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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 06-14 HPB Meeting minutes RegularAGENDA CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA HERITAGE PRESERVATION BOARD EDINA CITY HALL — COMMUNITY ROOM JUNE 14, 2011 7:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA IV. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES A. Regular meeting of May 10, 2011 B. Special meeting of May 17, 2011 V. COMMUNITY COMMENT During "Community Comment" the Heritage Preservation Board will invite residents to share new issues or concerns that haven't been considered in the past 30 days by the Board or which aren't slated for future consideration. Individuals must limit their comments to three minutes. The Chair may limit the number of speakers on the same issue in the interest of time and topic. Generally speaking, items that are elsewhere on tonight's agenda may not be addressed during Community Comment. Individuals should not expect the Chair or Board to respond to their comments. Instead, the Board might refer the matter to staff for consideration at a future meeting VI. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS A. H-11-4, Certificate of Appropriateness - 4805 Sunnyside Road B. H-11-5, Certificate of Appropriateness - 4600 Casco Avenue C. Southdale Center Update D. White Oaks Tour -July VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS VIII. CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS IX. STAFF COMMENTS X. NEXT MEETING DATE July 12, 2011 XI. ADJOURNMENT The City of Edina wants all residents to be comfortable being part of the public process. If you need assistance in the way hearing amplification, an interpreter, large -print documents or something else, please call 952-927-8861, 72 hours in vance of the meeting. MINUTES Regular Meeting of the Edina Heritage Preservation Board Tuesday, June 14, 2011, 7:00 PM Edina Community Room 4801 West 501h Street CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Claudia Carr called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Answering roll call were Vice Chair Carr, and members, Rehkamp Larson, Davis, Schwartzbauer, Carr, Curran, Anger, Ahlstrom and Thorson Those absent were Chair Stegner and Members Rehkamp Larson, McLellan and Thorson III. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by Member Davis and seconded by Member Ahlstrom approving the meeting agenda. All voted aye. The motion carried. IV. MINUTES APPROVED A. Regular meeting of May 10, 2011 Member Curran recalled that under the discussion of the White Oaks neighborhood (Item # V.C. page 6) the comment stating "The Board agreed that a district landmark designation would be difficult to apply to other neighborhoods in the City because there is no other neighborhood with a similar development history." should be attributed to Robert Vogel, not the entire Board. Member Schwartzbauer agreed that the correction would reflect the discussion; he added that he recalled Mr. Vogel also stated that, "Further research of the White Oaks neighborhood would be necessary to make a substantiated evaluation." The Board agreed that Member Curran and Schwartzbauer's comments accurately reflected the discussion. Motion was made by Member Curran and seconded by Member Davis approving the minutes from the regular meeting of May 10, 2011 as corrected. All voted aye. The motion carried. B. Special Meeting of May 17, 2011 Motion was made by Member Ahlstrom and seconded by Member Anger approving the minutes from the special meeting of May 17, 2011. All voted aye. The motion carried. V. COMMUNITY COMMENT None VI. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS A. H-11-4 Certificate of Appropriateness — 4805 Sunnyside Road Planner Repya reported that the subject property is located on the south side of Sunnyside Road abutting Minnehaha Creek. The home, constructed in 1926 is a Tudor style with an attached 2 -car garage that was converted from rear loading to front loading in 1964. The proposed plans for the home include constructing a master bath suite above the attached garage. Minutes Heritage Preservation Board June 14, 2011 Ms. Repya added that the subject project involves converting storage space above the garage to living space, and will not increase the footprint of the home. Currently, the storage space is accessed from within the garage. The plans demonstrate that the roof height above the garage will increase by one foot to allow for the living space. Also, a small gable dormer will be replaced with a shed dormer having divided light windows, consistent with the home's existing windows. The only alteration to the west elevation will be the deletion of a window in the gable peak. The window has been removed because a shower abuts that space. A variance from the City's Planning Commission will be required for this project since a 4.9 foot side yard setback is provided abutting the garage to the west; and the proposed living space above the garage requires a side yard setback no less than 10 feet. The Planning Commission has asked that for projects requiring both a COR and a variance the HPB first act on the COA request followed by the Planning Commission's variance review. Preservation Consultant, Robert Vogel reviewed the plans and observed that the proposed work is limited to alteration of the attached front -facing garage, which is not a significant historic character - defining element in its own right (and does not represent original construction—the space occupied by the garage was living space when the house was built in 1926). No important historic architectural features or fabric will be destroyed and the proposed alterations (including placement of a shed dormer over the garage) appear to be compatible with the historic character of the house. Mr. Vogel recommended approval of the requested COA subject to the plans presented. Staff Recommendation