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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC 12.10.15.pdf MINUTES PRELIMINARY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION NOVEMBER 12, 2015 RECREATION CENTER MEETING ROOM A MEMBERS PRESENT: Kent Ackerson, Thomas Agran, Gosia Clore, Kate Corcoran, Frank Durham, Andrew Litton, Ben Sandell MEMBERS ABSENT: Esther Baker, Pam Michaud, Ginalie Swaim, Frank Wagner STAFF PRESENT: Jessica Bristow, Bob Miklo OTHERS PRESENT: Pat Lang, Alicia Trimble RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action) CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chairperson Litton called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS. 1050 Woodlawn Avenue. Bristow stated that this is a non-contributing house in the Woodlawn Historic District. She said that it is a 1950s ranch-style home. Bristow said that although it is not of a style that is a contributing part of the district, it is a well-preserved example of a 1950s ranch-style home. Bristow said the applicant would like to remove the entry deck that was added in 2005 and widen it so that it would extend eight feet from the house. She said it would be eight feet wide all the way, stepping down the side of the house down to the back yard. Bristow said that it would be three different flat-level areas, and they will use the same railing that was used before. She said staff finds that the railing works very well with the ranch-style design because of the thinness of the members and the horizontality of it. Bristow said that all of the structure would be painted to blend with the rest of the house. She said the rail and the posts would be painted. Bristow said staff feels that having flat planes without any skirting would also be appropriate for this style of house. Bristow said this would be completely independent of the house structure and therefore would not do anything to damage the structure of the house. She said it would rest on its own posts. Bristow said that basically there is the existing deck and a Photoshop mockup of how this would fit along the side of the house. She said that while it is proposed for the side of the house that faces the street, in this neighborhood and this location, since it is down the hill from everything else and not very visible, staff feels this is an appropriate location for this particular deck. Miklo noted that this would require an exception by the Commission, as the guidelines talk about putting decks to the rear of the house. He said there have been other situations with HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 2 of 13 topographical issues where decks have been allowed on the side of the house. Miklo said that in this case, the reason to allow for deviation from the standards is the view from the street; this is not highly visible. Bristow said this is not the main, front door of the house MOTION: Ackerson moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 1050 Woodlawn as presented in the staff report. Clore seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Baker, Michaud, Swaim, and Wagner absent). 1009 East College Street. Litton said that, because he owns this house, he is recusing himself from discussion and voting on this and would hand over chairmanship of the meeting to Corcoran. Corcoran said the applicant is asking the Commission to approve a proposed demolition, reroofing and repair project. She said that this property is a contributing property in the East College Street Historic District. Bristow showed an image of the house, which was built around 1900 or earlier. She stated that it is a Greek revival transition to Italianate. She said the Greek revival elements include the cornice returns and the Italianate elements include the brackets, and both of them fit with the window configurations and the scale of the house. Bristow said that at the time of the original survey, the house had some replacement shingled siding, and the surveyor thought this house could be considered individually eligible if that was removed. Bristow said that since that time, the house now has lap siding, and the front porch has been put back on, which was also not there at the time of the survey. Bristow said the applicant proposes to remove the standing seam, metal roof and replace it with asphalt shingles and tuck point the chimney. She said that some of the areas where the bays are would have ice guard added to go up the wall as a transition between the lower roof and the wall. Bristow said the lap siding would also go over that. Bristow said the applicant also proposes to remove the built-in gutters and the crown molding to create a flat fascia and then install K-style gutters. Bristow said the guidelines do recommend repairing the chimney as proposed. She said that while the guidelines talk about not removing a standing seam metal roof, replacing a metal roof like this with asphalt shingles is acceptable. Bristow said the chances are that this house had wood shake shingles originally, and the asphalt shingles would be an appropriate replacement for that. Bristow said that using either wood or cement board for the siding is also acceptable. She said that the ice guard would presumably not be visible, so that would be acceptable. Bristow said that the main issue with the application is removing the built-in gutters and replacing them with K-style gutters. She showed a couple of images of the gutters. Bristow said it is possible that this is tin that was put on at the same time as the standing seam metal roof. She said it has probably been tarred at some point in time, because one sees that HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 3 of 13 crackling in the gutter. Bristow said they don't look like they flow well, and the surface is degraded. Bristow said the guidelines discuss not removing built-in gutters. She said that they can be repaired with a similar metal material as they were originally, but the