Heritage Preservation Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Heritage Preservation Commission Wednesday, December 2, 2015 7:00 PM West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chair Squellati led the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Chair Squellati announced Comm. Valenzuela's excused absence. Present: 6 - Chair David Squellati Vice Chair Dale Mouritsen Commissioner Hannalore Dietrich Commissioner Dawn Hopkins Commissioner Dixie Larsen Commissioner Mike Michitaka Absent: 1 - Commissioner Kenneth Valenzuela ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Comm. Michitaka asked what constituted a major application. Amber El Hajj, Senior Planner, explained the difference between major and minor applications in relation to the Heritage Preservation Commission and provided a few examples. CONSENT CALENDAR None. City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 2, 2015 1.A 15-1087 Draft Minutes of the Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting of November 4, 2015 Commissioners asked staff to make some minor modifications/corrections to the minutes. Comm. Michitaka motioned to approve the Draft Minutes of November 4, 2015.Vice Chair Mouritsen seconded. Motion carried 6-0-1 with Comm. Valenzuela absent. PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 2, 2015 2. 15-1070 File #: 2015-7702 Location: 155 S. Murphy Avenue (APN: 209-06-009) Applicant / Owner: Hoolala USA / Nick Gera Proposed Project: LANDMARK ALTERATION PERMIT to allow exterior modifications including repainting the facade of an existing commercial building in the Local Landmark District Reason for Permit: A Landmark Alteration Permit is required for exterior modifications to buildings in the Murphy Station Heritage Landmark District. Project Planner: Aastha Vashist, (408) 730-7458, avashist@sunnyvale.ca.gov Issues: Consistency with Murphy Avenue Design Guidelines Recommendation: Approve with conditions Aastha Vashist, Project Planner, presented the report. Amber El Hajj, Senior Planner noted that this item is an open case with the Neighborhood Preservation Division and the proposed changes have already been made to the building, but were not approved by the City. Comm. Larsen asked if the awnings were part of this proposal. Ms. El Hajj responded that the awning had already been approved with a staff level permit and were not part of the project in front of the Heritage Preservation Commission. Comm. Dietrich asked about staff’s recommendation to paint the railing on the second level of the building. Ms. Vashist responded that staff recommends painting the railing on the second level red to match the red color on the first level. Comm. Larsen asked if the Murphy Avenue Design Guidelines discuss specific colors, such as, a muted yellow. Staff replied that the Design Guidelines discuss using muted colors on Murphy Avenue but that other buildings on Murphy have used brighter colors in recent years. Chair Squellati opened the public hearing. Nathan Yi, store coordinator representing the business owner, discussed the owner’s background. He noted that the business is a chain from South Korea and talked about the concept of Hoolala Chicken. He said it was never their intent to make changes to the building without approval, and that they did not know that the façade changes to the outside of the building needed approval from the City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 2, 2015 City. He said that the yellow color is intended to make the customer feel happy, and is a typical color associated with their restaurants in South Korea. Comm. Mouritsen asked if staff was recommending approval for the existing design. Ms. Vashist responded yes, with a few added conditions. Comm. Michitaka stated that he does not believe the colors work with other buildings along that side of Murphy Avenue but, understands that the yellow and red are corporate colors. Chair Squellati noted that he visited the site and felt that the yellow and red was too bright. He also stated that he thought the restaurant colors would fit better in the future town center area. James Shibley, member of the public, received notice of this public hearing as he lives nearby. He said that he doesn’t think the yellow is too bright. He feels that the colors are acceptable, and noticed that this is the only building on Murphy Avenue with columns. He also said he thinks the second level railing would look fine painted red or black. Comm. Michitaka mentioned the brightness of the yellow and Comm. Mouritsen asked the applicant if this yellow is the corporate color. Mr. Yi responded that their restaurants in South Korea actually use an even brighter yellow but they felt this yellow was muted enough for their Sunnyvale restaurant. He also mentioned that everything is brighter in South Korea. Mr. Yi thanked the Commission for their consideration and reiterated that the applicant was not aware that the color needed approval from this Commission when they painted the building. Chair Squellati closed the public hearing. Comm. Larsen said that she thinks the colors are a little too bright and that they effect the look of Historic Murphy Avenue. She feels that the proposed colors deviate from the Murphy Avenue Design Guidelines. Commissioners discussed and reviewed the colors in the front and the back of the restaurant. Ms. El Hajj clarified that this proposal does not include the awnings, and if the Commission does not approve this proposal, the applicant has an option to revert to the original colors in lieu of applying any modifications made by the Commission. City of Sunnyvale Page 4 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 2, 2015 Commissioners further discussed the proposal. Comm. Dietrich moved Alternative 1: Approve the Landmark Alteration Permit with recommended Conditions in Attachment 6. Comm. Dietrich noted the proposal may not adhere to the Murphy Avenue Design Guidelines, but it is better than the previous façade. Comm. Mouritsen seconded. Comm. Dietrich clarified the Conditions of Approval in Attachment 6, which includes the railing to be painted red. MOTION: Comm. Dietrich moved Alternative 1: Approve the Landmark Alteration Permit with recommended Conditions in Attachment 6. Motion failed 2-4-1 with Comm. Valenzuela absent. Comm. Hopkins moved Alternative 2; Approve the Landmark Alteration Permit with modifications, adding a condition to change the proposed red color to the railing to black. Comm. Mouritsen seconded. Chair Squellati noted that he would not support the motion because he does not feel that it is in keeping with Historic Murphy Avenue. Comm. Larsen stated that she would not be able to approve this unless there are additional modifications, like changes to the colors. The Commissioners discussed the Murphy Avenue Design Guidelines and other possible modifications to the proposal to get an approval. MOTION: Comm. Hopkins moved Alternative 2; Approve the Landmark Alteration Permit with modifications, adding a condition to change the proposed red color to the railing to black. Motion fails 3-3-1 with Comm. Valenzuela absent. Comm. Mouritsen noted that he could not see how changing the color scheme from City of Sunnyvale Page 5 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 2, 2015 the current proposal would make it adhere to the guidelines. Comm. Larsen asked staff if there was a color palette on the guidelines. Ms. El Hajj read the guideline pertaining to the types of recommended colors in the Murphy Avenue Design Guidelines. Commissioners discussed modifications that they thought would fit with the applicant’s business model and that would adhere to the Murphy Avenue Design Guidelines. FINAL MOTION: Comm. Hopkins moved for Alternative 2; Approve the Landmark Alteration Permit with modifications, to change the red railing to a black railing, changing the red door frames to a gray color that would be worked out with staff. Comm. Mouritsen seconded. Motion carried 5-1-1 with Comm. Valenzuela absent. Yes: 5 - Vice Chair Mouritsen Commissioner Dietrich Commissioner Hopkins Commissioner Larsen Commissioner Michitaka No: 1 - Chair Squellati Absent: 1 - Commissioner Valenzuela 3. 15-1085 Heritage Preservation Commission Master Work Plan (2016) Chair Squellati clarified that all meeting are regular meetings. Ms. El-Hajj noted that a meeting would only be considered a special meeting if its not on the work plan. Motion carried 6-0-1 with Comm. Valenzuela absent. STANDING ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL STUDY ISSUES None. City of Sunnyvale Page 6 Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes - Final December 2, 2015 NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS -Commissioner Comments None. INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS Ms. El-Hajj noted that there will not be a meeting in January since there are no items, and the next meeting will be on February 3, 2016. ADJOURNMENT Chair Squellati adjourned the meeting at 8:25 pm. City of Sunnyvale Page 7