Historic District Commission

MANISTEE CITY HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Meeting of Wednesday, February 1st, at 4:00 PM This meeting will be held in the City Council Chambers. AGENDA I Call to Order II Roll Call III Approval of Agenda At this time, the Historic District Commission can take action to approve the February 1st, 2023, Agenda. IV Conflicts of Interest At this time, the Chair will ask if there are any members with a conflict of interest on the approved Agenda. V Approval of Minutes At this time Historic District Commission can take action to approve the January 4th, 2023, Meeting Minutes. VI Public Comment on Agenda Related items At this time, the Chair will ask if there are any public comments. VII New Business VIII Old Business • Joesph Mathewson – 435 River St • Amendment to Zoning Ordinance – Signs • Permit Review IX Public Comments and Communications concerning items not on the agenda. At this time, the Chair will ask if there are any public comments. X Correspondence XI Reports DDA Executive & Economic Development Director Museum Curator Planning & Zoning Administrator XII Members Discussion At this time, the Chair will ask members of the Historic District Commission if they have any items they want to discuss. XIII Adjournment 1  HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMITTEE 70 Maple Street Manistee, MI 49660 MEETING MINUTES January 4, 2023 A meeting of the 2023 Historic District Committee was held on Wednesday, January 4, 2023 at 4:00 pm, Manistee, Michigan. The meeting was called to order at 4:00 by Chair Trucks. Members Present: Thad Taylor, Ron Helmboldt, Kathryn Kenny, Angie Quinn, William Connor, and Lee Trucks Members Absent: Dennis Otto Others: Katie Mehl (City Zoning/Planner 1) and Nancy Baker (Recording Secretary) Election of Officers Chair Trucks opened the Election of Officers and turned the meeting over to Ms. Mehl for the election of Chair 2023. Chair: Commissioner Helmboldt nominated Commissioner Trucks for Chair. Commissioner Trucks accepted the nomination. MOTION by Commissioner Taylor, seconded by Commissioner Kenny to elect Commissioner Trucks as HDC Chair 2023. With a roll call vote: Yes: Connor, Helmboldt, Kenny, Quinn, Taylor, Trucks No: none Commissioner Trucks is HDC Chair for 2023. Ms. Mehl turned the meeting over to Chair Trucks to continue the 2023 Election of Officers. Vice Chair: Commissioner Taylor nominated Commissioner Connor for Vice Chair. Commissioner Connor accepted the nomination. MOTION by Commissioner Taylor, seconded by Commissioner Helmboldt to elect Commissioner Connor as HDC Vice Chair 2023. With a roll call vote: City of Manstee 2020 Historic District Study Committee January 4 , 2023 Page 1 Yes: Connor, Helmboldt, Kenny, Quinn, Taylor, Trucks No: none Commissioner Connor is HDC Vice Chair for 2023. Recording Secretary: Commissioner Kenny nominated Ms. Baker for recording secretary. Commissioner Taylor moved, seconded by Commissioner Quinn to appoint Ms. Baker as recording secretary. With a roll call vote: Yes: Connor, Kenny, Quinn, Taylor, Trucks No: Helmboldt Ms. Baker is HDC Recording Secretary for 2023. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Commissioner Taylor, seconded by Commissioner Quinn to approve the agenda as printed. With a voice vote motion passed 6 to 0. CONFLICT OF INTEREST None APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Quinn, seconded by Commissioner Taylor to approve the December 7, 2022 minutes as presented. With a voice vote motion passed 6 to 0. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA RELATED ITEMS None NEW BUSINESS None OLD BUSINESS Amendment to Zoning Ordinance – Signs Ms. Mehl: the following items were discussed • Memo with signage guidelines for HDC review • Guidelines not within the zoning ordinance (z.o.); makes guidelines hard to enforce • Lighted “OPEN” signs, exempted signs • Zoning ordinance, Article 21 Signs; HDC has authority to wave certain requirements • Guidelines hard to enforce, can be placed in z.o. to be implied and enforceable • Off premise business advertisement signs, window paintings without approval • Signs bigger than allowed- must go through HDC City of Manstee 2020 Historic District Study Committee January 4 , 2023 Page 2 • Signs: “OPEN” flashing, size, exempting • Incorporating regulations into z.o. • Further review of guidelines and needed changes • Sidewalk drawings under city police as these are public rights-of-way Chair Trucks suggested a window inventory be taken for HDC review. Asked for HDC volunteers. Commissioner Kenny will make comparison discrepancies between the guidelines and z.o. Commissioner Quinn will take pictures of business window signs. Permit Review Ms. Mehl: Mr. Fedder, Museum Curator, approved the library downtown story stroll-- she issued the permit. Mr. Fedder can approve COAs, and Ms. Mehl issues the permits. Joe Mathewson has made no changes, file has been turned over to city attorney, HDC seeking court action, process is in motion. Gordon/Rozmarek project possibly settled in court, will follow up with city attorney on update. COMMENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None CORRESPONDENCE None REPORTS DA Executive & Economic Development Director Not in attendance. Museum Curator/Director Not in attendance. Planning & Zoning Administrator Ms. Mehl: attended downtown business connection meeting, a new zoom link was sent due to issues with the first link, invitation for HDC to attend the next downtown business meeting which will be in person at the WSCC building. Commissioner Quinn left the meeting at 4:45 pm. MEMBERS DISCUSSION Chair Trucks: carbon offsets, rehabilitate existing buildings rather than tear them down and rebuild new in its place. Commissioner