Historic District Commission

1 of 6 AGENDA Historic District Commission Meeting Date: Monday, March 10, 2025 Time: 4:00 P.M. Where: City Hall, Room 301 1. Call to Order: 2. Attendance: 3. Additions or Deletions to Agenda: 4. Approval of minutes: February 10, 2025 5. Correspondence: 6. Old Business: A. H03-25 (123 W Manchester St) Petition for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the property located at 123 W Manchester Street, filed by The Calhoun County Land Bank for the rehabilitation of the home, to include the replacement and wrapping of the windows on the home, the exterior doors, and the fascia as well as replacing the siding and installing new soffits where needed. Parcel #5020-00-113-0. B. H01-25 (238 NE Capital Ave) Petition for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the property located at 238 NE Capital Ave, filed by Donald McClellan for the construction of a carport for residential use, reconstruction of the sidewalk, and replacement of the stairs with formal painted concrete. Parcel #3870-00-008-0. 7. New Business: 8. Comments by the Public: 9. Comments from Commission members and Staff: 10. Adjournment: The City of Battle Creek will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and audio tapes of printed materials being considered in the meeting upon notice to the City of Battle Creek. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aides or services should contact the City of Battle Creek by writing or calling the following: Office of the Planning & Zoning Division, 10 North Division – Suite 117, Battle Creek, MI 49016, (269)966-3348 (Voice), (269)966-3348 (TDD) D 10 N. DIVISION ST. P.O. BOX 1717 BATTLE CREEK MICHIGAN 49016-1717 PHONE (269) 966-3320 FAX (269) 966-3555 WWW.BATTLECREEKMI.GOV  2 of 6 CITY OF BATTLE CREEK HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MEETING 10 North Division, Battle Creek, MI 49014 Minutes for Monday, February 10, 2025 MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: By Chairperson Simpson 4:01 p.m. ATTENDANCE: Chairperson Simpson asked for a roll vote. Comm. Simpson, present Comm. Drozdowski, present Comm. Davis, present Comm. Sallee, absent Comm. Thornton, present Comm. Steinbrunner, present Comm. Case, present Staff Present: Travis Sullivan, Planner Administrator, Melody Carlsen, Administrative Assistant, Ben Peacock, Planner, Patrick Batterson, Assistant City Attorney. ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO AGENDA: None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Approval of the January 12, 2025 meeting minutes. COMMISSIONER CASE MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE JANUARY 10, 2025 MEETING MINUTES, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DROZDOWSKI. A roll vote was take: ALL IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED, MOTION APPROVED. CORRESPONDENCE: None. OLD BUSINESS: None. NEW BUSINESS: A. H03-25 (123 W Manchester St) Petition for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the property located at 123 W Manchester Street, filed by The Calhoun County Land Bank for the rehabilitation of the home, to include the replacement and wrapping of the windows on the home, the exterior doors, and the fascia as well as replacing the siding and installing new soffits where needed. Parcel #5020-00-113-0. Staff Presentation: Travis Sullivan gave the staff report for H03-25. Applicant Presentation: Quinton Hay, Tonesha Heath, Amy Rose Robinson, all from the Calhoun County Land Bank were present to speak and answer questions from Commissioners. Questions from Commissioners: 1  3 of 6 Commissioner Simpson asked how the Land Bank acquired the property, when the historic district was established, did the current changes to the house happen before the establishment of the historic district, inquired to the value of the property after work is completed, color of the shutters and if they would remain or be replaced. Commissioner Case asked if there were any original wood windows left and if there is lead paint present, how many square feet is the home, if there will be two windows in the front, inquired to the trim wrapping and what material will be used, asked about the siding on the peak, asked if they had checked into the different window replacements and the esthetics of the windows, what the timeframe for the project is and if they could return with some specifics on the project. Commissioner Davis asked if anyone checked under the siding to see if there was any original siding, would like to see the picture window put back in and roof above it, would like to see if there was any cedar shake under the siding and would need to keep the gingerbread. Commissioner Steinbrunner is there any plans to correct the facade of the building and if the picture glass window will be changed, if they desired to sell the house and feels the one window would make the house more street appealing. MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER CASE TO PROSPONE THE APPLLICATION REVIEW, ITEM H03-25 UNTIL THE MARCH HDC MEETING WITH THE CONSIDERATION THEY WILL PUT A SINGLE HUNG WINDOW UP TOP AND REPLACE THE WINDOW BELOW TO BE MORE HISTORIC, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DROWDOWSKI. A roll vote was taken: ALL IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED. MOTION APPROVED. B. H04-25 (263 N Washington Ave) Petition for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the property located 263 N Washington Ave., filed by Donita Moye for the re-siding (like-for-like replacement of the existing vinyl siding) and for the replacement of the existing asphalt shingled roof with a new metal roofing system. Staff Presentation: Travis Sullivan gave the staff report for H04-25. Applicant Presentation: Homeowner Donita Moye was present to speak and answer questions from Commissioners. Questions from Commissioners: Commissioner Simpson asked if the material was delivered and onsite and if the homeowner knew the house was in a historic district, asked if the homeowner would consider leaving the cedar shake siding in the peaks. Commissioner Case asked if the homeowner pulled permits for other work she has done, inquired to the color of the metal roof and matching the current shingles, asked about the color of siding in the peaks. Commissioner Steinbrunner inquired to the material of the siding in the peaks, asked about the color of the windows and siding. MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER STEINBRUNNER TO APPROVE H04-25, WITH THE CONDITION OF SAVING THE CEDAR IN THE PEAKS OF THE BUILDING BY ACTUAL OR LOOK, AND THE APPROVAL OF THE METAL ROOF. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS. 2  4 of 6 COMMISSIONER STEINBRUNNER WITHDREW HIS ORGINAL MOTION. WITHDRAWAL SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS. MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER STEINBRUNNER TO APPROVE H04-25 TO APPROVE H04-25, WITH THE CONDITION OF SAVING THE CEDAR IN THE PEAKS IF IT IS NOT ABLE TO BE SAVED, THE HOMEOWNER WILL RETURN TO THE COMMISSION TO DISCUSS OTHER OPTIONS. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS. A roll vote was taken: ALL IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED, MOTION APPROVED. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC: None. COMMENTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS AND STAFF: Travis Sullivan thanked the staff for putting their time and effort into the agenda items. Commissioner Simpson thanked staff for their work. ADJOURNMENT: Chairperson Simpson adjourned the meeting at 5:09 pm. Submitted by: Melody Carlsen, Planning and Zoning Administrative Assistant 3  5 of 6 Battle Creek Historic District Commission HDC Action Items Memorandum Staff Report To: Battle Creek Historic District Commission From: Travis Sullivan, Planning and Zoning Administrator Date: March 5, 2025 Subject: Required action regarding previously considered applications Summary Over the past two months, the Historic District Commission (HDC) has reviewed Certificate of Appropriateness applications from five different applicants. Three of the applications brought before the HDC have received approval. However, two applications remain outstanding or partially outstanding and now require action from the HDC. Outstanding Applications First, at the January 2025 meeting, the HDC considered an application for work on the building at 238 NE Capital Ave. This application contained three parts: (1) restoration of the sidewalk leading to the building’s front entrance, (2) restoration of the front stairs leading to the porch and doorway, and (3) construction of a new 14-vehicle carport to be placed in the rear yard of the property. At the meeting, the application received a partial approval and a partial postponement. The HDC approved the work related to (1) and (2). As to (3), following review of the application and discussion with the applicant, the HDC postponed a final decision on approval of the proposed work. The HDC requested, and the applicant agreed to bring, revised plans for a smaller, possibly relocated carport with a more appropriate roofing material to be presented at the February HDC meeting. To date, staff has not received revised plans or follow-up information from the applicant. Second, at the February 10 meeting, the HDC considered an application from the Calhoun County Land Bank Authority for work related to various features on the home at 123 W Manchester St. After consideration of the item and discussion with the applicant, the applicant agreed to bring back revised and more detailed plans to the HDC for consideration at the March 10 meeting. While staff is currently in communication with the Land Bank, plans and revisions have not yet been finalized, and the item is not ready for further consideration by the HDC.  6 of 6 Timing of Application Filing; Timing of Final Decisions The application for work at 238 NE Capital Ave. was filed on December 26, 2024 and received partial approval from the HDC on January 13, 2025, with agreement between the applicant and the HDC that the applicant would bring revised plans for the carport back before the HDC at a later date for consideration. To date, the applicant has not yet submitted revised plans for the proposed building. The application for work at 123 W Manchester St. was filed on January 23, 2025, and therefore requires action before March 23, 2025. Both applications require action at the HDC’s March meeting under Section 1470.09 of the Historic Preservation ordinance, which states the following: Failure of the Historic District Commission to approve or disapprove an application for a certificate of appropriateness or written modification thereto, as provided for in this section, within sixty days from the date such application or modifications are filed with the Commission, unless an extension is agreed upon in writing by the applicant and the Commission, shall be deemed to constitute approval. The HDC has taken action on the application at 238 NE Capital Ave. by granting a partial approval with agreement from the applicant on the need for revised plans for the remaining portion of the work, and has therefore met the requirements of Section 1470.09. However, as the sixty-day window for approval or disapproval of this application has now technically elapsed without the agreed upon revisions, it would be prudent of the HDC at this point to simply issue a partial denial of this application. This action would formally close out the December 26, 2024 application, and would simply require that a new application be filed when the revised plans for the carport are prepared for consideration. The partial denial of the application will not impact the HDC’s previous decision to allow restoration of the sidewalk and front porch to commence. In order to avoid any confusion or ambiguity over the status of applications in the future, staff will simply make the recommendation that any partial approvals or requests for revised or additional information also include a partial (or full) denial of the initial application. Final action on each item at the meeting at which the item is first considered by the HDC will ensure that the sixty-day window outlined in Section 1470.09, in its most literal sense, is complied with. There is no fee required for initial or any subsequent applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness. Staff Recommendation Staff recommends that the HDC take the following actions at the March 10, 2025 regular meeting: 1. Issue a denial in full of H03-25 (123 W Manchester St.). It is anticipated that a new application for this work will be brought to the HDC for consideration at the April 14, 2025 regular meeting. 2. Issue a partial denial of H01-25 (238 NE Capital Ave.) for the construction of a new 14-vehicle carport. It is anticipated that the applicant will in the future provide a new application along with revised plans for the proposed building in accordance with the details that were discussed at the January 2025 regular meeting with the applicant. 2 of 2