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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPC Packet 11.10.16.pdf IOWA CITY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Thursday, November 10, 2016 City Hall, 410 E. Washington Street Emma J. Harvat Hall 4:30 p.m. A) Call to Order B) Roll Call C) Commission and Public Site Visit to 724 Ronalds Street (4:40) Contact Jessica Bristow at (319)356-5243 24 hours before the meeting if you require special transportation ------ 5:30 Reconvene at City Hall, 410 E. Washington Street, Emma J. Harvat Hall ------ D) Public discussion of anything not on the agenda E) Certificate of Appropriateness 1. 821 N. Gilbert Street – Brown Street Historic District (door replaced with window) 2. 1130 Seymour Avenue – Longfellow Historic District (addition and renovation) 3. 429 Ronalds Street – Goosetown/Horace Mann Conservation District (new outbuilding) F) Consideration of change in Contribution Status for 724 Ronalds Street G) Report on Certificates issued by Chair and Staff Certificate of No Material Effect – Chair and Staff review 1. 715 Linn Street – Northside Historic District (roof shingle and gutter replacement) 2. 741 Dearborn Street – Dearborn Street Conservation District (front step replacement) 3. 212 S. Johnson Street – College Green Historic District (roof shingle replacement) 4. 1147 Maple Street – Longfellow Historic District (roof shingle replacement) Minor Review – Staff review 415 N. Governor Street – Goosetown/Horace Mann Conservation District (porch railing replacement) F) Consideration of Minutes for October 13, 2016 G) Commission Information and Discussion 1. Preservation Summit 2016, recap and information 2. 34th Annual Historic Preservation Awards set for Thursday, January 19, 5:30 PM at the Iowa City Public Library in meeting room A H) Adjournment MINUTES PRELIMINARY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 13, 2016 EMMA J. HARVAT HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Thomas Agran, Esther Baker, Kevin Boyd, Zach Builta, Cecile Kuenzli, Andrew Litton, Pam Michaud, Ginalie Swaim MEMBERS ABSENT: Gosia Clore, Sharon DeGraw, Frank Wagner STAFF PRESENT: Jessica Bristow, Bob Miklo OTHERS PRESENT: Julie Myers, Alicia Trimble RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action) CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Swaim called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS: 820 Ronalds Street. Bristow said this house is in the Brown Street Historic District. She said it is in an area where there is quite a wide alley, with garages and barns all along the alley. Bristow said the house is primarily a foursquare, with some details that are reminiscent of some of the earlier Victorian houses, such as a gable and a bay on the west side that is held up by brackets. She said that the projecting piece is probably an addition that was put on after 1933, because it is not on the 1933 Sanborn map. Bristow said the house also has an addition that was enlarged in the back, and the front porch was filled in at one point in time. Bristow said that on the alley there is an existing small garage. She said that the we had, at one point, approved removing the garage door, filling it in with a wall, adding a passage door, and changing out some of the windows. Bristow showed that in a photo one can see a little bit of the peak of the neighbor's garage. She said that right now the applicant proposes to add a garage in the location between the neighbor's garage and her own garage. Bristow stated that staff has been working with the owner for a while and had been looking at some of the old barn-style garages as seen in the North Side and in the College Green Neighborhood. She showed photographs of garages and referred to a two-story rectangular garage. Bristow said the goal here is to have a one and one-half car garage with a studio and also add solar panels on the roof. Bristow said the site is in the northeast corner of the property. She said the size of the garage is smaller than the neighbor's garage and is clearly subordinate to the size of the house, which is compliant with one of the guidelines. Bristow showed the alley view and the west elevation. She said the owner would like to add double hung windows to the garage, and the windows would be a little bit larger than the typical HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 13, 2016 Page 2 of 10 simple windows discussed in the guidelines. Bristow said staff felt this would be an appropriate modification to the guidelines to get a more light into that upper space. She said the garage door pictured has a paneled look with a vertical board type of pattern to the panels. Bristow said the owner is looking at using a garage door that is smooth in those areas but had not decided at this point. She said the windows in the garage door would be two long windows with simulated divided lights with four openings. Bristow stated that all of the trim would match the trim that is on the house, because that is appropriate with the double hung windows. She added that on the south side, the panels would be attached to a standing seam roof, which is a very appropriate way to add solar panels to a roof, because they do not need to penetrate the roof covering. Bristow said this prevents leaking issues. She said a similar material is proposed for the awning that would go over the passage door on the south side. Bristow said there are a few more windows on the east elevation than on the west. She said the building plans are in the packets. Bristow said the material would be similar to the Dutch lap siding on the original garage. She said the solar panels themselves would be framed in a gray-like color. Bristow said the recommended motion was to approve the certificate of