Architectural Commission & Historic Preservation Commission

The City of Oconomowoc Architectural Commission Meeting Minutes July 5, 2023 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Flint at 4:30 pm. Members Present: Flint, Krogstad, Schulz, Schrang and Johnson Staff Present: Gallo, Weber, Oelsner, Dehnert and Aultman Kloth 2. Approve Minutes of May 3, 2023: Motion by Johnson to approve the May 3, 2023 minutes; second by Schrang. Motion carried 5-0. 3. Approve Minutes of June 7, 2023: Motion by Schultz to approve the June 7, 2023 minutes; second by Schrang. Motion carried 5-0. Johnson excused himself from the next item due to a conflict of interest. 4. 503 N. Lake Road – Consider/approve a multi-family condominium at 503 N. Lake Road: Weber said there was good discussion at the last meeting, and the applicant made the following changes based on the feedback from the members: raised up the tower element to make it more focused and changed the first floor entry door; eliminated the stone on the front porch and replaced it with wood slats; minor changes to landscaping; and relocated AC units to the north side. Weber asked that the units be moved back to the south so they are not by Rockwell Park and recommends approval. Ben Otten of Johnson Design said the highest point of the tower will be 35’ with 10’ flex; trim was added by the roof peak on the tower and a third window on the second level; the first floor entry door will now be half glass with sidelights; the base of the building will be wood slats; they are working with Halquist stone on the retaining wall, an engineering firm on the wall to the garage and a landscaper on a fence line to create privacy screening; they are open to screening the AC units; and staff did not allow the gas meters in the basement. Members noted they must allow clearance around the AC units with open air above; suggested screening around each AC unit though it may be close to the lot line with no room for landscaping; concerned with wood slats on the south elevation wall; location of gas meters; remove door on north elevation and replace with window and place meters on that side; and suggested changes could be approved at staff level. Property owner Jeff Scrima said the property owner on the south elevation did not want the AC units on that side. Gallo was concerned with placement of AC units on the north with the park next door. Members said placement of the electric transformer should be the shortest direct spot; thinks the bedroom and library locations should be switched; overall changes are good; asked if there are steps to the first floor; doesn’t read as a tower now and suggested moving in the corners on the first floor of the tower; and questioned the arches over the upper windows and suggested they should look more like an eyebrow. Otten said there will be decorative glass in the front door side panels and a ramp to the front entrance that will follow grade. Members suggested change wood slats at the grade line to be level and the remainder filled with stone; asked about ADA accessibility; and noted because of the grade change they may have to include a railing. Gallo summarized the changes as follows: 1) north elevation -screen the gas/water/AC and remove the doorway; 2) south elevation retaining wall - include that the wood slats should all match the same height where it starts for the entire length and the rest be a masonry liner; 3) tower unit – on the first floor move the corners in to align with the second and third floors; 4) north elevation -remove access from the porches; 5) modify the entry door to be half glass w/sidelights; and 6) the ramp located on the front elevation may need to have a railing in order to comply with ADA requirements. Motion by Schultz to approve the multi-family condominium building plans at 503 N. Lake Road per Gallo’s six changes; second by Krogstad. Motion carried 4-0. Johnson came back @ 5:37 pm. S:Clerk/Committees-Commissions/Architectural/Minutes/2023/ACmin 7-5-23 5. Lake Area Insurance – Consider/approve a Special Exception for signage located at 606 Summit Avenue: Weber explained the Architectural Commission previously approved two special exceptions for signage on this property. However once concrete work and a railing was installed because of grade, it affected placement of the sign. Staff reviewed the site and proposed a new location which is out of the 15’ x 15’ vision corner but is in the 50’ x 50’ vision corner required on Summit Avenue. The applicant Lauren Vertz didn’t anticipate the railing, said there are no other options for placement of the sign, and will check to make sure there are no issues with underground utilities. Motion by Flint to approve a special exception for Lake Area Insurance as presented; second by Johnson. Motion carried 5-0. 6. Olde Highlander, Norden Range – Consider/approve a multi-family development located within the Olde Highlander development: Weber explained the applicant previously presented their plans and have made the following changes based on the feedback from the members: the dumpster material has changed from CMU to white lap siding; gang boxes for mailboxes; and incorporated windows on the garages. Weber suggested tan siding on the garages; not happy with amount of garage wall space with little to no landscaping; not concerned with garages by commercial, only interior garages; asked for a specs list on building materials and more detail on exposed concrete and utility screening. Weber recommended approval with considerations listed in the background. Elizabeth Riedel of Mandel gave a presentation on the development and Buck Knitt of Rinka gave a presentation on the various building styles and explained changes to each: Townhomes will have year round landscaping; more lighting around the units including up/down fixtures with low light levels and uplighting the wall on end units; and changed the color of townhomes from white to wood on both front and rear elevations. Garden style screening material will be metal. Clubhouse plans are unchanged. Garages will have a variety of landscaping around them. Members had concerns about prairie landscaping maintenance and said the building renderings don’t reflect Prairie Style. Riedel noted windows have been added to the garage north elevation and plantings will not block windows, and Knitt provided building material samples. Members discussed stone or poured concrete wall and compacter waste; and suggested a darker tone, site drains and hose station on the dumpster enclosure. Motion by Krogstad to approve the building plans for the Norden Range with the Olde Highlander development subject to a dark colored dumpster enclosure to match the garages; second by Johnson. Motion carried 5-0. 7. Historic Preservation Ordinance – Review/recommendation to create Chapter 17.705 in the City Zoning Code: Oelsner explained a historic preservation ordinance was previously discussed in 2021 and upon approval will bring us into compliance with State Statutes. This ordinance creates the Historic Preservation Commission which would consist of Architectural Commission members. Oelsner explained the changes since the 2021 draft, the differences between minor and major work, and the demolition process. The ordinance was sent to Jason Tish of the Historic Preservation Office who also had some suggestions which Oelsner explained. Members suggested changing removal to “rescind”; questioned what can the city do to incentivize this; only those with historic properties get the tax incentive or benefit; the Finance Dept should step up and help the historic property owners in the city; and leave the appeals and final decision-making to the Common Council. Motion by Flint to recommend approval of Chapter 17.705 in the City Zoning Code subject to: 1) including the first suggested change by Jason Tish to change the word “Removal” to “Rescind”; 2) the Common Council is to be the final decision-making body; 3) Keep the current process; and 4) City to strongly consider incentivizing this program; second by Johnson. Motion carried 4-1 (Schrang). 8. Reports and comments from the City Planning Department: Weber updated the Commissioners with the non- compliance status of Pizza Hut. 9. Reports and comments from the Architectural Commissioners: None. 10. Adjourn: Motion by Flint to adjourn at 6:51 pm; second by Johnson. Motion carried 5-0. Chris Dehnert, Deputy City Clerk S:Clerk/Committees-Commissions/Architectural/Minutes/2023/ACmin 7-5-23