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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-07-17 HPC MIN HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION MEETING July 17, 2019 7:00 P.M. Chairwoman Mino called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Chairman Mino, Commissioners Finwall, Larson, Steinwall, Thueson, Walls, Council Representative Junker (left at 8:25 p.m.) Absent: Commissioner Krakowski Staff: City Planner Wittman APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of minutes of June 19, 2019 Motion by Commissioner Thueson, seconded by Commissioner Finwall, to approve the minutes of the June 19, 2019 meeting. All in favor, 6-0. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. CONSENT AGENDA There were no items on the Consent Agenda. PUBLIC HEARING There were no public hearings. NEW BUSINESS Case No. 2019-18: Consideration of a Design Permit for the Stillwater Riverbank Restoration and Riverwalk Project. City of Stillwater, property owner and applicant. City Planner Wittman explained that the City of Stillwater will be conducting a riverbank restoration project between Nelson Street East and the southern City limit. The purpose of the project is to stabilize the shoreline and provide a riverwalk separating users to provide pedestrian safety in an area where there is significant pedestrian, cyclist, and vehicular congestion. As part of the project, the City intends to construct a Riverwalk from Nelson Street East, at the end of the existing levee wall, to the Bergstein Shoddy Mill and Warehouse. The project boundaries extend along the St. Croix River shoreline for nearly three-quarters of a mile. Extending from the southeastern edge of the Stillwater Commercial Historic District, approximately one-third of the project is located in the Downtown Design Review District. Connecting with the Army Corps of Engineers levee wall at Nelson Street East, the walkway will consist of a pile wall to accommodate a 10’ wide concrete walkway. The riverside of the walkway will separate users with a black pipe rail fence to match the existing MnDOT-installed railing in this location. Riverside riprap will remain and new riprap with vegetation will be installed to an elevation of 684’. The wall will carry along the river, around the Dock Café. From this point to the Shoddy Mill and Warehouse site, the 10’ pedestrian at-grade walkway will continue alongside the Loop Trail with vegetated riprap below. Three concrete overlooks will be installed. The first of the overlooks will be located at the St. Croix Boat and Packet loading dock. The primary purpose of this overlook is to provide for pedestrian loading and unloading in an area that is off both the street and the Riverwalk. A secondary function of the overlook is to connect existing and future gangways. The other two overlooks will be over existing stormwater outlets in Bridgeview Park. Details of Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting July 17, 2019 Page 2 of 5 the concrete finish have not been submitted to the City. The Commission is asked to determine whether the shoreline restoration project will impact the South Main Archaeological District and/or the Cultural Landscape District. Neither of these districts has been nationally listed but both are eligible. The site is well documented and has been significantly surveyed over the last several decades. The shoreline has been extended out from where it originally was, with mainly sawdust fill. The improvement will occur right along the shoreline edge, quite a distance away from the known historic resources which are mainly foundations associated with the former milling operation. The reason the archaeological district extends to the river is that the river was the eastern boundary of the activities that occurred, but it is not clear exactly where the river line was. Staff has determined that the proposed project will be in conformance with previously approved plans and will not negatively impact historical, cultural and archaeological resources. Therefore, staff recommends conditional approval. Chairman Mino asked, are there contingency plans if additional historic resources are discovered during the course of the project? City Planner Wittman said that is something this Commission would discuss. The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Army Corps of Engineers may have additional requirements, but the restoration project will be bringing in fill, so it is more likely that resources could potentially be covered rather than exposed. Councilmember Junker remarked that in the area from the Dock Cafe to the Bergstein Building, over a foot and a half of land has been lost to high water erosion since the trail was put in, so it is an absolute must to shore up the area. As the City continues working on Bridgeview Park, this will bring more exposure to existing archaeological findings. He would like to see signage and pictures indicating what was there historically. Commissioner Steinwall said the Commission may wish to consider building in some protection of existing resources from graffiti and vandalism, for instance, fencing or some means of protection. Ms. Wittman responded that the riverbank restoration won’t be near those areas, but the HPC could put this on an agenda to discuss the opportunities and constraints associated with this site in regard to a protection and interpretation plan for the mill ruins. Commissioner Larson asked, does the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or the National Park Service (NPS) review the plans? Ms. Wittman said the DNR has already reviewed the project. The Army Corps of Engineers reviewed it and is determining right now whether they will require any sort of 106 review or mitigation. The SHPO also will review it. Commissioner Larson asked how will bikes and pedestrians be separated? Ms. Wittman replied that the walkway portion will be for pedestrians. Signage has yet to be determined. There is a vehicular roadway through there, so part of the plan is to get pedestrians off the trail. Councilmember Junker added that there are 100 parking spots just south of the St. Croix Boat & Packet ticket office, so there will always be cars there. The area between the parking spaces and the shoreline will be widened. The shoreline will be expanded to the east which will put the cars further west from the trail, but it is yet to be determined if bikes will be allowed on the trail or if it will be strictly pedestrians. Commissioner Larson asked about the wall along the trail. He thinks it should be made to look as much like the existing wall as possible. This could be made a condition of approval. Ms. Wittman replied it will be a concrete wall. The DNR has requested the concrete on the overlooks be stained brown. The existing Army Corps of Engineers wall is concrete. Commissioner Finwall asked about the rip rap. It may a good opportunity to do something more naturalized, but if the intent is to stabilize the shore, she is OK with it. She would like to see the landscaping plans. Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting July 17, 2019 Page 3 of 5 Ms. Wittman noted that the City has a very limited 10-12 foot easement right along the shoreline there. The City has landscaping plans but they were not included in the packet because the HPC is concerned with historic and cultural resources, not landscaping. Commissioner Larson said he is pleased the project is being done. He feels the biggest impact will be the overlooks, which will be very visible. The overlook servicing the docks is unique from the other two. As depicted, they seem highway-scale heavy and should be designed to sit more lightly on the river. He would like to see alternative designs that celebrate the river. Councilmember Junker commented that in the renderings, it’s hard to determine where the river level will be and how high the structures will be. Commissioner Larson added that if the overlook structures are fairly concealed by the water most of the time, they would be less visible and blend into the landscape and the river. If they are going to sit up high, then something special should be done with the design. Commissioner Finwall said that is why it would be helpful to see some landscaping detail. Chairman Mino commented that plans for interpretive elements along this entire area should be running parallel to these planning efforts. She would like to see plans for how to address resources that are discovered in the course of the project. Commissioner Steinwall agreed that the HPC should discuss how to identify, protect and segregate any additional historic resources that may be discovered in the course of developing the project. This could be a condition of approval. Ms. Wittman said the plans all show an elevation difference from land to ordinary high water (680’) of 15’ or less. The plans are at a fairly complete stage, so if the HPC has alterations then they should be stated very specifically. Commissioner Finwall remarked it would be beneficial to see landscaping plans. ie in front of the Dock Cafe and around the overlooks in regard to addressing the cultural landscape. Ms. Wittman replied there will be no landscaping in front of the Dock Cafe because that is private property. The City has a 10’ trail easement but does not own the land. There is existing rip rap in that location. Landscaping near the overlooks will all be grasses. The cultural landscape district is a very large area extending across the river. Councilmember Junker reminded the Commission that all the work will be done east of the current trail right along the shoreline. The land along the Dock Cafe is all fill that was not there historically. Chairman Mino suggested possible conditions of approval could be that the wall should mirror the 1930s Army Corps wall, and that the currently identified historic resources within the area will be protected should any of the work affect them. And that the work will not negatively impact the identified national register- eligible historic districts. Ms. Wittman said that the impact is up to the HPC to determine. She asked what does the HPC need from the applicant, the City, and the engineers to make that determination. Commissioner Finwall answered she would like to see the landscape plans. Commissioner Larson said he would need detailed information on grades, with water elevation high and low, to understand how much of the wall as currently designed would be exposed to view. If it looks like what has been presented, he would like to see alternative designs that are less bulky and massive, that either fit into the landscape or sit lightly upon the landscape. As currently seen the overlooks are visually distracting. They could be mistaken for barge moorings. Motion by Commissioner Larson, seconded by Commissioner Finwall, to table Case No. 2019-18, Design Permit for the Stillwater Riverbank Restoration and Riverwalk Project to address the information discussed. Commissioner Larson suggested that if a condition of approval is that the new retaining wall match the existing Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting July 17, 2019 Page 4 of 5 wall, he would like to know what that new retaining wall would look like because the rendering doesn’t look like what is being described. Commissioner Finwall asked, does the HPC want to add something about doing a separate process for historical educational components? Chairman Mino reminded the Commission the motion is to table. The HPC can still discuss if there is additional info they would like to request. Commissioner Steinwall acknowledged that the City wants to move this project forward and much of what has been discussed could be folded into conditions of approval that would potentially allow the City to go forward with the only question mark being the visual impact to the river of the overlooks. As a condition of approval, the HPC could request a contingency plan, conditioning the approval based on having the color of the levy walls match the wall at the north end of the riverwalk. With respect to the overlooks, the HPC probably has insufficient information at the moment. Commissioner Finwall asked, could the HPC approve most of the project but ask for the overlooks to come back? Ms. Wittman stated the project was hoped to be out to bid in September. The project still hasn’t made it through Army Corps of Engineers or SHPO review. SHPO has stated they won’t comment until the HPC has commented. Commissioner Finwall stated she is fine moving ahead but wondered if the HPC would like to add the educational signage component. Ms. Wittman replied that should not be part of this process, it may be a recommendation to the Council to look at an interpretative plan perhaps in next year’s work plan. Commissioner Larson agreed the signage and educational elements should be addressed in a different way than attaching it to this civil engineering project. Commissioner Finwall responded that if it helps meet the intent of the cultural landscape district, it should fall under this funding package. Ms. Wittman stated the funding is for the riverwalk. Chairman Mino stated if it’s not part of this plan and the HPC doesn’t make it a condition of this part of the project, it should be part of the plans going forward. Ms. Wittman said she has made a note to bring appropriate interpretative elements back before the Commission when work plans are discussed. Commissioner Larson asked, if the HPC approves the project with conditions, can the approval be with the exception of the design of the overlooks? Ms. Wittman replied if there’s an element of the plan that needs to come back before the HPC, it makes sense to table it because the project will not move forward until the plans are complete. Commissioner Larson noted he won’t be at the August HPC meeting. He reiterated that he would like to see something that either fits into the landscape better or sits more lightly and looks less massive. Ms. Wittman stated that Commission Larson can review the materials and provide comments in writing that can be included in the future discussion. All in favor, 6-0. OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS Demolition Review Ms. Wittman stated that she is starting to review the demolition ordinance, however current planning has taken over the department’s time. She invited the Commissioners to call with their thoughts. The existing demolition ordinance is choppy and cumbersome to applicants and needs to be revised. Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting July 17, 2019 Page 5 of 5 Recent Projects Ms. Wittman reported on recent cases. The Miller demolition at 615 Broadway Street South will be discussed in a public hearing at the next HPC meeting. Regarding 116 Harriet Street South, the Council voted 2-1 to move forward with a designation study which has just started. FYI The Saga of the Stillwater Lift Bridge Ms. Wittman stated that as part of the river crossing mitigation, MnDOT published a book about the historic lift bridge. She distributed copies. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Steinwall, seconded by Commissioner Finwall to adjourn. All in favor, 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:43 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Julie Kink, Recording Secretary