Heritage Preservation Commission Meetings and Work Sessions

City of Excelsior Hennepin County, Minnesota Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Tuesday, May 24, 2022 1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Vice Chair Salita called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Commissioners Present: Bolles, Brattland, Caron, O’Hanlon, Noll, Salita Commissioners Absent: Tyler Also Present: City Attorney/Assistant City Manager Staunton 2. AGENDA APPROVAL Caron moved to amend the agenda to move item 6(a) to 5(c) and move item 5(c) to 5(d) and adopt as amended. Brattland seconded. Motion passed 6/0. It was also noted that item 3(a) was missing from the packet; Caron moved to continue item 3(a) to the next meeting on June 28, 2022. Bolles seconded. Motion passed 6/0. Caron moved to approve the agenda. Bolles seconded. Motion passed 6/0. 3. CONSENT AGENDA Caron asked to remove items 3(d), (f), and (g) for discussion and moved adoption of the remaining items on the Consent Agenda (Items 3(b), (c), (e) and (h)). Brattland seconded. Motion passed 6/0. Caron requested amendment of item 3(d) Resolution No. 22-01 to modify paragraphs 4 and 5 to reflect that the horizontal siding was “wood lap” siding and moved adoption of the resolution as amended. Seconded by Brattland. Motion passed 6/0. Caron requested amendment of Item 3(f) to delete the first bullet under Review and recommendations moved adoption of the item as amended. Bolles seconded. Motion passed 6/0. Caron requested an amendment of Item 3(g) to add language to finding of fact #5 inserting the words “It appears that” immediately before “the building was widened” and moved adoption of the item as amended. Bolles seconded. Motion passed 6/0. 4. CITIZEN REPORTS OR COMMENTS – Resident Peter Hartwich made comments regarding the city being at a fork in the road between being a suburb and being a small town and the consequences of that. He also encouraged the crafting of a mission statement to provide guidance as challenging issues arise. Finally, he asked what the process is for “undoing” a historic property. The city attorney explained the process for un-designating properties. Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission May 24, 2022 Page 2 of 3 5. NEW BUSINESS a) 409 2nd Street (HPC No. 22-09) – After discussion of the application and the draft resolution, the Commission agreed to amend the draft resolution to permit appropriate efforts to reveal the “sawtooth” design along the corner between the 2nd Street façade and the east wall of the building and to permit painting of the metal chimney pipe on the roof of the building. The Commission further agreed to amend the draft resolution to emphasize the care that should be taken not to use abrasive materials or techniques in efforts to remove any paint and to avoid getting mortar between the 2nd Street façade and the adjacent sidewalk. Caron moved to approve the draft HPC Resolution 22-04 as amended. Brattland seconded. Motion passed 6/0. b) 429 2nd Street (HPC No. 22-10) – Staff provided an overview of the application and the applicant answered questions from the Commission. After discussion of several issues raised by staff and direction to make certain amendments to the draft resolution, Bolles moved to approve HPC Resolution No. 2022-05 as amended by the discussion of the commission. Caron seconded. Motion passed 6/0. c) Update on Evaluation of City-Owned Resources (Moved from Item 6(a)) – Tamara Halvorson from Pigeon Consulting appeared before the Commission to provide an update on her efforts. d) 366 Water Street Discussion (Moved from Item 5(c)) – Staff provided an update on the status of the issues that have arisen with the construction at 366 Water Street pursuant to the issuance of a Site Alteration Permit issued in December of 2021. In summary, the existing flat roof that was to remain on the structure (per the plans as approved as part of the Site Alteration Permit) had been removed and replaced at a higher elevation than it was originally. Staff confirmed that the flat roof had, in fact, been removed and replaced at a higher elevation (by about 9 inches) from what was approve by the Commission. Staff also detailed the reasons provided by the builder for the deviation from the plans approved by the Commission. Member Caron spoke to the importance of maintaining the flat roof that was part of the original profile of the structure. There was additional discussion regarding the previous noncompliance issues on the project that caused the city to issue four previous stop work orders for (1) removal of the rear deck when only interior demolition was permitted; (2) demolition of the garage in the rear of the property the day after the HPC said it wanted to consider whether it should be preserved; (3) pouring of a foundation in the rear easement area when no addition was permitted; and (4) installing nonconforming windows and continuing work on the rear foundation. After further discussion, Caron moved to direct staff to issue a stop work order and require that the flat roof details and height be rebuilt to comport with the preconstruction condition as shown on the plans. Salita seconded. Motion passed 6/0. Minutes Heritage Preservation Commission May 24, 2022 Page 3 of 3 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – There was no other unfinished business. 7. COMMUNICATIONS and REPORTS – Staff reported that the next city council meeting is scheduled for June 6. Staff also had a discussion with the Commission about the possibility of meeting with the Council at its June 6 meeting to discuss issues of mutual interest. The Commission had conflicts on the 6th and requested that the joint session be scheduled either at the June 20th Council meeting or postponed until August. Staff reported on the issuance of an administrative permit issued to 21 Water Street for landscaping work at the entrance to the parking lot between Lick’s Unlimited and Dunn Bros. Staff reported on recent city council actions. Member Caron reported on a contract that is being finalized with the forensic investigator on the Ballpark seating. 8. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS – the Commission’s next work session will be before the regular meeting in July. Members Noll and Brattland noted that they planned to bring a draft of some proposals for their work on preservation month 2023 to the commission at a future meeting. 9. ADJOURNMENT – Caron moved to adjourn. Brattland seconded. Motion passed 6/0. The meeting was concluded at 9:02 PM. Respectfully submitted, Kevin Staunton City Attorney/Assistant City Manager