Historic Resource Commission

Schenectady Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes December 18, 2017 I. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Wiles called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Vice Chair Wiles explained to the public that with four Commissioners present there were enough votes to have a quorum and to act on application, and that because the Commission has seven members, a majority of the full Commission (four votes) is required to approve or deny a proposal regardless of how many Commissioners are present at the meeting. Thus, for an item to be approved at this meeting it would require all four Commissioners present to vote to approve. II. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Dr. Dean Bennett; David F. Lowry; Ben Wiles; Patricia Yager STAFF: Avi Epstein, Zoning Officer; Ashlynn Savarese, Assistant Corporation Counsel; Jennifer Mills, Secretary EXCUSED: Jackie Craven III. CONFLICT OF INTEREST None. IV. ADOPTION OF MEETING MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Lowry, seconded by Commissioner Yager, to approve the November 13, 2017 Meeting Minutes as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. V. NEW BUSINESS A. Consideration for approval submitted by Lucien Izito to remove wood paneling and perform restoration work on historic doors. The premises are located at 1675 Avenue B. Erez Miller, project manager for Aulder Capital LLC, appeared before the Commission. Mr. Miller distributed additional photos of the building to the Commissioners and explained that they are proposing to remove the wainscoting from the doors on the Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes –December 18, 2017 –Page 1 of 5 Mason Street side of the building and restore the doors to their original green color. Commissioner Wiles asked if they intend to restore the glass sidelights. Mr. Miller stated that they would be willing to do whatever the Commission suggested. Commissioner Yager stated that she believes that the sidelights should be glass. The Commissioners agreed. Assistant Planner Shamieh noted that this building, the former Franklin School, is identical to the former Horace Mann School on Craig Street. She showed the Commissioners a photo of the Horace Mann School which showed the original doors, as well as the glass sidelights and a solid panel above the door. Mr. Miller also showed the Commissioners a photo of the Franklin School that was taken in the 1970’s, which also showed the original entrance. Commissioner Wiles asked if the Mason Street entrance is still used, since the entrance from the parking lot is on the opposite end of the building. Mr. Miller stated that it is, although most tenants would probably primarily use the other entrance. He explained that the Mason Street entrance accesses the main corridor of the building, as does the opposite entrance. Commissioner Yager noted that there is a boarded window on the parking lot side of the building. Mr. Miller stated that just last week his company began work on the project, and that the window will be restored to glass very soon. Ms. Shamieh asked Mr. Miller what his role is with Aulder Capital LLC. Mr. Miller stated that he is a project manager. She asked what the role of Mr. Izito, who filed the application, is. Mr. Miller responded that he is construction manager. Commissioner Wiles asked how many apartments are in the building and if there is handicap access. Mr. Miller stated that he believes that there are 21 apartments, and that he is not certain if handicap access exists currently. Commissioner Wiles noted that if it does not, and the applicants wish to make any changes to make the building handicap accessible, they would be required to return to the Commission for approval before making any changes. Mr. Miller stated that he understood. Ms. Shamieh noted that when she conducted her site visit to the property she noticed other existing violations, including a satellite dish on the roof and that the steps had been painted gray, neither of which has been approved by the Commission. She also noted that there were two overflowing, unenclosed dumpsters on the property, as well as construction debris littering the area. Mr. Miller stated that they had been having an issue with County Waste Management, their trash removal company, and that the issue had been resolved and the site was in the process of being cleaned up. Ms. Shamieh stated that one dumpster is allowed on the property and that it must be properly enclosed. Commissioner Yager noted that if the applicants have concerns about restoring the sidelights because of security issues there are specific types of glass available that could help to mitigate these concerns. Mr. Miller stated that they would not object to restoring the sidelights. Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes –December 18, 2017 –Page 2 of 5  Commissioner Wiles noted that the applicants had provided additional photographs as an addendum to the application. He labeled and identified them for the record, as noted: 1. Photo #1 - a black and white photo showing the Mason Street entrance to the building prior to the doors being altered with the wainscoting. 2. Photo #2 - a color photo depicting the Avenue B entrance. 3. Photo #3 - a color photo depicting the Mason Street entrance to be restored. 4. Photo #4 - a close-up color photo detailing the current condition of the Mason Street entrance doors. 5. Photo #5 - a color photo of the parking lot side entrance to the building depicting the original sidelights that were on both entrances. Motion by Commissioner Wiles, seconded by Commissioner Yager, to approve the application as submitted, with the following modifications and conditions: 1. Once commenced, the project will be completed within one year. 2. The door originally had two sidelights which have been covered by the wainscoting, as evidenced by the opposite entrance shown in Photo #5. The sidelights will be restored to glass to match the parking lot entrance doors shown in photo #5. Findings: 1. This is a Type II SEQRA. 2. The Franklin School was re-zoned as “B-2” Historic District in 1982 by action of the City Council, effectively designating it as a local historic landmark. Under current zoning it is subject to the Historic Overlay Zone. 3. The school was previously converted to residential apartment units and was recently purchased by the applicants. 4. The Franklin School is identical to the Horace Mann School on Craig Street, which has been historically well preserved and can thus be used as a reference for information regarding historical characteristics of the buildings. Motion carried unanimously. VII. MISCELLANEOUS A. Status update on new Commissioner appointments Assistant Planner Shamieh noted that while no new Commissioners have been appointed yet she has been given the green light by the city administration to begin recruiting efforts. She explained that she has been in touch with some point people in the community, and has had a meeting with Department of Development Director Kristin Diotte and City Planner Christine Primiano, to work towards formulating a list of prospective Commissioners. She noted that it would be ideal to have at least one architect on the Commission. Commissioner Lowry noted that Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes –December 18, 2017 –Page 3 of 5  he had heard that Frank Gilmore, an architect in the city, has interest in applying. Ms. Shamieh urged the Commissioners to reach out to potential candidates to let them know about the opportunity, and to let her know about them so that she may also follow up. Commissioner Wiles noted that there could be potential conflict of interest issues with an architect who does a great deal of work in Schenectady and who might have a professional interest in a lot of historical projects. Ms. Shamieh stated that in the past there have been architects on the Commission and this did not seem to be an overwhelming problem. Commissioner Wiles agreed, but noted that the recent architects on the Commission had either primarily worked in other areas or had been employed by the State. They discussed a scenario in which a Commissioner might have to turn down a client to avoid the appearance of any impropriety. Ms. Shamieh agreed that this should be considered moving forward. Commissioner Wiles agreed, noting that any candidates would have to be considered on an individual basis. Ms. Shamieh noted that she had been delaying scheduling a 2018 training session until new Commissioners were appointed, but she asked for the Commissioners’ opinion on whether she should move forward. She explained that she could schedule a training for March in hopes that the vacancies will be filled by then. Commissioner Lowry stated that he thinks this course of action would be best. The Commissioners agreed. Commissioner Wiles asked that the training be scheduled in the same week as the meeting, if possible. Ms. Shamieh stated that this should not be a problem. B. Discussion to consider the development of Commission bylaws Ms. Shamieh noted that she realized when looking over the Zoning Code that what she has been referring to as bylaws should probably be called a Guidance and Procedures Document, as the bylaws would be characterized as something close to what is laid out in the Code. She shared an old document, most likely dating from the 1990s, which discussed the Historic District Ordinance and related procedures for review of historic properties. She distributed copies of the document to the Commissioners for their review and comments. The Commissioners agreed to review the document and be prepared to discuss it at the next meeting. Ms. Shamieh noted that, as delineated in the document, some items she currently has verbal permission to approve, such as an in-kind roof or wood window replacement, were not allowed to be approved by staff in the past. She stated that she does not believe that she should have the power to make these decisions, and that the Commission should review applications of this kind as well. Commissioner Wiles noted that he believes that in addition to the guidelines the Commission and staff should still be working on specific bylaws, which would Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes –December 18, 2017 –Page 4 of 5  relate to how an application gets on the agenda, the procedural structure for motions and decisions, how subcommittees work, etc. Ms. Shamieh agreed, adding that there is no written procedure for the election of a Chair, the length of their term, etc. The Commissioners agreed that these items should also be addressed. Ms. Shamieh proposed that at the January meeting the Commissioners might discuss the creation of subcommittees of two or three Commissioners who could meet once or twice outside the meeting to work on a draft of specific areas of the procedural document, which would then be presented to the full Commission for review. The Commissioners agreed to consider the subcommittees at the next meeting. VIII. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Lowry, seconded by Commissioner Wiles, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:54 pm. Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes –December 18, 2017 –Page 5 of 5