Architectural Review Board

Architectural Review Board City of Petersburg, Virginia Minutes of the Regular Meeting February 11, 2015 6:00 p.m. Council Chambers, City Hall 135 N. Union Street, Petersburg VA 23803 Members Present: Chair, Joe Battiston Vice-Chair, Isaac Ward Gibson Worsham Celeste Wynn Theresa Booty Mitchell Pradia Members Absent: Staff: Secretary to the ARB, Kathleen Morgan 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Joe Battiston called to order a regular meeting of the City of Petersburg Architectural Review Board on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. at Council Chambers, City Hall, 135 N. Union Street, Petersburg, Virginia 23803. 2. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. REVIEW OF MINUTES Ms. Wynn moved to approve the November minutes as submitted, followed by a second from Mr. Worsham. The motion passed unanimously. 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Worsham made a motion to approve the agenda, and in approving the agenda also approved the consent agenda item (116 Liberty Street), followed by a second from Ms. Wynn. The motion passed unanimously. 5. PUBLIC INFORMATION PERIOD Chair Battiston opened the Public Information Period to anyone who wished to speak on any subject not on the agenda. With there being no comments, Chair Battiston closed the Public Information Period. 6. REQUEST(S) FOR CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS Consent Agenda: a. 116 Liberty Street: Approved Regular Agenda: b. 307 E. Fillmore Street: The applicant, George A. Drew, was present. Staff recommended approval of the proposed application. The applicant stated he would be going with the crushed stone. Chair Battiston stated that the crushed stone would be a better product given the slope of the land, and that this property does not have access from the alley. Mr. Worsham stated that historically, crushed stone was probably used for residential driveways and alleys. There was no public comment. Mr. Worsham moved to approve the application as submitted, followed by a second from Ms. Wynn. The motion passed unanimously. c. 123 S. Sycamore Street: The applicant, William Bristow (for Jacob Crocker), was present. Staff recommended approval of the proposed application. Ms. Booty asked if the original sashes were salvageable; the applicant stated they were burned all the way through. There was no public comment. Mr. Worsham moved to approve the application as submitted, followed by a second from Ms. Booty. The motion passed unanimously. d. 257 E. Bank Street: The applicant, Dave McCormack, was not present. Staff recommended approval of the proposed application. Mr. Worsham recused himself. Mr. Ward moved to approve the application as submitted, followed by a second from Mr. Pradia. The motion passed unanimously. e. 903 W. High Street: The applicant, Amy Wilson, was present. Staff recommended approval of the proposed application. The applicant stated she would like to amend her application to only include the fencing. Vice-Chair Ward asked where the fence would be going; the applicant stated on 3 sides of the rectangular lot, the rear has a chain link fence from the property at the rear. The applicant stated she would like the fence to be the same size around the 3 sides. Ms. Booty stated there was a curb cut on the side of the property; the applicant stated there would be gates at the curb cut. The applicant stated the gates would match the fence. There was no public comment. Mr. Ward moved to approve the application with the conditions that the fence have a 5 feet maximum, the gates match the fence, and the fence be installed in  concrete footings, followed by a second from Mr. Worsham. The motion passed unanimously. f. 308-310 N. West Street: The applicant, Amy Wilson, was present. Staff recommended approval of the proposed application. The applicant stated the property had been on the market since September 24, 2014. There was no public comment. Ms. Wynn moved to approve the application as submitted, followed by a second from Ms. Booty. The motion passed 5-0-1 with Mr. Pradia abstaining. g. 34 Corling Street: The applicant, Carlisle Thompson, Sr., was present. Staff recommended deferral of the proposed application. Chair Battiston asked if the applicant had anyone look at the property to see if it is salvageable; the applicant stated the insurance company examined the house and the Fire Marshall condemned the property. The Chair asked if the fire took the entire roof; the applicant stated yes and that the only thing left standing was the frame. There was no public comment. Mr. Worsham moved to approve the application as submitted, followed by a second from Mr. Pradia. The motion passed unanimously. 7. OLD BUSINESS The Chair asked the applicant for 903 W. High Street, Amy Wilson, to discuss her plans for the property. Ms. Wilson stated that a lot of things need replacement due to rot. She also stated she has been looking for companies who specialize in historic restorations. The applicant stated the first phase would be to add the fence and clear out the interior, restore electricity and plumbing, install alarm system. Mr. Worsham asked how she planned to handle the brick piers; the applicant stated that in the past people have filled in the piers with brick or concrete brick, but he suggested that setting screening at the back of the piers would keep the character of the piers and also allow for ventilation. 8. NEW BUSINESS Staff stated that there was another house fire on Corling Street, and the board will likely be seeing an application for demolition. Ms. Booty stated her concern about electricians not getting permits and performing service changes without taking into consideration the knob and tube wiring. Chair Battiston stated the board would need something showing cost to rehab; Chair Battiston also asked if there was other information the board should be asking for. Staff stated they would contact the fire department to see what information could be made available. Staff stated there was a house fire on Centre Hill as well.  Staff stated that a draft for the public art guidelines will be made available before the next meeting. The board agreed on meeting at 5:00 p.m. before the regularly scheduled March meeting. 9. WORK SESSION 10. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Worsham moved to adjourn the meeting, followed by a second from Ms. Wynn. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:05 p.m.