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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC Packet 02.14.19 IOWA CITY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Thursday, February 14, 2019 City Hall, 410 E. Washington Street Emma Harvat Hall 5:30 p.m. A) Call to Order B) Roll Call C) Public discussion of anything not on the agenda D) Certificate of Appropriateness 1. 1117 Seymour Avenue – Longfellow Historic District (garage demolition and reconstruction and house addition) E) Review draft CLG Annual Report F) Discussion of Historic Preservation Plan Priorities and annual work program G) Consideration of Minutes for January 10, 2019 H) Commission Information and Discussion 1. Iowa City Downtown update 2. Sanxay-Gilmore House update 3. Houses at 225 N. Gilbert Street and 229 N. Gilbert Street 4. Preserve Iowa Summit Theme: Reinvention through Rehabilitation, Newton IA, June 6-8 I) Adjournment If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Jessica Bristow, Urban Planning, at 319-356-5243 or at jessica-bristow@iowa-city.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. MINUTES PRELIMINARY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION EMMA J. HARVAT HALL January 10, 2019 MEMBERS PRESENT: Kevin Boyd, Zach Builta, Helen Burford, Sharon DeGraw, G. T. Karr, Cecile Kuenzli, Quentin Pitzen MEMBERS ABSENT: Thomas Agran, Gosia Clore, Lee Shope STAFF PRESENT: Jessica Bristow OTHERS PRESENT: None RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action) CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Boyd called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS – CONSENT AGENDA: 803 Church Street – Goosetown/Horace Mann Conservation District (porch reconstruction). Bristow explained this property is near Ace Hardware and was built originally as a two-story gable. She said the side addition was added later and there was a whole back addition with a two-car garage underneath. The front porch will be replaced with this project. Bristow shared slides showing fish scale shingles in the gables and vinyl siding and soffits on the porch. She said the porch has its original roof structure but everything else below has been replaced. The roof has been failing. Because of this and failures in the newer parts of the porch, and the fact that it is an enclosed porch, which is discouraged in an historic district, staff recommends demolition of the existing porch. Bristow showed a 1926 view obtained from Sanborn fire insurance maps that shows the first section of the house, the one and one-half story gable to the side with two porches. She said the porch being discussed faces Church Street. Bristow said Staff had to look at some of the houses in the neighborhood to come up with a replacement plan. She showed porch examples to help explain the proposal. She said the owner proposed a solid railing because she has had an enclosed porch for the entire 30 or 40 years that she has lived there so she does not want an exposed front porch. It will be a little porch in the corner of the L of the house. Bristow shared one example with a very ornamental and spindled porch, believed to be more accurate to the original on this house. She said because the porch is being replaced completely, not retaining anything original, this kind of ornament would not be used, but it shows the roof line and how it fits with the house. It is a pretty flat roof that comes into the corner of the meeting of the two gables. There would be a pilaster orengaged column back against the wall that supports the back of the porch and a few columns out along the front. Bristow said this project would have a more simple, basic column. It would fit in the corner of the L and extend the same depth as the current porch since we know that roof structure is original on the porch. She said the overhang is known and there would be a pilaster orengaged post at the side wall and one at the outer corner and, just to keep it simple, there would be only one column in the span. Bristow displayed slides of the porch now and what it could look like. She said Staff looked at reference materials for simple ways to replace some of these porch elements. She displayed a drawing with a simple, 6 x 6 column that a contractor could make and it would look appropriate with the house. Bristow said the project would remove the existing porch, which probably has an original roof that is heavily deteriorated, but nothing else that’s original. She said the porch would be rebuilt completely with a new roof with external gutters instead of an internal gutter, and new floor structure, new columns, and a solid baluster. The owner is being encouraged to leave the exposed lap siding that is in there already without trying to cover it. Bristow thought the owner’s goal down the road would be to remove the vinyl siding from the rest of the house. Kuenzli said she understood the reason for the solid panel enclosing on the front porch, but noted it was related more to a Craftsman style than a Queen Anne style. She wondered about instead using square spindles to keep it simple, spaced closely together, with the space between the spindles equal to the width of the spindles, to still maintain a sense of privacy but be stylistically more accurate for the