appropriateness, provided that the final window and door product information would be reviewed by staff and chair. She said the motion also discusses colors and said staff was looking along the lines of the garage and barn-like colors. Bristow said the standing seam roof product is a little bit different than the smooth standing seam that would normally be approved. She said staff finds that the material would not be appropriate on a historic structure. Bristow said there has been discussion about how the agricultural roof products can actually diminish the architectural character of a historic house, according to the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation. She said this involves a garage or barn, so it is not as crucial that it is smooth in between the seams. Bristow said that here there are not the small ridges or small seam spacing that one would have in some of the agricultural roofs. She said the architect had suggested this material so that there would not be oil canning in the roof. Bristow said the Commission would need to decide if the material should be approved. Swaim asked what is meant by oil canning. Bristow said that basically when it is installed, there can be some dimpling or some bending of the flat area. Kuenzli said that since this is in the city, the barn color was mentioned as red with a green roof. She said that would not tie into the house at all. Bristow said that in the alley, there are a couple of older, barn-type structures. She said that one of them on the west end of the alley is actually an old barn, and it is red. Miklo said that, historically, it was not uncommon for the garage or outbuilding to be of a different material and a different design when compared to the house. Miklo said the guidelines suggest two ways to go. He said that there could be a simpler design, like a barn, or one that matches the house. Miklo said that on Summit Street, most of the old barns that are there probably were barn red or darker colors historically. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 13, 2016 Page 3 of 10 Agran said he was surprised to see that there would be discussion about the color. He said he agrees that the colors were different 100 years ago, when they were different ancillary structures. Agran said the neighborhood no longer looks like it did 100 years ago. He said that even though the architecture of the building is really permanent, paint colors tend to not be. He said that even though the Commission encourages something in a certain direction, it does not make it a requirement. Miklo said if this was going to be a smooth clapboard siding, then the colors that match the house would be appropriate. He said that because the choice was to design the building to be more like a barn rather than trying to match the house staff encourage the owner to consider this when choosing colors. Kuenzli asked if the owner would have the option of later painting it the same color as the house. Miklo replied that the owner can paint it any color she wants to, as painting does not require a permit. He said staff is just encouraging that the initial paint color be an appropriate color for the architecture of the building. Bristow said the color selection was just something staff wanted to discuss with the owner. She said that earlier in the day she talked to the owner about making the building match the house. Bristow said that a lot of it stemmed from the idea of the roof itself having a factory finish. She said it would not be appropriate to necessarily have a bright blue standing seam roof on this building, but would be appropriate to have something that would carry through with the character as well as the rustic character of the alley. Agran said he just wanted a clarification of the recommended motion and that the color suggestion was not something that was binding. Swaim said she thinks encouragement is fine but would welcome other colors that would perhaps harmonize with the house. Michaud asked if it would be another primary residence because this will having living space,. Miklo said it would not. He said it would be an accessory apartment, and as long as the property is owner-occupied, one may have an accessory apartment on the property in certain zones. Miklo said it would be allowed here, because the property is zoned RS-8. Michaud said she had inquired about building a carriage house on her property and was told she could not. Miklo said that is because her property is zoned differently. He said he could talk to her about her property outside of the meeting. Myers thanked the Commission for looking at the project. She said she is not wed to a particular color at all and has not even proposed a color, because the project has not progressed that far. Myers said that staff was helping her with ideas that might fit with a historic barn. She said that she will eventually address the color. Myers said she and her husband had thought about painting the barn the same yellow color as the house, perhaps with a gray roof to harmonize with the solar panels to make them disappear. She said they also like the idea of barn red. Myers said they are looking for an overall scheme. She stated that it is nice to have options and flexibility. MOTION: Litton moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 820 Ronalds Street as presented in the application with the following conditions: 1) window and door product information to be approved by staff and chair, and 2) siding and roof color encouraged to mimic the colors of historic barns such as red or brown siding and red or green roofing. Baker seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 8-0 (Clore, DeGraw, and Wagner absent). HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 13, 2016 Page 4 of 10 REPORTS ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF: Certificate of No Material Effect - Chair and Staff Review. 