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Landmark Commission Minutes - 01/30/2018MINUTES LANDMARK COMMISSION January 30, 2018 MEMBERS PRESENT: Michele Derr ■ Members John Dickinson ■ Stacie Flood ■ Christy Graham 0 Jim Johnson ■ Andy Lee, Chairperson ■ Cindy Ramirez ■ Eric West ■ Council Liaison Karen Gagne, Planning Administrator s City staff Matthew Prouty, Planner II ■ James McKechnie, Senior Assistant City Attorney ■ Legal Dept. ABSENT: Jackie Lebow ■ I. Call to Order, and Introductions Chairperson Andy Lee called the meeting to order at 12:01 p.m. II. Election of Landmark Commission Chairperson & Vice Chairperson for 2018 Chairperson Andy Lee called for the election of a new Chairperson and Vice -Chairperson for the Landmark Commission for 2018. Mrs. Michele Derr made a motion to nominate Mrs. Christy Graham as Chairperson. The motion was seconded by Ms. Cindy Ramirez. Mrs. Christy Graham nominated Mrs. Michele Derr as Vice Chairperson. Ms. Cindy Ramirez seconded the motion. There were no other nominations; nominations were declared closed. The Commission voted unanimously to appoint Mrs. Christy Graham Chairperson for 2018 and Mrs. Michele Derr for 2018 Vice -Chairperson. III. Review & Approval of Minutes from November 29, 2017. Former Chairperson Lee called for review and approval of minutes from the November 29, 2017 Landmark Commission meeting. Mrs. Michele Derr made a motion to approve the minutes. Mr. Jim Johnson seconded the motion. The motion was taken to a vote and passed unanimously. IV. Discussion & Approval — 2018 Meeting Schedule. Mrs. Karen Gagn6 stated the Commission would continue to meet on the fourth Tuesday of every month, with the exception of July and December. Former Chairperson Lee called for a motion to approve the schedule for 2018. Chairperson Graham made a motion to approve the schedule. Mr. Jim Johnson seconded the motion. The motion was taken to a vote and passed unanimously. LANDMARK COMMISSION PAGE 2 January 30, 2018 V. Application for Design Review — 1717 Hayes Street (West Floral Heights) — Request to remove dormer and replace roof in -kind. Mr. Matthew Prouty stated the home owner, Mr. Shawn Wiltse, was proposing to remove the dormer from the front elevation of the house and replace the roof with asphalt shingles similar to those currently on the house. He stated that the damage to the roof surrounding the dormer was causing water damage and deterioration inside the home. Mr. Prouty stated that, judging from the fact that the details on the dormer matched several of the details on the house, staff had determined the dormer was likely original to the structure. He stated the dormer also served a purpose by allowing light and ventilation into the attic. Mr. John Dickinson agreed that the dormer appeared to be original as the batten board siding on the dormer matched the siding on the house. He stated it appeared there had been insufficient flashing placed around the dormer, leading to the leaking issue. He stated if the dormer is original, he believed it should stay. Mr. Prouty stated staff, because it appeared to be original to the house, viewed the dormer as a character defining element of the structure. Chairperson Graham stated she also believed the dormer to be original and character defining and that she was not in favor of its removal. She pointed out that the dormer was a part of the structure at the time that the West Floral Heights Historic District was created. Mr. Jim Johnson stated that the leaking issues could be remedied by a professional roofer at the time of the roof replacement. Mr. Dickinson reiterated that installing the appropriate flashing around the dormer should solve the leaking problem and any experienced roofer should be able to accomplish this. Chairperson Graham made a motion to deny the removal of the dormer but approve the request to replace/repair the roof in -kind. Mr. Dickinson seconded the motion. The commission voted on the motion; motion passed unanimously; the dormer must remain. VI. Application for Design Review — 1609 Tilden Street (West Floral Heights) — Request to Replace 19 Windows (9 wood/10 metal) with vinyl, replace front door, and replace 3 front porch support columns. Mr. Prouty stated the applicant, Mr. Carlton Hughes, was requesting to replace 19 windows, as well as the front door and 3 front porch support columns. He stated that the windows on the front of the house were not original, but metal replacement windows, and the front door and front porch columns were also not original to the house. Mr. Hughes stated the columns that were on the house when he purchased it were square. He stated they had been constructed out of wood and begun to deteriorate, hence had