Architectural Commission & Historic Preservation Commission

City of Oconomowoc Architectural Commission Meeting Minutes April 7, 2021 Chairman Flint called the meeting to order at 4:30 pm. Members Present: Kurt Schrang, Jeremy Flint, Anne Krogstad and Paul Schultz Members Absent: Kent Johnson Staff Present: Kristi Weber, Jason Gallo and Chris Dehnert 2. Approve the March 3, 2021 Minutes: Motion by Schultz to approve the March 3, 2021 minutes; second by Krogstad. Motion carried 4-0. 3. Dairy Queen – Consider/approve Building Plans on the south side of the west property at the intersection of Corporate Center Drive and Oconomowoc Drive (Tax Key OCOC 0634999051): Weber explained the building plans for the Dairy Queen were approved at last month’s meeting but the Corporate Park board did not approve the new update as proposed but instead wants brick added around the base of the building and recommended brick or stone be added to the tower element. The applicant amended their previous plans to add brick around the base as requested by the board but don’t wish to add brick or stone to the tower but keep it red instead. Weber noted they also updated the trash enclosure to include split face brick in a color to match the brick on the building and added a man door and black metal enclosure system. Weber recommended approval of the updated plans with conditions listed in the background. Members comments included: they like the proposed brick around the base as it complements the building; believe it’s a good compromise; don’t agree with the use of stone in place of the brick; and it has been a long process but aesthetically the building has come a long way. Motion by Krogstad to approve the building plans as presented today for the Dairy Queen; second by Schultz. Motion carried 4-0. 4. Target Distribution Center – Consider/approve a Special Exception for Signage at 1100 Valley Road: Weber explained the applicant has applied for approval of a sign package incorporating their rebranding which includes 3 wayfinding signs, 1 monument sign and 2 wall signs. Signs A and B are existing wayfinding signs which have been updated and administratively approved by staff. Sign F is a new wayfinding sign and staff questioned if it was to be located off-site. It has since been determined the sign is on Target’s property and can be administratively approved since it is wayfinding. The existing ground sign (Sign B) is being replaced with a similarly sized ground sign, and staff agrees with it as proposed. The applicant is also requesting (2) special exceptions for wall signage on the west elevation (Sign E) and south elevation (Sign D) due to size. Per the zoning code a wall sign is to be no more than 50 sf but considering the size of the building could be permitted upon approval of a special exception. Sign E is proposed as a 941.94 sf non-lit wall sign facing the employee parking lot adjacent to residential properties. Weber noted this sign is significantly larger than the wall sign at Fleet Farm (591 sf) and will be highly visible to 2 residential properties. Staff recommends the sign be reduced by 50% (470.97 sf) which still requires a special exception. The remaining wall sign (Sign D) will consist of a “Bullseye”, be unlit and is 200.96 sf. Properties adjacent to this elevation are a road and an industrial development, and staff is in support of this request for a special exception. Weber recommended approval of Sign B, exceptions for Sign D as requested and for Sign E to be reduced by 50%. Jamie Dieman of Innovative Signs explained Target is going through a rebranding; questioned how staff figured the square footage of Sign E and thought the actual size should be a little over 600 sf. Dieman would like to keep the signage as proposed because there was landscaping blocking the view of some of the residential properties as well as a garage faces the signage on the other property. Members noted the request for a special exception was for a large sign consisting of a corporate logo for their own employees; the same thing can be done with a 50 sf sign which meets code requirements; this sign is visible to residential properties; there is no access to this parking lot from the road that runs alongside of it; and S:Clerk\Committees-Commissions\Architectural\2021\ACMin 4-7-21 there is no retail at this location, it is a distribution center. Motion by Krogstad to deny any special exception for signage related to this proposal for Target, 1100 Valley Road; second by Schrang. Motion carried 4-0. 