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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLandmark Preservation Commission - Minutes - 06/28/1994LANDMARK PRESERVATION COMMISSION Special Regular Meeting June 28, 1994 Council Liaison: Gerry Horak Staff Liaison: Joe Frank SUMMARY OF MEETING: The Commission approved the exterior facade restoration of the Jasper Loomis House. The LPC recommended the Rehabilitation Grant Program to City Council for approval and discussed the draft recommendations of the Design Assistance Program. The LPC voted to keep the sandstone paving as -is in front of the Linden Hotel, infill with a contrasting sandstone, level, and power wash. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL: Commission Chairman Jennifer Carpenter called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm, 281 North College Avenue. Carol Tunner 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: Jan Meisel, Planner; Bruce Hendee, BHA Consultant; Catherine Janonis, consultant and owner of 1316 West Oak; Blair Leist, Planner; John Albright, CSU; Arlene Ahlbrandt, historian; Rheba Massey, Local Historian at the Public Library. AGENDA REVIEW: T-Shirt Factory Bldg. owner will be in at 8 pm for emergency review so the door can be installed. STAFF REPORT: Ms. Tunner announced that Evadene Swanson will be getting a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association of State and Local History. The award is to be presented in December at the Colorado Historical Society annual meeting in Denver. Ms. Tunner handed out a letter from Thomas G. Keohan, Historical Architect for the National Park Service, regarding the importance of preserving the sandstone in front of the Linden Hotel in place. COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS: Ms. Carpenter reported that she met with Mr. Hendee and Ms. Meisel at the Linden Hotel and the funding difficulties have been resolved. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: None to be approved. Landmark Preservation Commission Regular Special Meeting Minutes June 28, 1994 Page 2 CURRENT DESIGN REVIEW: 1316 WEST OAK STREET, THE JASPER LOOMIS HOUSE Ms. Tunner summarized the staff report regarding the condition of the exterior of the Janonis residence and the interior wood flooring. The house is in the process of historic designation and the owners are filing for state tax credit. Due to the use of layers of incompatible paints, the exterior paint is peeling. The owners propose to have paint remover applied to clapboard and the front porch, power wash the house to remove loose paint, repair and protect bare wood, and repaint. Mr. Tanner asked if the same colors will be used and Ms. Tunner said yes. Mr. Hogested asked if this project includes remedial work and Ms. Tuner said yes, due to rotting of wood portions of the pergola porch. Ms. Weatherford moved approval of the application with the condition that a small test area be used to test both chemical remover and power wash. Ms. Kulhoan seconded the motion and the motion passed 6-0. Mr. Frick arrived at this point DISCUSSION ITEMS: V Mr. Leist introduced the topic by noting that the program will be funded from the general fund. Updated application forms were passed around. He is anticipating that this ordinance will appear on the next City Council meeting on August 2. Ms. Carpenter asked if the funding had been set aside and Mr. Frank said that the money is available in the 1994 budget but that it is not known if next year's budget will include these funds. Mr Leist suggested starting the program September 1st and awarding grants October 1st. Ms. Carpenter said that winter weather makes outdoor work difficult. Mr. Leist said it might be possible to allow the 1994 grant recipients to extend work into 1995 if accounting would allow it or require that all work be completed within 6-8 months. He thinks that the extension is possible. If the program continues, he will suggest starting the program in February and sending notification by the end of March. Ms. Carpenter agreed with the time extension for the first round of projects. Mr. Tanner inquired about the inclusion of such as sheetrock, plaster, and painting ceilings in the allowable category whereas ineligible items include interior remodeling, interior paint, carpet, and wallpaper. This may be confusing if only exterior work is meant to be included. Is interior work eligible for the match portion of the grant? Mr. Frank said that the recipient may use money in the match on limited interior items but may not use grant money. Mr. 0 Landmark Preservation Commission Regular Special Meeting Minutes June 28, 1994 Page 3 Tanner said that the list of eligible items is very limited. Ms. Carpenter said that it should be made clear under eligible improvements that any eligible project is also eligible for the match portion --that exterior work or interior work could qualify for the match portion but only exterior work qualifies for the grant program. Mr. Frank said that the only interior work that could be done with grant monies would be stabilization work. Mr. Tanner asked who would do the actual sign placement. Mr. Leist said that the City will place the sign and the owners will allow it. Ms. Kullman felt that the interior work allowed under the matching category could be better explained. Mr. Tanner suggested an additional improvements category. Ms. Carpenter asked if the application form must be in final form before going to City Council? Mr. Frank said yes, that Council would need to have the whole package. Mr. Leist said this would mean that the LPC would need to approve this ordinance before going to City Council. Mr. Frank said that only the ordinance will be adopted and the administrative guidelines could still be changed. However, the ordinance needs to be in a final form. Mr. Frick moved to submit the ordinance for the Rehabilitation Grant Program to City Council for adoption. Ms. Weatherford seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, 7-0. Mr. Frank characterized this discussion as a roundtable for gathering suggestions regarding the information that was presented to the Commission at the previous meeting. Ms. Carpenter inquired how the program would be publicized. She felt that the neighborhood ,organizations would be good resources. Mr. Frank said that the Historic Resources of Merit Program should be publicized and the two programs could be publicized together, possibly with a brochure. Ms. Massey suggested that the Fort Collins Historical Society be used to help implement this program. Mr. Frank commented that at the previous meeting, the Commission felt they needed a definition of minor and major rehabilitation, as mentioned on page 7 of the recommendations. Ms. Carpenter agreed that the future recommendations section is confusing. She said that