09/19/2022 Historic Preservation Commission Meeting

City of Cape May Historic Preservation Commission Minutes September 19, 2022 Opening: The meeting of the City of Cape May Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) was called to order by Chairperson Warren Coupland at 6:02 p.m. at Cape May City Hall. In compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act, adequate notice of this meeting was provided. Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Ms. Campbell Present Mr. Cogswell Present Ms. Pessagno Absent Ms. Wilson-Stridick Present Mr. Testa Present Mr. Stevenson (Alt. 1) Present Mr. Boecker (Alt. 2) Present Mr. Carroll, Vice Chairperson Present Mr. Coupland, Chairperson Present Also Present: HPC Secretary Judith Decker. Solicitor Robert Fineberg was absent. Mr. Coupland read a brief statement to acknowledge and thank David Clemens, a lifelong preservationist and former key member of the HPC who passed recently. MINUTES Motion made by Mr. Cogswell to approve the August 15, 2022, Minutes seconded by Mr. Carroll and carried 6-0. Those in favor: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cogswell, Mr. Testa, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Coupland. Those opposed: none. Those abstaining: Mr. Boecker, Ms. Wilson Stridick. RESOLUTIONS Wenzel, 105 Queen Street, 1096/1, Resolution #2022-39 1121 New York Avenue LLC, 1121 New York Avenue, 1117/25, 26, 27, Resolution #2022-40 Franceschi, 514 Elmira Street, 1054/11, Resolution #2022-41 921 Beach Avenue LLC, 921 Beach Avenue, 1081/19, Resolution #2022-42 Moore, 1106 New Jersey Avenue, 1115/4, Resolution #2022-43 Motion by Mr. Testa to approve Resolutions #2022-39 thorough #2022-43 seconded by Mr. Stevenson and carried 7-0. Those in favor: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cogswell, Mr. Testa, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Boecker, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Coupland. Those opposed: none. Those abstaining: Ms. Wilson Stridick. APPLICATIONS APPROVED IN REVIEW City Center Inc & Gornish Mgt, 421 Washington Street, 1044/5, Non-contributing – Windows Claytor, 1515 New Jersey Avenue, 1175/7, Contributing – AC Conrad, 15 Gurney Street, 1062/10.02, Contributing – Windows, porch elements, siding Davis, 3 S. Lafayette Street, 1021/8C-2, Contributing – Porch deck, columns, railings Davis & Kane, 3 S. Lafayette Street, 1021/8C-2, Contributing - Roof Emerson, 130 Decatur Street, 1041/2, Contributing – Storm windows Fennerty, Lawrence, Revocable Trust, 1001 Beach Avenue, 1096/16, Key Contributing – Temp. wheelchair ramp Garner, 664 Hughes Street, 1066/9, Contributing – Front porch rehabilitation HPC Minutes September 19, 2022 1 Jarrow, 678 Washington Street, 1058/11.01, Contributing – Roof Kilgannon, 620 ½ Hughes Street, 1057/8, Non-contributing – Windows, Ext. stair and porch removal, siding, doors Mac Kenzie, 1148 Washington Street, 1110/33, Contributing – Roof Mario, 10 Congress Street, 1024/7 C-309, Not Rated – Roof AC unit Mason, 442 W. Perry Street, 1031/6, Contributing – Condenser Matthews, 23 Patterson Avenue, 1019/31, Non-contributing – Roof Mendoza, 818 Washington Street, 1091/4, Contributing – Fence Merenich, 924 Kearney Avenue, 1082/6, Non-contributing – Roof Micka, Scaricaciottoli, Giannonne, 410 W. Perry Street, 1031/19, Contributing – Roof Strasner, 1031 New Jersey Avenue, 1102/42, Contributing – Roof Swain, 1207 Lafayette Street, 1061/82.01, Contributing – Fence Washington Commons Condo Assn, 315 Ocean Street, 1059/1 C-1, Not Rated – Fence Washington Crossings Inc & Gornish Mgmt., 429 Washington Street/308 Decatur Street, 1044/1 & 3, Contributing – Door Wigs Cherry LLC, 34 Jackson Street, 1034/3, Contributing – Porch decking, columns, railings 429 Beach Avenue LLC, 429 Beach Avenue, 1041/19, Contributing – Porch railing 1225 New Jersey Avenue LLC, 1225 New Jersey Avenue, 1131/22, 23, 24, Contributing – Fences, shower enclosure Motion by Mr. Cogswell to approve the applications approved in review seconded by Mr. Carroll and carried 7-0. Those in favor: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cogswell, Ms. Wilson Stridick, Mr. Testa, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Coupland. Those opposed: none. Those abstaining: none. APPLICATIONS Walsh – 1022 New York Avenue, Block 1102, Lot 10, Contributing Garage roof Mr. Testa recused from this application. Owner Tim Walsh presented an application to replace his detached garage roof with asphalt