been replaced. He stated his intention was to go back to the original square columns. Mr. Hughes stated he had also replaced the original half-moon door with an oval door, and now wanted to go back to the original half-moon door. Mr. Jim Johnson stated that it was his understanding that when the original windows had already been replaced the desire would be to go back to the original wood, but this was not the requirement. Mr. Prouty clarified the recommendation from Texas Historical LANDMARK COMMISSION PAGE 3 January 30, 2018 Commission (THC) would be to seek return to the original configuration of the window. He stated THC does not make official recommendations on properties not registered with the State, but based on case studies, the preference would be to return to the original windows on the front elevation on the house, and consider possible alternatives on the side elevations. Mr. Johnson expressed concerns if vinyl windows were approved for this project, it may cause upset among other residents of the district that have been denied similar requests. Mr. Hughes explained he would be willing to replace the front windows with wood windows, and explained there was very little visibility to the other windows on the house. He stated it was also his intention to return to window configurations that would conform to the time period the house was built. Mr. Dickinson stated it appeared, based on the neighboring house, the original configuration was 6-over-6. Mr. Hughes stated he believed this to be correct, and that he believed the two houses had been built one after the other by the same builder. Ms. Cindy Ramirez asked where the windows were being purchased. Mr. Hughes stated he would be getting them from Builders Wholesale on Seymour Highway. Ms. Ramirez explained that the Commission liked to have examples provided because there was such a wide variety of vinyl windows with a broad variation in quality. Mr. Hughes stated the windows he was proposing were of good quality. Ms. Ramirez asked if the muntins on the windows would be internal or external. Mr. Hughes stated they would be internal. Chairperson Graham stated that in order to be historically accurate the muntins should be on the outside of the glass. Mr. Lee suggested reviewing the door and front porch columns separate to the windows, then coming back to the windows. Mrs. Derr asked if the half-moon door that had been previously removed had been original, and if the intention was to return to a wood door. Mr. Hughes stated it was the intent to return to the half-moon style, wood door. Mr. Hughes stated he intended to go back to the original square shaped front porch columns, but preferred to go with a composite rather than wood due to rapid deterioration. He stated the style would replicate the original. Mr. Prouty stated allowing for alternative materials in the absence of the original construction was an option per THC guidelines. Chairperson Graham made a motion to approve the half-moon style, wood door for the front of the house, as well as the square front porch columns in the appropriate style to replicate the original columns. Ms. Michele Derr seconded the motion. The commission voted on the motion; motion passed unanimously. Chairperson Graham made a motion to approve the replacement of the 3 windows on the front of the house with wood, 6-over-6 windows with exterior muntins, and replace the remaining windows with vinyl, 6-over-6 configuration windows, with intemal muntins. Mr. Johnson seconded the motion. Mr. Syd Litteken made the comment that there are several manufacturers now that were producing very high quality vinyl clad windows that were more authentic than other replacement options and would last a life -time. Mr. Prouty stated conversations with THC had revealed that they no longer approve vinyl clad wood windows in lieu of wood on primary elevations for Registered Texas Historic Landmarks (RTHL). The commission voted on the motion; motion passed unanimously. LANDMARK COMMISSION PAGE 4 January 30, 2018 VII. Application for Design Review — 2812 loth Street (West Floral Heights) — Request to Demolish Dilapidated Accessory Structure. Mr. Prouty stated the demo had started on the subject accessory structure without a permit. A stop work order was issued due to work being done without a permit, but subsequently Bobby Teague, Chief Building Official, recommended that the applicants proceed with the demo due to life, health and safety concerns. Mr. Prouty stated that the structure being demolished is not original to the property, but was a later addition to the existing garage. He stated it is not the applicant's intention to demo the original garage. Mrs. Michele Derr made a motion to