422 Brown Street. Bristow said this was included, because in the course of last month the application changed from something that would come before the Commission to something that would receive a certificate of no material effect. She said it involves the replacement of the roof shingles and the repair of the internal gutters and replacement of the downspouts. 705 Grant Street. Bristow stated that this project involves a shingle replacement on a property in the Longfellow District. She said that architectural shingles will be used. Minor Review - Staff Review. 610 Ronalds Street. Bristow said that at this point, the project is to put a small at-grade deck off of the back. She showed a back view and pointed out where it will be inset the eight inches that decks are set in from the sidewall so that they are not entirely visible. Bristow said it will be flush with the other side of that gable end, just because it is so close to the door. She said there will probably be a railing. Bristow said the deck is meant to help transition the grade for wheelchair access in the future. 625 Clark Street. Bristow said this is a non-contributing house in the Clark Street Conservation District. She said that on the south side, there is a greenhouse type window and a through-wall air conditioner. Bristow said the owners just installed central air and will therefore be replacing both the windows. She stated that the greenhouse window will mimic the double hung window next to it, and the through-wall air conditioner will be replaced with a small awning-type window. Bristow said that both windows are on the side of the house. 618 Brown Street. Bristow said that the three casement windows in the front over the door have been damaged a little bit by animals. She said they will be replaced with a pebble-textured glass on the inner pane of the glass, because there is a bathroom here. INTERMEDIATE REVIEW - CHAIR AND STAFF REVIEW. 741 South 7th Avenue. Bristow said that she and Swaim reviewed this small house on the corner of 7th and Sheridan. Bristow said the owners are putting a skylight in the middle of the back of the garage. She said that it is very small and in an appropriate location. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 13, 2016 Page 5 of 10 CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 8, 2016: MOTION: Baker moved to approve the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission's September 8, 2016 meeting, as written. Agran seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 8-0 (Clore, DeGraw, and Wagner absent). COMMISSION INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION: Annual Historic Preservation Awards Committee. Bristow said the date for the awards presentation has not yet been set, but the date will probably be sometime in late January. She stated that staff has been compiling potential award properties for the Commission to review, and Commission members have also made suggestions. Bristow said that a small committee will be needed to whittle down the properties to potential award winners to be presented to the Commission. Bristow said that in the past there have been three subcommittee members and asked for volunteers. Swaim, Boyd, and Kuenzli volunteered to serve on the subcommittee. Bristow said that the first meeting would probably be at some point in November. Marybeth Slonneger, History of Downtown Iowa City, Thursday, November 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Supreme Court Chamber, Old Capitol Museum. Swaim said that Marybeth Slonneger will be presenting this lecture as titled. Swaim said that Slonneger has saved several houses in the Goose Town area and really knows Iowa City well. Swaim said that Slonneger recently authored a book about downtown Iowa City called Finials Preservation Summit 2016, Recap and Information. Swaim said that those attending the preservation summit included: DeGraw, Trimble, Miklo, Bristow, and herself. Swaim said that Bristow and Trimble did a presentation on moving the Houser-Metzger house. Swaim said she attended a session called "Know Your Building" with two parts. She said it was designed to show one how to write a National Register nomination, either for a nomination or for a tax credit. Swaim said that attendees were asked to look at a three-story building from the 1880s and consider writing a physical description of the building. She said that it was a visual training of the eye. Swaim said that when one tries to inventory all of the components, one begins to see how an historic building works, because everything truly works together. She stated that it is all of the same time and of the same style and vocabulary. Swaim said she also attended a session on "Successful Strategies for Commissions." She said there was discussion of the importance of building bridges and finding common ground. Swaim said the importance of facts and relevance was stressed, because many people are not going to buy into the argument that preservationists normally make. She said one therefore needs to present facts and numbers and why preservation is important to other constituencies. Swaim said that LeMars is doing a program called Youth on Main Street. She said it involves teenagers applying for the program, with a recommendation letter from a teacher, and the Commission chooses five or six applicants to organize an event or contribution to the downtown that has to do with history. