Historic Resource Commission

Schenectady Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes February 22, 2024 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, Shaun Andriano, Zakhar Berkovich, Michael Barron, Jack Connelly; Development Staff EXCUSED: Maxine Barasch, Corporation Counsel III.Conflicts of Interest None IV. Adoption of Prior Meeting's Minutes A. January 4th and January 25th Commissioner Unger made a few friendly changes to the January 25th meeting minutes, which Mr. Connelly said that he would change. Motion made by Commissioner Unger to approve the minutes of January 4th and January 25th with the friendly changes made. Seconded by Commissioner Andriano. Motion carried with a vote of 4-0, with Commissioner Berkovich abstaining. V. Call for Members of Public to Speak on Agenda Items VI. Old Applications VII. New Business A. Consideration for approval submitted by Jennifer Jahnel to add a storm door to cover an exterior glass door. The property is located in the GE Realty Plot at 1181 Avon Road. Mr. Connelly asked if the agenda could be slightly altered to accommodate Ms. Jahnel who needed to appear virtually over Webex for the meeting. Hearing no complaints, Ms. Jahnel described her project which was to put a clear, glass, wooden window over her existing storm doors and ask for approval to allow a stone wall which was previously erected. Ms. Jahnel said the lead glass door off of her mud room is unfunctional and fragile, however very decorative. Instead of removing the door, Ms. Jahnel wanted to put up the glass door in order to keep them visible while making the doors more energy efficient. The original doors will remain visible from the street and will not be hindered by the new addition. Ms. Jahnel detailed other windows on the rear of the house that were being replaced. They were not visible from the right of way and therefore not in the purview of the Historic Commission, but Ms. Jahnel wanted to show them to provide a full scope of the work being done on the property. Ms. Jahnel discussed the stone wall that was put up last year. The wall was a replacement of a previously existing wall which had to be taken down due to plumbing issues that occurred under it. Ms. Jahnel mentioned that a brick veneer would be added to the bottom of the wall to replicate the rest of the brick in the surrounding areas. Matching mortar and slate would be used. RESOLUTION Commissioner Andriano made a motion to approve the application as submitted. Commissioner Unger seconded the motion with the following conditions and findings of fact:  New storm door painted to match existing windows  Stone wall approved as completed  All work to be completed within one year Motion carried unanimously. This is in coordination with standards 2, 4, 6 and 9. Type II SEQR B. Consideration for approval submitted by John and Elizabeth Coppola to replace the wall sign. The property is located in the Union Street Corridor at 1336 Union Street. Mr. Carl Wheeler of AJ Signs came forward to discuss the wall sign that was being proposed as a follow-up to a previous application for this property. The proposed sign was 1’x2’, which complies with code and will display the hours of operation for Labcorp. Mr. Connelly showed a picture of the new sign which was already put up. Commissioner Unger noted that this sign was much smaller than the original hours sign. None of the Commissioners found the white sign unobjectionable. Commissioner Unger noted that this sign was a big improvement over the last. RESOLUTION Commissioner Berkovich made a motion to approve the application as submitted. Commissioner Barron seconded the motion with the following conditions and findings of fact:  The applicant wait for approval before making exterior changes going forward Motion carried unanimously. This is in coordination with standards 2, 5, 9 and 10. Type II SEQR C. Consideration for approval submitted by Joseph Solghan to construct a portico. The property is located in the Stockade at 31 Front Street. Mr. Joseph Solghan came before the Commission to discuss the application, showing pictures dating from 1933 which display the portico on the property. The door that was on the original portico was 24 pane, which would need to be specially made for this project. Mr. Solghan stated that his illustrator technology was not able to properly display the actual panes that were planned for the site. He planned on remaking exactly what was seen in the 1933 picture, although his illustrator could not display that for the Commission. Commissioner Unger said that the portico was likely not original to when the house was first constructed. Commissioner Andriano said that he did not have any objection to the project as a whole, but wanted to have more detailed drawings which he would need to provide for the Codes Department for the