Historic District Commission Meeting

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES OF February 7, 2022 The Historic District Commission of the City of Norman, Cleveland County, State of Oklahoma, met for the Regular Meeting on February 7, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. Notice and Agenda of the meeting were posted at 201 West Gray, Building A, the Norman Municipal Complex and at www.Normanok.gov twenty-four hours prior to the beginning of the meeting. Chair Emily Wilkins called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Item No. 1, being: Roll Call. MEMBERS PRESENT: Taber Halford Joan Koos Emily Wilkins Barrett Williamson Michael Zorba Mitch Baroff Aaron Brooks* Shavonne Evans* MEMBERS ABSENT: Brent Swift A quorum was present. *Commissioners Shavonne Evans and Aaron Brooks arrived at 5:35 PM. STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Ana'is Starr, Planner II, Historic Preservation Officer Jeanne Snider, Assistant City Attorney Jessica Steele, Admin Tech III GUESTS: Kristi & John Pate Greg Ward Linda Watson Paul "Chris" Wood Steven Foster * Item No. 2, being: Approval of the minutes from the January 3, 2022 Meeting. Historic District Commission February 7, 2022 Page 2 of 6 Motion by Barrett Williamson for approval of the minutes from the January 3, 2022 regular meeting; Second by Joan Koos. The motion was passed unanimously with a vote of 6-0. Minutes from the previous meeting were approved and signed by Chair Emily Wilkins. * Item No. 3, being: HD (22-02) Consideration of Certificate of Appropriateness for a second floor addition with an extension of the porte cochere below for the property located at 521 Miller Avenue. Motion by Michael Zorba to approve Item No. 3 as submitted; Second by Mitch Baroff. Ana1s Starr presented the staff report. The applicants returned with a revised proposal for the second floor addition, after being postponed from the January 3, 2022 HD Meeting. At that time, Commission felt the design needed modifications to better meet the Historic District Guidelines. New design offers 8" recesses to the proposed bedroom addition as well as modified roof gables, satisfying the Commission's request to delineate the new construction from the old, so as to prevent creating a false sense of history. Staff has determined the proposed addition, as revised, appeared to meet the Guidelines for size and materials. Though the Guidelines specify that additions are to be built on the rear of the primary structure, that placement is not possible in this case due to an accessory structure existing behind the house. Commission to vote on whether the new design meets the Historic District Guidelines for massing and design. Greg Ward, the applicants' architect, discussed the project: Insets were added to the design to differentiate the new construction from the original historic house. New gable design has also been modified with an 8" inset as well, addressing Commissioners' concern about the massing of the previous design. Public Comments: Steven Foster, of 518 Miller, offers his support of the proposal as submitted. Commission comments consisted of: • Commissioner Emily Wilkins clarifies with the applicants that the plan is to use original siding as much as possible, which is cypress. If cypress is unavailable, alternate wood siding will be milled to match siding of the original structure. • Commissioner Mitch Baro ff is supportive of the new design. • Commissioner Michael Zorba is satisfied with the applicants' redesign; Commission's concerns have been addressed appropriately. • Commissioner Taber Halford is found the redesign meets the Guidelines better. There being no further discussion, a vote on the motion was taken with the following result: Historic District Commission February 7, 2022 Page 3 of 6 The motion was passed unanimously with a vote of 8-0. Ms. Starr noted that there is a 10-day waiting period until the COA will be issued. Applicant can submit a building permit application in the meantime. * Item No. 4, being: HD (22-07) Consideration of a Certificate of Appropriateness request for the installation of a garage off the alley for the property located at 627 E. Boyd Street. Motion by Taber Halford to approve Item No. 4 as submitted; Second by Joan Koos. Anai"s Starr presented the staff report. The property is a contributing structure in the Southridge Historic District. There have been no previous COA requests for this property. Applicants are proposing a second garage off the alley to house a vintage vehicle. The structure submitted for consideration is a 400-square-foot gabled-roof garage with asphalt composite shingles, LP SmartSiding, aluminum windows and door, and a metal overhead garage door. The garage will sit near the back property line and parallel to the alleyway. The overhead door will not face the alley, rather it will face west to allow for ease of access. The 5' setback does not apply to this configuration, as clarified with the Public Works department. The proposed structure has a simple design and does not match the existing house or garage. It is a product of its own time and will not create a false sense of history; it will have no visibility from the front street. The proposed LP Smart siding, the aluminum windows and doors, and the aluminum overhead door have been allowed on a case-by-case basis, and the Commission has allowed this in the past for garages that are not visible from the front. The proposed structure meets the Guidelines for size. The Commission will need to decide if this proposal meets the Guidelines for design, size, location, type of materials, and whether it is compatible with the original structure and the Historic District as a whole. Chris Wood, the applicant, discussed the project: The proposed 400-square-foot garage is a model from Oklahoma City shed company. Applicant owns a vintage recently-restored truck that he would like to protect from damage. Current garage does not have enough