Kenny: HDC brochure on city website needs updating. Ms. Mehl will inquire on using some budget money to update the HDC brochure. City of Manstee 2020 Historic District Study Committee January 4 , 2023 Page 3 ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Commissioner Taylor, seconded by Commissioner Kenny to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 4:55 pm. 2023 Historic Study Review Committee _______________________________ Nancy Baker, Recording Secretary City of Manstee 2020 Historic District Study Committee January 4 , 2023 Page 4 Historic District Commission Katie Mehl January 26, 2023 Manistee County Planner 395 3rd St. Historic District Commission Manistee, MI 49660 70 Maple Street 231.723.6041 planning@manisteecountymi.gov Manistee, MI 49660 www.manisteemi.gov Dear Historic District Commission, Joesph Mathewson contacted me on January 5, 2023, to inform me that he obtained a contractor to install new windows on his building. I had let him know that the case had already been turned over to the City Attorney to initiate Circuit Court action. Per advisement of the City Attorney, if Mr. Mathewson was willing to come into compliance, the best course of action would be to allow for him to come before the Commission on one final occasion to rectify the issue. The process for Circuit Court Action is something that would take several months for any outcome and Mr. Mathewson has indicated he would have construction complete as soon as possible if his proposal is approved. Attached to this memo you will find Mr. Mathewson’s COA Application and corresponding documentation. He and his contractor will be present at the meeting to provide supporting information and answer and questions the Commission has. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Katie Mehl Manistee County Planner City of Manistee Zoning Administrator Historic District Commission Katie Mehl January 26, 2023 Manistee County Planner 395 3rd St. Manistee, MI 49660 Historic District Commission 231.723.6041 planning@manisteecountymi.gov 70 Maple Street www.manisteemi.gov Manistee, MI 49660 Dear Commission Members, I have received several complaints regarding illegal signs posted in the Historic District, specifically within window displays. The Zoning Ordinance dictates that any sign which is not an exempt sign must receive Historic District Commission approval, even when located inside the building but displayed in the window. To address this, it was requested by the City that a letter was sent to all property owners in the Historic District, reminding them of the current regulations. The memo sent is included in the following pages of your agenda packet. Staff recognizes that there are instances where a business may need to put up a temporary sign, display hours of operation, or advertise a product. To limit the number and size of this type of signage, staff recommends amending the Zoning Ordinance to include an additional section under “Exempt Signs”. This could be addressed by exempting window sings up to a certain area, for example, a cumulative area of 24”X24”. Please see below for the section of the Zoning Ordinance which dictates exempt signs, with the subsections relevant to this discussion highlighted: SECTION 2103 EXEMPT SIGNS The following signs shall be exempt from regulations in this Article. A. Any public notice, traffic control or warning required by a valid and applicable federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance. B. Any sign wholly located within a building including window signs. Except signs in the Historic District that require Historic District Commission approval C. Flags up to twenty-four (24) square feet in area. City of Manistee Zoning Ordinance D. Signs posted by a governmental agency or on their behalf by an authorized contractor. E. Portable signs shall be permitted in the R-2, R-3 for properties with a minimum of 10,000 sq. ft. of area that front on a Key Street Segment, G-C, W-F, and C-1 districts subject to a determination  by the Zoning Administrator that its placement will not impact safety or visibility for motorists and pedestrians and further limited as follows: 1. 8 square feet per side; 2. One per storefront; and 3. Permitted only during hours of operation of business. F. Temporary Signs on the property during construction, maintenance or improvements and relating to construction, maintenance or improvements on the property during the period of time of work. Staff is requesting a motion from the HDC, to recommend the City Planning Commission pursues an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance that provides an exemption for window signs, up to a specified area. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Katie Mehl City of Manistee Zoning Administrator Manistee County Planner  Katie Mehl Planning/Zoning Administrator 395 Third St. Manistee, MI 49660 231.398.3587 kmehl@manisteecountymi.gov Historic District Commission Permits as of 1/26/2023 www.manisteemi.gov Date Approved Permit # Date Expires Address Name Details Status 5/10/2022 PHDC22-006 5/10/2023 369 River St Brandon Ball Painting Building In Progress 5/12/2022 PHDC22-007 5/12/2023 95 Maple St Library Maintenance & Repair In Progress 7/08/2022 PHD22-010 7/08/2023 321 River St Paulette Junker Doors/Windows Front & Rear In Progress 7/12/2022 PHDC22-011 7/12/2023 432 River St BPO Elks No 250 Digital Sign In Progress 10/20/2022 PHDC22-013 10/21/2023 345 River St Manistee Inn & Marina Painting Building In Progress 8/3/2022 PHDC22-014 4/03/2024 100 Washington St CDI Construction Design Façade In Progress 1/05/2022 PHDC22-015 1/05/2024 141 Washington St 141 Washington St Façade In Progress 1/03/2023 PHDC23-001 01/03/2024 95 Maple St Library Downtown Story Stroll Complete