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 13, 2016 Page 6 of 10 Swaim said she also attended a window repair workshop. She said the presenter, David Wadsworth, walked the attendees through the procedure, step by step. Swaim said there is a lot of expertise being developed and recorded on processes of how things used to be done and why it worked. Swaim discussed the difference between old growth trees and new trees being grown on plantations and the greater denseness and greater number of rings of the old trees. She said that cherishing the old wood and doing as much salvaging as possible is really so much smarter than buying 25-year-old tree plantation wood. Bristow said that she and Trimble attended a discussion of nuisance properties and specifically discussed the Peterson Harned Von Maur House. She said that it is in an historic district but fell into complete disrepair because of neglect. Bristow said that the City of Davenport had an issue with how to take over the property and maintain it so that it stayed viable. She said that Davenport did not seem to have the fallback position that Iowa City has, which is prevention of demolition through neglect. Bristow showed the exterior of the building and other photographs. She said that in the 1980s the house was pristinely cared for and presented like a museum, before it fell into this complete disrepair. Bristow said the City of Davenport did reclaim the house and took bids for people to purchase the house and work on rehabilitating it. Bristow said that she and Trimble and Swaim went on a home tour of this neighborhood, which is called the Gold Coast or Hamburg District. Bristow said it is an interesting neighborhood. She showed photographs of houses in the area and discussed work being done on the homes and the history of some of the homes. Bristow said she attended a talk on Gordon Van Tyne Catalog homes. She said the presenter had information about Iowa City homes, and she has contacted him since the program. Bristow said she attended some talks on tax credits and also how to do a rehabilitation project. Miklo said he went on a tour of the same Hamburg Neighborhood and got a different perspective of historic preservation from what we experience in Iowa City. Miklo said that in Iowa City, there is a great demand for real estate and space, and that can be a threat to the city's buildings when demand for redevelopment outweighs historic value. He stated that in Davenport, there is a lack of demand, which also threatens buildings. Miklo said, for example, that in this neighborhood, there is a struggle to attract residents who have enough funds to keep these properties up or to bring them back after they have had some neglect. Miklo showed a property that tells the history of the city. He referred to a four-unit building that was constructed in World War I. Miklo said that because of the Rock Island Arsenal and industry that arose from World War I, there was a great demand for housing, and the response was to build these types of properties. He said that from the street it looks like several single-family houses, but from the back one can see it is a rather large building. Miklo said it is a really good example of multi-family that fits into a neighborhood. Miklo showed pictures of a contemporary nearby house that did not fit well within the historic context of the neighborhood. He said it was constructed before the City of Davenport adopted a Historic Preservation Overlay zone and therefore was not subject to design reveiw. He showed HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 13, 2016 Page 7 of 10 a garage in that same neighborhood that matches the house and then another garage to show that they now have a handle on how to review projects in historic districts. Miklo stated that there are some real positives in this neighborhood, even though it is struggling. He said that it is up on a bluff and has wonderful views of downtown, the Mississippi River, and the Centennial Bridge. Miklo said that the tour guide had said that one of the reasons there has been some neglect is that in the 1960s, there was a proposal to bring a freeway through this neighborhood to connect Interstate 80 to the Centennial Bridge. He said that caused people to leave the neighborhood and real estate values to become depressed. Miklo said that because of the National Historic Preservation Act, that highway project was scuttled. Miklo said another thing he learned at the summit is that there is a lot of residential development occurring in the old downtown historic buildings. He said the Mayor of Davenport indicated that the greatest number of new, residential units are being created in the downtown area. Miklo discussed the Peterson Harned Von Maur House to which Bristow had referred. He said that the house was so far gone that if the house was in Iowa City, it probably would have been torn down by now. Miklo said that there is enough of a commitment to this neighborhood by the City and by the neighbors to these houses that the property is being rehabilitated. Miklo said it is quite a piece of architecture, and the hope is to complete the rehabilitation in the next two years. Miklo stated that he learned from the conference that Iowa City has some challenges in terms of historic preservation, but they are totally different than what they have in Davenport. Grant Application: Miklo stated that the National Park Service has a grant specific to properties associated with African-American civil rights. He said staff is applying for a grant for the Tate Arms on South Dubuque Street and the Iowa Federation Home on Iowa Avenue. Miklo said the goal is to possibly have the two properties listed on the National Register, to create an interpretative plaque or marker to be put on the front of each to tell the story of the two houses, and to produce some pamphlets and some web-based materials to get the history out on these two properties. Miklo said that The University of Iowa was integrated early on, and the first African-American