space to allow for this. Applicant pointed out that similar structures in the area are as submitted pictures show that were sent in for the Commission consideration. Company selling the structure have committed to repainting and reroofing the structure, as well as changing the placement of window from the alley side of the proposed structure to the south side. Configuration of the new garage to allow for access from the alley; door will face west, perpendicular to the alley. No public comments were made. Commission comments and discussion consisted of: • Commissioner Mitch Baroff questions whether applicants would have to abide by the 5' rear property setback. Anai"s confirms that, after discussing this case with the Public Works department, this design would not require 5' setback; the Historic District Commission February 7, 2022 Page 4 of 6 2' setback proposed is sufficient and abides by the zoning code. Another review of the proposed orientation of the garage will be undertaken when the applicants apply for a building permit. • Commissioner Mitch Baroff likes the orientation, but does not like the look of the vertical siding. Applicant Chris Wood responds by citing many other structures in the neighborhood with similar siding. • Linda Watson, the applicant, explains that they plan to paint the new structure to match the colors of the primary structure and garage. Landscaping will also be added around the planned site. • Commissioner Taber Halford offers his opinion; is supportive of the design, but agrees with Commissioner Mitch Baro ff that the siding is not preferred. • Commissioner Barrett Williamson is concerned about the roof pitch; it does not fit well with the surrounding structures. • Commissioner Michael Zorba is supportive of the design, owing to the fact that the structure will not be visible from the front/street. • Commissioner Aaron Brooks agrees with Commissioner Zorba; this proposal is compatible with the Guidelines as submitted. • Commissioner Joan Koos agrees that the design is not appealing; however, this structure will hopefully only be visible to the property owners and from the alley. • Commissioner Emily Wilkins agrees that the design is not aesthetically appropriate, but again this structure will not be visible to the general public. There being no further discussion, a vote on the motion was taken with the following result: YEAS: Michael Zorba Aaron Brooks Shavonne Evans Joan Koos Emily Wilkins NAYS: Mitch Baroff Taber Halford Barrett Williamson The motion was passed with a vote of 5-3. COA Request was approved as submitted. Ms. Starr noted that there is a 10-day waiting period until the COA will be issued. Applicant can submit a building permit application in the meantime. * Historic District Commission February 7, 2022 Page 5 of 6 Item No. 5, being: Staff report on active Certificates of Appropriateness and Administrative Bypass issued since January 3, 2022 and consideration of six-month extension requests for expiring COAs. Progress of active COA 's: • 904 Miller-The house has been sold. New owners intend to re-sell the property rather than address the outstand Historic District violation. Will continue to monitor this property until compliance issues have been addressed. • 518 Chautauqua-Work continues but construction is delayed, possibly due to supply chain shortages. • 1320 Classen-Work is finished. Soffit has been replaced. Still have the outstanding issue with caps on the columns. • 620 Miller-Work has not started on the shutters. • 518 S. Lahoma-Non-original addition and greenhouse have been removed. New addition has not started. • 549 S. Lahoma-Applicant's BOA appeal heard; postponed again to March. • 503 Tulsa-Building permit issued. Work has begun. • 506 S. Lahoma-Work has not started; no building permit yet. Applicants to meet with architect within a week to revise interior design. • 428 Chautauqua-Building permit issued. Work has not yet started. • 904 Classen-No progress yet. • 514 Miller-Building permit issued. Vinyl siding has been removed. Administrative Bypasses Issued: • 514 Miller-Rear yard fence and deck have been approved via Administrative Bypass. Six-month extension requests: None. * Item No. 6, being: Discussion of progress report regarding the FY 2021-2022 CLG Grant Projects. • CLG funds have a remainder of $2,380; excess due to CAMP training being virtual, which saved us money. Proposed projects include a second educational mailer about HD Guidelines, scanner and scanning software to digitize HD records, as well as printing of the new HD Guidelines. These proposals would cost an estimated $2,350 and are allowable CLG expenses. • Commissioner Michael Zorba offers suggestion to present Historic District information and Guidelines local realtors via Press-and-Plow events, or similar social events. Jeanne and Ana"is are supportive of considering such an endeavor. • Commissioner Shavonne Evans suggests we include a QR code on educational mailer to easily link residents to the Historic Preservation Guidelines. Historic District Commission February 7, 2022 Page 6 of 6 * Item No. 7, being: Discussion of projects for the FY 2022-2023 CLG Grant Program funds. Discussion ofproposed projects included: • Walking Tour of Historic Districts, including social history. • Quarterly educational mailers linking residents to Historic District Guidelines via possible QR code. • Printing of updated Historic Handbook for residents, which must have the recently adopted Guidelines incorporated into them. * Item No. 8, being: Miscellaneous Comments of HD Commission and City Staff. Both the updated Historic Preservation Ordinance as well as the updated Historic Preservation Guidelines were approved by City Council on January 25, 2022. The new Ordinance and Guidelines take effect on February 25, 2022. * Item No. 9, being: Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. 1- day of ~ ~' 2022. Passed aQd approved this th ~U,~ Emily Wilkins, Chair Historic District Commission