the real design problems are not with landmarked structures but with the undesignated neighborhood buildings and houses which are being redesigned inappropriately. Mr. Hill said this design program will make for good submittals so that the LPC will not need to redesign the proposal and should therefore make the LPL's job easier. Mr. Frank thought the Neighborhood Design Guidelines may also help with this problem. Out of an allocation of $10,000, there is $7700 set aside for the program, leaving some funds which may be used for staff. Ms. Massey suggested that design assistance not be limited to local designated structures and that national register structures be included. She feels that more of the goals of the preservation plan would be achieved by including structures in the historic district, such as the Landmark Preservation Commission Regular Special Meeting Minutes June 28, 1994 Page 4 Laurel School Historic District. Ms. Carpenter agreed that the program should be expanded to include nationally registered structures. It should be available to all landmarked structures and those in the process of designation. GENERAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT Mr. Bruce Hendee presented 3 different options on the placement of the original flagstone in front of the Linden Hotel: retain all stone as is; retain the stones on Walnut and use the Linden Street stones for replacement of missing stones; or remove the flagstone on Linden and at the Hotel entry and retain the Walnut Street stone intact. He would like the sandstone washed to clean it. He said it would be hard to maintain a paving pattern down Linden Street with the stones in their present locations. He said that patching could be done with flagstone. Mr. Hogestad said he would like to see the original stones remain and then filled in with completely differently colored stones which would then set if off. Ms. Tunner said that the stone in front of the Hotel is some of the only remaining stone in the Old Town area. Mr. Frick liked the idea of a irregular pattern with a contrasting color infill. An interpretive plaque could be included. Mr. Hogestad recommends a good power washing to clean the stone, doing as little as possible. Ms. Carpenter said she would like to see Walnut Street be complete flagstone as it was when it was first installed. Ms. Massey said that she has found out some historic background. Mr. Stout sent 1000 carloads of this stone to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair for buildings. 42 sticks of dynamite were used to blast one piece of stone that was two carloads long. One Swedish man volunteered to get under the stone to move it. When loaded, the cars broke down. After it was reloaded, that stone became the centerstone of the Colorado Building at the exhibition of the World's Fair. When stone was needed to repair Trinity Church in New York, visiting experts agreed that this Colorado stone surpassed any they had seen before and it was used in the church. Therefore, she likes the idea of the contrasting red stone with a plaque to include the history. Mr. Hill noted that the parking meters were responsible for breaking up much of the curb stone on Walnut. Mr. Hendee said that they have $9000 in the budget to deal with the sandstone and he has just received an estimate of $10,000 to save the stone in place. Although this is very close, they may come back to the LPC for supplemental funds. Ms. Weatherford suggested involving the community. Mr. Frank mentioned the HRPP funds. Interlocking pavers could not be used for the infill because it would create too many odd small shapes. Mr. Tanner felt he would like to keep the historic sidewalk but would like the Linden entry pieces to be replaced because he doesn't see the merit in preserving a beat -up pattern. The Landmark Preservation Commission Regular Special Meeting Minutes June 28, 1994 Page 5 Hotel itself is being adapted and he would like to see the entrance repaired. Ms. Carpenter agreed, saying that the entrance reminds her of her grandmother's sidewalk. She would like to see the present pattern preserved. Mr. Hendee presented two options: (1) infill with a contrasting material, level, and powerwash or (2) remove the pieces on Linden, repair and enhance Walnut Street and the Linden Hotel entrance, level and powerwash. Mr. Hill felt an interpretive plaque would be okay but warned against dressing them up as Disneyland. Mr. Frick asked if this in an historic relic or an adaptive reuse. Ms. Meisel commented that although the stones can be returned to the same spots, they may not be exactly the same size because some trimming and cutting is needed. Mr. Hill said to leave the cracks --cracks are left in European cathedrals. Ms. Carpenter emphasized that it is wonderful because it is irregular. Mr. Hendee said they need to make sure a piece is big enough not to shift over time and cause a liability for the design firm or the City. The trip edges must be safe. Mr. Frick thought that concrete would be more fluid and easier to use. He also said that the stone should not be sawed but cut and price was discussed. Mr. Hendee said that a detailed survey will need to be made if the stone is left in place. This may put the project between $1000 and $3000. Ms. Meisel said that cost should not be the deciding factor. Some trade-offs may be necessary and that handworking the stone may cost more. Ms. Weatherford said she would like to continue to be updated on progress. Ms. Weatherford moved to adopt the fast option—infill with contrasting sandstone, level, and powerwash. Mr. Hogestad seconded the motion. Ayes —Frick, Hill, Hogestad, Kullman, Weatherford. Nayes—Carpenter, Tanner. The motion passed, 5-2. Mr. Hendee presented the "kit of parts" illustrating various lighting treatments for pedestrian lighting. Price and preference are concerns. His intention is to not duplicate what was there but to allude to it. He showed a 1910 loop, with a dome light and metal Halite lighting. The pole, luminaire, and type of lighting are all issues. He recommends Halite for cost and maintenance. There would be four lights on each side, forming islands of light. Fort Collins Power and Light will keep the high pressure sodium lights already in place on the high mast lighting. He is investigating the cost of adding banners on the light poles. Signage would be determined later. Custom poles are more expensive than off -the -shelf -poles (otsp) so he recommends otsp. Custom poles cost $25,000 more for the special dye. The Commission favors a standard pole of the simple round type. Banners would hang and a logo would be in the crook of the light arm. Still to be determined are trash receptacles and colors. He will return at a later date. OTHER BUSINESS: There was none. The meeting adjourned at 8:42 pm. Submitted by Diane Slater, Secretary.