Architectural Review Board

Architectural Review Board City of Petersburg, Virginia Minutes of the Regular Meeting February 13, 2019 6:00 p.m. Council Chambers, City Hall 135 N. Union Street, Petersburg VA 23803 Members Present: Chair, Joe Battiston Celeste Wynn Larry Murphy Mitchell Pradia Dino Lunsford Members Absent: Vice-Chair, Isaac Ward Staff: Secretary to the ARB, Kate Sangregorio 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Joe Battiston called to order a regular meeting of the City of Petersburg Architectural Review Board on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 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 No minutes were presented. Mr Lunsford motioned to dispense with the review of the minutes, motion seconded by Ms Wynn and passed unanimously. 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Staff commented that there had been an error in the agenda; 141 N. Sycamore should have been 414 N. Sycamore. Mr Murphy made a motion to approve the agenda with this correction, motion seconded by Mr Lunsford and 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 Regular Agenda: 1 a. 404 N. Sycamore Street: Applicant present, Richard Cuthbert. Staff recommended approval of the application. Mr Cuthbert said this application included the lintel information requested by the ARB previously, windows will be just wood not metal clad, 6 over 6 will be installed on the 2nd floor because the 2 over 2 were not original. Mr Battiston said they don’t want wide muttons, he should keep them on the thin side, Mr Lunsford said 3/8ths an inch. Mr Cuthbert agreed. No public comment. Mr Murphy moved to approve the application, seconded by Mr Pradia. Motion passed unanimously. b. 712 Harrison Street: Applicant present, Al Smith. Staff recommended approval with alterations. The applicant presented a new plan to the ARB and expressed his support for staff’s suggested alterations. Mr Battiston asked if the applicant would match the addition siding to the main house, Mr Smith said yes, however the siding is currently asbestos, so Mr Smith asked if hardiplank would be acceptable. Mr Battiston said vinyl would be a no, but he has no problem with hardiplank for this. Mr Battiston also asked if the roof would match the main house, Mr Smith said yes it would be tin. Mr Murphy asked the location, and if the siding should be wood. Staff stated that the house is almost entirely asbestos siding except the façade brick curtain wall, so hardiplank would be preferable to that. Mr Pradia asked to confirm that the window openings would be filled with screens and not windows; that was correct. Mr Pradia asked what would be on the rearmost wall, Mr Smith said the siding would continue. No public comment. Ms Wynn motioned to approve the latest submission of the application. Motion seconded by Mr Murphy and passed unanimously. The applicant questioned his request to paint the house red with white trim; Mr Battiston said staff would approve it administratively. c. 225 Hinton Street: Applicant present, Bruce Shirley. Staff recommended approval. 2  Mr Shirley said the metal star tie staff mentioned was already painted red so the plans left it as such. Staff was unaware the tie was already painted. Mr Murphy asked about the windows, Mr Shirley said they were wood with metal cladding. Mr Battiston asked about the storefront, Mr Shirley said aluminum and glass. Mr Battiston asked about DHR’s comments; Mr Shirley said they haven’t heard back for Part 2 yet, but their consultant looks favorable on it getting approval. Ms Wynn questioned the green storefront, Mr Shirley explained. Mr Battiston said that DHR will only approve aluminum clad windows if the building is 3 stories or above, although the ARB approves them under that height locally. Mr Shirley said DHR has approved previous projects with 2 stories with the same windows previously. Mr Pradia questioned where the skylights would be located, Mr Shirley said the outermost roof slopes will not have them so they won’t be visible No public comment. Mr Lunsford motioned to approve the application as submitted, motion seconded by Ms Wynn and passed unanimously. Mr Pradia asked the amount of apartments, its 106. d. 271 High Street: Applicants present, Kelsi Jewell and James Gale. Staff recommended approval. The board had no questions. Staff questioned the proposed use of a front door found in the house, Ms Jewell said it will probably fit, but they’re keeping the historic storm doors that are already there, so the main door won’t be very visible anyway. Motion made by Ms Wynn to approve the application as submitted with a second from Mr Murphy. Motion passed unanimously. e. 738 Harrison Street: Applicant not present. Mr Murphy made a motion to move this item to the end of the agenda, seconded by Mr Pradia. Motion passed unanimously. f. 1152 W. High Street: Applicant not present. Mr Murphy motioned to move this item to the end of the agenda, seconded by Mr Lunsford. Motion passed unanimously. g. 414 N. Sycamore Street: Applicant present, Craig Richards. Staff recommended approval. 3  Mr Battiston asked if the sign would be covering the arches of the windows, Mr Richards said it will be angled down and he would remeasure it. Mr Pradia asked when the business would be opening, Mr Richards said probably May 4. Staff questioned the proposed banners on the 3rd floor of the building, Ms Wynn asked how far out they would be, Mr Richards said as far as they can go to not obstruct the building elements, and stated that they would be replaced if they ever get ratty. Motion to approve made by Mr Pradia, seconded by Mr Lunsford. Motion passed unanimously. e. 378 Harrison Street: Applicant still not present. Staff asked if this application could be reviewed in his absence. Staff recommended partial approval. Mr Battiston expressed the need to keep the aesthetics of the house. Ms Wynn asked if the chimneys were ok, staff said one has partially fallen the other appears fine. Ms Wynn asked if they would be capped, staff said probably. It was suggested to approve the porch work and gutters but postpone the chimney and windows. Ms Wynn motioned to defer the application due to the applicant’s absence, with the exception of approving in-kind porch and gutter repair. Motion seconded by Mr Murphy and passed unanimously. f. 1152 W. High Street: Applicant still not present. Staff recommended approval. The board had no discussion. Mr Murphy motioned to approve the application, seconded by Mr Lunsford. Motion passed unanimously. 6. OLD BUSINESS - 212 Liberty Street- Staff shared with the board another option associated with the exterior stair removal, in that the applicant wished to remove the second floor door and close it with siding because the door only leads to a closet. Mr Battiston said if it just goes to a closet it should be closed. Staff was given permission to approve this administratively. 7. NEW BUSINESS 4  - Louis Stevenson and Mark Lane came forward to speak about their business Abate Co. and Appomattox Contractors- they started with lead removal, environmental abatement, and then window restoration at Maggie Walked Governor’s School. They’ve done work on First Baptist and have a shop in Hopewell. Can recreate windows, and do chemical lead removal - Trailways Bus Station- Staff informed the board that Trailways was sold, and that the ARB may be asked to evaluate proposed changes to the building, even though it’s not in a local district. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS 9. WORK SESSION - Mr Battiston brought up the debate between windows that are wood and wood with aluminum clad. He said Petersburg doesn’t have to follow DHR exactly. Mr Lunsford said they already have a lot of TrimLine aluminum clad in the city. Mr Ward added that the local government is supposed to fine tune DHR’s regulations to our situation; there’s always a local variation. Mr Murphy said the aluminum clad windows last longer and you can’t tell the difference. Mr Pradia agreed at 3 or more stories. Ms Wynn agrees with anything easier in the long term. Mr Lunsford said nobody wants to have to keep replacing and repainting windows. 10. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Ms Wynn to adjourn the meeting seconded by Mr Lunsford, the motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned. 5