Historic Resource Commission

Schenectady Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes October 26, 2023 I. Call to Order Commissioner Yager called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Roll Call PRESENT: Patricia Yager, Chair; Richard Unger, Zakhar Berkovich, Shaun Andriano, Michael Barron, Jack Connelly; Development Staff, Christopher Marney; City Counsel Commissioner Berkovich appeared virtually over Webex. EXCUSED: III. Conflicts of Interest None IV. Adoption of Prior Meeting's Minutes A. September 28th Meeting minutes for both meetings were approved unanimously, contingent on minor changes to be made by City staff. V. Call for Members of Public to Speak on Agenda Items VI. Old Applications VII. New Business A. Consideration for approval submitted by Anthony Fitzgerald to replace the roof. The premises is located in the Union Triangle at 1046 University Place. Mr. Anthony Fitzgerald addressed the Commission, stating that multiple tenants in the building had received orders to vacate due to the deterioration of the roof, and had been living out of hotels for over a month because of this. Mr. Fitzgerald said that he was only replacing the items on the inventory list that was submitted to the Commission for review. Anything that was not on the list, including the fascia, was not going to be touched at this juncture. Multiple Commission members agreed that at some point the fascia should be replaced due to deterioration, but wanted to handle the roof first before moving to other projects. Mr. Fitzgerald stated that he had changed the proposed roof to be the color Hearthstone of the Summit-60 series from Atlas. The Commission agreed that this was an appropriate style. RESOLUTION Commissioner Andriano made a motion to approve the application. Commissioner Unger seconded the motion with the following conditions:  Roof will be Atlas Summit 60, color Hearthstone  Flashings to be aluminum to match the original  Drip edges to match existing white aluminum  No work on gable to be done  Rotted fascia recommended to be replaced in kind  All work to be completed within one year Motion carried unanimously. This is in coordination with standards 2, 5, 6 and 9. Type II SEQR B. Consideration for approval submitted by Leandro Carneiro to replace an existing sign. The premises is located in the Union Street Corridor at 1339 Union Street. Mr. Carneiro informed the Commission that he was unaware the sign needed historic approval and was already standing. Commissioner Unger said that while it was unfortunate that the applicant came forward for approval after it was constructed, the sign was not overly intrusive. Commissioner Barron agreed that the sign was not a nuisance, however noted that the lettering was a bit small on the sign. The commissioners said that the sign did not take away from the nature of the building, and the blue matched the building well. Counsel Marney informed the Commission that the sign had been cited for being oversized in the R-2 neighborhood. The maximum square footage for a sign in this district is 6, however the sign in question was found to be roughly 9.25 square feet. The Commission and staff members discussed potential options moving forward, such as taking off portions of the sign, or going to the Zoning Board for an area variance. Commissioners Unger and Andriano did not want to refer the proposal to the Zoning Board for any variances. RESOLUTION Commissioner Unger made a motion to approve the application. Commissioner Andriano seconded the motion with the following conditions:  Sign should be compliant with all zoning regulations  8 square feet would be the maximum size allowed by the Commission, which would require further approval from the BZA  Any sign less than 8 square feet of the same design would not require further Commission approval  All work to be completed within one year Motion carried 4-1 with Commissioner Berkovich voting against. This is in coordination with standards 2, 5, 6 and 9. Type II SEQR C. Consideration for approval submitted by Charles Dixon to replace wood siding. The premises is located in the Stockade at 125 North Ferry Street. Mr. Charles Dixon came before the Commission to discuss his application, starting by describing the damage that had overcome the old siding which was in such disrepair that you could physically poke holes through it. Commissioner Yager recommended that Mr. Dixon properly seal the knots with a product such as Killz, to prevent the resin of the knots from bleeding through the paint, which also may reduce the potential for the knots to pop out from the siding. Mr. Dixon agreed that would be the proper course of action and told the Commission he would properly seal the knots to avoid them popping out of the house. Counsel Marney told Commissioner Barron that it was common of that area to have the siding on the side of the house be different than the front of the house, which eased Commissioner Barron’s concerns. The approval that Mr. Dixon had previously received regarding paint color had expired in September, however Commissioner Yager recommended extending that approval in this meeting. Mr. Dixon confirmed for Commissioner Andriano that the medallion and star that were placed on the outside of the house had been taken inside while the exterior of the house got repaired, but he would put them up once the work was completed. Commissioner Berkovich was unsure that the wooden fence in the back was approved. He was in favor of the fence and said that it looked good, so he recommended