Historic Preservation Commission

MADISON HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting – July 14, 2015 Attending: Co-Chairman John Solu; Members John Forte, David Luber, Carmine Toto and Margaret Weisgerber; Council Liaison Patrick Rowe Recording Secretary Laurie Hagerich. Absent: Co-Chairman Janet Foster; Members Joseph Longo, Alberta Marcy and William VanRyzin. Also present were Nicole Francoeur and Craig Erezuma representing the Sign and Façade Commission and Danielle Ubhaus, representing Rob’s Bistro, a sign applicant. The meeting was called to order as an open public meeting at 7:35 p.m. in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act. The June 9, 2015, minutes were considered. By unanimous consent the minutes were approved as written. Follow Up: Bottle Hill Historic District Ordinance status: Ms. Foster and Borough Engineer Robert Vogel met and agreed on terms of the wording to properly extend the Local Bottle Hill Historic District from the Luke Miller property to the Florham Park border. Once Mr. Vogel does a final review to determine any steps he needs to take, a public meeting will be scheduled and the Ordinance read at a Council meeting. Mr. Rowe offered to follow up with Mr. Vogel to finalize the matter. For Action: Sign and Façade Applications Review: New signage for Rob’s Bistro at 3-7 Central Avenue was reviewed. Ms. Francoeur and Mr. Erezuma showed photographs of proposed signage for Rob’s Bistro which is moving from Main Street and will reopen as a bistro and market on Central Avenue. The two blade signs, window signage and sandwich chalk board sign were found acceptable as to size, color and lettering. The applicant’s wife, Danielle Ubhaus, was in attendance and was given positive feedback and comments. One other application for new signage for Color Bar Salon in the Waverly Place alley was not ready for review. This application will be reviewed by MHPC’s Sign & Façade sub-committee in the event there is no August meeting. It was noted there were color changes on the façade of the Short Stories book store on Main Street which was not reviewed by MHPC because of a “glitch” in the process. Sign and Façade Review and Approval Process: Mr. Erezuma and Ms. Francoeur explained their progress in stream-lining the application form to make it more fluid and reasonable for the applicants. They are also working on a “Sign Book” with pictures and captions which will better explain what the Sign and Façade Committee is looking for to the people who actually make the signs. There will also be a sample sign showing all components of the sign. As soon as these documents are created, MHPC will be able to review them and make comments. Mr. Erezuma has a copy of the “Do’s and Don’ts for signage in historic districts,” provided by Ms. Foster, and he is taking these guidelines into account. He also stressed that the cooperation of Mr. Russo, the Zoning Officer, is crucial in the process to maintain the harmonious vision for signage in the Downtown Historic District. Mr. Forte asked about encouraging business owners to maintain and/or upgrade their facades. It was noted this is difficult because there is no definition or guidelines spelled out for facades as there is for signage. A façade addendum needs to be developed. Enforcement is difficult because compliance is voluntary. There was discussion about the bicycle shop on Kings Road which recently made changes to signage and awning without MHPC review. Mr. Solu noted that efforts have been made over many years to develop residential design guide lines for the Bottle Hill Historic District, without success. Mr. Rowe suggested this matter be raised again in the fall when the Borough budget is being prepared. New Business: Walking Tour of the Downtown Historic District: There was a request from the Madison Historical Society for copies of the Walking Tour brochure, which is out of stock. Mr. Rowe suggested that producing a digital or hard copy of the walking tour would be a good project for an intern in the spring of 2016. Unless there is urgent business, the August meeting will be cancelled. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Laurie Hagerich, Recording Secretary