Historic Zoning Commission

Regular Meeting Minutes of the Historic Zoning Commission August 20, 2019 MEMBERS PRESENT: ABSENT: Jim Thompson, Chairman Jennifer Garland David Becker, Vice-Chair Rick Cantrell Gib Backlund Linda Anderson Debra Belcher Marimae White Bill Jakes STAFF PRESENT: Donald Anthony, Planning Director Brenda Davis, Recording Assistant David Ives, Assistant Attorney Chairman Thompson called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Mr. Jakes made a motion to approve the July 16, 2019 minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Becker and carried unanimously in favor. Chairman Thompson introduced Mr. Donald Anthony, Director of Planning and Community Development as the new administrator for the Historic Zoning Commission. Mr. Anthony said Ms. Tomlin’s last month with the City of Murfreesboro was in July so he will be sitting in for the next few months until a replacement is found. He is looking forward to serving and thanked the Commission. New Business: H-19-010 – 930 East Main Street – Mike Chavis of Mullins Watson Builders representing Thomas Thornberry request to replace existing wooden balustrade and balusters with new balustrade and balusters made of composite material. Mr. Anthony reviewed the application and the Staff comments contained in the HZC agenda package. The applicant was not present to answer questions. Mr. Mike Chavis of 1562 Spaniel Road with Mullins Watson Builders LLC in Murfreesboro came to the podium representing Mr. throne berry. HZC Minutes August 20, 2019 Chairman Thompson asked Mr. Chavis to describe the project to the Commission. Mr. Chavis said Mr. Thornberry approached him about doing some repair to the semi-circular baluster at the top portico entry of his home at 930 East Main Street. He said they went thru a couple of material choices to use to replace. He said when they inspected the balusters they realized it was rotten beyond repair in several areas. Mr. Chavis said the material they decided on is fiberglass resin marble dust composite that is very durable and extremely time worthy. This material would match the exact look of what is there on the top of the curved portico. Mr. Chavis said they would like to remove what is there and replace it with the balustrade product from Chasworth. Chairman Thompson asked what the replacement material is made of. Mr. Chavis said redwood. Chairman Thompson asked what other materials were investigated. Mr. Chavis said they looks at Parkstone but didn’t feel like that fit. He said they looked at a different composite that seemed to be less durable. Chairman Thompson asked if Mr. Chavis considered putting it back with real wood. Mr. Chavis said Mr. Thornberry asked it not to be put back with real wood and use something that is a little more weather resistant. Chairman Thompson asked a picture of the porch be shown on the screen. He asked Mr. Chavis to describe, from the picture, what will be replaced. Mr. Chavis said they are planning to replace the square columns and put them back in the same exact place where they are, the bottom and top railing of the balustrade and re-roof the covered portico. Excluding the discussion about the roof, Chairman Thompson said anything above the roof is being replaced. Mr. Chavis said that is correct, just on the semi-circle portico. Chairman Thompson asked if he has taken any it apart. Mr. Chavis said they took one of the balustrades out because they would like to send those to Chasworth for duplication. 2 HZC Minutes August 20, 2019 Chairman Thompson asked if he found the underside of the balustrade primed or painted. Mr. Chavis said no. Chairman Thompson said that is where the problem starts as the ingrain is soaking the water up and starts rotting from there. He said if that had been primed originally, it would still be in really good shape. He said he primes all sides when using mahogany, Spanish cedar, or cypress. He said anything that gets painted on the outside, he primes, even the cuts. He said if it had been primed originally, it probably would still be there. Mr. Chavis said he couldn’t say for sure but imagined it would still be there. Chairman Thompson said it comes down to this Commission accepting a man-made composite material instead of going back and replacing it with wood. He asked if the square columns to the balustrade will be hollow or framed with a pressure-treated wood with a veneer put on it. Mr. Chavis said the square columns will have a hollow core but thick on the outside. Chairman Thompson compared the square columns to an upside-down square shoebox, a shell. Mr. Chavis agreed it was a shell, but the side walls are at least an inch thick. Chairman Thompson asked if it would be in one-piece when Mr. Chavis receives it. Mr. Chavis agreed it will be one-piece. Chairman Thompson again verified it would be hollow. Mr. Chavis said yes. Ms. Belcher commented on the weight of the product stating the samples are heavy. Mr. Chavis agreed and said they will determine the structural liability of the semi-circular area where the columns are going to set. He said EDPDM is currently there will be replaced with a grade 60 mill TPO. He said they will be sitting directly above the columns below as shown in the picture. Mr. Becker asked if Mr. Thornberry wanted to go to the synthetic material because the wood today is not as hard as the wood 100 years ago. Mr. Chavis said the main reason for Mr. Thornberry going with a synthetic material is the easy maintenance. 