Architectural Board of Review

VILLAGE OF CHAGRIN FALLS ARCHITECTURAL BOARD OF REVIEW JANUARY 17, 2023 Meeting Called to Order 8:30 A.M. Members Present: Bill Childs, Steve King, Phil Koepf, Wendy Naylor, George Clemens (Absent) Also Present: Dominic Cribari, Joan Andersen Organizational Meeting Nomination of Chairman: Motion by Childs, seconded by Naylor to elect Steve King as Chairman. Roll Call: Naylor-yea, Childs-yea. Nomination of Secretary: Motion by King, seconded by Childs to elect Wendy Naylor as Secretary. Roll Call: King-yea, Childs-yea. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Naylor, seconded by Childs to approve the minutes of the December 20, 2022 meeting. Roll Call: Naylor-yea, Childs-yea, King (Abstain). Motion passed. 1. CF Historical Society 95 East Washington Street Demo & New Acc. Structure-Preliminary Phil Koepf (Architect) & John Bourisseau (President Historical Society) presented plans. Building & Zoning Inspector Dominic Cribari said that variances are required for this project. He referenced ordinance 1125.04 (A) 2-All accessory buildings and structures, including detached garages for each lot shall not exceed 700 square feet in total area. Ordinance 1125.04 A 6.a The maximum height shall not exceed twenty-two feet; 1125.04 (A) 6.b The maximum height shall not exceed that of the main building. Ordinance 1125.04 (A) 6.c Regardless of the height of the building, the maximum height of the sidewalls of a garage shall not exceed ten feet from the floor of the garage to the top of the sidewall. Phil explained that the Historical Society owns both adjacent houses and they had done some modifications to the parking. He said they want to construct a barn more in keeping with one used to hold carriages and they want to provide storage of historical documents on the second level. He said that there will not be any windows in order to preserve the collections housed inside. He said they want to add a secondary small shed on the side and set up a permanent display of Henry Church’s equipment. He said they also need a place to store the antique police car. Phil said that the primary reason they are before the ABR is because of the number of variances. John said that where they are proposing putting the garage is where a previous garage/barn had been located and not out of line with other historical barns in the Village. He also said that the backdrop is a large public-school building and he doesn’t think that the proposed barn will stand out. Childs asked about materials they were using and Phil said they were still working out those details. Naylor asked about the barns pitch and shape and said that it is comparable to other barns in the neighborhood. She said that the structure is tucked behind the building and is overshadowed by the large school building. Childs thinks they did a nice job on proportion and massing, but thought they should look at a 9’ garage instead of an 8’ garage. Naylor suggested making the doors more symmetrical. King read the Historical Significance Report and said the house at 95 East Washington Street does meet the standards of a Historically Significant Property as defined in Codified Ordinance Section 1146.03 (C)(2): the structure is presumed to be an Historically Significant Property because it is more than 100 years old. He said that the proposed changes to the garage behind 95 East Washington Street would not have an adverse effect to the historical significance of the property. Motion by King, seconded by Naylor to receive the HSR report. Roll Call: Childs-yea, Naylor-yea, King-yea. Summation-motion by Naylor, seconded by Childs for preliminary approval of plans as presented: need to restudy window and garage door size, style and location. The height variance will allow the barn to accommodate dimensions compatible with similar historic barns in the village. The variances are recommended for approval due to the context of the site located at the rear corner of property and in the shadow of a large school building to the rear. It was also stated that the Architectural Board of Review is in support of the demolition of the existing garage. Roll Call: King -yea, Childs-yea, Naylor-yea. Motion passed. 2. White Magnolia 46 North Main Street Signage-Final Kevin Potoczak (Ohio Awning Company) said that they are updating the existing awnings using the existing hardware. He said that they will be striped instead of plain and that the name will be centered over each window. Summation-motion by King, seconded by Naylor to approve plans as presented. Roll Call: Childs-yea, Naylor-yea, King-yea. Motion passed. 3. The Olive Scene 100 North Main Street Signage-Final Kevin Potoczak (Ohio Awning Company) said that they are replacing the two existing awnings using the existing hardware. Summation-motion by Naylor, seconded by Childs to approve plans as presented. Roll Call: King-yea, Childs-yea, Naylor-yea. Motion passed. 