and Findings Staff concurred with Consultant Vogel's approval recommendation subject to the plans presented, and the issuance of a side yard setback variance from the Planning Commission Findings supporting the recommendation include: • The existing attached garage was added in 1964 and does not represent the original construction of the home. • No important historic architectural fea destroyed. • The proposed alterations are compatible with the historic character of the house. • The plans provided with the subject request clearly illustrate the scale and scope of the project. • The information provided supporting the subject COA meets the requirements of the Country Club District's plan of treatment. Board Comments A brief discussion ensued in which the Board sought clarification of project details. Member Carr observed that the proposed work abuts the garage of the home to the west. Furthermore, the one foot height increase of the roof to provide for living space appears to be appropriate and will not detract from the historic integrity of this or the neighboring properties. Minutes Heritage Preservation Board June 14, 2011 . Motion & Vote Motion was made by Member Schwartzbauer and seconded by Member Davis to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness request subject to the plans presented and approval of the setback variance from the City's Planning Commission. All voted aye. The motion carried. B. H-11-5 Certificate of Appropriateness – 4600 Casco Avenue Planner Repya reported that the subject property is located on the southwest corner of Casco Avenue and Bridge Street. The home, constructed in 1942 is an American Colonial Revival style with an attached 2 -car garage accessed from Bridge Street to the north. The proposed project entails constructing a two story addition to the rear of the home and behind the garage, consisting of a full basement recreation room, main floor kitchen / family space, and a second story master suite. The roof line of the attached garage will change from the existing gable end to a shed roof. The second story of the addition will include a gable dormer over the garage that matches the roof pitch and style of the existing roof and is positioned to meet the setback for living space. The materials proposed for the addition will match those of the existing home to include: • Cedar shingle siding or Hardi-type shake siding • Wood exterior trim • Clad aluminum double hung and awning windows with brick mold and window grids to match existing windows • Two painted steel or wood, single garage doors, and • Asphalt architectural shingles. Preservation Consultant, Robert Vogel reviewed the plans and provided the following evaluation: The District's Plan of Treatment is based on the concept of rehabilitation, which allows for the alteration of historic properties to make possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those features which are significant to its historical, architectural, and cultural values. In this case, the historic character defining features that need to be protected are the qualities of the street facade or principal elevation that are evidence of the historic Thorpe Brothers plan of the Country Club development and the architectural standards enforced by the original restrictive covenant. The proposed addition does not appear to require the removal or alteration of any historic material or distinctive architectural features on the principal elevation. Mr. Vogel further stated that it is generally understood that the Thorpe design restrictions were not intended to discourage construction of one and two-story additions to homes in the district. Mr. Vogel opined that the plans presented demonstrate a reasonable effort to design an addition to 4600 Casco that will be compatible with the architectural character of the original house; the distinguishing original qualities of the home have been treated with sensitivity; and when completed the new work should not have an adverse visual impact on the subject property or the neighborhood environment. Vogel added that because the home occupies a corner lot, the subject property has two "street facades"—consequently, the rear addition will become part of the Bridge Lane streetscape. Historically, corner houses in Country Club generally lacked a high level of architectural embellishment on their secondary elevations. The HPB's interest in making additions architecturally compatible with historic fagades whenever the new work is visible from the public right of way is understandable but not historically contextual: the notion of providing a corner house with two architecturally enriched facades represents the standards and tastes of the late 20`h century, not the 1920s -1940s. Because the original Minutes Heritage Preservation Board June 14, 2011 deed restrictions did not impose rigid architectural design standards on side street facing elevations, design review decisions should be guided by the following general rehabilitation treatment standard (part of the Secretary of the Interior's standards for the treatment of historic properties): additions and alterations to historic buildings shall not destroy significant historic architectural features and the new work shall be designed to be compatible with the size, scale, color, material and character of the property and the surrounding neighborhood. Mr. Vogel concluded that approval of the COA request was recommended. Staff Recommendation and Findings Planner Repya concluded that she too recommended approval of the COA request subject to the plans presented. Findings supporting the approval recommendation include: • No important historic architectural features or fabric of the home will be destroyed. • The proposed alterations are compatible with the historic character of the house. • The plans provided with the subject request clearly illustrate the scale and scope of the project. • The