guidelines also allow lining them with EPDM, because a rubber membrane may be easier to work with and may allow the metal to be left in. Bristow said she did not know, with the condition of these, if the applicant would want to do that. She said that they can also be replaced with a metal material to create a better slope. Bristow said that, looking at the cornice returns on the house, they are one of the main hallmarks that mark it as Greek revival. She said that removing the crown molding and creating a flat fascia would, in staff's opinion, be removing one of the main architectural features of this home. Bristow said that the K-style gutter would never fully mimic the look of the built-in gutter, and staff finds that this portion should not be allowed. Ackerson asked what is meant by K-style gutters. Bristow responded that it is kind of the typical gutter found on many houses. She said it has a little bit of a curve to it and a little bit of a flat area. Bristow said it is the closest of the residential gutters that one would get to try to mimic something like crown molding. Corcoran asked where the crown molding is in relation to the four brackets. Bristow replied that it is above that. Corcoran asked about the existing gutter. Bristow showed a photograph of a downspout, showing all of the area that is technically the gutter. Durham said that if the Commission approves the recommended motion, it would be approving an asphalt roof but not the removal of the other things. He asked if those two systems are compliant then to have an asphalt roof that shoots off onto the built-in gutter. Bristow said it can be done; they are not mutually exclusive. She said it could be done with either a metal flashing material for the built-in gutter or the EPDM version; either one could work with the asphalt shingles. Litton introduced Lang as the contractor for this project. Lang said he has been doing this work for 43 years. He said he worked on the Grant Wood house and the gutters there. Lang said it is extraordinarily expensive to remove the existing built-in gutters and retrofit them with gutters. He said it was $90,000 to do the Hayes house with copper. Sandell asked what other materials might be used. Lang said that any kind of metal could be used to emulate what that is. He said that today one uses underlayments, like a high-temperature ice guard. Lang said it is expensive to put it back the way it was. He said that there is not a blueprint for doing this, because all the builders did it differently. Lang said that a rubber roof with outlets makes it extremely hard to see over that outlet and also the rubber needs to be run clear up the roof. He said the shingles are then placed and then one has to wrap it over the fascia. Lang said the crown or wood has to be taken off and then tucked, because rubber expands and contracts. He said they usually only install rubber when it can be glued to a fiber board or substrate. Lang said that rubber cannot be glued to plywood or wood, HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 4 of 13 because the glue won't hold. He said that is why all rubber roofs professionally installed required a substrate. Lang said that rubber cannot be loosely laid. He said he has never seen a plausible EPDM system but has torn apart a lot of them. Lang said that he appreciates the interest and thanked the Commission for overseeing this type of thing. Lang stated that we are losing a lot of these types of houses. He said the first thing that goes on these is foundations, largely because the water is not directed away from the foundation. Lang said that to redo a built-in gutter on a building is absolutely, incredibly expensive to do it right. He said those are usually bridged with wood now. Lang said that in order to keep ice dam issues from ever causing problems, he takes the crown molding off the fascia and runs the membrane down the fascia for four inches. Lang said that the K-style is just a modern gutter. He showed a half round gutter and the round downspout. Lang said that if one really wants to emulate that era, there are half round, galvanized gutters. He said that in the restoration of these buildings, one has to get the water away from the foundations. Lang stated that when they were original built with those, tile systems were installed to get water away from the buildings, which is why they lasted so long. Lang said he could retrofit any building with half round gutters. He said he can fill in the built-in gutter with wood and then shingle from there up. Lang said he can do some edging and bring the half round gutter up underneath that edging. He said then the ice gets right between that in the winter. Lang said that to seal fascia, he runs the membrane down the fascia four inches, puts the K-style gutter on it, slides it up under the edging and makes the bottom edge ice dam proof. Lang said this stops moisture by keeping water away with a plausible gutter system. Lang said the other detriment to the built-in systems is that the outlets plug up so fast with debris, because there are no screens. He said that moves the water all down around the foundation again. Lang said that is mitigated with the screens on the new style gutter system. Lang said that unless people really have deep pockets for these built-in gutters, then he can line them with a special membrane and do things with expansion and contraction so that will never be an issue here. He said it is really expensive though. Durham said he guessed what would be done would be to cut one part off. Lang said he would only take the crown molding off. Durham said that right now the roof goes down and then goes back up. He said he assumed that one part would be removed. Lang replied that he would make the roofline come straight down to the edge. He said that he will come down and then angle so that he can leave the integrity of the fascia alone. Ackerson said that this one part is visually one of the things one notices about