Architectural Board of Review

VILLAGE OF CHAGRIN FALLS ARCHITECTURAL BOARD OF REVIEW OCTOBER 17, 2023 Meeting Called to Order 8:30 A.M. Members Present: Bill Childs, George Clemens, Phil Koepf, Wendy Naylor, Chuck Fazio, Steve King (absent) Also Present: Dominic Cribari, Joan Andersen APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Naylor, seconded by Childs to approve the minutes of the October 3, 2023, meeting. Roll Call: Fazio-abstain, Naylor-yea, Childs-yea. Motion passed. 1. Vadakin-Salvati 313 Miles Road Siding Jack Butler (Legal Counsel) for the homeowner presented this project. He said that they are proposing vinyl siding for the house. Jack explained that they received a quote from Rhino Shields and the price was $28,000.00 plus the paint and that wood siding would be about $50,000.00. He said that the issue is the moisture vapor on the side of the house where the sun hits, that causes the moisture through the wood and causes peeling. He said they have to add insulation to correct that. He said the price for the vinyl siding is anywhere from $10,000.00 to $12,000.00. He said that the Board already approved vinyl siding on the garage because it is not historic and asked if they are talking about aesthetics do they want two different finishes. Koepf said that the reason he had suggested the garage be vinyl because it already is different. Childs said that they really need to study the details on the house, how would they do the detail around the brackets, massing, composition, J channels and the different feel and characteristics of the house. Clemens said that if they listened to the argument about vinyl being cheaper all the houses in Chagrin would be vinyl. He said that everyone wants to do something less expensive with their house, but they want their neighbors to retain the historic character of their home. He said in order to maintain that character the Board has to have everyone maintain those historic elements of their house. He said they don’t want a vinyl sided Chagrin Falls. Naylor said that doing vinyl siding is not going to solve the vapor barrier issue, that it’s just going to cover up the problem and that the problem will continue, and you can’t see it under the vinyl. Fazio said that moisture comes from the inside. Jack said that if the homeowner could get the materials approved, she would amend it to replace the windows and that could answer how you install casing around the existing windows. He said that he thought the vinyl siding person was going to be here to answer those questions. Childs said that it would help to have someone here to answer the questions about all the details showing how to properly execute this. Clemens said that even if they were able to achieve this the Secretary of Standards doesn’t recommend vinyl siding as a compatible replacement material for a historic structure. Naylor said that the Board does not want to keep stringing the applicant along and she understands the issue she is having with the house and if they would like them to vote so the applicant can move forward with her decision. Summation-motion by Naylor, seconded by Childs to deny vinyl siding at 313 Miles Road based on Secretary of Interior Standards of compatible materials recommended for historic houses, that vinyl is not recommended. The applicant has also presented evidence that the house is lacking a vapor barrier and vinyl siding will not resolve that problem. That detailing of the vinyl siding installation is not presented on the windows. Roll Call: Fazio-yea, Naylor-yea, Childs-yea. Motion passed. Building and Zoning Inspector Dominic Cribari told the applicant that they have ten days to appeal that decision. 2. Miller 105 May Court Addition-Preliminary Naylor read the Historical Significance Report and said that the house at 105 May Court is more than 100 years old so meets the standards of a “Historically Significant Property”. It says that the Codified Ordinance Section 1146.04(d)(1-3): Proposed exterior changes #1-5 have an adverse effect on the design and historical significance of the house. It says that change #5-Overall massing of the addition does not contribute to the adverse effect. Reasons for adverse effect: vinyl windows are inappropriate solution to replacement windows; decorative brackets should be simplified to be distinguished from original ornamentation; configuration of new double hung windows should be one-over-one; color of windows should match existing trim; window glass should be visually clear; roof material is not specified but should match existing; foundation material should match existing. Motion by Naylor, seconded by Childs to receive the HSR report. Roll Call: Childs-yea, Naylor-yea, Fazio-yea. Building and Zoning Inspector Dominic Cribari said that they need to go to the Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance for the 5’ rear yard setback. (Dominic explained after the meeting that he made a mistake in zoning review and labeled it R-60 with the 40ft rear yard setback but it is in fact R1-50 with only a 30- foot set back, thus not requiring a variance. He said he informed the homeowner, and we will amend this comment when we approve the minutes from this meeting). Andrew Collins (Contractor) and James Miller (Homeowner) presented these plans. James said that there is an existing deck at the back that they would