shingles rather than cedar shingles. Mr. Walsh stated that his garage, not visible and 110’ from the street, has one layer of cedar shingles covered by two layers of asphalt shingles with failed flashing on two skylights. He added that the main house is roofed in asphalt shingle with no evidence of former wood shingles. He preferred plan # 2 of the roofers estimates: replace the garage roof with asphalt due to the location, which cannot be seen from the street, and his concerns for safety as there are electric wires crossing the garage roof with past incidents of arcing and outages. Mr. Walsh requested an exception to the Standards for roofing. Mr. Coupland noted that the Cape May Standards are quite clear for wood roof replacement with fire resistant cedar. Mr. Walsh noted that the cost is also a factor for his request. HPC discussed the Standards and determined that as the main house does not have a wood shingle roof, it would not be necessary to replace the garage roof with wood shingles as it is not visible from the street. Motion by Mr. Carroll seconded by Mr. Cogswell and carried 5-1 to approve plan #2 as an exception of the Standards based on the fact that the building is invisible to any public access to that area. Those in favor: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cogswell, Ms. Wilson Stridick, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Carroll. Those opposed: Mr. Coupland. Those abstaining: none. Cela Tega LLC – 1521 Beach Avenue, Block 1174, Lot 15, Contributing Addition Mr. Testa recused from this application. Architect Joseph Adamson presented the project with owner Jim Knipper seeking final approval. Following two former appearances before HPC and Conceptual approval, the only outstanding issue was the windows. Based on availability, Mr. Adamson proposed using an Andersen, Marvin or Kolbe non-clad wood windows and door for the project. Motion by Mr. Carroll seconded by Ms. Wilson Stridick and carried 6-0 to grant final approval with the option of using the Kolbe or windows specified in the application presented with primed wood. Those in HPC Minutes September 19, 2022 2 favor: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cogswell, Ms. Wilson Stridick, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Coupland. Those opposed: none. Those abstaining: none. Mr. Testa returned to the meeting. 409 Elmira LLC – 409 Elmira Street, Block 1060, Lot 33, Non-contributing Demolition Attorney Anthony Monzo, Architect Louis DeLosso and owner Joseph Shulte presented the proposal for demolition of the existing one story concrete building and Mr. Monzo cited seven of the Nine Points of Demolition to HPC. Motion by Mr. Testa seconded by Mr. Stevenson and carried 7-0 to approve the demolition. Those in favor: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cogswell, Ms. Wilson Stridick, Mr. Testa, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Coupland. Those opposed: none. Those abstaining: none. 409 Elmira LLC – 409 Elmira Street, Block 1060, Lot 33, Non-contributing New mixed use 3-story building Attorney Anthony Monzo, Architect Louis DeLosso and owner Joseph Shulte were present. Mr. DeLosso presented a slide presentation of the conceptual plan to build a new 38’ high 3-story building with a store and front-loading garage on the first floor and two residential units on the second and third floors accessed from a second-floor porch. The roof plan proposed a screened mechanical system and two small “penthouse” roof decks. Mr. DeLosso explained the proposed materials, lighting and landscaping. Eight parking spaces are proposed: six on site and two off site. The property was granted a five-foot easement by the City when Elmira Street was widened to allow two dedicated parking spaces in the adjacent municipal lot. Variances will be sought for front backout parking, offsite parking, and a space with no buffer. Mr. DeLosso stated that the 38’ building height is permitted with the proposed steep 8/12 roof pitch. Mr. Boecker recited page 64 of the Standards which prohibits front yard parking, objected to the front backout parking spaces, and suggested moving the parking to Osborne St. Mr. DeLosso responded that Osborne Street is owned by the NJ Department of Transportation. HPC would like paver parking, not concrete. HPC agreed in opposing the parking plan, the massive scale and height of the building on Elmira Street, the rooftop condenser screen wall and requested the use of pavers for