Historic District Commission

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting Minutes October 8, 2012 CALL TO ORDER: Mr. Mike Troutman, Chairperson called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dan Buscher Mike Troutman Mark Jones Kim Tuck Kurt Thornton Susan Baldwin (City Commission Liaison) Members Excused: Doug Sofia Staff Present: Jill Steele, Deputy City Attorney Glenn Perian, Senior Planner Leona Parrish, Admin. Assistant ADDITIONS / DELETIONS TO AGENDA: Addition under New Business the approval of 2013 Annual Meeting Dates for Historic District Commission. Also there is a correction on today’s agenda regarding the “Approval of Minutes”, the minutes to be approved should have been noted as July 9, 2012 instead of August 13, 2012, the copy provided in the meeting packet to be approved was correct for July 9th meeting. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES: Mr. Kurt Thornton noted correction to minutes; page 4, under Comments from Commission Members and Staff, second to last sentence states; “is finding” should read “in finding”. Mr. Mark Jones noted correction to page 2, last paragraph before motion states; “20% deviants” should read “20% deviance”. MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. DANIEL BUSCHER TO APPROVE THE MINUTES WITH CORRECTIONS AS NOTED FOR THE JULY 9, 2012 HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MEETING; SECONDED BY MR. KIM TUCK. ALL IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED MOTION; MOTION CARRIED. CORRESPONDENCE: Handed out an email correspondence from Mr. Glen Harris stating his resignation from the Historic District Commission due to a new job position that would not allow him to attend the meetings. MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. MIKE TROUTMAN TO HAVE STAFF SEND A LETTER OF THANKS TO MR. GLEN HARRIS FOR HIS TIME SERVED ON THE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION; SECONDED BY MR. KURT THORNTON. ALL IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED MOTION; MOTION CARRIED. OLD BUSINESS: None 1 NEW BUSINESS: A) 120 Frelinghuysen Avenue - (Request to build new garage) Mr. Kim Tuck, Historic District Commissioner asked to make a point of record that he will be abstaining from this petition request as he is involved with this project. Mr. Chris Lussier, City of Battle Creek, Community Development Supervisor and Neighborhood Stabilization Program Coordinator, stated he is here today on behalf of Calhoun County Land Bank to request approval to construct a garage on this Neighborhood Stabilization Project property. Stated the entire project has been sent to reviewed and approved by the State Historic Preservation Office. Said the garage would be a modern construction with siding chosen that matches color and profile of the wood siding on house and would like to place the garage to the rear of the property. Mr. Mark Jones stated the plans submitted on the 8 ½ x 11 paper is not readable and also has questions such as; who is the property owner, as he believes it is still in an individual’s name and if they were going to renovate the entire building. Mr. Lussier stated that it is not the case, that they have done the title work on this property and that it is owned by the Calhoun County. Said the City of Battle Creek Planning Department had approved the administrative plan review for the renovation project as they did not make any renovations that require HDC approval other than the garage. Stated the State of Michigan does review the entire project and have prepared one for review; with all their NSP projects in a Historic District or in an area for that is eligible for the National Register they are held to the exact same standards. Noted they plan to return this property to its original state, also with more of a modern layout for example the kitchen, laundry area, etc.; similar to the renovation they had done with the property on 37 Chestnut Street. Mr. Jones stated as he looked at this property, the windows appear to have been changed either by a previous owner or someone and seem to be gone. Mr. Kim Tuck stated the existing windows were vinyl windows and they will be replacing them with new vinyl windows and will be keeping all the other major detail. Mr. Mark Jones stated the property does not match the drawings as the driveway shows neighbors using the same driveway. Mr. Lussier stated there is an easement in place and it is a shared driveway for access to garage. Mr. Tuck stated there is no driveway to the left. Mr. Lussier stated they are trying to come up with an option to pave a driveway that is not covering over the underground utilities easement. Mr. Jones stated his concern was on the east side with the closeness of the neighbor’s garage and a concrete slab that is there currently. Mr. Tuck stated the concrete slab was placed there as a requirement by the city for parking as it was a multiple unit and was needed for additional parking. Mr. Jones asked if the garage could be built on the northwest corner to allow for a more usable rear yard. Mr. Tuck stated since this application was submitted they had a conversation with the realtor; who suggested it be rotated 90 degrees and moved back further on the property. Mr. Lussier stated they have had some discussion and it would allow a larger rear yard. Mr. Jones asked that the garage be placed elsewhere. Mr. Lussier stated a 5-foot wide utility easement is there to work around. Mr. Tuck stated building too near to the easement is restricted 2  and needs to be done as such; also if they tried to use the existing concrete slab it would save on cost. Mr. Lussier stated to relocate the garage more to the rear of the property it would not be that large of an expense and they can do whatever the commission allows if needed. Mr. Tuck stated there is 18 ft. from the existing slab to the rear property line and can move it 5 ft. nearer to the property line or whatever the city proposes; if they need to remove the slab of concrete. Mr. Jones asked what is appropriate for the commission and if they could tell them where to place the garage. Mr. Lussier stated they can make an adjustment to the initial plans if needed. MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. MARK JONES FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS TO APPROVE THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW GARAGE TO BE PLACED ON THE EAST OR WEST SIDE TO THE REAR PORTION OF THE PROPERTY AS FEASIBLE, WITH THE DOOR FACING NORTH, FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 120 FRELINGHUYSEN AVENUE AS IT MEETS THE STANDARDS OUTLINED IN CHAPTER 1470; SECONDED BY MR. KURT THORNTON. VOTE TAKEN: FOUR IN FAVOR (THORNTON, BUSCHER, JONES AND TROUTMAN); ONE ABSTAINED (TUCK); NONE OPPOSED; MOTION CARRIED. B) Annual Meeting Dates for Year 2013 Document was handed out for approval noting the monthly meeting dates for the Historic District Commission for the year 2013. As usual all meetings held on the 2nd Monday of each month except for the month of November as it falls on a holiday; therefore an alternate date of November 4th was selected for the meeting in November. MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. KURT THORNTON TO APPROVE THE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING DATES FOR YEAR 2013 AS SUBMITTED; SECONDED BY MR. KIM TUCK. ALL IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED MOTION; MOTION CARRIED. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None COMMENTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS AND STAFF: Mr. Kurt Thornton shared information regarding the Calhoun County Art Council having just released a coloring book on the history of Calhoun County for $5.00; which includes seven drawings from Battle Creek. Also next Sunday at 3:00 P.M., they are dedicating a Michigan Historic marker at Calhoun Street behind the high school to commemorate the Battle Creek Community College original building that had been at that location. Mr. Mark Jones asked if the Historic District Map boundaries were correct and that they might need to be realigned; as he feels there are properties that are partially in and out of the boundaries. Mayor Baldwin asked Mr. Jones to submit the property addresses that he has questions about to the Planning Department, so their boundaries may be reviewed. ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Mike Troutman, Chair adjourned meeting at 4:33 P.M. Submitted by: Leona A. Parrish, Administrative Assistant, Planning Department 3