like to make an entertainment room and on top they want to enlarge a small bedroom and add a full bathroom. Childs said that the first thing they look at is the overall massing. He said it’s an Arts and Crafts style house that was added onto and you can still see the hierarchy of the composition, where the one mass dominates the secondary mass. He said when you add on what happens is that it goes so far out you have what is called duality composition which are two elements that are competing with each other for the massing. He said as an architect you want the main mass and then a secondary mass. He said to look at the windows, that the proportions don’t feel right and need to be more compatible. He said that these houses are hard to add onto because when you add on you lose the context and feel of the house and its composition. He said they need to add a beam, so it doesn’t look like the column is holding up the roof. Clemens said the rear addition is problematic because there are no breaks in the corners. He said that they need to add the corners, so it doesn’t look like they are making this side longer by pushing the addition back about a foot and adding a secondary form. He said it’s not that they can’t do an addition off the back but how they do it. Childs said that they need to restudy the mullions on the windows and the massing. Andrew asked if they need to offset the addition and that they want to shrink down the windows. Childs said it would help but they need to make sure the windows are proportionate. Naylor asked about the variance and said she would vote to have no variance and Childs agreed. Koepf said that if they go on the premise that the house has to live within its zoning then a lot of what has been said then the applicant would not be here with this size addition, and he doesn’t think they should build beyond the parameters that were set. They need to build a house that fits into the zoning of the neighborhood. Summation-motion by Naylor, seconded by Childs to table this for the following reasons: need to restudy in compliance with the zoning ordinance and recommendations. Naylor-yea for the following reasons: Compliance with zoning; Create a break between the historic house and new addition to offset the addition; Make the windows proportionate to the existing historic windows; Detail the architrave at columns; Side porch needs to be restudied for location in relationship to the garage. Fazio-yea, Childs- yea. Motion passed. 3. Rogers-Johnson 65 Ridgewood Road Addition-Preliminary Eric Wright (Architect) presented these plans. He said that they are adding a great room addition on the back of the house with a full basement below it. He said he consulted with the original architect and that they put together a project that fits the home. Childs said that the mullions on the windows should be consistent with the rest of the house. He said they might want to look at the transoms above the lites and keep them consistent. Koepf suggested creating a space where the band is between the windows. Fazio said to reduce the pitch on the corner returns to match the existing ones. Summation-motion by Naylor, seconded by Childs for preliminary approval of plans as presented with the following comments. Window mullions need to match existing, window lites should be consistent size and reduce the pitch on gable corner returns and flash them or match existing. Roll Call: Fazio-yea, Childs-yea, Naylor-yea. Motion passed. 4. Johnson Orthodontics 54 Philomethian Signage Gilber Macias (Contractor) presented these plans. Building and Zoning Inspector Dominic Cribari told the contractor that the code only allows for one sign on the walls and the size needs to be shrunk down. Dominic said the ground sign is allowed. Summation-motion by Naylor, seconded by Childs to approve plans as presented with the following comments: One wall side at either the front or side elevation reduced to twelve square feet. Roll Call: Fazio-yea, Childs-yea, Naylor-yea. Motion passed. Walk-In 189 Senlac Hills Becky Pantuso (Architect) and Michael Delaney presented these plans. Becky said that she reviewed the previous meetings and based on the recommendations of the Board she made these changes. She said that she modified the front porch and front door to include sidelights, height of the gambrel roof has been pulled in to reduce their overall presence and massing. They did not remove the inside dormer so they could maintain symmetry and closure for the gutter. She said the single car garage doors were previously not symmetrical and have been combined into one 18’ garage door and the garage door has been separated from the main form. Clemens said to reduce the pitch of the side slope and Koepf said he prefers it matches the main body. Fazio recommended removing the overhang on rear elevation and adding a window on the rear elevation of garage and the owner said that there is a shed directly behind the garage. Fazio suggested moving the shed but after Michael explained the only place it would work would be the center of the property everyone agreed that wasn’t a good idea. Michael said that they are trying to make the home better and to match the styles of the other homes. The Board liked the changes they made. Meeting Adjourned at 9:28 11-07-23 ______________________________________ Bill Childs (Acting Chairman) Date