Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC Minutes 01-21-2020 HASTINGS HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Minutes of the Meeting of January 21, 2020 Held at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall I. Call to Order II. Swearing in of new HPC Commissioners and those serving a new term A. Christina Johnson B. Dave Youngren C. Karren Douglas D. Mark Borchardt E. Kathy Sovik-Siemens F. Richard Smith III. Elections and Designations A. Elect HPC Chair and Vice Chair Motion by Toppin for election of Commissioner Smith as HPC Chair, seconded by Simacek; motion approved 9-0. Motion by Sovik-Siemens for election of Commissioner Toppin as HPC Vice Chair, seconded by Ragan-Scully; motion approved 9-0. B. Designate a Commissioner as the Required HPC Representative to the County Historical Society Motion by Ragan-Scully for appointment of Commissioners Johnson and Douglas as HPC representatives to the Dakota County Historical Society, seconded by Toppin; motion approved 9-0. IV. Quorum: Sovik-Siemens, Simacek, Ragan-Scully, Toppin, Smith, Johnson, Youngren, Douglas, and Borchardt Staff: Justin Fortney, City Planner Chair Smith called the meeting to order at 7:04 pm. V. Minutes: November 19, 2019 Motion by Toppin for approval, seconded by Ragan-Scully; motion approved 9-0. VI. Information and Reports A. Public Hearing - 320 7th Street W – Building Rehabilitation and Additions Fortney presented the staff report. Commissioner Johnson expressed concerns that the windows are proposed for replacement are not in poor shape. She added that single pane glass windows are not the major sources of heat loss in a home and that they are a significant defining feature of a home. Commissioner Borchardt said that replacing the windows would make the house look more historic because the aluminum storm windows would be removed. He added that there are no good options for wood storm windows. Chair Smith opened the Public Hearing at 7:45. John Croke of 321 6th Street East, commended the applicant on his proposal to fix up the home. He mentioned that he had previously wanted the home torn down and even contemplated purchasing it and razing it himself, since the home had been vacant for ten years. He said he looks at the rear of the home from his house and yard and has no objections to the removal of rear facing windows. He added that he is supportive of the rear garage addition. Bruce Darsow, owner of 314 7th Street West said he is supportive of the proposal. Chair Smith closed the public hearing at 7:53. Commissioner Simacek said the proposal seems appropriate with the exception of the rear rooflines, although he added that he understands why there are lower angles proposed. He said the rooflines were chosen to reduce the issues with valleys. He added that the rear addition is only visible from the rear property and the homeowner of which, stated they are supportive. Commissioner Borchardt asked the applicant if the west windows could be stacked rather than staggered between the first and second floors. Gary LaChance, applicant, said the kitchen configuration won’t easily allow all of them to align and they are a different size so they still wouldn’t match perfectly. Commissioner Toppin said it likely isn’t worth throwing off the internal configuration of the home to line up only two windows. Motion by Toppin to approve the second story addition as proposed, second by Borchardt; motion approved 9-0. Commissioner Toppin asked about details of the garage door. LaChance said it would just be a plain steel garage door. Simacek said it would be fitting to the design of the proposed garage and not visible. Croke said he is fine with the proposed garage door. Commissioner Sovik-Siemens asked for clarification on the driveway proposal. Fortney explained it would come off of Ashland as the grade allows with a required concrete apron and the remainder would be asphalt and curve south to the garage. He added that the Public Works Department has concerns with approving a private drive through an unimproved alleyway due to the public nature of the alleyway, in addition to maintenance complications. Fortney said an alley improvement would only be made if it could pass the length of the block and be widely utilized, which are not likely. Motion by Douglas to approve the rear garage addition and driveway as proposed, second by Youngren; motion approved 9-0. Fortney said The Design Guidelines and the NPS Standards for Rehabilitation state that any proposal for removal of historic material should first address the ability to repair the item rather than replacement. Fortney added that this is specifically mentioned for windows. Fortney added that he could only view several windows from the ground floor outside, but did not see any issues other than cracked glazing, which is routine maintenance. He said the HPC should consider approval of window replacements more strictly in principal elevations, particularly in porches, where they have received protection from the elements and are highly visible. Commissioner Borchardt said he replaced his single pane windows and found an improvement in efficiency. Johnson said, according to studies, there would likely have been a similar improvement to efficiencies if the former windows were repaired and weather-stripped. Fortney said if there were any difference in efficiencies between new windows and maintained windows, it would be negligible if the principal windows are maintained and the rest are replaced. Sovik-Siemens asked if the windows have counterweights. LaChance said they do. Simacek said the windows in the pictures appear to be from the 1950’s. He said they look identical to the single pain windows in his parent’s home that were replaced in that era. Borchardt said the home would likely have had divided windows originally based on the age of the home. Johnson said even if they are replacements, they could still be historic. Motion by Toppin to approve the window replacements as discussed, second by Ragan-Scully; motion approved 8-0-1 (Johnson present). Simacek asked what type of wood is proposed for the siding. LaChance said he was not sure of the species. He said the lumber supplier said the existing siding could easily be matched for the new walls and replacement of deteriorated sections. Motion by Sovik-Siemens to approve the wood siding as proposed, second by Ragan-Scully; motion approved 9-0. Fortney said the application didn’t mention the removal of the chimney, but the plans showed its removal. Fortney asked the applicant for clarification. Lachance said he proposes to remove it because it’s not utilized and is a liability for future maintenance and roof leaks. Simacek said it appears there is a vent in it for the furnace or something. LaChance said it is a water heater vent. He added that it will be replaced with a high efficiency unit that would vent out the sidewall. Fortney said chimneys are defining architectural features of historic homes. He added that the current chimney has been parged with a coating of concrete. This is usually done when required repointing is deferred for years until the joints and brick damage becomes severe. He added that the parging has already damaged the integrity of the chimney in terms of historical and structural integrity. Motion by Douglas to approve the removal of the chimney as proposed, second by Youngren; motion approved 9-0. VII. Business A. Discuss HPC Goals for 2020 Toppin said due to the length of the meeting and the time it takes to discuss these goals, she recommends a Committee be formed to review the options and bring back some recommendations at a future meeting. Motion by Ragan-Scully to approve the following committee to review the 2020 goals of the HPC, second by Youngren; motion approved 9-0. - Ragan-Scully - Toppin - Johnson - Douglas A. Minnesota Statewide Historic Preservation Plan Input Staff facilitated the meeting as prepared by the State Historic Preservation Office. Ragan-Scully said the questions appear to be the same ones that were included in the individual survey that SHPO sent to their contact list. The Commissioners provided direction and discussion as requested by the SHPO for input on the update of their plan. The questions were general and mostly related to historic places in the state they felt should be saved and reasons preservation is important. VIII. Adjourn. Motion by Ragan-Scully, second by Simacek to adjourn the meeting at 9:14 pm; motion approved 6-0. Respectfully Submitted Justin Fortney