approve the demo of the dilapidated accessory structure while maintaining the original garage structure. Mr. John Dickinson seconded the motion. The commission voted on the motion; motion passed unanimously. VIII. Application for Design Review — 614 7th Street (Depot Square) — Request Major Rehabilitation of Storefront and Structure. Mr. Syd Litteken, architect for the project, stated the structure was built around 1885, had originally been a restaurant, then operated as a general store, followed by a furniture store. He stated the plaster covered red brick of the interior appeared to be the original construction. He stated there had been debate over what was original and what was original on the exterior of the building, and it had been determined that some of the brick work was original, but the plaster was not. He stated a soft red brick had been used on the sides of the building, but a harder brick had been used on the fagade, which was determined not to be original. Mr. Litteken stated the cast iron columns on the front of the building had been covered up with brick and plaster, and the entire fagade had possibly been plastered at this time. He stated some of the glass in the transom windows, but the other glass was replaced at some point. Mr. Litteken stated the intent was to return the storefront to a close approximation of the original. He stated they planned on lowering the brick stem wall to 2 ft. to match the surrounding buildings, remove the chipping plaster and patch it back in, and move the fagade wall back to where it had likely been located originally, thus exposing the cast iron columns. Mr. Litteken stated they would need to rebuild the transom window beam, but most of the windows were likely salvageable. He stated they also wanted to expose the brick corballing on building's fagade, and rebuild the existing, possibly original, front door. Mr. Andy Lee stated they would likely be seeking State tax credits for the building in order to offset some of the costs of the repairs. He stated they may also seek National Register tax credits. He made mention that THC would also be looking at changes made to the interior of the building when determining eligibility for State tax credits. Ms. Stacie Flood made a motion to approve the application to do major rehabilitation of the storefront and structure at 614 70 Street as submitted. Mr. Jim Johnson seconded the motion. The commission voted on the motion; motion passed unanimously. LANDMARK COMMISSION PAGE 5 January 30, 2D18 IX. Other Business: a) Monthly report: Depot Square Historic District, West Floral Heights Historic District, Morningside Historic District Mrs. Michele Derr stated the Wichita Fails Ballet Theatre was hosting a Mardi Gras masquerade ball at the Hamilton Building on February 9t" and the Wichita Theatre was showing Tartan through February 24th. She stated the Backdoor Theatre would be presenting Pippin starting February 16th, and would also be hosting An Evening of Improv February 9th and 10th, and this would be going on throughout the year. Mrs. Derr stated the Downtown Farmer's Market would be open on the 1st and 3"d Saturdays of every month, and Gidget's Sandwich Shack would also be opening up on Saturday mornings in conjunction with the farmer's market. She stated the downtown merchants meeting was being held on February 15th at 6:00 pm at the Wichita Falls Public Library. She stated the 8th Street Coffee House had extended its hours on Fridays and Saturdays to stay opened until 8:00 pm. Mr. Jim Johnson stated there had been rumors that the light poles in Morningside were being replaced by the City of Wichita Falls with standard issue light poles. Mrs. Gagna stated she was unaware of any such intentions, but indicated it would be good to have a discussion with Mr. John Burrus, Director of Aviation, Traffic and Transportation. Mr. Johnson stated there had been work done on a gas line along Grant Street. He stated the house located at 812 Grant Street was being operated as an art gallery. He asked who he would need to contact regarding this being a zoning issue. Mrs. Gagne indicated that would be the Planning Division. b) Design Review —Staff Authorized --Minor Alterations/Repairs: Mr. Prouty reported on the three staff authorized minor alterations/repairs: - 2812 10th Street — Demolish Accessory Structure — Alpine General Contractors c) Articles & Periodicals — Texas Historical Commission: Window Repair & Replacement d) Synopsis THC 2018 Real Places Conference — January 10-12, 2018 VII. New Business: a) Next Mtg. — February 27, 2018 b) CLG Annual Report— Deadline February 23, 2018 Vill. Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 1:55 pm 7 Y Christy Graham, Chairperson Date