Historic Preservation & Architectural Review Board Agendas and Minutes

MINUTES OF THE COHOES HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD HELD VIRTUALLY VIA THE ZOOM APPLICATION ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 08, 2020 AT 6:30 PM MEMBERS PRESENT: Daniele Cherniak, Chairperson Herb Hyde Thomas Rifenberg MEMBERS ABSENT: Barbara Hildreth, Vice Chairperson ALSO PRESENT: Joseph Seman-Graves, City Planner Chairperson Cherniak called the meeting to order at 6:31 PM. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 27, 2020 MEETING Chairperson Cherniak: Our first item on the agenda is the consideration of the May 19th meeting minutes. I do have a couple of things. In 113 Remsen, Tom was listed as voting yes and the other ones he was listed as absent. Also, towards the end I am quoted as saying something about “costing the State”, did I say that? Joseph Seman-Graves: I will double check those items for you and make the necessary corrections. Chairperson Cherniak: Are there any other comments on the minutes? Herb Hyde: I have no other comments, I will make a motion to accept the minutes. Thomas Rifenber seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. YES NO ABSTAIN Daniele Cherniak X Herb Hyde X Barbara Hildreth ABSENT Thomas Rifenberg X CONSIDERATION OF FAÇADE UPGRADES AT 50 REMSEN STREET: Chairperson Cherniak: The next item on the agenda is 50 Remsen Street, is the applicant on the line? Mr. Jeff Mantell: Yes I am, good evening. Chairperson Cherniak: What are you looking at getting approved this evening, just replacement windows or more than that? Mr. Jeff Mantell: If you can see the elevation drawing that we have here on the screen, to replace all of the windows on the top floor. Right now we have the bay windows that are in very poor shape. When I was asked to do this I had the architect try to complement the downtown feel and the nice upgrades that have happened at the music hall. So we have taken those two windows out and replaced them with flush windows, as well as the architecture above the windows to complement the neighboring architecture. Chairperson Cherniak: I think the board was supportive of these measures the last time this project was reviewed. The only sticking point in our earlier discussion was the awning. Mr. Jeff Mantell: Currently, there are existing brackets for an awning on the building but they were fabric. What I am proposing is that we put a metal awning around the outside of the building as you see in the drawing. It is currently green but we have also discussed doing it in brown as well. Chairperson Cherniak: In my view the color really doesn’t matter. The problem here is that having a metal awning is sort of historically inappropriate. If you had fabric awnings over the entrances that would be much more fitting with the architecture and the character of the downtown. Having that metal awning is just not appropriate in my opinion. Herb Hyde: We had discussed potentially putting a curved awning over the entrances at previous meetings. That would be much more appropriate in the context of the original architecture. Mr. Jeff Mantell: Fair enough. We could put a small fabric awning over the entry and possibly put a small strip of molding above the windows to highlight the windows. Herb Hyde: I think that would be more appropriate. Chairperson Cherniak: We will want to see some drawings before you do any of that work. I think today we can certainly approve the replacement windows. Herb Hyde: I would like to make a motion to approve the replacement windows. Thomas Rifenberg seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. YES NO ABSTAIN Daniele Cherniak X Herb Hyde X Barbara Hildreth ABSENT Thomas Rifenberg X CONSIDERATION OF A FENCE AND PERGOLA AT 220 REMSEN STREET: Chairperson Cherniak: Next on the agenda is 220 Remsen Street, is the applicant on the line? Mr. Donald Russell: Yes, hello. Chairperson Cherniak: Ok, I guess we are back to the same issue that we had with the sign a few months ago where things were done without the board reviewing them. Herb Hyde: Yes, this is the same thing that we went through before and I don’t particularly think that this pergola is appropriate for the district. The material and design does not fit in, in my opinion, and the applicant has done this gain without coming to us. Mr. Donald Russell: The reason why that this has to come before you guys is because half a City block burned down and it is now visible. This is in the back of my building and this work was on the original plans two years ago when we purchased the building. At that point we got a demo permit to remove what was here and replace it with everything new. The pergola here is a landscaping feature which along with our city code and NYS does not require a permit, so that is why we have not come before you yet. Chairperson Cherniak: This should come before us since it is an exterior feature that is visible from the street, even if there are extenuating circumstances. Mr. Donald Russell: Again, this was not made clear to us originally when we submitted our application. Two years ago when we approached the City we were never told we would have to go to the board. Herb Hyde: Don, you have come before the board in the past. You must know that you have to do this. Mr. Donald Russell: Well I knew about coming in front of the board for things in the front of my building but I had no idea about the back. Chairperson Cherniak: Well it is for anything that is visible from the street. Mr. Donald Russell: We did the same thing at Donnie Maggoos and we were not asked to come in front of the board at that point. Chairperson Cherniak: Well sometimes people don’t notice when a change is made, but they still need to come in front of the board. Mr. Donald Russell: I’m not sure if they were included but we did have letters of support from the community. Chairperson Cherniak: It isn’t a popularity contest, we need to determine if the work that is being done is historically appropriate for the area. Herb Hyde: That’s just it, the materials that were used do not fit in with the historic nature of the area. Even though it’s attractive from your perspective, I do not think this is appropriate. Chairperson Cherniak: So what do board members think we should do. Thomas Rifenberg: I don’t particularly have an issue with this fence. The pergola may be a bit outside of the historic nature, but besides the applicant not being forthcoming I don’t necessarily have an issue. Herb Hyde: Will the exterior of the fence be painted or stained? Mr. Donald Russell: We were initially going to let the hemlock fence weather in time. Herb Hyde: My personal feeling is that the front of your building is beautiful, it fits in with the historic nature and everything else. Mr. Donald Russell: I think the natural color of the fence really does compliment the color of the building. Herb Hyde: I don’t necessarily see