issuance of permits anyways. RESOLUTION Commissioner Berkovich made a motion to table the application until the full, scaled drawings could be viewed. Commissioner Unger seconded the motion. D. Consideration for approval submitted by Mohawk Opportunities to install gutters and down spouts. The property is located in the Union Street Corridor at 401 Union Street. Mr. John Karl of Mohawk Opportunities spoke on the project for 401 Union Street, which consisted of the gutters and down spouts to be a cream color to match the top trim. Mr. Karl said that due to the pitch of the roof, he was planning on having two gutters that would meet in the middle of the building and go to the corners of the building. There would be two downspouts on the corner of the front of the building, and two more on the Center Street side of the building. Commissioner Unger asked to the possibility of rearranging the sidewalk to send the down spout under the sidewalk so there was no water and ice build up on the sidewalk. It was noted that the property directly across the street had similar down spouts to what Mr. Karl was proposing. Commissioner Andriano liked the cream color of the gutter but asked if it was possible for the down spouts to be a color more appropriate for matching the brick. Mr. Karl had no objection to this. RESOLUTION Commissioner Andriano made a motion to approve the application. Commissioner Berkovich seconded the motion with the following conditions and findings of fact:  The left side of the building would have two down spouts each to the left of the recess of the building  Gutters are aluminum and are to match the cream color of the trim  Down spouts to match the existing brick color  Front two down spouts will point away from the building  The Commission does not recommend any expansion of the fascia to help with gutter pitch Motion carried unanimously. This is in coordination with standards 9 and 10. Type II SEQR. E. Consideration for approval submitted by William and Kayoko Lomanto to replace windows and repair the chimney. The property is located in the Union Triangle at 1030 Gillespie Street Both applicants appeared before the Commission to ask for new windows at the front of the house along with permission to fix the chimney which was deteriorating. Mr. Lomanto displayed a picture showing the deterioration of the chimney. Talks with multiple contractors ended with the suggestion that the chimney be completely taken down and rebuilt. Mr. Lomanto was unsure what material he planned to use for the chimney cap. Due to some information being lacking such as the type of existing brick and plans for the chimney cap, the Commission recommended tabling this portion of the application. After seeing a better picture of the chimney, Commissioner Andriano stated that he would be okay with the chimney being completely taken down and fully rebuilt. In regards to the windows, the Commission stated that it is not their practice to approve vinyl windows, and requested that the applicant come back with a more historically appropriate window choice. Commissioner Yager noted that although non-vinyl windows may be a bit more expensive up front they have a much longer life span than vinyl windows. RESOLUTION Motion made by Commissioner Andriano to table the application until more specifics on the chimney were made available, and new windows were decided upon. Seconded by Commissioner Berkovich. Motion carried unanimously. F. Consideration for approval submitted by Spencer Napolitano to paint the house and windows, add an iron and wooden fence, fix deteriorated portions of roof, add windows, replace the door, replace siding and trim and repair the walkway to the house. The property is located in the Union Street Corridor at 713 Union Street. Mr. Spencer Napolitano appeared virtually before the Commission while Carmen Napolitano and Mark Thayler arrived in person. Mr. Thayler noted that the National Parks Service has already reviewed the plans for the house, as Mr. Napolitano is trying to use historic tax credits as a part of this project, and approved the changes being made. Mr. Thayler wanted to go through each item being altered individually. In regards to new paint color, the applicants provided a Marvin “Cashmere” for the windows, a Benjamin Moor Sag Harbor Gray HC-95 for the trim and a Benjamin Moore Natural Wicker OC-1 for the main house color. The Commissioners had no objections to the colors proposed. The same color scheme would be applied to the garage. The current vinyl garage doors were planned to be replaced with carriage style overhead doors. The left most door would be hinged instead of overhead, as that opened to a mechanical room instead of the actual garage. Mr. Thayler said that the current garage structure was not historic in nature. For the fences, Mr. Thayler discussed a solid