information provided supporting the subject Certificate of Appropriateness meets the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance and the Country Club District Plan of Treatment. Board Comments Member Carr observed that currently the overhead garage doors have windows at the top, and the plans for the new doors do not include windows. Continuing on the review of the garage, Member Anger opined that he would prefer wooden doors to the metal doors proposed. Member Curran noted that the plans do not show shutters on any of the windows, adding that shutters are an important element for Colonial Revival homes. Member Schwartzbauer stated that he disagreed with Consultant Vogel's comment that "Because Thorpe's original deed restrictions did not impose rigid architectural design standards on side street facing elevations, design review decisions should be guided by the following general rehabilitation treatment standard of the Secretary of the Interior's standards for the treatment of historic properties." Schwartzbauer added that he believes an addition that creates a long sidewall with no architectural relief would be troubling and should be addressed in the design review process. Several board members agreed, adding that with this project, providing shutters on the windows and overhead garage doors with more detail will provide the desired architectural relief on the side street elevation. Member Anger observed that a Colonial style home is by its nature box like, and when these homes are added on to, the final product can resemble several connected boxes unless details such as shutters, trim boards, and gable vents are included. Homeowner/Contractor Comments Wayne Nodsle, contractor on the project explained that they are proposing two single overhead doors on the garage to replace the double door that currently exists with the goal of providing added detailing to the Bridge Street facade. Homeowner, Kari Norman also pointed out that it is their intention to include shutters on the windows. She added that she also liked the suggestions for installing wooden garage doors and adding a vent in the gable over the garage. Minutes Heritage Preservation Board June 14, 2011 Motion & Vote Motion was made by Member Davis and seconded by Member Anger to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness request subject to the following conditions: • The plans presented • Wooden garage doors • Shutters on windows for elevations visible from street, and • A gable vent on the peak above the garage. All voted aye. The motion carried. C. Southdale Center Update Member Davis reported that since the May HPB meeting, he has spoken on the phone with the manager of Southdale Center who assured him that the large clock and tree sculpture which the Board has identified as being significant are important to them as well. She explained that the center management has hired an individual who will work as a liaison with the community on projects such as ours. She also pointed out that there are 140 storage rooms in the basement of the center which creates somewhat of a challenge in locating memorabilia. Mr. Davis also pointed out that the Southdale management is considering the creation of a museum that would chronicle the center's history. Board members thought that was a very interesting idea and wondered how they could be involved. Member Davis explained that Council Member Swenson advised him that the City Council is working with Southdale Center on their request for funding assistance from the City would also undertake the potential museum as part of their discussion. Member Anger pointed out that there are some very good models locally of buildings that have created historic displays, namely the first Target store in Roseville, and the Foshay Tower and the Wells Fargo Building in Minneapolis. He added that a museum at Southdale Center is a fine idea, however of greater concern is the preservation of the original architectural elements (the clock, golden leaves sculpture, and clerestory windows) that are still visible in the center courtyard. Discussion ensued regarding other original artifacts that may still exist. Planner Repya noted that the Edina Historical Society would be a good place to start in case the Southdale management has donated any items; and she agreed to do some research and report back to the Board. Member Carr suggested that Preservation Consultant Vogel begin preparing the landmark nomination studies for the golden leaves sculpture, clock, and clerestory windows since it appears that the Board agrees those three existing items are worthy of landmark preservation. Members Davis and Anger concurred with Ms. Carr's suggestion and agreed to work on complete list of original Southdale artifacts that are remaining. Planner Repya agreed to discuss with Consultant Vogel the Board's desire to consider the landmark designation of the three original artifacts that are still visible in the garden court of the center, adding that the Southdale Center's management must be agreeable to the potential historic landmark designation. No formal action was taken. D. White Oaks Neighborhood Update Planner Repya reported that she will be meeting with Cheryl Appeldorn, 4703 Townes Road, President of the White Oaks Improvement Association to plan a White Oaks neighborhood tour which will take place prior to the July 12th HPB meeting. Board members agreed that they looked forward to walking the neighborhood to gain a better perspective of the built environment. Minutes Heritage Preservation Board June 14, 2011 VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS None Vill. CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Board members commended Vice Chair Carr on running a smooth and efficient meeting. IX. STAFF COMMENTS None X. NEXT MEETING DATE July 12, 2011 XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:55 pm Respectfully submitted, Joyce Repya