Heritage Preservation Commission Meetings and Work Sessions

City of Excelsior Hennepin County, Minnesota Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Monday, July 20, 2021 1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Vice Chair Finch called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Commissioners Present: Finch, Bolles, Caron, Tyler, Brabec Commissioners Absent: Salita Also Present: Interim Planning Director Mullin 2. AGENDA APPROVAL Finch suggested to move item 5(f) Elect a Vice Chair to the top of the discussion items, Item 5(a). Caron moved to approve the agenda as amended. Bolles seconded. Motion carried 5/0. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) June 22, 2021 Caron moved to approve the minutes as presented. Brabec seconded. Motion carried 5/0. b) July 13, 2021 Special Meeting Caron moved to approve the minutes as presented. Tyler seconded. Motion carried 5/0. 4. CITIZEN REPORTS OR COMMENTS Peter Hartwich, 186 George Street, is in support of the City buying and reusing the property at 106 Center Street. Hartwich also had a comment about a potential designation at 133 and 143 West Lake Street. 5. DISCUSSION ITEMS a) Elect a Vice Chair Finch suggested presenting a plaque to the previous chair, Mark Macpherson and directed Staff to draft language for the plaque. Finch will not take the role of chair, but will continue to serve as vice-chair. Caron suggested having a rotating Chair position to give everybody an opportunity to chair a couple meetings before the normal HPC election in February. Brabec and Bolles are not interested in being Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission July 20, 2021 Page 2 of 4 the Chair. The HPC discussed the rotation for the Interim Chair will be two months. Finch suggested to appoint Caron as the Interim Chair for the July and August meetings. Tyler made the motion to appoint Caron as the Interim Chair for the July and August meetings. Bolles seconded. Motion carried 5/0. Finch passed the gavel to Caron. b) 276 Water Street SAP (HPC No. 21-20) Mullin briefly presented the report. Caron asked if there is a Comprehensive Sign Plan for the building. Mullin was unable to find one. Bolles would like to see the sign hung from the existing bracket. Andy Haugen, the applicant, provided clarity on the application. The existing bracket on the building would require a different sign. The HPC had questions over if the sign is a box shape or if the sign is a flat sheet of metal. The applicant would have to check with the sign designer. The HPC has concern over removing the existing bracket and drilling holes for a new bracket in regards to wear and tear on the building. The Commission discussed having a preference for keeping the existing bracket, if there must be a new bracket it would be black, and the new bracket would have to use the same mounting holes, no additional holes. The two options for the applicant moving forward are to go back to the sign designer and design a sign that is consistent with the commission’s feedback, or the commission can take action. The applicant asked that if the sign can be redesigned to be hung from the existing bracket, if the application can be approved administratively. The commission said that was correct. Finch made a motion to continue this item to the next meeting unless the applicant sends the Planning Director a design that can be approved administratively. Tyler seconded. Motion carried 5/0. c) 217 1st Street SAP (HPC No. 21-19) Mullin briefly presented the report. Tyler recused himself from the discussion. The applicant, Rob Tyler, spoke about the application. The work to remove the rear staircase has already been done. Brabec clarified that any additional work on the deck will need to be brought before the commission. Finch made a motion to approve the application. Bolles seconded. Motion carried 4/0. Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission July 20, 2021 Page 3 of 4 d) 278 Water Street SAP (HPC No. 21-21) Mullin briefly presented the report. The work has already been done. The applicant did not attend the meeting. The HPC discussed that if this application had come through, it would not have been approved. The appearance, color, and materials are very different. It does not follow the design guidelines for windows. The HPC has concern about what to do now, after the fact. The window is installed and does not meet any guidelines. The HPC does not want other applicants asking to duplicate this project. The HPC would like to explore what their options are on how to penalize and rectify a situation like this. Finch made a motion to continue this to the next meeting to discuss options of what the HPC can do. Tyler seconded. Motion carried 5/0. e) Certified Local Government (CLG) Comment on nomination of Minnehaha Steamboat to the National Register of Historic Places (materials under separate cover) Mullin briefly presented the discussion item. SHPO asked if the HPC had anything they wanted to submit for the public hearing for the nomination of the Minnehaha Steamboat to the National Register of Historic Places. Caron brought up that the SHPO hearing for the Minnehaha and the Excelsior Downtown District is on the same night as the next regularly scheduled HPC meeting and suggested rescheduling the meeting, so the interested commissioners could watch the hearing. The HPC discussed that nobody on the Commission meets the standards to comment in an official capacity, but can comment as an interested party. Staff is directed to write a letter of support to nominate the Minnehaha and the Downtown District to the National Register of Historic Places. Peter Hartwich, 186 George Street, also supports the nomination of these two places to be placed on the national registry. f) Certified Local Government (CLG) Comment on Excelsior Commercial Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places (materials under separate cover) The HPC discussed this item in conjunction with item 5(e). 6. COMMUNICATIONS and REPORTS Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission July 20, 2021 Page 4 of 4 a) Next City Council Meeting – Monday, August 2, 2021 b) Next HPC Meeting – Tuesday, August 17, 2021 As discussed, this meeting will be rescheduled. c) Administrative Site Alteration Approvals d) Recent City Council Actions Mullin informed the HPC that the City purchased 106 Center Street. A multifamily property is going up at 511 2nd Street. Finch had a question about a tree being removed at 301 William Street. Mullin informed Finch it was a City contractor removing a hazard. Finch also had a question about an update on 366 Water Street. Mullin and the City Attorney met with the property owner’s Attorney to discuss site alterations. The HPC would like the city engineer to verify that the footings on a proposed deck were fully removed. Finch would also like an update on 197 Oak Street. Mullin is currently doing an administrative lot spilt on that property. The property owners are pursuing a Residential Review Permit in the Planning Commission. e) Community for the Commons Updates Tyler updated the HPC on the Commons. They are getting closer to determining what kind of food service will work in the area. Brabec asked about what kind of timeline the Commons has. Tyler said it will be most likely a 2022 and beyond project. Bolles has concerns over the type of restrooms that will be constructed. Tyler will share those concerns. f) Other Updates Caron updated the HPC that the annual SHPO Conference, PreserveMN, is all virtual this year and is free to register. It is coming up in September. g) HPC 2021 Goals 7. ADJOURNMENT Tyler moved, Brabec seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 8:35 p.m. Motion carried 6/0. Respectfully submitted, Julia Mullin Interim Planning Director