that. I think if you were to stain the fence in a similar color that it would fit in much better. Chairperson Cherniak: Yes, if it is to stay, I would like to see it match the color of the building - it would fit in allot better. Mr. Donald Russell: That’s fine, so the exterior of the fence and pergola need to be painted anywhere it can be seen from Remsen Street. Herb Hyde: Correct. You can paint the entire thing if you would like, but it will need to painted where it can be seen from the street. Chairperson Cherniak: We really are put in a difficult position here because this thing is already up. Joseph Seman-Graves: We did have a comment sent in as well. Mr. Timothy Thibodeau: For the record: Mr Russell is only now approaching the historical preservation board to report he "already" built a fence that is not in compliance with city code ( above 6' high ) and a pergola that he never obtained a permit to build nor submitted to the city planning board. This is consistent with Mr. Russell's build first, ask later approach on making changes to his properties. In April, He installed a new sign at Spindles on Remsen, then went before the Historical preservation board to request a sign After the new sign was installed. He was publicly chastised by the board for getting ahead of them. Now he does it again this time at 220 Remsen St. The fence does not blend in or conform to the paint scheme of the area on Remsen St.. The pergola is nearly 10' high of natural wood only and the patio was never approved by the HPARB. He did not have a building permit for half the slab poured prior to May 2, 2020. The patio extends the food services and more importantly, the bar, which requires the state liquor authority to have a diagram extending the bar to an outside area. String lights are installed for night lighting which changes the atmosphere of the street at night. For a lack of a better explanation, one might just have a carnival booth or ferris wheel atmosphere at this location. While the appearance is attractive, none of it complies with city codes or had prior approvals in which the city knew exactly what was being built. As a council member and representing the 2 nd ward in a historical district of the city, Mr. Russell has to be keenly aware of the historic preservation of downtown Remsen st. He chose to ignore giving any other boards adequate information as to his plans. it is a build first, inform later and then be rewarded for it. This will set a precedent for others to now follow, city wide, should Mr. Russell be favored by the HPARB. Lastly, by extending the food service dining and bar to the rear of the property by about 24 seats, this changes the occupancy rate of the premises and impacts the parking spaces available to other stores, residents etc which was not given an opportunity to to weigh in prior to construction of this new patio area. Herb Hyde: Is there any merit to these other concerns? Joseph Seman-Graves: The applicant is currently being reviewed by the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals to address the setbacks and site plans. This is a very long story which I can get into if need be, but today we are only here to discuss the issues that pertain to the Historic Board. Mr. Edward Conlan: I am wondering why the board has not addressed the complaint written to you. There is a bigger problem here, we have a pattern here where we have a person who is a councilman that feels as if they can do things without getting the proper permission. I don’t like that, as a citizen I don’t like that. My main thing is that I do understand that there was a complaint letter sent in that hasn’t been addressed. Chairperson Cherniak: I think we have addressed the letter, and we have been talking about the issues. This certainly is a problem and it is a problem for other people as well. We deal with this with other people and we have approved changes after the fact in the past. Mr. Edward Conlan: Please understand that I have nothing against Mr. Russell or his business. I just think that this wasn’t done properly and he as a councilman should do better. Chairperson Cherniak: We do advocate for people doing things the right way and we have worked over the years to try and systematize this process in order to have people comply. So do we have a motion regarding the fence and pergola? Herb Hyde: I would like to make a motion to have the applicant paint/stain whatever parts of the fence and pergola that can be seen from the street to match the color of the building. Thomas Rifenberg seconds the motion and it passes unanimously. YES NO ABSTAIN Daniele Cherniak X Herb Hyde X Barbara Hildreth ABSENT Thomas Rifenberg X CONSIDERATION OF A NEW SIGN AT 182 REMSEN STREET: Chairperson Cherniak: Next on the agenda is a new sign at 182 Remsen Street, is the applicant on the line? Ms. Kelly Proctor: I am here, hi. Chairperson Cherniak: Can you tell us a little bit about what you plan to do? Ms. Kelly Proctor: I didn’t think to come to the board and I do apologize, We have the same sign that we had for Cascade, we just had a sign company put a new sign over the existing. I hope that it’s ok. Herb Hyde: Well this is the same type of issue that we just discussed. Even though it is a replacement sign it should have come in front of the board before it was put up. Ms. Kelly Proctor: I am aware of that now and I apologize. We are in the middle of pandemic, we acted quick in order to try and keep our business open and I just forgot to reach out. Herb Hyde: We understand but it is important that we have these rules in place. The concern that I have with the sign is that after looking at the front of your building I do not believe that the design and the color blend in with the historic nature. Ms. Kelly Proctor: Right, but the other sign was a bright blue and corral. Herb Hyde: I remember when we first approved that. I look at the picture of the Daisy sign and it is on the side of a brick building. The style of the sign is what bothers me a bit. Chairperson Cherniak: Is this a design that you have used before at your other restaurant in Troy? Ms. Kelly Proctor: Yup, that’s the same sign that we used in Troy. Herb Hyde: What are your thoughts Danielle? Chairperson Cherniak: This is just a sticker over the original sign, correct? Ms. Kelly Proctor: Yes, this is just a sticker on top of the existing sign. Chairperson Cherniak: I don’t think that this is offensive, I would just ask that you come before this board in the future before putting in a new sign. Herb Hyde: Well consider this a small slap on the wrist today. If nobody else has any concerns then I would like to make a motion to approve the sign. Thomas Rifenberg seconds the motion and it passes unanimously. YES NO ABSTAIN Daniele Cherniak X Herb Hyde X Barbara Hildreth ABSENT Thomas Rifenberg X Chairperson Cherniak motions to adjourn the meeting and it passes unanimously. Meeting Adjourned at 7:03 PM