Architectural Review Board

Minutes Architectural Review Board July 13, 2020 Electronic Meeting and Council Chambers, City Hall Fredericksburg, Virginia Members Present Members Absent Staff Carthon Davis III, Chair Sabina Weitzman Kate Schwartz Karen Irvin, Vice Chair (electronic) Jonathan Gerlach (electronic) Adriana Moss Susan Pates (electronic) James Whitman Chairman Davis called the Architectural Review Board meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. OPENING REMARKS Chairman Davis stated that the meeting was being held electronically through the “GoTo Meeting” application, pursuant to City Council Ordinance 20-05, An Ordinance to Address Continuity of City Government during the Pendency of a Pandemic Disaster. The members participating were Carthon Davis, Karen Irvin, Jon Gerlach, Adriana Moss, Susan Pates and James Whitman. Members of the public have been invited to access this meeting by public access television Cox Channel 84, Verizon Channel 42, online at www.regionalwebtv.com, or on Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/FXBGgov. Chairman Davis determined that a quorum of 6 members was present, and asked if public notice requirements had been met. Ms. Schwartz confirmed that they had. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ms. Moss motioned to approve the agenda as written. Mr. Whitman seconded. The motion carried 6-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Davis asked if there were any changes or additions to the minutes of the meeting dated May 11, 2020. Mr. Gerlach motioned to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Moss seconded. The motion carried 6-0. Chairman Davis asked if there were any changes or additions to the minutes of the public hearing dated June 22, 2020. Ms. Moss motioned to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Irvin seconded. The motion carried 6-0. DISCLOSURE OF EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS Chairman Davis asked if any Board member had engaged in any ex parte communication on any item before the Board. No Board members had any ex parte communication to report. DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Chairman Davis asked if any Board member had a conflict of interest for any item before the Board. No Board member had a conflict of interest to report. 1  CONSENT AGENDA i. COA 2020-28 – 107 William Street – Sign Installation ii. COA 2020-30 – 901 Caroline Street – Art Installation iii. COA 2020-31 – 200 William Street – Sign Installation Ms. Irvin made a motion to approve the consent agenda as submitted. Ms. Moss seconded. The motion carried 6-0. PUBLIC HEARING Continued Applications i. COA 2019-25 – 607-719 Sophia Street – The City of Fredericksburg requests to modify the certificate of appropriateness issued in June 2019 to allow an alternative style of light fixture within the Riverfront Park. Doug Fawcett, Assistant City Manager, was present to represent the application. Ed Sandtner, 132 Caroline Street, on behalf of HFFI, provided written comment Board members thanked Mr. Fawcett for providing updated information regarding the color temperature and noted their support for the use of solar technology. Mr. Gerlach made a motion to approve the request as submitted. Ms. Pates seconded. The motion carried 6-0. ii. COA 2020-19 – 900 Charles Street – Frederic Howe, III requests to install 14 columbarium structures within the Masonic Cemetery property. Frederic Howe and engineer Tyler Gross were present to represent the application. Mr. Howe provided an overview of the revisions made to the plan as a result of the last meeting. Ed Sandtner, 132 Caroline Street, representing HFFI, provided written comment Mr. Gerlach thanked the applicants for addressing the Board’s concerns and said he was in support of the new design. Ms. Moss, Ms. Pates, and Chairman Davis echoed Mr. Gerlach’s comments. Ms. Irvin made a motion to approve the application in accordance with the revised design package. Ms. Moss seconded. The motion carried 6-0. iii. COA 2020-05 – 203 Ford Street – Ed Whelan requests to make alterations to the former Washington Woolen Mills building to use a portion of the building for an event venue by installing rooftop railings, a rooftop mechanical house for an internal elevator, and an exterior stair at the west end of the building. The applicant, Ed Whelan, was present. Mr. Whelan noted a change to the door style at the roof level and asked to make a change to the placement of the rooftop additions in accordance with an updated drawing. Ed Sandtner, 132 Caroline Street, representing HFFI, provided written comment 2  Ms. Schwartz stated that the updated drawing had not been distributed to the Board in advance and could not be shared with the Board members