4. Stecker 88 Hall Street Demo & Addition-Preliminary King read the Historical Significance Report and said that the house at 88 Hall Street does meet the standards of a Historically Significant Property as defined in Codified Ordinance Section 1146.03 (C) (2): the structure is presumed to be an Historically Significant Property because it is more than 100 years old. The proposed exterior alterations #1-19 listed under “The Issue” change the appearance of 88 Hall Street and does not follow the Codified Ordinance Section 1146.04(d)(1-3) “guidelines” for “preservation of features,” “replacement of features,” and “compatibility,” and in that regard has an adverse effect on the design and historical significance of the house. Motion by King, seconded by Naylor to receive the HSR report. Roll Call: Childs-yea, Naylor-yea, King-yea. John Fischer (Architect), Bill Joyce (Contractor) and David Stecker (Homeowner) presented these plans. John explained that the existing home is in poor shape, not sure what is under the current siding and do not know what the original porch columns were. He said they are retaining the shape and cornices but not sure what the underlying details were. They want to add new columns on the front porch that would enhance it. They are replacing all the siding, adding onto the rear, getting rid of the parts that are in bad shape. He said they want to add a three-car garage with storage above. He said that the house will go from a three-bedroom to a four-bedroom home. He said that they were here to get the Board’s input on the overall design of the project. Childs said they are massing a huge house onto a small lot and they need to break that massing down. He said they need to look at the hierarchy and main composition of the house and that they need to step it down to the rear. John said that they are stepping it down and the massing they are showing is going to be lowered by a foot. They said that the existing first floor is 886 square feet and they are adding an additional 294 square feet to that and also adding 760 feet to the second floor. Naylor said that the existing historic house should be the main focal point and the addition should be secondary. She said they need to bring the massing way down and suggested a two-car garage. John said that the roof lines are dropping and they could drop the eave heights also. He said they are waiting for the final survey of property. King said that he likes what they are doing with the siding, etc. but need to consider comments about downsizing off the overall project. Koepf said that the massing on a historic house should be the main focal point and the addition should be more diminutive. David said that they want a fourth bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and they are trying to make the home more livable. They said they are trying to open it up on the inside. Naylor said that detaching the garage would keep it more in keeping with the homes on Hall Street. She said to look at the Design Guidelines for more guidance on proportion and massing. Summation-motion by Naylor seconded by Childs to table: Need to restudy significantly downsize the massing and scale of the rear addition: suggest two-car garage or detached garage: historic house is primary and the addition should be secondary to the design: Need drawings based on a full and accurate survey. Roll Call: King-yea, Naylor-yea, Childs-yea. Motion passed. Walk-Ins 333 High Street Phil Koepf (Architect) said the house was built in 1948 and this project is more a hillside and stabilization project. He said the house had decks that wrapped around and the stairs have collapsed and that the hillside is moving. He said that this an escarpment of the original topography that went around the area. He said the original house was supposed to be an extension of the railroad trellis. He said the driveway was part of the causeway for the railway that never came in. He said they removed the decks in order to get the machinery in to stabilize the house. He said the house is on unstable hillside. He said they are going to add a retaining wall to get below the scarp and are putting steel screws on the hillside. He said they want to add a deck to the house and are trying to fix the water problem in the garage. He said they need to do something with the roof on the garage. 52 South Main Street Brad Camposo (Premier Builders) said that they had tried to just renovate the home but now want to demolish it. Naylor said that the house had been moved to that location. She said that if they want to demolish the home they need to show what is wrong with it and they need to prove that there is significant deterioration and that there is no path to rehabilitation. Brad asked if they could prove that, his client would like to build a 1,600 square foot ranch with a lower level basement. Naylor said they need to maintain the historic portion of the front. Childs said from a massing standpoint the roof becomes a dominate element of the house. Naylor said there are limitations because of the lot size and the house is historic so you can’t always do what you want. She said having a two-car garage facing Main Street is a red flag for her. They said the first step if you want to demolish it would be to look at the code. Then they need to show there is no economically feasible path to rehabilitate the house using the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and bring the Board the proposed design. Koepf said that it would be easy enough to lift the house and put a new foundation in and King agreed. They said they need to prove what you can and can’t do. They also said that they don’t recommend a two-car garage. 218 North Street Becky Pantuso (Architect) said that her client wants to just repair the two-car detached garage instead of replacing it. She said that they are adding a railing for code compliance. She said you can’t see the garage from the street. Meeting Adjourned at 9:52 A.M. 2-07-23 Steve King (Chairman) Date