this old house. He said the roof goes down and then flares out. Ackerson said that at his house, the roof was replaced while he was gone, and the contractor took about 18 inches of soffit off and changed the shape. He asked how much of the existing appearance of the house is going to be changed by what Lang proposes. Lang answered that the fascia, he is going to keep the bottom of what he has and angle this and bring it down real close to this piece. He said that sometimes he has to go back a little bit, but if one hangs a gutter up underneath the edging, one can't see any of that. Lang said that one HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 5 of 13 cannot see the different pitch from the ground because of the overhangs. He said the overhangs were built out past the wall of the house in order to block things out eventually. Lang said that for monetary reasons primarily, he would angle the roof out and fill the gutter. He said it depends on the original construction, but there will literally be some type of plywood over rafters that will fill the piece in. Lang said the crown is taken off to get it square with the fascia and then the gutter is hung on the fascia.. He said he is just going to remove the one piece in order to put a gutter square on the squared fascia instead of angled. Lang said he can use half round gutters or remove the crown molding and put a square fascia K-style on it. He stated that he can tie it into edging and it will be ice dam proof. Corcoran asked if the crown molding could remain with the half round gutters. Lang confirmed this. Corcoran asked if the corbels would stay there too. Lang said he would not touch those. Litton said that the front porch and back porch have half round gutters on them. Lang said he could retain the crown molding with the half round gutters, but it is more expensive. He said then there is an elaborate strapping system that fastens to that so that they are never going to be subjected to ice. Bristow said the guidelines also do not allow having the roof straightened from the peak to the end in order to remove gutters. She showed a diagram with existing, slightly modified, and the way it should not be done. Sandell asked what material would be used to bridge. Lang said he would have to frame it in with some type of two-by system and then use plywood. Bristow stated that removing historic trim is not allowed. She said the guidelines disallow the removal of any historic, architectural feature such as a porch, chimney, bay window, dormer, brackets, or decorative trim that is significant to the architectural character and style of the building. Lang said that it took two months to do the Grant Wood house on Court Street. He said he had to hand form every single piece. Lang said that sometimes he would make prototypes out of aluminum, because copper is so expensive. He said the aluminum would then be matched perfectly to make the copper part. Agran said to him it looks like maybe debris is clogging the drain and causing standing water and not necessarily slope issues. Litton said he assumes the pitch was either messed up to begin with or all the layers have messed up the fall and pitch. He said the standing water is pretty consistent all around the building. Corcoran asked what the gutters were originally made of. Lang said they may be copper or some type of galvanized metal. Sandell asked Litton if he would be using a more cost-effective galvanized metal versus copper. Litton confirmed this. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 6 of 13 Ackerson asked about the removal of the crown molding. Lang said that with the K-style gutters, he would have to take the crown off. He said that with the half round, he wouldn’t. K-style gutters have a similar outside shape. Durham said he looks at the crown molding in the picture, and it resembles the gutters he has on his house. He asked if it would be possible to replicate the appearance of the crown molding with the outside shape of the K-style gutter. Lang said that a machine has not yet been made that can produce that type of form. He said that half round or K-style are the only two that are available to use. Bristow said that, similarly, the gutter has a floor to it, so the gutter would stick out further than the crown molding. She said that molding has maybe half an inch or an inch that it actually sticks out flat/horizontal. Bristow said that if that piece would come off, the K-style gutter would stick out further than that does and then have its curved side. She said that she did not believe it would be the way to go either to cover the crown molding with a half round gutter. Corcoran said that in the last paragraph of the report it reads, "While it is evident that the built-in gutters need repair, staff does not find evidence that they are beyond repair." She asked what repair would entail. Lang said it would need the metal and the goo that is spread over it to be removed. He said that one has to get into the wood framework and repair it. Lang said the plywood would be bridged down to the edge. Agran said that if this was using the K-style, it would still be getting into framing and would still be exposing that and getting in there with framing. Durham said Lang's position is that if keeping water away from buildings needs to be addressed, the integrity of the building in the future is dependent on a good gutter system that one can afford. Lang said the issue is keeping the water away from the foundation. Litton said he handed out the two pictures to show that these gutters have failed completely. He said there is no repairing them. Litton said they could be replaced, but they cannot be repaired. Lang said that with the pitch of the roof, the water is running down the roof and running right over the gutter and over. He said he forms them, putting a lip about an inch or inch and one- half up on the end to stop the water from going over. Lang said that anything can be replicated, but understanding the volume, the squares, and the pitch of that roof to a heavy rainfall, he would not know what to do. Bristow said that if one repairs the gutters, the slope can be changed. She said these gutters have been on this house for at least 115 years. Bristow said that the damage to the house and foundation from water is not 115 years worth of damage; it is more like 20 years. She said it is possible for these gutters to work properly, but they obviously need to be repaired. Bristow stated that the slope is wrong, the coating, the material, the water barrier is wrong, but they can be repaired. Bristow said she agrees that one would have to take up the tin that is there and redo it. Bristow said that the typical repair would be to replace the metal in the built-in gutter with more metal, but the Commission has allowed it to be replaced with EPDM just because it is more economical. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 7 of 13 Ackerson asked if EPDM is a rubber product which is put on in a form that dries. Bristow responded that it is a sheet. Durham said the logical inconsistency is that if the Commission sticks to the recommended guidelines, it becomes financially unfeasible and unlikely that the owner would be able to spend the money to meet the guidelines, and therefore the house may be less protected. Miklo said that at this point, those numbers are not available. He said it might be beneficial to defer this and get some numbers from contractors as to what a galvanized metal would cost. Ackerson said that the guidelines distributed earlier indicate that it is permissible to bridge over the built-in gutter. He said it sounds like that is what is being proposed. Agran said he understands that the issue is what is the importance of the piece of crown molding. He said that is the crux of the whole thing is that the molding is part of the history of the building. Male said he understands the idea of pulling that fascia up straight and having a gutter that matches that, but it is not the crown molding on the next one, it's everything including the corbels because the corbels are rotted or whatever. He said there is an issue with setting a precedent and everything. Bristow said that the section about the roofline is in the exceptions for gutters and downspouts and it applies to all properties and reads, "Removal of original built-in gutters unable to be repaired, on a case by case basis, the Commission may consider allowing removal of original built-in gutters if documentation is provided to establish evidence of need. This may include damage to the roof itself...." Bristow said she assumes this means storm or fire damage "...or inability to repair built-in gutters to property working condition." Bristow said an exception would have to be made that the gutters cannot be repaired, as stated in the guidelines. She said that is how it would be allowed and that is how the bridging and the roofline changes come into the discussion. Corcoran said the bottom line here is talking about at least the removal of the original built-in gutters either to be repaired or replaced with some kind of new material. Bristow said she would consider repairing them, not removing them. She said she would consider removal of the crown molding and putting K-style gutters in a removal of the built-in gutter. Bristow said it would no longer exist as it does. Corcoran said the cost of these things is not supposed to come into the Commission's deliberation. She said she would like to think about this some more and asked the other Commission members how they felt. Litton asked what further information the Commission would like to see to make this more clear. Corcoran said that the Commission has discussed different types of mediation - either the EPDM or going in and replacing part of the old gutter with some new kind of metal where it needs it. Clore said she would like to see the sketch-out of all the options and how they would resemble what is there right now in order to visualize it. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 8 of 13 Lang showed a couple of photographs of old homes that have both types of gutters. He showed the James Dixon house on College Street, where he removed the crown molding and put in K-style gutters. Lang said he redid this in a shingle that looked like slate. Lang showed a photograph of a house in Mount Vernon where he did a half round gutter on a fascia board. He said it has a half round gutter on it with straps holding it up. Lang said there is always a gap. He said he takes metal, goes straight down, and puts the inside of the gutter up to it. Lang said he then rivets or straps it to the metal to hold it. He said that when it is strapped, there is a gap. Ackerson asked if someone on staff looked at the property. Bristow said the roof images are just photographs, but staff has been to the property for past projects. Ackerson said the report states that it is evident that the gutters need repair, not replacement. He said he knows that cost is not supposed to be part of the consideration, but it always is. Ackerson said this is not discussing replacing $80,000 worth of copper gutter on one of the prize houses in the City and not really even talking about what the report says about if one was to repair, it's not replacing the entire system. Bristow said she is assuming that the repair would involve most of the metal that lines the built-in gutters. She said it looks as though the material was put on at the same time as that standing seam roof. Sandell asked if the standing seam roof is coming off. Bristow said it is part of the application and is allowed. Miklo said there is a contractor in town who has worked with metal roofs and done some repairs. He said it might be worth having him look at this. Durham asked what the condition of the metal roof is right now and why it needs replacing. Litton responded that it is an issue of age. Lang said that the replacement material