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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC Packet 3.9.17Thursday March 9, 2017 5:30 p.m. Emma Harvat Hall City Hall MINUTES PRELIMINARY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION FEBRUARY 9, 2017 EMMA J. HARVAT HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Thomas Agran, Esther Baker, Kevin Boyd, Zach Builta, Sharon DeGraw, Cecile Kuenzli, Andrew Litton, Pam Michaud, Ginalie Swaim, Frank Wagner MEMBERS ABSENT: Gosia Clore STAFF PRESENT: Jessica Bristow OTHERS PRESENT: Beth Rapson RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action) CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Swaim called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS: 516 Fairchild Street. Bristow said this property is right off the park in the Goosetown/Horace Mann Conservation District. She said this has been a rental property with a variety of units for a long time, but now, University Partnership has purchased it. Bristow said there will be multiple items to consider in the future, but currently, there is a need to get started on two specific projects. She said the owner proposes to remove all of the awnings on all of the windows and an awning similar to a porch roof that is on the east side. Bristow said it goes over a breezeway that connects the house to a garage, and she showed views of the awnings, which are made of two by fours and corrugated metal. Bristow stated that the other part of the application is the removal of the two chimneys. She showed that from the front, the two chimneys cannot be seen at all, since they are on the back. Bristow said it is possible that one of the chimneys was added at some point. She said that from looking at it, this building, which could have been constructed as early as 1880, had a crawl space. Bristow said the crawl space was dug out to be a basement. She said the chimneys are not supported at all but basically rest on the rim joist that is the bottom of the two- story wall. Bristow said they are supported on one side. Bristow said the chimneys are not evident from the front and are not used. She said that supporting them with masonry that they never had in the first place to go all the way down to the basement with a footing just seems impractical. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION February 9, 2017 Page 2 of 7 Bristow said staff does not find that these chimneys are a very prominent architectural feature of this house and feels that it is warranted for them to come down. Regarding the awnings, she said they are completely non-original and never would have been allowed by the guidelines, so staff finds it is very warranted to remove them. Agran said he lives near this house, and the awnings are already gone. He said it looks much better, and he supports everything in the application. MOTION: Wagner moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 516 Fairchild as presented in the application and staff report. Baker seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 10-0 (Clore absent). 804 Ronalds Street. Bristow said this house is a little bit south of Happy Hollow Park and is in the Brown Street Historic District. She showed the front of the house and stated that it is a typical four-square in almost all ways. Bristow said the application is for a window and door reconfiguration. She showed a door on the east side that is significantly shorter than the other doors on the house and shorter than the window heads and said that it will be completely removed. Bristow stated that the window to the north of that door would be replaced with a window with a higher sill so that it would clear a kitchen counter that would go on the interior. She said that there would still be a pair of windows there. Bristow said that further back toward the north there is a one-story addition. She said that the Sanborn maps show that the house had an early single-story kitchen addition that was not the full width. Bristow said that over time, it has been widened to the full width of the house. Bristow showed a window on the north corner of the east side of the addition that would be moved around the corner to the north face. She said that a new door would be placed in the window’s original location. Bristow said it would be tall enough to have the head height to work out with the windows on the side of the house. She said there would then need to be a new landing, and it would have a railing to match the guidelines with spindles and a top and bottom rail. Bristow said it would connect, because of proximity, to the deck. She said that currently the deck does not have that kind of railing, but over time as the owner has time to work on the property, it is likely that the railing would also match the guidelines, but it is not part of this project. Bristow stated that on the back, the north side, the feature that staff would want to see removed the most is the dormer. She said that the dormer would not really fit the guidelines either, because it was not designed to match the other dormers on the house. Bristow said that originally, the window was going to be replaced and a skylight put in, but now the dormer is just going to go away. She said that a skylight will be placed in the area of the new roofline when it is put back on. Bristow showed a view with a bathroom window that does not go up to the fascia board like all of the other second-floor windows in the entire house. She said it will be replaced with one that HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION February 9, 2017 Page 3 of 7 would have slightly better proportions, because it could be longer, so it will have a head that will go up to that fascia board. Bristow showed the location for the window that moves around the corner. She said it is also proposed to put a pair of windows, which would match the size, height, and proportion of the window around the corner, next to the French door. Bristow said it is an option that the owner might replace the French doors. She said they are shorter than the head height of all of the other windows and doors, and if the owner can, he will replace them with a pair of French doors that are taller. Bristow showed a sketch demonstrating that the dormer is gone from the roofline, a skylight, a window that is correctly located and better proportioned, and the French doors replaced with a pair that would be the correct height. She said the sketch shows the window moved around the corner and the new pair. Bristow showed how it looks with the existing French door. She said again that it is not certain at this point if the door will be replaced. Bristow said staff finds that this would not change any of the historic openings in a way that would diminish the historic character of this home. She added that in some cases it is being greatly improved, for example by removing the dormer, changing the location of the bathroom window on the second floor, and adding more windows to the back. Bristow said that staff recommends approval of this application. She said that staff has the window product information and other product information, and it will work with what is on the house. Michaud asked if the door going to the basement is being removed. Bristow replied that she does not know if the door goes to the basement or the kitchen. Michaud asked if the door would be added right around the corner from the French doors. Bristow said that is correct, but they may be in separate rooms; she was not certain. She showed the location of the doors. Rapson said that the existing door on the side is not original. She said that one goes in the door and steps down and then steps up. Rapson said it is actually a hazard, and since there is another way to get to the basement, that will be eliminated. Rapson said that the windows in the kitchen are original. She said it is not on a side that faces the street, and they would just like to shorten them. Rapson said that if one goes farther down on the 1960s addition, where that window is, they would like to add an entry door to come into a mud room sort of space. She said it is on the side that is closest to the driveway. MOTION: DeGraw moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 804 Ronalds Street as presented in the application and staff report. Agran seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 10-0 (Clore absent). REPORTS ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF: Certificate of No Material Effect - Chair and Staff Review. 