Historic District Commission

Town Hall TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Historic District Commission Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Meeting Minutes Chair Brian Daniels Josh Gurlitz Vice-Chair Polly van de Velde Duncan Lascelles Deputy Vice-Chair Nancy McCormick Clarke Martin Michael Booth Tuesday, August 13, 2024 6:30 PM RM 110 | Council Chamber Language Access Statement Opening Roll Call Anya Grahn-Federmack, Staff Liaison, Charnika Harrell, Staff Liaison, Anna Scott Myers, Staff, and Lydia Lavelle, Council to the Commission Present 6 - Chair Brian Daniels , Vice-Chair Polly van de Velde, Deputy Vice-Chair Nancy McCormick, Michael Booth, Josh Gurlitz, and Clarke Martin Absent 1 - Duncan Lascelles Secretary reads procedures into the record Commission Chair reads the Public Charge Approval of Agenda The Commission chose to continue the discussion of the HDC procedures and State Model Ordinance to their September meeting. A motion was made by Vice-Chair van de Velde, seconded by Gurlitz, to approve agenda as amended. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Announcements Page 1 of 7 Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes August 13, 2024 Grahn-Federmack introduced Lydia Lavelle as the replacement counsel representative for the meeting. She also introduced Planner Anna Scott Myers. Grahn Federmack also reminded commissioners of officer elections held in September. Petitions Approval of Minutes 1. June 17, 2024 Action Minutes [24-0403] A motion was made by Vice-Chair van de Velde, seconded by Deputy Vice-Chair McCormick, to approve the June 17, 2024, minutes. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Information 2. Administrative Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) Approvals & [24-0409] Maintenance Memos Grahn-Federmack informed commissioners that staff already approved administrative COA items for 400 E Franklin Street to help them start work while students were on break. 3. Certified Local Government (CLG) Annual Report [24-0410] Grahn-Federmack explained that staff compiles and shares information with the State Historic Preservation office to maintain the Town's Certified Local Government (CLG) status. She said this information is shared with the Commission annually. Consent 4. 3 Mint Springs Lane [24-0411] There was no public comment. A motion was made by Commissioner van de Velde, seconded by Booth, that the application was not incongruous with the special character of the district and to grant the Certificate of Appropriateness. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. New Business 5. 400 E. Franklin Street [24-0412] Page 2 of 7 Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes August 13, 2024 Katherine Lynn, Vice President for Capital Planning and Finance for the University of North Carolina, introduced the application. She discussed security and safety concerns due to uninvited visitors to the property. She explained there have been several instances of people peering in windows, parking in the driveway, and even sleeping on the porch. Lynn told the commission the property is the president’s private residence, and they had tried to mitigate the problem with signage and redirecting traffic. John Hawkins, project architect, said he worked with David Swanson, the applicant and primary designer. Hawkins described the main components of the application. They proposed 4-foot-tall steel fencing to provide a continuous perimeter as well as new 4-foot-tall fieldstone piers at the pedestrian entrance that would hold a new steel gate. They also requested vehicular and pedestrian gates at the driveway. The new fence areas would be fully enclosed by new and existing landscaping to shield the appearance of the fence from the sidewalk and street view. Hawkins explained the vehicular entrance would also have fieldstone piers and a pedestrian gate. He also noted the driveway turnaround was sited to not impact nearby trees. Hawkins presented images showing the position and scale of the vehicular gate. Hawkins provided elevation drawings of the vehicular gate flanked by fieldstone piers designed to match stonework around the site. He presented a photo of the vehicular gate at the UNC Chancellor's residence on Raleigh Road and explained the proposed vehicular gate would be similar in design. Hawkins provided photos of pedestrian gates in the historic district and explained how their proposal for a pedestrian gate across the front walkway was similar in design and placement. He presented section view renderings to show the relationship between the street, proposed fences, and landscaping on Raleigh Road and East Franklin Street. Commissioner McCormick asked if the front vehicular gate would be fully open or if it would have a panel at the bottom. Hawkins clarified that there will be a black steel panel on the vehicular gate to hide the control hardware and match the fencing color, but the pedestrian gate will not have a panel. Page 3 of 7 Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes August 13, 2024 Commissioner van de Velde asked about the lowest point of the vehicular gate. Hawkins explained that the fence is 4-foot-tall and gates are 4-foot or taller. He said they were trying to treat the historic property with respect and make a statement that it is not open to the public. Chair Daniels asked where the fence along Raleigh Road would be in relation to the stone wall and pedestrians. Hawkins showed the section view on Raleigh Road and noted the terraces created by stone retaining walls and sidewalk. Daniels asked if a pedestrian on Raleigh Road would see a 6-foot-tall fence. Hawkins explained the fence would barely be visible through the landscaping, but it would be elevated above the sidewalk. There was no public comment. Daniels voiced concern about the height of the gate and fence. He was also concerned with setting a precedence when fences in the front yard are discouraged by the design standards. Gurlitz and van de Velde disagreed. They thought the fence would be valuable to the security concerns for the property. A motion was made by Commissioner van de Velde, seconded by Booth, that the application was not incongruous with the special character of the district and to grant the Certificate of Appropriateness. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Chair Daniels moved to approve the written decision as amended. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. 6. 500 North Street [24-0413] Dorian Tallman, explained that the application was the result of being cited for parking violations by code enforcement. He said there were six bedrooms in the duplex, which likely resulted in tenants having up to six cars. Tallman acknowledged that off-street parking in the front yard was not ideal, but he believed it would help mitigate traffic congestion and safety concerns along North Street. He presented photos of where the proposed parking area would be located and stated that it would accommodate two more cars in addition to the two cars in the driveway. Tallman offered additional landscaping to help screen the parking area from Page 4 of 7 Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes August 13, 2024 view. Commissioner van de Velde asked Tallman to clarify whether a timber border was proposed, as indicated in the application materials. Tallman confirmed they would border the driveway and parking area with timbers to contain the ABC gravel, as proposed in the application. Chair Daniels asked if it was possible to locate the parking in the backyard. Tallman confirmed that one car could possibly fit in a backyard space. He was not sure if there was enough turn around space for two cars. There was no public comment. Commissioners Booth and Martin commented that landscaping would be helpful to screen the parking area on the street. Martin also thought front yard parking was congruous with the neighboring properties. Commissioner Gurlitz acknowledged the lack of sidewalks on North Street, forcing pedestrians to walk in the street when cars park on the street. Chair Daniels suggested they continue the item to the September 10th meeting and that the applicant review the Design Standards. Commissioner van de Velde asked if Tallman could provide more details of the landscaping. A motion was made by McCormick, seconded by Gurlitz, to continue the application to September 10th meeting. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. 7. 214 Pittsboro Street [24-0414] Andrew Goolsby, project architect, explained the accessibility and safety challenges of the building built in the 1960s. He said the application included plans to demolish and reconstruct the sidewalks, patio area, and curb cuts to create an ADA compliant entry sequence into the building. Goolsby discussed the excessive daylighting in the main assembly space. He said the current building has a double height window wall that is recessed from the rear elevation and faces the main assembly space used throughout the day. He presented plans to replace the current window with an opaque wall with punched openings. He proposed a wall of metal panels, storefront glazing, punched openings, precast elements, and brick to replace the Page 5 of 7 Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes August 13, 2024 existing fenestration. Goolsby acknowledged that the new materials were not consistent with the district, but he thought they were consistent with the existing building. He explained that the new design would have vertical reveals and use color glazing to mimic a church’s stained glass. Commissioner Gurlitz asked Goolsby to explain the finish of the metal panels. Goolsby said the original panels were bronze and the new panels would be dark bronze. Commissioner van de Velde asked if the paint finish would be sun tolerant. Goolsby confirmed and explained that the new finish would be a similar material to standing seam metal roofs. McCormick asked if there was a way to keep the existing vertical structure of the window wall and fill it in. Goolsby explained that the wall was a built-up wood system that was starting to delaminate and there were leaks coming through the structure. He said that they explored other options but determined that full replacement was the best option. There was no public comment. A motion was made by McCormick, seconded by van de Velde, that the application was not incongruous with the special character of the district and to grant the Certificate of Appropriateness. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. Discussion 8. Committee Update on the LUMO Project [24-0309] The Commission Subcommittee shared their final recommendations for the new Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO) that they intended to share with Council. Chair Daniels explained their interest in maintaining the historic district’s design standards, creating transition zones around all three local historic districts, and suggesting a pattern book for in-fill development. Commissioner Gurlitz asked if pattern books were a possibility and reiterated the transition zones were a critical part of the recommendation. Commissioner Martin voiced concern over whether reviewing development within the proposed transition zones would be in the purview of the HDC. The commission agreed to continue the conversation with staff and Town Council. 9. HDC Procedures & State Model Ordinance [24-0408] Adjournment Page 6 of 7 Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes August 13, 2024 Next Meeting - September 10, 2024 Order of Consideration of Agenda Items: 1. Staff Presentation 2. Applicant’s Presentation 3. Public Comment 4. Board Discussion 5. Motion 6. Restatement of Motion by Chair 7. Vote 8. Announcement of Vote by Chair Public Charge: The Advisory Body pledges its respect to the public. The Body asks the public to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner, both with the Body and with fellow members of the public. Should any member of the Body or any member of the public fail to observe this charge at any time, the Chair will ask the offending person to leave the meeting until that individual regains personal control. Should decorum fail to be restored, the Chair will recess the meeting until a genuine commitment to this public charge is observed. Unless otherwise noted, please contact the Planning Department at 919-968-2728; planning@townofchapelhill.org for more information on the above referenced applications. See the Advisory Boards page http://www.townofchapelhill.org/boards for background information on this Board. Page 7 of 7