulberry and North Second Street. Mr. Coopet responded that in the past five years, the quality of precast has vastly improved. Precast is being used due to the long spans of the openings, because regular stacked brick would require steel supports. Chairman Larson suggested incorporating a thin-brick surface to allow for some detailing of banding or capping. He expressed concern about the durability of the metal cap, which seems like a step down from what would be expected for the quality of a masonry building. Mr. Coopet replied that the metal caps were chosen to match the top of the hotel which is also metal. He pointed out that the application as submitted Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting August 16, 2017 Page 3 of 5 states that details will match the hotel. He doesn’t understand why the Commission is not accepting the metal coping. Chairman Larson stated he would like to see samples of the materials. Motion by Commissioner Welty, seconded by Commissioner Steinwall, to table Case No. 2017-28, Design Permit for amended parking plan for the property located at 232 Main Street North and 251 Second Street North, for the applicant to come back with samples of materials to be used or a modified design to include brick and the elimination of the metal coping. All in favor, 5-0. Case No. 2017-29: Design Permit for new business signage for the property located at 210 Main Street South. Dale Anderson, property owner and Nancy Figueroa, applicant. City Planner Wittman summarized that the applicant is requesting a Design Permit to make signage changes to include: 1. Black painting on all wood and metal storefront features. The kickplate groove, and the inset grooves on the columnar features will be painted red; and 2. A 12 square foot black, metal sign containing white, vinyl lettering proposed to read ‘Spice & Tea Hub’ in a traditional serif font. The sign will be framed in red; and 3. A four square foot, projecting sign proposed to read ‘Pinch ‘n Rub’ and ‘Spice & Tea Hub’ in circular lettering around the business’s new logo. The sign is proposed to be hung from a black arm though the material of the bracket is not noted. The application includes window signage, but it is less than 1/ 3 of the total window area and, therefore, does not require design review. The projecting sign conforms to the zoning code sign requirements. However, the sign is proposed to contain the words ‘Spice & Tea Hub’, which is already on the wall sign; additionally, the font is not consistent with the serif design of the wall sign. Furthermore, the trademark logo does not fit the historic character of the area. Staff recommends approval with five conditions. Cameron Kelly, attorney for the applicant, explained the signage represents a rebranding of Ms. Figueroa’s existing business which includes changing the business name to Pinch ’n Rub Spice & Tea Hub. The logo was designed to be fun and playful to attract customers. He presented pictures of other downtown signs. Nancy Figueroa, applicant, stated she intends to use the same sans serif font for Spice & Tea Hub for both the hanging sign and the sign on the front of the building. The white vinyl is for better visibility. She would like to start franchising, and Spice & Tea Company was too close to other business names. Commissioner Hadrits pointed out the applicant may want to have the complete business name on the building face for clarification for customers. Mr. Kelly responded that an assumed name could be filed with the Secretary of State in order for the sign on the face of the building to remain “Spice & Tea Hub” as submitted. Ms. Figueroa added that to get the entire business name on the sign on the building face would reduce the size of letters so she felt having the full name on the projecting sign and the window would suffice. City Planner Wittman stated that at issue is the guideline of using the business name once, and the products offered on the projecting sign. The application as submitted flip flops those two things. Chairman Larson agreed that usually, the main sign is on the building and the projecting signs supplement the main sign by indicating products sold. Commissioner Welty added that there is good reason to switch the two because the sign on the building is so high up it is less visible. Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting August 16, 2017 Page 4 of 5 Mr. Kelly stated that under the previous business name, the applicant got two cease and desist letters for using the name Spice & Tea Company. Hub is a place, while spice and tea are what she sells. All three of those words describe the business. Chairman Larson pointed out that the word hub occurs in both places, so if that word were removed on the wall sign, the business name would not appear on both signs. Regarding the objection that the logo is not in keeping with the character of Victorian downtown Stillwater, he stated that he does not find it objectionable. He feels it conforms to the historic character of downtown. Commissioner Steinwall pointed out that “Victorian” is subjective in nature. The sign reminded her of what one might find in England as the name of a tavern for example, so she felt it has an historic flare to it. Motion by Commissioner Welty, seconded by Commissioner Hadrits, to approve Case No. 2017-29, Design Permit for new business signage for the property located at 210 Main Street South, with the five conditions recommended by staff, modifying Condition 2 to state, “The wall mounted sign shall indicate the products offered and shall not contain the word ‘hub.’” All in favor, 5-0. OTHER ITEMS OF DISCUSSION 2018 Certified Local Government Anniversary Discussion City Planner Wittman asked that the Commissioners keep thinking about ideas on ways to commemorate the City’s 30th anniversary as a Certified Local Government and educate the public on the role of the HPC. 2017 Preserve Minnesota Statewide Historic Preservation Conference Ms. Wittman reminded the Commission of the annual Statewide Historic Preservation Conference, Preserve Minnesota, to be held September 13-15, 2017 in Albert Lea, Minnesota. STAFF UPDATES Stillwater/Wolf Hotel Administrative Plan Change Approval City Planner Wittman stated that she administratively approved a minor modification of the original Design Permit for the hotel project at 402 Main Street South changing the proposed vinyl clad windows to aluminum clad wood windows, with two conditions. American Gothic Windows Ms. Wittman informed the Commission that American Gothic Antiques had three upper story original windows fall out last fall and a repair order was issued. They have now replaced nine windows with vinyl clad custom windows. Staff is approving this as maintenance. 2017 Statewide Conference Poster Contest Ms. Wittman requested ideas for an item to submit a poster contest reflecting historic preservation efforts. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Hadrits, seconded by Commissioner Krakowski, to adjourn. All in favor, 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting August 16, 2017 Page 5 of 5 Respectfully Submitted, Julie Kink, Recording Secretary