3 HZC Minutes August 20, 2019 Mr. Jakes commented that the HZC is not a fan of approving replacement with vinyl in places. He said in terms of windows, composite wood is acceptable. This material is not just a vinyl composite as it has a stone quality to it. Mr. Chavis said this is composed of fiberglass resin and marble dust. He said the term used for this product is a polystone. Mr. Jakes said one thing he is challenged by in this case is that this is a 20- year old house and technically a non-contributing structure on East Main Street. He said the synthetic material is attractive. Chairman Thompson asked if the balustrade would fit in the groove. Mr. Chavis said yes. Chairman Thompson asked if there would be a filler strip between the balustrades or will it be hollow. Mr. Chavis said he knows there will be filler on the bottom but was not sure of the top. Chairman Thompson said if you look up, it won’t look like it does now as you will see the groove. Mr. Chavis said he understands Chairman Thompson’s point and said they will have the filler for the top. He said their intention is to replace it exactly like it is right now. Mr. Becker made a motion to approve the request to replace existing wooden balustrade and balusters with new balustrade and balusters made of composite material. The motion was seconded by Mr. Backlund and was approved with a four to one vote. Chairman Thompson voted against the approval. Chairman Thompson asked if there was any other business to discuss today. Mr. Anthony did not have any other “New Business” but said there was someone in the audience that might need some information. Chairman Thompson asked the person to come to the podium and state their business. Mr. Mark Green at 2452 Laredo Court in Christiana, TN came to the podium and said he arranged this meeting with Ms. Tomlin prior to her leaving. 4 HZC Minutes August 20, 2019 Chairman Thompson said this should be presented under “Old Business”. Old Business: H-19-009 – 401 East Main Street – Linda Parks requesting to replace and repair wooden columns. Mr. Mark Green said he is with Final Stage Construction representing Linda Parks at 401 East Main Street requesting to replace and repair wooden columns that have rotted. He brought pictures and samples for the Commission Members to view. The applicant, Linda Parks was present to answer any questions. Mr. Green said the sample is a polystone composite material which is lighter than wood but more durable. He said it is fiberglass with marble dust matrix in it and is load bearing which is stronger than the wood. Mr. Green is looking to use the Sledgecraft Company which is a local company and one he has used in the past. He said Sledgecraft enters this into a computer to obtain an exact duplicate of what is there. He compared it to a 3-D printer. Mr. Green said environmentally this is a better option. Mr. Jakes asked if all the columns were in this bad of condition. Mr. Green said no, there are 12 full columns and 2 half columns and only 3 full columns need to be replaced. He said if they get approved for the polystone composite material, they would like to replace all the columns. If they were approved for the wood option, 3 columns would only be replaced. He said the others would be scraped, resealed and repainted. Mr. Jakes verified the Sledgecraft can make identical replicas. Mr. Green said yes, they can make identical replicas and have done this for many years. He offered pictures of work Sledgecraft has done for him in the past. Mr. Jakes asked Mr. Green to pass the pictures around to the HZC. Chairman Thompson asked if the existing columns are structural. Mr. Green said yes. Chairman Thompson asked if the new replacement columns will be structural. Mr. Green said yes, they will be structural adding the composite material is stronger than wood. 5 HZC Minutes August 20, 2019 Chairman Thompson asked if the items are laser scanned to match what is there. Mr. Green said yes as he will take it to Sledgecraft, and they will duplicate the piece. Chairman Thompson asked how Sledgecraft will scan the plaster capita. Mr. Green was not sure as the capita will be custom-made at their local facility. He was not sure how they would do that as he has not toured their other facilities. Mr. Green said they have done it for them in the past. He said the base is concrete and will help structurally with the column sitting on it. Chairman Thompson asked if the piece below the shaft will be made of the same material. Mr. Green said it will all be made of the same material and one piece. He said the material can be painted any color. He said most vinyl materials and other composite materials cannot be painted. Chairman Thompson said once it is scanned in and Ms. Parks decides to do other columns, will they have these on file and be able to run more columns. Mr. Green said it is cheaper to do all of them at once as it is pricey to run one at a time. He said the other columns will need to be replaced and it is cheaper to do them all at once. He said this will preserve the look, the history for decades to come. Mr. Backlund asked when the house was built and when were the columns installed. Ms. Parks said 1908 and 1912. Mr. Backlund asked if the present columns are the original columns. There was discussion about the make-up of the current columns and how they have been maintained over the years. Mr. Green said most of the column damage has been caused from an undetected roof leak. Mr. Backlund said this house is part of the Main Street Historic District and is a contributing structure in the district. Mr. Becker asked the difference between this material and above-mentioned material approved for the house at 401 East Main Street. Chairman Thompson did not know the difference. 