wrapping that in with the motion to approve so there would be record that it was legitimate. RESOLUTION Commissioner Andriano made a motion to approve the application. Commissioner Berkovich seconded the application with the following conditions:  Owner intends to replace all siding for the side of the house in kind  Owner intends to paint the property in the Spring of 2024 as was previously approved- the approval granted for the painting will be extended for another year  All work would be completed by 10/26/2024  The wooden fence added to the left side of the property is unobjectionable and accepted in the motion  Window heads and sills were replaced in kind and are acceptable  Star and medallion be reinstalled after façade painting is concluded Motion carried unanimously. This is in coordination with standards 2, 5, 6 and 9. Type II SEQR. D. Consideration for approval submitted by Stacey Drake to repave the driveway. The premises is located in the GE Realty Plot at 8 Douglas Road. The applicant spoke with Development staff and Corporation Counsel briefly before the meeting and decided to retract the application in order to come back for the following meeting with a more comprehensive scope of changes. E. Consideration for approval submitted by Anil Sooknanan to replace the roof. The premises is located in the Union Triangle at 68 Union Avenue. Mr. Anil Sooknanan appeared before the Commission to discuss his application, stating that the roof was in such disrepair that large quantities of water were seeping through to the interior of the building. The roof above the porch in particular was sagging and in very rough shape. Commissioner Andriano noted that the water damage had worsened the siding of the house as well. Mr. Sooknanan said he is using the same roofing style that his neighbors had used, which also lay in the Union Triangle. EPDM Rubber would be used above the porch while shingles would be put on the main roof. No rubber would be used outside of the porch area. Commissioner Barron agreed with the applicant that the house would be better off without the snow slides. RESOLUTION Commissioner Andriano made a motion to approve the application. This was seconded by Commissioner Unger with the following conditions:  Owens Corning Onyx Black architectural shingles to be used for the main roof with EPDM rubber roofing to be used for the porch  Snow slides on front of house may be removed  All drip edges and flashings must match existing, which are assumed to be aluminum  Any siding or trim to be replaced due to water damage must be replaced in kind  Any differentiations in materials, color or style from the original must appear before the Historic Commission for further approval  Porch fascia that is removed must be repaired in kind and painted to match existing  All work must be completed by 10/26/2024 Motion carried unanimously. This is in coordination with standards 2, 5, 6 and 9. Type II SEQR. F. Consideration for approval submitted by Joseph White to replace 6 windows, and add an additional door. The premises is located in the Stockade at 124 North Ferry Street. Mr. Joseph White came before the Commission, saying that the reason he would like to replace the windows is because they are drafty and make the house cold during the winter. Commissioner Yager said that the A series were neither all wood nor aluminum clad wood, which were unacceptable, but offered that the E series are aluminum clad wood. It was confirmed that the existing windows were 1 over 1, and if they were replaced they would need to remain in that manner. Mr. White said that he did not have any evidence that the existing windows could not be repaired, other than the draftiness that comes from them. Commissioner Andriano stated that there could be other remedies for the draftiness other than replacing the windows. Commissioner Unger said that he did not believe that this application would be able to meet the criteria needed for Commission approval, specifically the lack of evidence stating that the windows could not be repaired rather than replaced. Commissioner Yager believed that the proposed door was not appropriate for the house style, and recommended the existing doors be restored rather than replaced. RESOLUTION Commissioner Unger made a motion to deny the application. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Barron. Criteria #6 was the most prominent reasoning for not approving the proposal, and Commissioner Unger suggested the applicant provide more evidence that the windows needed to be replaced. Motion carried unanimously G. Consideration for approval submitted by First Presbyterian Church to replace the windows and trim paintings. The premises is located in the Stockade at 215 Union Street. Mr. James Nally spoke to the Commission about the proposal at the First Presbyterian Church, saying that the third floor windows needed attention. The Commission emphasized the importance of maintaining existing window patterns including light divides if new windows were put in in the future. Mr. Nally detailed that some of the church goers voted on a different window patterns to make every window have the same aesthetic, however the Commission stressed that the patterns should remain as they always have. Mr. Nally believed that some of the windows in the front may need to be repaired, however others were too deteriorated in his opinion to save. Commissioner Unger told Mr. Nally that the windows should be replaced with wood if that was the original material used. Commissioner