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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLandmark Preservation Commission - Minutes - 05/10/1994I LANDMARK PRESERVATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting May 10,1994 Council Liaison: Gerry Horak Staff Liaison: Joe Frank SUMMARY OF MEETING: The LPC heard an update on the Rehabilitation Grant Program from Project Manager Blair Leist. Dr. Robert Pike, charter member of the LPC, presented past minutes and memorabilia from early LPC meetings. The LPC approved residence rehabilitation changes requested by Dr. Lee Rosen, owner of 816 West Mountain Avenue. The LPC heard a presentation by consultant Sherry Albertson -Clark on the Design Assistance Program and agreed to give feedback at the next meeting. The LPC agreed to write a letter of support for the current development proposal at 500-502 South College Avenue, which requires a site variance. The LPC also agreed to write a letter to the owner of the Preston Farm (on County Road 9 south of Harmony Road) expressing support for preserving the grounds intact. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL: Commission Chairman Jennifer Carpenter called the meeting to order at 5:35 pm, 281 North College Avenue. Secretary Diane Slater called the roll. Commission members Jennifer Carpenter, Bud Frick, Richard Hill, Per Hogestad, Jean Kullman, James Tanner, and Ruth Weatherford were present. Joe Frank and Carol Tunner represented staff. GUESTS: Lee Rosen, owner of 816 West Mountain Avenue; Sherry Albertson -Clark, consultant on the Design Assistance Program; Blair Leist, Project Manager for the Rehabilitation Grant Program; Dr. Robert Pike, former member of the LPC; Heinrich Ahrens, Northern Hotel. AGENDA REVIEW: The Rehabilitation Grant Program will be discussed first, followed by the presentation by Dr. Pike. Mr. Ahrens will appear at the end of the agenda for a conceptual review of the Northern Hotel patio. STAFF REPORT: None. COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS: Ms. Carpenter reported that the newly approved Demolition Delay Ordinance influenced the preservation of the Reed Farm on Harmony, north of Clarendon Hills. The house is to be used by the Housing Authority and the barn may go to Fort Morgan. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: None. Landmark Preservation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes May 10, 1994 Page 2 CURRENT DESIGN REVIEW: 816 WEST MOUNTAIN A NUE--RESIDENCA REHARrr 1TATICIN Dr. Lee Rosen reviewed his proposed rehabilitation of the former Bennett residence. First, they would like to remove a kitchen skylight which was installed circa 1980 and reroof with cedar shingles. Mr. Hill suggested that they carefully consider this plan. Mr. Rosen added that they plan to drop the ceiling and install a tin ceiling. Second, they will replace the west kitchen window. Third, they will replace non -historic screen doors on the back porch with screen doors that better approximate the time period of the house. Mr. Frick suggested that the kitchen vent come out through the ceiling instead of remaining on the exterior wall. Ms. Weatherford moved approval of the rehabilitation changes to 816 West Mountain Avenue as presented and Mr. Frick seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Tunner mentioned a possible historic house tour in July exclusively by and for several owners of historic residences who have rehabilitated their private homes. DISCUSSION ITEMS: Ms. Sherry Albertson -Clark is working on contract to implement the Design Assistance Program and came to solicit recommendations from the LPC. She specifically asked for ideas regarding the application form and process and how much help the LPC feels should be provided to the public. She noted that about half of the design applicants who come before the LPC have professional help and the rest don't. She sees several needs that this program could meet: the LPC has been put in the position of designing the project at the table; better quality projects could be presented, especially by the newly designated owner; and information could be distributed better. The HRPP recommended two alternatives --use of in-house staff or consultants. She feels that an outside consultant is more cost-effective because she estimates that 100 hours of time would be needed initially. Also, a staff person would be required to have unusual qualifications in the field of historic design. A number of options are available for recommending qualified designers; establish a pool; a consortium; use a bid process; establish a list of consultants, as in an RFP for bids. Landmark Preservation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes May 10, 1994 Page 3 She noted several areas that consistently come up for LPC review: the concept of rehabilitation; signage; and painting and awnings. She observed that signage proposals often use a professional designer and have a complete presentation package and painting and awnings are mixed. She feels that the program must contain provisions to. measure the success of the program, ways to report and pay the consultants, and methods of addressing the expectations of each applicant. She asked what level of use the LPC felt would be appropriate to provide: verbal only; a combination of verbal and drawings; help with putting together the application; and coming in with the applicant to assist in the presentation. This one-year pilot program provides $10,000 in funding for assistance. Ms. Carpenter commented that this amount would not be enough to pay for a consultant to come in with the client. Ms. Albertson -Clark said that she has checked into programs offered in other cities and found that volunteer programs have not fared well. One large center in Columbus, Ohio, which received federal funding, has recently instituted a fee of about $75 to help ensure that clients would follow-through on any design assistance that is given. This center provides complete drawings and uses graduate students. Ms. Albertson -Clark said she counted 5 sign reviews and 7 rehabilitation projects from this past year which could have used some design help. The other projects were paint and awning reviews. Therefore, she figured about 100 hours could be projected for next year. Ms. Carpenter asked if different levels of funding could be set for different types of projects. For example, a request for rehabilitation would warrant more time than a painting request. She also asked if the program could require some