5. Market 203 – Consider/approve a Master Sign Plan at 203 E. Wisconsin Avenue: Weber explained this request is for approval of a master sign plan for a multi-tenant building which is going through a rebranding located in the downtown. The applicant would like to update the signage on Wisconsin Avenue to be a dark green rectangular sign in place of the current semi-circle. Weber has concerns with the shape of the proposed sign on a curved awning and recommends the sign be arched instead. The sign will be lit with gooseneck lighting, and the sign face material is proposed to be Alumalite. Staff is concerned this open edged material will attract bugs and be less durable than other sign material. The letters on the sign will be a white vinyl with a logo, and the individual tenants will have their name in white letters with their own logo on the bottom of the storefront windows. The rear elevation will consist of a dark green rectangular wall sign with each tenant listed in white letters. This request is contingent on approval of the sign plan by the building owner. Weber recommended approval of the sign plan with conditions listed in the background. The applicant, Kristi Kimball, explained she wants to give signage on the building an update by changing the shape of the sign and believes the dark green complements the gold awnings. Kimball feels the scale of the lettering and logo looks wrong in a semi-circle. Oconomowoc Sign is doing the work, and she asked if she could increase the size of the semi-circle and overlap the frame. Members were concerned with the proposed sign material because it is very thin. They discussed removing the sign cabinet and pulling the sign back into the base which the applicant agreed. Motion by Schultz to approve a master sign plan for Market 203 at 203 E. Wisconsin Avenue, in a semi-circle shape and pulled back into the existing frame on the Wisconsin Avenue elevation and approve the tenant sign on the rear elevation as proposed; second by Schrang. Motion carried 4-0. A member questioned the garbage dumpster’s location behind the building and said something should be done to clean up this area. 6. Starbucks Multi-Tenant Building – Consider/approve Building Plans to be located at 1360 Pabst Farms Circle: Weber explained the applicant is requesting approval of new building plans and referred to their original plans which were approved in 2015 but never developed. Updated plans include a reduction in square footage from 6,632 sf to 4,287 sf and from 3 tenants down to 2. The design is similar to the previous and meets Pabst Farms standards for materials, dumpster enclosure and lighting. The building will have a 6’ parapet wall which staff believes will properly screen all mechanicals. The property owner, Pabst Farms, has approved the proposed building plans. Weber noted this is the last building to be completed in the development and requested that planning staff be permitted to help pick a local contractor and materials for this building. She also requested the proposed dark brown canopies on the building be changed to a red shingle to match other buildings in the development. Since this is a multi-tenant building, a master sign plan will be required. Weber recommended approval of the building plans subject to conditions listed in the background. Beau Wynn of the Detroit Architectural Group explained he took photos of the current development and awnings and will replicate them on this building; he does similar parapets at other building sites; and agreed to work with staff on selecting a local contractor and materials for the building. Members said the building overall looked very good and it is consistent with other developments in the Pabst Farms. Motion by Schultz to approve building plans for Starbucks, 1360 Pabst Farms Circle, and authorized planning staff to assist the applicant with selecting building materials and include changing the awnings to be a red dimensional shingle with decorative wood brackets to match other buildings in the Pabst Farms development; second by Krogstad. Motion carried 4-0. 7. Reports and comments from the City Planner: A. 2020 Planning Department Annual Report: Weber said she appreciated the time and effort that the members take with reviewing projects throughout the year. She noted applications were down during the shutdown due to Covid but after things started reopening there were a lot of items which came through over the rest of the year so overall the year was busy for development. Gallo thanked the members for their time and willingness to serve and said he expects 2021 to be busy as there are a lot of projects ready to move forward. S:Clerk\Committees-Commissions\Architectural\2021\ACMin 4-7-21 Members thanked staff for putting the Annual Report together; said it’s a great document for the whole community to see; and it’s a testament to the hard work that planning staff is doing. 8. Reports and comments from the Architectural Commissioners: Members questioned signage on the elevation of the Fowler Lake Village condominium building which faces Wisconsin Ave, noting it is a quite substantial sign to not have had it approved by the Architectural Commission. Planning staff will look into this and report back to the members. 9. Adjourn: Motion by Schrang to adjourn at 5:31 pm; second by Schultz. Motion carried 4-0. Chris Dehnert, Deputy City Clerk S:Clerk\Committees-Commissions\Architectural\2021\ACMin 4-7-21