Berkovich recommended documentation depicting each window and their condition individually for Commission review. RESOLUTION Commissioner Andriano made a motion to deny the application as is. Seconded by Commissioner Unger. Commissioner Berkovich wanted to see more evidence that replacement over repair was required. Motion carried unanimously. H. Consideration for approval submitted by Chris LaFlamme to add a split heat pump to the exterior of the property. The premises is located in the Stockade at 56 Washington Avenue. Mr. Chris LaFlamme came before the Commission to say that he wanted to add the split heat pumps which would cease the need for window AC units as well as lower energy bills for the tenants living in the basement and upstairs units. Mr. LaFlamme stated his belief that there is a high demand for split heat pumps and expects many other similar proposals will come before the Commission. The Commission had concerns over the aesthetic the splits would bring to the property. Commissioner Andriano believed that painting the compressor unit to match the exterior of the house may void any consumer warranty, and Counsel Marney noted that the deciduous trees on the north side of the property would render the units visible in the winter when the leaves fell off. Multiple options were discussed, such as shielding the units with permanent structures such as fences or evergreen trees, or moving the units onto the roof, back of the house or inside where they would not be as visible from the street. The Commission agreed that in order to properly visualize and understand this issue, the applicant would need to come back with a Photoshopped image of the property with the splits on the exterior as proposed. Until the Commission could look at these images, they believed it would be too difficult to make an accurate decision. Mr. LaFlamme understood the Commission’s concerns and promised to come back for the November meeting with the requested materials. RESOLUTION Commissioner Andriano made a motion to table the application. Seconded by Commissioner Berkovich with the following conditions: Motion carried unanimously I. Consideration for approval submitted by Megan O’Meara to demo and replace the roof and chimneys as well as install new gutters and a new fascia wrap. The premises is located in the Union Street Corridor at 1007 Maryland Avenue. A representative from the roofing company came before the Commission to discuss 1007 Maryland Avenue. The representative detailed the concerns he had with the property after his inspection and noted that the mortar for the chimney on the upper left side was not done properly and had significant gaps. His recommendation was to demo the chimney and rebuild exactly as it appears now. The chimney on the right side of the building is not active. The Commission requested that the chimney be rebuilt with in kind bricks, similar patterns and matching mortar to the other chimney. The representative believed that saving the existing bricks from the chimneys would be tedious, but it would be possible to save some of them for reuse. Any bricks that cannot be saved could be matched while being rebuilt. It was more likely that the bricks on the left chimney would be easier to save than the right chimney. Commissioner Yager stressed that a mortar color match would be important. The Historic Commission stated that if the owner ever wanted to put a rain cap on the top of the chimneys they would need further Historic Commission approval. The representative wanted to demo the copper portion of the roof to replace with EPDM rubber roof. The Commission determined that the copper roof, given its pitch, was not visible from the street and therefore would not require Historic Commission approval. Commissioner Barron noted that the sidewalk was asphalt, which would need to be changed to become Code compliant. The representative said he would tell the owner and inform them of the violation. The Commission was not in favor of aluminum fascia, but determined that as it would not disturb the woodwork and would not be overly noticeable from the street it would be acceptable. It was confirmed that the gutters and down spouts will be white aluminum. RESOLUTION Commissioner Unger made a motion to approve the application. Seconded by Commissioner Berkovich with the following conditions:  Chimney on the left would use preserved bricks as much as possible with matching mortar to the chimney below the roofline  Chimney on the right would be rebuilt in the same manner as current with matching mortar  Installation of new seamless plate gutters with matching downspouts  Installation of new white aluminum fascia wrap on all fascia  All permits must be obtained  Plan of gutters and downspouts would be provided to staff upon receiving of permits  Flashings should be replaced with copper  All work must be completed by 10/26/2024 Motion carried unanimously Type II SEQR J. Consideration for approval submitted by John Samatulski for an extension of a Historic Commission approval from July of 2022. The premises is located in the Stockade at 1 North Church Street. The Commission had no comments regarding the application by Mr. Samatulski for an extension on his July 2022 Historic Commission approval. A motion was made by Commissioner Andriano to approve a one year extension. Seconded by Commissioner Barron. Motion carried unanimously. VII. Miscellaneous VIII. Adjourn Motion to adjourn made by Commissioner Unger. Seconded by Commissioner Andriano. Meeting adjourned at 9:08 PM.