sort of matching fee from the client and if the LPC could require that future submittals make use of professional help in preparing requests for LPC review. Mr. Frick noted that better drawings are needed. Mr. Tanner warned against the LPC taking work away from professionals. Ms. Carpenter asked for further explanation of the use of a city employee option. Ms. Albertson -Clark said one way to approach it might be to specify that the next planner hired by the City have the necessary historic background. Mr. Hill mentioned Bivian's, a new restaurant on South College, across from J. Pitner's. Their recent decision on a paint scheme points out the necessity of expanding the historic district to include the area administered by the DDA. Mr. Tanner asked how the client would submit a bill. Ms. Carpenter mentioned the need for quality control. Mr. Tanner suggested maintaining a list from which people could choose. Mr. Frank thought that some money could be well spent in preparation of materials for the public use. Ms. Carpenter said that the LPC is mainly interested in getting a good program and asked who would administer it. Ms. Albertson -Clark said the City may use a process similar to that used by CSU, which has a pre -approved bid list that is reviewed every 3 years. The City would need to be specific about what expertise would be required to be included on this list. Various categories of consultants might be used, such as architects, color experts, sign companies. Landmark Preservation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes May 10, 1994 Page 4 Mr. Tanner said he would like the program to be used by people before they came in to see Ms. Tunner with their request. The LPC could then be more stringent about the quality of the requests that come before the LPC for review. Ms. Tunner said that she too would like to avoid last-minute submittals of requests and also sees a need for an architect with expertise in historic architecture compatibility because of the number of requests for 'pop -ups'. Mr. Frank suggested assigning categories for each type of request and allocating a set number of hours at a specific rate to fulfill that request. He noted that there seemed to be a consensus for requiring a matching fee and noted that these funds are available for landmarked buildings. Ms. Tunner added that contributing and non-contributing buildings in an historic district and all structures subject to review by the LPC would also be eligible. Any architect who is also a member of the LPC would be eligible to act as a consultant but would not be eligible to vote on that particular project. Ms. Albertson -Clark will return at the next meeting, June 14, for further review. Mr. Frank explained that since the current City Building Code requires a width of 75 feet of property for commercial development and this lot is only 50 feet, with no possibility of expansion, it would be helpful if the LPC were to identify this building to the Zoning Board of Appeals as an important structure. Mr. Tanner made a motion to write a letter of support for a variance and Mr. Frick seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Historic Fort Collins Development Corporation has taken an interest in this property. It is currently under pressure to be demolished or moved and redeveloped. It is located, on the southwest corner of Harmony and County Road N9. Historically, the Preston Farm was the most popular granary in Larimer County, partly because of the mechanical sophistication of the equipment. Much of the original layout is intact, including a lambing shed, Queen Anne structure, a stone building in the back that could have been used as a summer kitchen, cistern, smokehouse from 1921, icehouse and coalhouse. The farm was a center for the farming community of the time and is eligible for local and national landmark designation. Mr. Frank Landmark Preservation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes May 10, 1994 Page 5 suggested that the LPC send a letter mentioning the determination of eligibility for local and state designation and saying that the LPC would like to see the farm structures preserved on the site as part of the development. Mr. Frick made a motion for the LPC to write a letter to Mr. Peter Kast of G.T. Lands in support of preservation of the Preston Farm. W. Hill seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Heinrich Ahrens, secretary for the group that operates the Northern Hotel, requested a last- minute agenda addition of the Northern Hotel patio. Ms. Tunner explained that during an administrative review of signage and awnings for the art prints business in the hotel, the applicant mentioned the patio to be installed at the hotel. Mr. Ahrens presented a copy of the information required for the encroachment permit for LPC review and noted that it will be a temporary structure, which will affect the choice of materials. The Building Inspection Department specified that the patio may only be used for food service and it must be moved probably several times a year during special events in that part of town and in autumn. The LPC recommended using the type of enclosure currently used by Beau Jo's or Coopersmith's because those patio enclosures are also moveable. Mr. Ahrens said they were considering matching the new structure to the fence that is currently in place on the property. Mr. Hill said they would need to see some photos and drawings of the proposal. Mr. Frick added that they would also like to see a scale drawing of the area where the patio will be located as well as elevations of the fence, and color chips of materials being used. Mr. Hogestad said that a shop drawing would be adequate. Mr. Tanner said that the drawings should also show the points of attachment to the building. Mr. Frick suggested looking at other treatments already installed around Old Town. OTHER BUSINESS: Ms. Tuner handed out a list of the May events for Historic Preservation Month. She mentioned that Karen Eberhart, Curator of Collections at the City Museum, wrote a thank -you letter to the LPC for designating the Miller Stagecoach. They did receive a grant from the State Historic Society for restoration of the stagecoach. Mr. Frank asked the LPC's opinion on using some of the Historic Preservation Funds to hire a consultant to prepare design guidelines for the Old Town, Downtown, and residential areas. The consensus of the Board was that this was a.good use of the funds. The meeting adjourned at 8 pm. Submitted by Diane Slater, Secretary.