6 HZC Minutes August 20, 2019 Mr. Green referred to a sheet in the handouts that told how the products are made. Chairman Thompson understands the desire to go back to something that has less maintenance, so you don’t have to worry about rot and that kind of thing. The Commission is in a dilemma as a preservation organization to try to maintain as much of the original material as possible. Mr. Backlund said one of the differences between this house and the previous house is the Thornberry house at 930 East Main Street is only 20 years old and not contributing to the nature of the historic district. It does not contribute to the historic history of the district adding it will in 30 more years. He voted to approve the earlier application because it is not a contributing structure. Mr. Backlund said the Guidelines state original building materials including woods, brick, stone, terracotta, stucco original building the roofing materials should be retained. If replacement is necessary, it should be with original materials or close visual approximations of the original. He said this would be a close approximation of the original. Mr. Backlund said when the historic district is evaluated the historic architects will look at all these buildings again and if there have been alterations that have changed the historic nature of the building, they then may become non-contributing. He gave examples like buildings with vinyl windows, buildings with some synthetic materials may no longer be contributing structures to the historic district. Mr. Backland echoed what Chairman Thompson said stating if the HZC approves these alterations using materials that did not exist at the time the structures were built and the historic district is re-evaluated, we may find ourselves without a historic district. He asked if the applicant has considered using original material. Mr. Green said yes, adding it would need to be custom made but it is possible. Mr. Backlund asked if the applicant obtained a price. Mr. Green said yes and using the original material would almost double the cost. He said original material would not be as strong, durable or environmentally friendly. Mr. Backlund said we don’t know how long this modern material is going to last because it hasn’t been around that long. He said we know the original material lasted 120 years. Mr. Becker said they need to consider the new material will be an exact visual approximation of the original. He said as you are driving down Main Street, you’re not going to see anything different than you see now, adding the material is just different. Mr. Green said the process to make these columns is computer generated like a 3-D printer. He said it is better than what a human could do carving to make. 7 HZC Minutes August 20, 2019 Ms. Belcher verified all would be replaced if the new material was approved or repair and replace three if wood was approved, then replace the others later. Mr. Green said yes, if wood is approved three would be repaired and replaced because of the extra costs involved. If they get approved for the composite material, they plan to replace all. Chairman Thompson asked what materials they would use if replaced by wood. Mr. Green said he did not know and would need to get that information from Sledgecraft. He hoped the wood would be pressure-treated, exterior wood and that is what he would request. Chairman Thompson reminded Mr. Green that pressure-treated wood will not be allowed to be painted for six months. Mr. Green said it would be like what is there and would have to be hand-made. Chairman Thompson asked if these columns will be vented, no matter which material is approved. Mr. Green said they will be hollow so there will be a small vent at the top that you won’t be able to see. He said wood would be a larger diameter because of the way they would have to make them. He will know more once he meets with the manufacturer depending on which route, they go. Mr. Backlund said for historic structures that are on the National Register of Historic Places repair is preferable to replacement. Mr. Green said that would be the case for the remaining columns for the three that are virtually repairable. Those would have to be replaced with wood or composite. He said those other items would need to have some attention done to them. Mr. Jakes asked if the three columns that were damaged close to each other. Mr. Green said yes and pointed out the columns on a picture. Mr. Backlund verified these columns need repair due to a leak. Mr. Green was not completely sure but feels a leak added to the problem. Mr. Becker made a motion to approve the synthetic material as submitted. Mr. Jakes seconded the motion. 8 HZC Minutes August 20, 2019 Mr. Backlund asked if Mr. Becker what he was approving the synthetic material for. Mr. Becker said for the columns. Mr. Backlund asked how many columns. Mr. Becker said for all the columns as that is what was requested. Mr. Backlund said he would like to only approve replacement of the three columns and perform maintenance on the others. He said if it comes to a vote, he will vote against replacing all the columns. Chairman Thompson asked if Mr. Becker would like to modify his motion. Mr. Becker said this would contain two different materials so the visual effect would not be the same. He did not agree to change the motion. Chairman Thompson suggested voting on Mr. Becker’s motion to replace all the columns with synthetic material. The motion failed with a 2 for and 3 against. Mr. Jakes and Mr. Becker voted for the motion and Chairman Thompson, Ms. Belcher, and Mr. Backlund voted against the motion. Chairman Thompson asked if there was a second motion. Mr. Backlund made a motion to approve the use of synthetic material for the three columns and maintenance be performed on the remaining columns. Mr. Ives said since there was no second to the motion, the motion dies. Ms. Belcher made a motion to replace the three columns with wood and the other columns be repaired, as needed. Mr. Backlund seconded the motion. Chairman Thompson said when they do an exact copy with the plaster, are they going to stipe it and give back the dimensions in detail of it when it was plaster. Mr. Green said he was told it would be an exact duplicate match of what is currently there. Mr. Backlund asked if Sledgecraft does computer drawings with wood. Mr. Green said yes. 9 HZC Minutes August 20, 2019 Mr. Backlund said they would have to decrease the dimensions slightly in order to make room for the finish. The motion passed with a 3 for and 2 against. Chairman Thompson, Ms. Belcher, and Mr. Backlund voted for the motion. Mr. Becker and Mr. Jakes voted against the motion. Other Business None Mr. Becker made a motion to adjourn at 4:10 p.m. The motion was seconded by Mr. Jakes and carried unanimously in favor. _____________________________________ ____________________________________ CHAIRMAN SECRETARY 10