iron fence 4 feet high with finials on top. The fence will be painted black. Mr. Napolitano said that the previous iron fence that was on the property is still saved and is on the property. Mr. Thayler mentioned that the porch roof is in very poor condition and is not historic to the building. There would be asphalt shingles replacement to match the main building roof, along with copper flashings. There is only one historic window remaining in the house, which would be restored. All non-historic windows would be replaced with Marvin 2 over 2 windows to match what was typical in the 1930s. Mr. Thayler said there would be one apartment over the garage, with an additional 5 in the main house. Mr. Napolitano spoke to the exterior lighting, saying that the location of the lighting fixtures would remain the same and would be replaced with similar fixtures. The fixtures would have LED lamps. Commissioner Andriano mentioned that he would like to see the lamps have a maximum temperature of 3000K, which was okay with the applicant. The mailboxes would be standard, black mailboxes. Mr. Thayler said that the blue stone walkway was in very poor shape, and would be replaced with concrete sidewalk. Commissioner Yager asked if the walkway could be replaced with slate or the tinted concrete as used in the Stockade. The public sidewalk would not be touched. Mr. Napolitano had concerns regarding the cost as he is already putting a significant amount of money in the rest of the building. RESOLUTION Commissioner Unger made a motion to approve the application including all aspects submitted with the exception of the walkway. Commissioner Berkovich seconded the motion with the following conditions and findings of fact:  All exterior lighting will be 3000K or less  All work to be completed within one year This is in coordination with standards 2, 3, 5, 6, 9 and 10. Type II SEQR. RESOLUTION Commissioner Unger made a motion to approve the walkway consistent with the approved Stockade streetscape plan guidelines. Seconded by Commissioner Yager. Motion failed with a 2-3 vote. Commissioners Berkovich, Andriano and Barron voted against the motion. After discussion, Mr. Napolitano said if there was no way to get approval for the proposed walkway then he would comply with Commissioner Yager and Unger’s request to have the Stockade- approved sidewalk as his walkway to the house. RESOLUTION Commissioner Unger made a motion to reconsider the previous motion made regarding the walkway complying with the Stockade streetscape plans. Seconded by Commissioner Berkovich. Motion carried unanimously. RESOLUTION Commissioner Unger made a motion to approve the walkway consistent with the approved Stockade streetscape plan guidelines. Seconded by Commissioner Berkovich. Motion carried unanimously. VII. Miscellaneous Properties for Discussion Mr. Connelly discussed the two properties to be brought forward for a vote to send to the Zoning Enforcement Officer for enforcement under Section 264-78(B). The properties in question were 1284 Lowell Road and 835 Union Street. The Commission noted that 835 Union Street was being cited for severe damage to the porch and railings, water damage to the upper bricks, failing shingles and upper columns on a side balcony, broken porch roof on left side and the sidewalk being in disrepair. 1284 Lowell Road was shown to have a hole on the porch roof, significantly deteriorating façade, deteriorating fascia and broken shingles on main roof. RESOLUTION Commissioner Unger made a motion that a letter of recommendation be written to the Zoning Enforcement officer for 835 Union Street and 1284 Lowell Road on the basis that they are found to be in violation of the City of Schenectady code Section 264-78(B). Seconded by Commissioner Barron. Motion carried unanimously. Code Change Discussion Commissioner Unger stated that he did research on the recommendation that was made to the Historic Commission last month to the City Council and wanted to reverse a portion of the recommendation. Commissioner Unger felt that lowering the number of Commissioners from 7 to 5 made it harder to reach a quorum, lowered the level of diversity on the Commission and limited the amount of insight and ideas that the Commission had. Commissioner Unger was in favor of keeping the alternate member as previously written in the code, whether the Commission was at 5 or 7 members. RESOLUTION Commissioner Unger made a motion to amend the previous recommendation made to the City Council regarding Historic Code changes. The Commission is in favor of all of the proposed changes with the exception of reducing the number of Commissioners to 5. Seconded by Commissioner Berkovich. Motion carried unanimously. VIII. A d j o u r n Motion to adjourn made by Commissioner Unger. Seconded by Commissioner Andriano. Meeting adjourned at 8:41 PM