is an SBS modified rubber mat that is not damaged by hail. Corcoran said right now there is an application to replace the standing seam roof with asphalt shingles, tuck point the chimney, replace damaged siding, and then remove the built-in gutters and replace them with external gutters. She asked if the Commission members wanted to vote on that in full or in part. Corcoran said there has not been much of an issue with the shingles, the tuck pointing, or the siding. She said the issue is the removal of the built-in gutters and replacing them with external gutters. Sandell said his opinion is that the guidelines are pretty clear that if the gutter can be repaired, then it should be, no matter what the cost is. He added that the crown molding would have to be removed in order to do the replacement. Litton said it is his contention that the gutters have failed, which allows them, from the guidelines, to be replaced with an external gutter. He said that if it is removed and new is put on, that's a new gutter, that's not a repair. Durham asked if there is some way to reconcile the staff's estimation that these are irreparable with the homeowner's contention. Miklo said he feels it might be advisable to have another contractor look at this. Durham said that if the gutters are not reparable, that makes this a different case. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 9 of 13 Bristow said there are contractors who can coat the entire metal roof and the gutter with a sealant coat that makes it so that one doesn't have to remove either of them. She said that applicants have had good luck and saved thousands of dollars by doing that. Durham said that kind of coating isn't going to address the need to change the pitch and have the drainage corrected. Miklo said he does not believe that coating this is going to solve the problem. He said, however, that there may be some repairs that could be done without replacing the entire system. Miklo said that is where another opinion would be beneficial. Litton said that would be fine, but he did not want to delay this just to have a delay Ackerson said he would like to see the applicant get a chance to design the solution to the problem. He said that right now, one can't see how the guidelines can be met and the problem solved. Ackerson said he is sure there is a way to do it, but the Commission just doesn't know what it is. Durham said that demonstrating whether the gutters can or cannot be repaired would clarify the direction of the solution that one might find. He suggested that a motion be made to approve everything but the gutter repair. MOTION: Durham moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 1009 East College Street, as presented in the application, including the replacement of the standing seam roofing with asphalt shingles, tuck pointing of the chimney, and replacing the damaged siding; and deferring the gutter replacement to the Commission's next meeting. Sandell seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0 (Baker, Michaud, Swaim, and Wagner absent and Litton abstaining). Durham asked, if it is demonstrated that the gutters are beyond repair, Litton has made a point that there is distinction between repair and replacement and that new gutters are not a repair. Durham asked, if the current gutters are found to be beyond repair, does that open up options that would involve altering the characteristic crown molding. He asked what that would leave the Commission to approve in that, if it's not a repair, is replacement an option. Miklo said that under repair, he would say that removing the existing built-in gutters and replacing them with a like system is repair. Durham asked if K-style gutters would be considered repair. Miklo replied that it would not but would be replacement of the built-in gutters. Durham said the suggestion was made that there is a distinction between repair and replacement, and he wanted that clarified. Bristow said that if one is repairing something, he is removing a material and replacing it with the same material, a like material, or a newer version of the same material. She said that if one is replacing a material, he is removing it and replacing it with something else. Litton said he would argue that if one put new gutters on any house and took off all the gutters and put new ones on, one would be putting new gutters on but would not be repairing the gutters. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 10 of 13 Agran said he did not agree with that. He said what is being suggested is putting on something that is entirely different, not replacing it with something that is similar or updated materials. Corcoran said that to her it is the notion that the gutter system right now seems to be a continuation of part of the roof. She said if that is removed and replaced with the K-style gutters or those other kind of gutters, it is a different kind of system and changes the character of the roof. Bristow said that the guidelines don't care what it looks like from above but care more what it looks like the ground. She said that if one could put a gutter inside the built-in gutter and it would never be seen and nothing ever happens to the roof edge as it is, that is a completely different issue. Durham asked if that can be done. Lang stated that he has made and retrofitted those with making his own metal breaks where he made a built-in gutter to go clear up the roof and make it come out and down over. He said that again, that would be expensive. Miklo said that deferring this to have another look would be the appropriate thing to do. He said that this solution is going to be in place for a long time so that taking another month to look at it is probably the right thing. Miklo said that a month from now, the Commission may come to the conclusion that this proposal as submitted by the applicant is correct, or there may be another solution. Miklo said there have been cases where they have been allowed to