period of the house. Bristow said the owner is very hesitant about not having an enclosed porch anymore. She knows the porch needs to be rebuilt because of its deterioration but her intent, originally, was to rebuild it as a closed porch, which cannot be done according to the guidelines. Bristow said they are getting rid of the hedge in front of the porch and it will look a lot better. Once the porch has been opened up, the owner may be comfortable with leaving it open or with putting in a simple square spindle railing instead. Bristow hoped the owner would decide to forgo the solid baluster but, knowing her hesitation, Staff proposed this plan as a compromise. DeGraw asked if the ceiling was salvageable. Bristow did not know the extent of the damage yet. She would suggest they salvage anything they could. She also wasn’t sure about the floor and whether any of it could be salvaged. Kuenzli asked why it was acceptable to use K-style gutters instead of specifying half-rounds. Bristow said Staff did not specify gutters. She noted half-rounds would match what the owner has on parts of the house, but they also have K-style. Because of the history of additions on this house and some of the siding, there is a bit of a mixture. She thought the owner could go with half-rounds, but it might depend on budget. MOTION: DeGraw moved to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 803 Church Street as presented in the application with the following condition: Porch flooring is either vertical-grained Douglas Fir, pretreated decking with gaps under 1/8 inch, or Azek porch flooring with an eased edge. Builta seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Agran, Clore, & Shope absent). 738 Dearborn Street – Dearborn Street Conservation District (porch reconstruction). Bristow explained this property is about midblock between Center and Sheridan. It is a 1924-ish bungalow. It has had some additions and changes, but it does have an original stucco coating on the walls. She said her documents state the walls are tile construction but did not know if that’s what was found in the work that had been done in the past. Bristow shared slides demonstrating the front porch currently has wrought iron railing and columns. The porch floor structure has been redone and the skirting around the porch is a decorative concrete block. She said the applicants came in because the columns were starting to deteriorate. It was time to replace them and to get something a bit more appropriate to the home. Bristow said she looked at the porch and shared a picture noting remnants from the past that were still there and that would be retained. By looking at the remnants, Bristow felt the original porch had a kind of paired column not often seen in Iowa City, something a bit more ornamental and more expensive to build. Staff ended up going with a taller masonry pier that extends above the porch floor and has a battered column that rests on top of it. Bristow shared an example that has been used for a few other projects, including at 741 Grant Street. She pointed out the masonry has a cap and the battered column has its own base with its own capital and will be the model for this project. Emerson Andrishok did both the sketches and the rendering for this project. Bristow shared the drawing of the column, which will have a masonry base. She said the existing skirting, the decorative concrete, will be cut back so that the piers can be attached into the corner of the porch with the battered column above. The railing is a square spindled railing with a little bit of a solid area in the middle, which is found on a few other bungalows like this. It also alleviates the long run of the railing. Bristow shared Emerson’s rendering of the porch. She said given the substantial change this will make to this porch, Staff finds it appropriate. MOTION: DeGraw moved to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness for the project at 738 Dearborn Street as presented in the application. Builta seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Agran, Clore, & Shope absent). REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF Minor Review – Staff Review. 1205 Seymour Avenue – Longfellow Historic District (front entry step replacement). Bristow said this is not an historic landing and it is being replaced similar to the way it is. There will be no skirting because it is pretty close to the ground. She said it was probably originally a little concrete step like all the neighbors, but there is no real reason to do that again because it is a little cost prohibitive. She said it will be painted or stained this time so it will last longer. Along with this, the owners have a rotten window sill they are replacing and a storm door. While not regulated, they are having a new custom one remade. 530 Summit Street – Summit Street Historic District (rear breezeway column and frieze reconstruction). Bristow said there is a breezeway in the back of this house. The property has been for sale for a while. She said she received a call stating things had been removed without permission.. They are going to put back the columns, but in a more substantial and accurate size. They will do the arches again because it could have originally had the arches. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR DECEMBER 13, 2018 MOTION: Kuenzli moved to approve the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission’s December 13, 2018 meeting. Karr seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Agran, Clore, & Shope absent). COMMISSION INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION: 2018 Historic Preservation Awards. Bristow reminded everyone to come if they could. She said the only thing not decided is what to get for refreshments and welcomed suggestions. A few were given. Costs and funding options were discussed. Bristow noted the award ceremony is a way for the Commission to reach out to the public, show what has been accomplished, and gain support. Previous Agenda Items. Downtown District. Boyd said the City Council is going to have a work session to talk about the Commission’s recommendations to move forward on the National Historic District and to create some kind of working group. The Downtown District, which spoke last month in favor of the National Historic District, is preparing to write a letter from their board stating the same. Transfer of Development Rights. Boyd said Council decided not to do this. 410/412 Clinton Street. Boyd said 410/412 Clinton Street needed six votes on Tuesday night and got five, so it will not be a local landmark. Susan Mims and Mazahir Salih were the two no votes. Market Street. Bristow said staff has been working with a structural engineer and historic architect as a consultant to evaluate sites, moving, rehabilitation, and are working on the budget. Bristow said she had thrown together a very basic budget at one point. The City Manager wanted a memo about it so it could go into their work session for the budget. The numbers included the move, but then also making it structurally stable on its new site and moth-balling it, as well as the cost for someone to rehab the property. Council had a work session about it on Saturday and Bristow was at their follow-up work session Tuesday to answer questions. She thought their overall feeling was that the rehab number was astronomical, but it is also not something that the City needs to do unless the City rehabs it. Bristow said originally the University wanted to buy all those houses, take them down and build an entrepreneurial business center, but they are not doing that. Now they are going to take them down and retaining it as open space. Because that situation has changed, the Mayor has proposed that he and the City Manager meet with the University to discuss leaving it in place. The Mayor feels that as the oldest residential house left in town, it is important to save it. Bristow said the consultant is developing an official draft report which will include the costs so those costs can be explained a bit more for Council. Since all of the costs change a lot depending on the site, it will be an estimate. Bristow said if Council can come up with a budget placemark and then pick a site, the final version could have real numbers related to that site. Bristow thought the official draft of the architect’s proposal would be available before the end of the month. Bristow thought the University wanted the house gone by August 1st but hoped that date could be negotiated. DeGraw asked for the estimated cost to move the property. Bristow did not have the numbers with her, but thought the original place-holder estimate was $330,000. The updated numbers added $182,000 to that. She pointed out the numbers are high because the site and route with transformers and poles is not known. Bristow noted keeping it in its current location would be the best option. If that cannot happen, further budget discussion with Council will be needed. If Council thought the costs were too high, they might choose not to move it, which means it will come down. Annual Report. Bristow said next meeting the Commission’s annual report to the state would be ready for review and a vote to approve. The report will show what we have done this past year. She also said, depending on scheduling, their planning session could be held. ADJOURNMENT: Kuenzli moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Builta. The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m. Minutes submitted by Judy Jones HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2018-2019 NAME TERM EXP. 2/8 3/8 4/12 5/10 6/14 7/12 8/9 8/23 9/13 10/11 11/08 12/13 1/10 AGRAN, THOMAS 6/30/20 X X X X X O/E X X X O/E X X O/E BAKER, ESTHER 6/30/18 X X X X X -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- BOYD, KEVIN 6/30/20 X X X X X X X X X X X X BUILTA, ZACH 6/30/19 O/E X X X X X X X X X X X X BURFORD , HELEN 6/30/21 -- -- -- -- -- X X O/E X O/E X X CLORE, GOSIA 6/30/20 X O/E X X X X O/E O/E X O/E X X O/E DEGRAW, SHARON 6/30/19 X X X X X X O/E X X X X X X KARR, G. T. 6/30/20 X X X X X O/E X X X X X X X KUENZLI, CECILE 6/30/19 X X X X X O/E X X X X X X MICHAUD, PAM 6/30/18 X X X X X -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- PITZEN, QUENTIN 6/30/21 -- -- -- -- -- X X X X X X X X SHOPE, LEE 6/30/21 -- -- -- -- -- X X X O/E X X O/E SWAIM, GINALIE 6/30/18 X X X X X -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- WAGNER, FRANK 6/30/18 X X X X X -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --