Historic Resource Commission

Schenectady Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2020 I. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Yager called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Due to the closure of City Hall because of the Covid-19 Virus, the meeting was conducted online via WebEx. II. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Patricia Yager, Chair; Ben Wiles, Vice Chair; Shaun Andriano; Dr. Dean Bennett; Frank Gilmore; Christopher Marney; Matt Smith, Senior Planner; Jennifer Mills, Secretary III. CONFLICT OF INTEREST Commissioner Marney recused himself from the consideration of Application A, the proposal by Agnes C. Davis/Senga World LLC for 2 North Ferry Street. IV. ADOPTION OF MEETING MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Marney, seconded by Commissioner Wiles, to approve the November 19, 2020 Meeting Minutes as submitted. Motion carried unanimously, with Commissioner Gilmore absent from the vote. V. APPLICATIONS A. Consideration for approval submitted by Agnes C. Davis/Senga World LLC for the installation of an asphalt roof and removal of a chimney, performed without a prior Certificate of Approval. The premises are located at 2 North Ferry Street in the Stockade Historic District. Steven Cotch and Agnes Davis presented the application. Mr. Cotch stated that the slate roof had to be removed and replaced with asphalt shingles to prevent the interior of the building from suffering extensive water damage due to the sudden critical failure of the roof. He stated that the cost to replace the slate roof was beyond what the owners were able to justify and that they had gone to great expensive to repair it every year over the last several years. The Commissioners discussed the new roof, which had been installed without prior Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2020 –Page 1 of 4  approval, and determined that the roof is not significantly visible from the right of way, nor is it an important historical feature of the building. The applicants stated that the chimney no longer serves a practical purpose, as it is not tied into the current heating system in the home. The Commissioners discussed the chimney and decided that because of its low visibility and lack of prominence it was not an important contributing characteristic to this particular structure. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. RESOLUTION Motion by Commissioner Wiles, seconded by Commissioner Gilmore, to approve as submitted the application to install the asphalt shingle roof and remove the chimney with the following condition: 1. The project will be completed within one year. And with the following finding of fact: 1. This is a Type II SEQRA. 2. Due to the low visibility of the roof and chimney from the public right of way for this structure the Commission determined that the roof and chimney are not significant contributing characteristics. Motion carried unanimously, with Commissioner Marney recusing himself from the vote. B. Consideration for approval submitted by James Commodore to replace the windows. The premises are located at 216 Union Street in the Stockade Historic District. James Commodore presented the application. The applicant explained that because lead paint has been found to be present on the current windows NYS law requires that he remediate the lead issue. The Commissioners discussed the applicants proposal to change the window frames to black, and decided that this would be inappropriate as it would significantly change the look of the front façade of the building, as the white windows, frames, and surrounding trim serve to strongly frame the windows and give them a place of prominence on the façade. The Commissioners discussed containing the lead paint on the current windows as opposed to replacing them. The applicant stated that he had obtained an estimate for containment and it was significantly higher than the cost of replacement. Commissioner Marney indicated that he did not feel that Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2020 –Page 2 of 4  enough evidence had been offered in the application to prove that the windows must be replaced. The Commissioners discussed the visibility of the rear windows. It was determined that because the rear of the building is only visible from a significant distance it would be impossible to determine from that distance what type of windows they are. The Commissioners also noted that the rear windows would not have any negative impact on the cohesiveness of the appearance of the surrounding historic district. It was noted that during many months of the year the windows are almost completely blocked from view by the leaves of some neighboring weed trees. The Commission strongly urged the applicant to consider planting some higher quality deciduous tree or evergreens on his property to help screen the windows in the future. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. RESOLUTION Motion by Commissioner Andriano, seconded by Commissioner Gilmore, to approve as submitted the application to replace the windows with the following conditions: 1. The project will be completed within one year. 2. The windows on the front façade will remain white in color and will be two over two divided light windows. And with the following findings of fact: 1. This is a Type II SEQRA. 2. The windows proposed for the rear of the building are approved because they can only be viewed from a far distance, and when viewed from this distance it is impossible to discern what the they are constructed of. 3. The visibility of the rear windows does not detract from the appearance of the historic cohesiveness of the area. 4. The rear windows are blocked from view from the right of way by the leaves of nearby deciduous trees during many months of the year. However, these trees appear to be weed trees, therefore the Commission strongly recommends that the applicant consider planting some higher quality deciduous trees or evergreens behind the home to ensure proper screening moving forward. Motion carried, with Commissioner Marney opposed. VI. MISCELLANEOUS Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2020 –Page 3 of 4  Commissioner Marney reported that he had spoken with Corporation Counsel Andrew Koldin and they had agreed to meet in January to discuss enforcement issues and HDC Guidelines. He also noted that the CLG grant process will continue to move forward in January. VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Bennett, seconded by Commissioner Wiles, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2020 –Page 4 of 4