remove built in gutters, but those tended to be more modern houses where the crown molding was not such a distinctive part of the house. Agran asked what the issues are that precipitated Litton doing all of this work. Litton responded that the gutter is leaking and showed two areas on the photograph where there is leakage on the south and west sides of the house. Litton said he was told that the house was recoated four years ago, the year before he bought the house, and that is beginning to fail as well. Litton said his plan is to replace all the wood siding that is rotten and do a pretty extensive exterior makeover. He said he cannot get started on that until he has a reliable roof. Miklo said that staff could have some discussions with Litton. He suggested that another contractor look at this and that the Commission put this on its December agenda or hold a special meeting if there is a clear route to go. Litton took over his role as Vice Chair of the meeting at this point. REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF: Certificate of No Material Effect – Chair and Staff Review. 308 Ronalds Street. Bristow said this application for a property in the North Side Historic District involved a porch roof with an elastomeric coating for both the roof and gutter. 620 Ronalds Street. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 11 of 13 Bristow said this proposal for a property in the Brown Street District involved asphalt shingle replacement. 610 Ronalds Street. Bristow said this project also involved asphalt shingle replacement. 525 South Lucas. Bristow stated that the back porch and roof in that area of this house was hit by a tree at one time. She said the owner is rebuilding the porch, reroofing, and doing some soffit work. Bristow said this house came up before, when the owner installed vinyl windows and vinyl siding without permission. She said that part of the certificate requires the owner to remediate that work, so the owner will redo the windows and the siding on the front. 1115 Sheridan Avenue. Bristow said the peer shown in the photograph is being rebuilt. She said that a lot of the wood needs to be repaired. Bristow said there are a lot of cutout, molding, and trim details that the owner will be replicating. Minor Review – Preapproved Item – Staff Review. 628 N. Johnson Street. Bristow said the front door on this property is to be replaced with a fiberglass, Craftsman-style door with three or four lights in the top half. She added that the side door is to be replaced with what she assumes will be a metal door. Bristow said the owner is redoing the railing at the front porch step and putting a railing on the back porch step where one did not exist. 615 South Governor Street. Bristow said that, without a building permit, the owner removed part of a railing and replaced it with what she showed in a photograph. Bristow said it did not meet some of the Building Inspector's requirements, so the City is having the owner put it back more like it was, as shown in a sketch of what it will look like. Bristow said that since the owner rebuilt that whole section, the owner actually has to make it guardrail height, which is taller and has to have a four-inch gap on the bottom. She said there will therefore be an added member along the bottom, which is thin, and it will be a little taller. Bristow said that staff has discussed this extensively with the owner. Bristow said that it had a concrete floor with steel posts that were removed. She said she does not know what the posts will be except for painted, and the decking material is a Trex-type material. Bristow said there will no longer be a soffit, since that was destroyed. Miklo pointed out that this is not an historic building, and it is in a conservation district. He said that these are regulated is to avoid a incongruent structures that detract from the appearance of HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION November 12, 2015 Page 12 of 13 the whole neighborhood. Miklo said that what was there before was at least consistent. He said that in a conservation district, the issue is not necessarily keeping a universal architectural style but is about keeping property values up and just the general aesthetics. DISCUSSION OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARDS. Bristow said staff just needs to know if anyone has any property he or she would like to nominate or point out that has not already been discussed. She said the subcommittee would meet after adjournment to divide tasks and come up with a meeting time for next week to discuss nominations. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR OCTOBER 8, 2015: Corcoran asked that the attendance record attached to the minutes be corrected to show that she was at the September 10, 2015 meeting. MOTION: Corcoran moved to approve the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission's October 8, 2015 meeting, as corrected. Male seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Baker, Michaud, Swaim, and Wagner absent). Bristow reminded Commission members that the next meeting would be at the Public Library. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 6:54 p.m. Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2015-2016 KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Not a Member NAME TERM EXP. 11/13 12/11 1/8 2/12 3/12 4/9 5/14 6/11 7/9 8/13 9/10 10/8 11/12 ACKERSON, KENT 3/29/16 X X X X X X X X X X X X X DURHAM, THOMAS 3/29/17 O/E X X X O/E X X X X X O/E X X BAKER, ESTHER 3/29/18 O/E X X O/E X X X X X X X X CLORE, GOSIA 3/29/17 X O/E X X X X O/E O/E O/E X O/E X X CORCORAN, KATE 3/29/16 X X X X X X X X X O/E X O/E X DURHAM, FRANK 3/29/16 X X X O/E X O/E O/E X X X O/E X X LITTON, ANDREW 3/29/17 X X O/E X X X X X X O/E X X X MICHAUD, PAM 3/29/18 X X X X X X X O/E X X X X SANDELL, BEN 3/29/17 X X X X X X X O/E X X X X X SWAIM, GINALIE 3/29/18 X X X X X X X X X X X X WAGNER, FRANK 3/29/18 X O/E O/E O/E X X O/E X O/E O/E O/E X