Historic District Commission

CITY OF BATTLE CREEK HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION 10 North Division, Battle Creek, MI 49014 Minutes for Monday, June 13, 2022 MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: By Commissioner Simpson at 4:03 p.m. This meeting was held in-person. ATTENDANCE: Comm. Simpson asked that attendance be noted. A roll call was taken: Comm. Simpson, present Comm. Durham, present Comm. Reid, present Comm. Drozdowski, present Comm. Sallee, present Commissioners Absent: None Commissioners Excused: Newman Staff Present: Travis Sullivan, Planner, Susan Cronander, Planning Coordinator; Marcel Stoetzel, Deputy City Attorney, and Vanessa Hernandez, Customer Serv. Rep. II ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO AGENDA: None PUBLIC COMMENTS: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Previous meeting minutes submitted for approval for May 9, 2022 meeting. MOTION MADE BY COMM. DROZDOWSKI SECONDED BY COMM. REID TO APPROVE MAY 9, 2022 MINUTES. A roll call vote was taken: ALL IN FAVOR, MOTION APPROVED. CORRESPONDENCE: None. OLD BUSINESS: None. PUBLIC HEARINGS/DELIBERATIONS: A. H-09-22: (25 Howland St.) Justice Fence, on behalf of Robert Plotz, 1276 E Columbia Ave. Battle Creek, MI 49014, requesting a petition for a certificate of appropriateness to install an approximately 502’ of 4’ high galvanized chain link fence with one (1) 5’ wide gate, for property located at 25 Howland St. Parcel # 5020-00-0940. Applicant Presentation: None. 1  Staff presentation: Staff recommends approval of the portion of the four foot chain-link fence as requested that is not within the front yard created by Howland Street and the house on the subject property. Staff recommends possibly substituting the front yard portion of the four foot chain link fence with more historically appropriate materials if the Historic District Commission finds that a different type of fencing other than chain link is a more accurate historical depiction of fencing in the Old Advent Town Historic District. Comments from commission members: None. MOTION MADE BY COMM. DROZDOWSKI SECONDED BY COMM. SALLEE. A roll call vote was taken: ALL IN FAVOR, MOTION APPROVED. B. H-10-22: (18 W Michigan Ave.) Burkett Signs Inc., on behalf of Elwell Salon, 15886 E. Michigan Ave., requesting a petition for a certificate of appropriateness to install one blade sign with doubles sided panels secured to the front of the building connected to the existing electrical 6’ from last lockable disconnect, for property located 18 W. Michigan Ave. Parcel # 0258-00042-0. Applicant presentation: States that they have frequently done signs through that area. There will not be any power needs for the sign. They have designed the sign to have a rich look and to fit in with the other signs that have been done through the area. States that he will meet the 8ft of clearance because he would rather it be done correctly the first time, than to have it get broken and have to come back and replace it. Staff presentation: The applicant has filed the subject HDC Certificate of Appropriateness application for a new two paneled projecting (or blade) sign facing W Michigan Ave. The proposed sign consists of two equal-sized back-to-back panels measuring 44.85” x 44.85”. The panels are separated by 6”, with the sign projecting a total of 51.85” inches off the front of the building. The proposed sign features push-through acrylic graphics (white) with a black background, mounted to the building on a 6” x 30” bracket with anchors. The proposed 6” cabinet will provide for internally supplied LED illumination of the sign. The mounting bracket is proposed to be fastened to the paneled portion of the building’s façade, and will not require any alteration to the original brick materials. As a condition of approval, staff would recommend for safety purposes a requirement that the proposed sign leave a minimum of 8’ of clearance between the sidewalk and the bottom of the structure. Staff Recommends approval as it meets all of the requirements. Comments from commission members: None. MOTION MADE BY COMM. DROZDOWSKI SECONDED BY COMM. DURHAM. A Roll call vote was taken: ALL IN FAVOR, MOTION APPROVED C. H-11-22: (68 & 70 Frelinghuysen Ave.) 2  Calhoun County Land Bank Authority, 315 W Green St. Battle Creek, MI 49068, requesting a petition for exterior work that includes; replacement windows, doors, porches (side porches will be repaired), items include installing fuel efficient furnaces and water heaters, new/updated plumbing, electrical upgrades, repair walls, paint and re-configure kitchen, for property located 68 & 70 Frelinghuysen Ave Parcel # 537000-205-0. Applicant Presentation: Amy Robinson stated that the property is being sold through the “Transform This Home Program”. She gave a brief description of the home, and mentioned that lead & asbestos testing had been conducted. The funding for the program had been revoked, and the land bank is now financially responsible for the replacement of the windows, all of which were broken. The current wood painted windows did test positive for lead, and the cost of the wood would be significant in comparison to vinyl. Staff Presentation: Staff recommends approval of the subject petition at 68-70 Frelinghuysen Ave. as the proposed replacement all existing vinyl windows in need in order to preserve operational order and accommodate lead abatement with vinyl double-hung windows meets the standards outlined in Chapter 1470.09 “Review of Applications”, Chapter 1470.17 “Preservation of Historic Features” and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines. Comments from commission members: None. MOTION MADE BY COMM. DROZDOWSKI SECONDED BY COMM. REID. A Roll call vote was taken: ALL IN FAVOR, MOTION APPROVED D. H-08-22: (16 Ann Ave.) Clara Hernandez, 16 Ann Ave. Battle Creek, MI 49037, requesting a petition for a certificate of appropriateness to restore previous aesthetic of the house, for property located at 16 Ann Ave. Parcel # 3560-00-042-0. Applicant Presentation: Clara Hernandez of 16 Ann Avenue stated she purchased the home after a long ordeal with the previous owner and it was her understanding that the previous owner took out permits for the repairs of the house. Clara Stated she was not aware the home was in a historic District nor that work was done without permits. Clara stated she was not aware of the requirements for a home located in the historic district. She stated she had been working closely with the inspectors to bring the house back up to historical code. She is willing to work with the city to begin the restoration of the home. Staff presentation: Staff recommends that the Historic District Commission review the background information associated with this property (previous condition, unapproved work, and attempts to restore) and discuss the proposed solutions with the applicant. If it is determined that more information is needed from the applicant, staff would recommend that the Commission delay any action on the item until such time that the available information warrants a decision. The main concern would be is what the commission would view as the most historically defining characteristics of the home. Applicant started working with the previous planning staff, and the previous staff had viewed the second story of the home to be the most historically defining characteristic of the home as far as the windows, the dormer, and the stucco finish with the trim pattern. Previous staff recommendation previously suggested a large picture window to make up for the changes in the windows. 3  Comments from commission members: None. MOTION MADE BY COMM. SALLEE SECONDED BY COMM. DURHAM A Roll call vote was taken: ALL IN FAVOR, MOTION APPROVED COMMENTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS: None. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC: None COMMENTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS AND STAFF: City Attorney Marcel Stoetzel stated when a certificate of appropriateness is presented to this body, the body have 60 days from the date of the application to approve or disapproved the application, unless the applicant asks for an extension. City Staff has to deal with the ordinances and the state status which is required to enforce, this body is supposed to make decisions on certificates of appropriateness for work that has occurred whether it was in the past, whether it was properly permitted, regardless of who the current owner is. Which he recognizes as very challenging to the current owners that she became the owner of a problematic property and it was brought to the body to find a way to work with her and have a full understanding of what happened in the past. The body can possibly find a middle ground with the applicant. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Simpson adjourned the meeting at 5:40 p.m. Submitted by: Crystal Bax, CSR II, Planning and Zoning M:\Planning Files\Planning Dept\1. Historic District\2.Minutes\Year 2022\HDC Minutes 6.13.22 DRAFT.docx 4