students graduated in the 1870s. He said that when the University started building dormitories in the early 1900s, African-Americans were not allowed to live in those dormitories by unwritten rule. Miklo said it was up to the African-American community to find housing for students. Miklo said the house on Iowa Avenue was an existing building. He said the Iowa Federation, an organization of African-American women's clubs with several programs, including orphanages and students and education, was approached by female students in the 1920s with the information that the women were having trouble attending The University of Iowa because there was no place for them to live. Miklo said the Iowa Federation then purchased the house on Iowa Avenue and ran it as a dormitory up until the 1950s. Miklo said that the key to this is that even though the University was open to African-American students, there was still discrimination that prevented them from achieving higher education, HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 13, 2016 Page 8 of 10 and this was their community's response to that. He said it is important to mark this history. Miklo added that Friends of Historic Preservation has committed some funding for this program to match the grant. Miklo said the Tate Arms was a similar structure but was a family-operated rooming house that was for African-American male students in the 1940s through 1963. He said that before the Tates ran the house, it was operated as a rooming house by another gentleman, but not necessarily exclusively for students. Miklo said that the Tate Arms is a local landmark. He said the neighboring property was able to achieve such a large size, because development rights were transferred from the Tate Arms to the neighboring property in exchange for a commitment to preserve the Tate Arms. Miklo said it is an example of using zoning tools to preserve historic properties. Fisk Reception. Swaim invited Commission members to attend the Fisk Reception. She asked members to post the posters she provided regarding the reception in various places. Agran stated that he was hired by the Downtown District to co-manage a program called Co- Sign, which is a replication of a Cincinnati program that worked to get artists, designers fabricators, and local businesses together to improve signage. He said that the grant funding for that was the ability to replicate that program in a number of different cities, and Iowa City was selected as one of those cities. Agran said this is supposed to be something that also happens in concert with the preservation community. He said that although Iowa City's downtown is not protected, a lot of cities have downtown areas that are protected. Agran said that one of the things the program encourages is to have signage that is more in keeping with the architecture of the buildings, including signage that doesn't cover up important elements of the buildings, etc. Houser-Metzger House. Bristow said that John Loomis is currently working on the property. Bristow said that Loomis is installing the basement windows and has installed stairs through the cellar door entry. Bristow said that Loomis will be covering that entry next week. Bristow said the egress windows will be going in shortly, and the HVAC people have been hired to put ductwork back in the basement. She said the gas line will be installed sometime in the next week and one-half. Bristow said that some workshops are coming up. She said that she and her daughter have been working on some of the light interior demo. Bristow said that Bea Day Plumbers has been hired to do some of the plumbing work. She added that Chambers Electric has worked to get electricity on the second floor and on the outside. Bristow said that there will be no more exterior landscaping work until the spring. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION October 13, 2016 Page 9 of 10 Trimble said that an exterior painting workshop will be held on October 22. She said Friends of Historic Preservation applied to the Johnson County Foundation to fund these workshops, but because they are not funded in their entirety, they are having to charge for the workshops. Trimble said there is a window workshop on January 28, an interior painting workshop on February 11, and a passive floor restoration class on February 25. She said that all of the information is available on the website. Kuenzli asked if the workshops are for people to work on the house or to learn how to work on their own houses. Trimble said they are hands-on workshops, so attendees will be working on the house but will learn information to help them do work on their own houses. Swaim asked about passive floor restoration. Trimble responded that it involves restoring one's historic floor without aggressively sanding it by using a drum sander. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 6:23 p.m. Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2016-2017 KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Not a Member NAME TERM EXP. 11/12 12/10 1/14 2/11 2/25 3/12 4/14 5/12 6/9 7/14 8/11 9/8 10/13 AGRAN, THOMAS 3/29/17 X X O/E O/E X X O/E X X O/E O/E X X BAKER, ESTHER 3/29/18 O/E X X X X X X X X X X X X BOYD, KEVIN 3/29/17 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- X X BUILTA, ZACH 3/29/19 --- --- --- --- --- --- X X X X X X X CLORE, GOSIA 3/29/17 X X O/E X O/E X X X O/E X X X DEGRAW, SHARON 3/29/19 --- --- --- --- --- --- X X X X O/E X KUENZLI, CECILE 3/29/19 --- --- --- --- --- --- O/E O/E X X X X X LITTON, ANDREW 3/29/17 X X X X X X X O/E O/E X O/E X X MICHAUD, PAM 3/29/18 O/E X X X X X X X X X O/E X X SANDELL, BEN 3/29/17 X O/E X X X X X X X X --- --- -- SWAIM, GINALIE 3/29/18 O/E X X X X X X X X X X X WAGNER, FRANK 3/29/18 O/E X X X X X X X X X X X