533 South Summit Street. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION February 9, 2017 Page 4 of 7 Bristow said this house has wood shingles and a couple of layers of asphalt shingles. She said that critters were getting in between the shingles and the fascia board. Bristow said this project involved installing a metal angle that would cover that gap all of the way around the roof. She said that it will not be noticed, because it will be up at the roof edge and blend in with the fascia. Minor Review - Staff Review. 818 North Linn Street. Bristow said the Commission reviewed a project for the back of the house some time ago. She said that now a deck has been added, with a railing matching the guidelines. Intermediate Review- Chair and Staff Review. 1050 Woodlawn Avenue. Bristow said this project from last year involved adding a deck along the slope along the side of the house. She said that originally the owners were going to install a railing that matched the portion of railing in the corner. The Commission approved this railing and project. Bristow said staff really preferred that railing, but the owners can no longer find anything like that. She said that staff worked with them, and they are still going with metal. Bristow said this house is a mid-century modern kind of house, and the selected railing actually meets the guidelines better than the railing they had. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR JANUARY 12, 2017: Swaim said that on the last page, second line, the full name of the organization, Iowa Federation of Colored Women's Clubs Federation Home, should be inserted. MOTION: Boyd moved to approve the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission's January 12, 2017 meeting, as amended. Baker seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 10-0 (Clore absent). COMMISSION INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION: CLG Annual Report. Bristow said the Commission is a certified local government, so the State requires that an annual report be submitted by the end of each February. She said that the Mayor will need to sign the report. Bristow referred to the annual report. She said that some of the highlights include the fact that currently only the properties in historic districts, not conservation districts, are counted for the work that was done. Bristow added that the number of properties has gone up every year, and during the past year there were 28 properties that had something bigger than a certificate of no material effect in terms of a project. She said there were many more such properties in conservation districts. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION February 9, 2017 Page 5 of 7 Bristow said that the Commission also has a priority for education. She stated that information was included in the report about the awards, the Facebook page, participation in the Henry Fisk Reception, staff attending a talk in Cedar Rapids, and the Preservation Summit in Davenport. Bristow also stated that the Commission successfully applied for a HRDP grant for the city park cabins. Bristow said that her time was increased from 15 hours to 20 hours on July 1st. She said that 716 North Dubuque was put through as a local landmark, and the program of rehabilitation was done in only one year, instead of three, and greatly improved and saved that property. Bristow said the work of compiling local landmarks has also continued. She asked any member who has anything to add to the report to submit it by next Thursday. North Side Neighborhood Workshop. Bristow said that a handout was distributed inviting the public to a kick-off meeting for the form- based code investigation and how that interacts with the historic preservation codes. She said staff would like to see some preservationists attend multiple parts of the meetings. Bristow said the kickoff will be February 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 in Meeting Room A in the Library. She said that most of this will impact North Side Neighborhoods. Bristow said that the Commission and its members need to work through this to see if it is a good thing or not. She added that a consultant has been hired to work on this. Downtown Iowa City Surveys. Bristow said that a CLG grant was applied for last fall to renew the downtown Iowa City surveys. She said that the grant was not received. Bristow said that another grant was applied for last week. She said that the City Council strongly supports this work, so it has given the go-ahead to get started and hire a consultant to do that work. Bristow stated that the Historic Preservation Awards were very successful and went very well. She thanked all those who helped. Michaud asked about the current status of the Unitarian Church at 10 South Gilbert Street. Bristow responded that she does not know any more than has been in the newspaper. Swaim said that the City Council work session had discussion of this last week. She said the developer had worked with City staff to come up with figures for the proposal of the church being saved and a building with parking ramps and drive-throughs for the fire station. Swaim said the figures were higher than expected, so the City Council asked for revised plans. She said the work session included discussion of the updated plans. Swaim said the developer has been waiting for about a year for a decision. She said the City Council agreed with Plan D, which removes the drive-through bays for the fire trucks as well as some other changes. Swaim said the City Council said it will go ahead with this, so the church is still safe right now, and the building is owned by Jesse Allen. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION February 9, 2017 Page 6 of 7 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m. Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSIONATTENDANCE RECORD2016-2017KEY: X = PresentO = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused--- = Not a Member NAMETERM EXP.2/25 3/12 4/14 5/12 6/9 7/14 8/11 9/8 10/13 11/10 12/8 1/12 2/9AGRAN, THOMAS3/29/17 X X O/E X X O/E O/E X X X X X XBAKER, ESTHER3/29/18XXXXXXXXXO/EXXXBOYD, KEVIN3/29/17 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- X X X O/E X XBUILTA, ZACH3/29/19------XXXXXXXXXO/EXCLORE, GOSIA3/29/17O/E XXXO/EXXXO/EXXXO/EDEGRAW, SHARON3/29/19 --- --- X X X X O/E X O/E X X X XKUENZLI, CECILE3/29/19 --- --- O/E O/E X X X X X X X O/E XLITTON, ANDREW3/29/17 X X X O/E O/E X O/E X X O/E O/E X XMICHAUD, PAM3/29/18XXXXXXO/E XXXXXXSANDELL, BEN3/29/17 X X X X X X --- --- -- -- -- -- --SWAIM, GINALIE3/29/18 X X X X X X X X X O/E O/E XWAGNER, FRANK3/29/18XXXXXXXXO/EXXXX