participating electronically during the meeting. An approval can only be issued in accordance with the documents previously distributed. Ms. Irvin asked for clarification of several details of the rooftop structures. Chairman Davis said that the Board would need to continue the application if he wanted an approval for the revised drawing. Mr. Whelan said he would prefer a vote on the submitted documentation and would return to the ARB next month to seek a modification of the approval. Mr. Gerlach made a motion to approve the application in accordance with the conditions recommended by staff: that the rooftop additions would be clad in metal, and that only cable-style railings would be used at the rooftop and these would be set behind the parapet walls. Mr. Whitman seconded. The motion carried 6-0. iv. COA 2020-21 – 525 Caroline Street – Van Perroy requests approval of the site planning, scale, and massing of new three and four-story additions to be constructed at the sides and rear of the Fredericksburg Square building to accommodate mixed residential and commercial use. The applicant, Van Perroy, was present. Mr. Perroy stated that removing a floor from the project would have fiscal impacts, but that he was willing to look at some modification. He said he was willing to look at removing the fourth floor, but asked that the south side addition be approved as- is and that the walkout balconies on the original roof be approved. He said he would also look at developing an addition on the north side to fill in the gap on Caroline Street. Ed Sandtner, 132 Caroline, representing HFFI, provided written comment Ms. Irvin spoke in support of removing the fourth story from the rear addition and removing the loft level. She said that the north side addition would need to be seen by the public and could not be reviewed yet. Chairman Davis confirmed that this would need to be scheduled for the next ARB meeting. Mr. Gerlach referred the applicant to City Code section 72-82.6, which explains the rules for measuring building heights, and explained the ARB’s consideration of building heights and stories. He agreed that a story should be removed from the rear addition. Ms. Moss thanked Mr. Perroy for taking the ARB’s recommendations into account. Ms. Pates noted that the Elks Lodge was a grand building at the time of its construction and would prefer to see the sides remain open. She recommended maintaining symmetry and said that nothing should overwhelm the original. Mr. Whitman said he was willing to support Mr. Perroy’s revised proposal. Mr. Perroy asked for a vote from the Board for the project as submitted with the fourth story removed. Some discussion followed about the roof style of the south side addition. Ms. Moss confirmed with staff that the walkout balconies were not a component of the current decision. Mr. Gerlach made a motion to approve the site planning, scale, and massing of the proposed new additions as submitted on condition that one full story would be removed from the rear addition. Mr. Whitman seconded. The motion carried 5-1, with Ms. Pates voting against. v. COA 2020-29 – 1317 Charles Street – Mario and LaVonne Alberti request to construct a detached, single-story garage structure in the rear yard of this single-family residence. 3  The applicant, LaVonne Alberti, and designer Pooja Gulati were present. Ms. Gulati stated that they were fine with meeting the conditions recommended by staff. There were no public comments. Ms. Irvin said she was in agreement with the staff recommendations for the materials to be used and said the louvered vent should be included as well. She recommended allow some variation in the window design as they appear to be a unique product. The rest of the Board members stated their agreement with Ms. Irvin. Mr. Whitman made a motion to approve the application in accordance with the staff recommendations for modifications to the materials. Ms. Pates seconded. Ms. Irvin suggested an amendment to the motion to include the option for alternate window designs and to ensure that the louvered vent was included in the window material recommendation. Mr. Whitman and Ms. Pates accepted the amendment. The motion carried 6-0. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. OTHER BUSINESS A. Pre-Application Discussion: 100 Hanover Street Ms. Schwartz distributed an updated and reduced design for a new mixed-use building to be located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Hanover and Sophia Streets. Board members provided some initial feedback on the site planning, scale, massing, and design details of the new design. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Davis adjourned the meeting at 8:46 p.m. _______________________________________ Carthon Davis III, Chair 4