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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC Minutes 20091020 HASTINGS HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Minutes of the Meeting of October 20, 2009 Held at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall I)Choose acting chair An acting chair is to be chosen since the chair and vise chair are absent. A motion by Simacek to nominate Commissioner Dahl as acting chair for the meeting, seconded by LaBreck; motion carried. Acting Chair Dahl called the meeting to order. Quorum A.: Dahl, Sovik-Siemens, LaBreck, Hellie, Simacek, and Wittgenstein present. Staff: Fortney; Acting Chair Dahl called the meeting to order. II. Minutes A.September 15, 2009. A motion by Sovik-Siemens for approval was made and seconded by Simacek; motion carried. II. Review of building permits or design proposals th A.200 7 St E- New porch roof (staff approved) nd B.115 2 St E- partial reroof Meyer Co. (staff approved) th C.700 4 St W- reroof (staff approved) D.719 Vermillion Street. Life Tabernacle – New Railing (Committee Denied) nd F.218 2 St E – New windows nd A motion by Simacek to add 218 2 St E to the agenda for consideration of replacing 7 windows, seconded by Hellie; motion carried. Fortney presented the staff report. The applicants propose to replace two pairs of double hung windows on the rear of the building and replace 3 windows on the east side of the building. The windows are the 6500 Series from Home Depot and are double hung and made of vinyl. They are purportedly manufactured by the Simonton Window Company. The three windows to be replaced on the east side of the building are in very poor shape and are not original. They are located on the attached rear garage addition. The windows on the second floor facing the alley are also in poor shape. The existing windows are probably not original. Being on the rear of the building and on the second floor, they are not highly visible. The guidelines state wood window replacements should be used when possible. Since it is always possible, staff believes this guideline was worded vaguely on purpose. It provides discretion to the HPC to say that wood is most appropriate, but may be substituted when the windows are not a prominent future. The proposed style is the same as the existing (one over one). Hellie asked if the windows are being custom sized for the opening. Jenny Green, applicant, stated that they are custom fitted. Hellie asked if she would consider windows made of aluminum. Green said she wouldn’t for these windows because they are located in inconspicuous locations and the ones on the east side could one day be blocked by new construction. She added that she would like to one day replace the front windows with high quality wooden windows. LaBreck asked why aluminum windows would look any better. Hellie said it is more an issue of longevity. Simacek said these windows are not located on prominent features. A motion by Hellie to approve the proposed window replacements based on the following findings, seconded by Simacek with the following significant conditions; motion carried. These proposed windows are to be approved in this particular case due to the unique circumstances of the site including the facts that the proposed windows are not located in prominent features of the building, the windows are to be located in a garage addition and on the rear of the building, and a future building could be erected directly to the east, thereby fully blocking three of the windows and obscuring from view the upper windows. E.719 Vermillion Street. Life Tabernacle – New porch and retaining wall Fortney presented the staff report. The applicants propose to rebuild the entry porch cover and retaining wall. The proposed design is similar in size to the original, but includes a pitched hip roof. It is not known when the existing porch was installed, but it was sometime after 1936. It is in poor shape and structurally unsound. The existing porch is not original and is inappropriate for the building due to its flat style compared to the steep angles of the other rooflines, windows, and the historic entry (which has been lost). The proposed scale, size, height, and massing are appropriate for the building. It is not any larger than necessary and compliments the entry size. The proposed roofline should be similar to the existing roofs. The west block retaining wall of the basement entry was damaged by a car accident. They need to rebuild the west wall as it is in danger of failure. The wall is constructed of 8” cinderblocks, but the Building Safety Department said the minimum size used to rebuild it should be 10”. Simacek said the diagram shows a very steep porch roof, but the label says it is a 4/12, which is about half as steep as the diagram shows. Hellie said a porch roof that was similar to the roof of the steeple would look appropriate. Dahl asked what the diameter was of the columns is. Fortney said he did not know. A motion by Hellie to table the church porch until more information is provided, including what is listed below, seconded by LaBreck; motion carried. Picture and dimensions of columns Sketch/ pictures of any proposed pedestals More accurate scaled drawings Sketch any changes to the existing planters, sidewalk, steps The sketches should show that the porch is compatible with the steeple. Hellie said rock faced block would not look appropriate since only the west wall is being replaced. A motion by Hellie to approve the replacement of the west retaining wall for the basement entrance, seconded by LaBreck; motion carried. th F.200 7 Street E. – New storm door Fortney presented the staff report. The applicant is proposing to add a new storm door to the front of the home. The door will be mostly glass with a grid pattern. Hellie said multiple grid patterns overlapping each other would most likely not line-up and would not look well. Simacek said the Guidelines state that the storm door and inner door must be compatible. He added that these two doors are not compatible because they both have grids that could never line- up from all angles. Dahl said the guidelines show appropriate screen doors, which would be appropriate styles for storm doors because they are both types of doors placed in front of inner doors. She added that they are full open doors that don’t block the view of the inner door. A motion by Hellie to approve a full clear glass door like the Parkview clear shown in the applicants brochure rather than the Maplewood door shown based on the following findings, seconded by Sovik-Siemens; motion carried. The Maplewood door has gridlines that divide the panes similarly to the inner door. The Guidelines specify that storm doors must be compatible. Although the doors are similar, they are not compatible because the gridlines of the storm door would block and complicate those of the inner door. In addition, storm doors were not features of historic homes. They are allowed to help preserve the integrity of original doors and to block energy loss. Since they are not historic features, they should be simple and obscure to keep the focus on the truly historic features of a structure. th G.312 4 Street East- New rear deck Fortney presented the staff report. The applicant is proposing to install a new 8’ X 15’ deck with pergola in the rear of the property. There is currently a wooden stairway in the rear, which they would like to remove and build a deck less than the width of the home. Since the lot is very narrow, the applicants are also applying for a variance as their current setbacks are less than the requirements. The proposed deck is almost not visible from the any point along the road due to the narrow lot and the houses being so close to each other. The stairway is situated sideways off of the back of the deck to further minimize visibility. A motion by LaBreck to approve the Shed placement, seconded by Wittgenstein; motion carried. IV. Business A.Discuss Commissioner LaBreck’s discussion points The Commissioner discussed the HPC’s purpose and how it has changed overtime. The need to review changes to properties was also discussed. The Commissioner agreed to continue the conversation at future meetings. V. Information and Reports. A. th Sherry Holtmeyer, owner of 307 7 street W spoke at the meeting about some preliminary ideas she had regarding modifications she would like to make regarding the home she had recently purchased. The said she would like to demolish and rebuild the old rear addition and rebuild the porch. The Commissioners directed her to research the home; specifically the areas that she would like to modify to determine their historical background. VI.Adjourn. Motion by Sovik-Siemens, second by Wittgenstein to adjourn; motion carried. – 9:09 P.M.