parking. Ms. Campbell requested a streetscape rendering. HPC suggested a two-story building with one living unit and less parking for that location. Motion by Mr. Carroll to table the project to give the applicant time to address HPC comments seconded by Mr. Cogswell and carried 7-0. Those in favor: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cogswell, Ms. Wilson Stridick, Mr. Testa, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Coupland. Those opposed: none. Those abstaining: none. The applicant agreed to waive the 45-day review period. Discussion followed. Hirsh – 22 First Avenue, Block 1014, Lot 9, Contributing Addition expansion Owner Carolyn Hirsh presented a revised plan to HPC, originally presented and approved (Resolution #2021-19) during the pandemic. The new plan adds a 4’ rear addition to the original plan to allow for a code compliant staircase with a turn and a one-car detached garage. Ms. Hirsh reported that the handicap ramp was removed from the plan and her understanding is that no zoning variance was required. Discussion ensued. Representative architect Steven Katz came forward and explained that the previous architect consulted Zoning Official. Motion by Mr. Carroll seconded by Mr. Testa and carried 7-0 approve the plan subject to a new plan for the garage showing proper doors and removal of the sliding window. Those in favor: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cogswell, Ms. Wilson Stridick, Mr. Testa, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Coupland. Those opposed: none. Those abstaining: none. Elaine’s Property Management LLC – 513 Lafayette Street, Block 1053, Lot 13, Contributing Retaining wall HPC Minutes September 19, 2022 3 Owner Shirley Phinney and husband Patrick Wall appeared to explain why a faux stone-faced retaining wall appeared at the front of the site that was not on approved plans. Ms. Phinney stated that the Board Engineer Craig Hurless told her it was permitted and asked her to submit a drawing and she is in receipt of emails to prove it. She thought it was a good idea for safety. In response to a question from Mr. Coupland, Ms. Phinney confirmed that construction of the unauthorized wall was halted by the zoning official. HPC explained to Ms. Phinney that the retaining wall was not reviewed by HPC as required for materials, design and configuration. Discussion followed. HPC requested that the retaining wall be brick faced with a limestone top as appropriate in this case. The applicant stated she does not like red brick and she would remove the wall or appeal to the Zoning Board. Motion by Mr. Carroll seconded by Mr. Testa and carried 7-0 that this application would be approved if the walls would be brick with limestone caps with an equal setback from the street in a drawing to be approved in review. Those in favor: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Cogswell, Ms. Wilson Stridick, Mr. Testa, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Coupland. Those opposed: none. Those abstaining: None. OPEN TO PUBLIC Public comment was opened at 8:06 p.m. and closed at 8:07 p.m. with no comment. DISCUSSION HPC Application Form Mr. Coupland thanked Mr. Cogswell and Mr. Testa for the work they’ve done on a draft. The draft will be distributed to the HPC within a few weeks. HPC Design Standards Update Grant Ms. Campbell reported that a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) draft was sent out for comments to the city and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Once that is completed, the Request For Proposals (RFP) will be sent out for advertisement. LED Lighting HPC had a discussion on this topic. It was agreed that the lumens and warm quality of the light was the issue. Mr. Boecker explained that warm light is about 2500 degrees Kelvin but the color and type of those discussed was too bright. The standards committee agreed to put together a draft paragraph on lighting. HPC Training Session – Photo Roundtable Some photos have been submitted. Mr. Coupland asked for more submissions for discussion in November. HPC Awards Mr. Carroll reported that he and Ms. Wilson Stridick went back to the 2005 award records. They determined it should be a lot easier to award owners who did a good job. Discussion followed. HPC will begin to look for nominations. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Cogswell at 8:45 p.m. with all in favor. Respectfully Submitted, Judith E. Decker HPC Secretary HPC Minutes September 19, 2022 4