City of Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission met March 22.
Here is the minutes provided by the Commission:
The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) of the City of Annapolis held its regularly scheduled administrative hearing on March 22, 2018 in the City Council Chambers. Chair Kennedy opened the meeting at 7:03 pm.
Commissioners Present: Chair Kennedy, Vice Chair Leahy, Phillips, Zeno, Finch, Collins
Staff Present: R. Laynor-Historic Preservation Officer, G. Elson-Assistant City Attorney
Chair Kennedy introduced the commissioners and staff. She stated the Commission’s purpose pursuant to the authority of the land use articles and administered the oath en mass to all persons intending to testify at the hearing.
C. Announcements
Chair Kennedy announced the opening of the Annapolis Film Festival.
D. New Business
1. 110 Dock Street – Michael Blonder – Design and paint mural for three (3) sides of building: Dock Street, Craig Street & Prince George Street.
Chair Kennedy noted that this is a special hearing and read into the record Section 3.4 and 3.5 that are relative to the application. She noted that in this case the applicant missed the deadline for the April public meeting and as a result the application would not have been heard until the May public meeting. She noted that one of the components of this project is outreach to the Naval Academy and the Midshipmen Brigade. The Midshipmen Brigade leaves in May so the May public meeting would be too late to achieve outreach to them hence the reason for the special hearing.
Mr. Michael Blonder requested to amend the application to reflect the proposed property owner’s name of HB Northway Limited Partnership. Other than this change, he did not have anything else to add to that which was already submitted.
Staff: Ms. Laynor restated her written staff report and recommends approval of the application as conditioned in the staff report dated March 20, 2018. Public: Public testimony opened at 7:27 pm and those speaking on the application are noted below.
Name; Address:
Doug Smith; 5 Revell Street
Karen Theimer-Brown; Historic Annapolis
Bill White; 660 American Drive
Constance Ramirez; 211 Scott Drive
Pete Chambliss; 119 Prince George Street
Robert Worden; 30 Murray Avenue
Ryan Sears; 1818 Glade Court
No one else from the public spoke in favor or opposition to the application so Chair Kennedy declared the public hearing closed at 7:45pm.
Commissioners: The HPC agreed that a lenient standard of review is appropriate for this building. The HPC deliberated and several members agreed that the mural would not diminish the building or detract from the streetscape. Vice Chair Leahy added that he agrees with several members of the public that the guidelines that govern this review need to be revised. The HPC deliberated on the impact of the mural on the views from the water and the scale of the mural on the three sides of the building specifically the impact from the Prince George Street side.
The following Commissioners made a site visit on this application.
Name:
Finch, Collins, Zeno, Phillips, Leahy, Kennedy
Chair Kennedy accepted the following exhibits into the record.
Exhibit Types:
HPC Application date stamped March 13, 2018 with attachments
Additional Photographs
Staff Memorandum dated March 20, 2018
Series of 6 Photographs of the Site of the Perimeter
Karen Theimer-Brown Historic Annapolis Letter dated March 19, 2018
Robert Worden Letter dated March 22, 2018
Vice Chair Leahy noted that whereas the application for 110 Dock Street complies with HPC guidelines A.3 and B.1, Section 21.56 Zoning Ordinance, moved conditional approval subject to the owner providing a plan for routine maintenance of the murals to preserve the condition of the finished product. Ms. Zeno seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously in a vote of 6-0.
Mr. Blonder agreed to the condition on the application.
E. Pre Application
Chair Kennedy reminded those present that this is an informal discussion held as a courtesy to the applicants to determine feasibility as well as to address any other issues of concern that may arise at the hearing. This review does not constitute an approval and nothing discussed in this session will be binding on the commissioners or applicants. The applicants acknowledged that this is a pre application and nothing discussed at this pre application meeting would be binding on the applicants or the HPC.
1. 214 Prince George Street – James Finn - Window replacement at selected existing window locations, removal of existing wood decks at side elevations and new windows at existing screened-porch.
Mr. David Pindell, Senior Architectural Designer/Project Manager has been working with the applicant for the past year on the interior renovations as well as the residing of the project so now want to discuss some of the proposed exterior renovations. There will be no changes to the main façade of the building however the siding will be replaced. There will be some window replacements with wood at specific locations on the house. The apartment building has been updated with a sprinkler system and the wood decks will be removed as part of the project.
Chair Kennedy summarized that this is a pre application for 214 King George Street where the applicant is proposing the rehabilitation of an apartment building. The major elements are mainly replacing the old windows, modifications of windows into doors and doors into windows, removal of egress stairs that are no longer required and installation of a sprinkler system. A majority of the Commissioners present believe the application to be feasible so welcome a full application. The applicant is asked to provide sufficient history to understand the date of construction of both the main section of the building and the addition. The HPC will need information about the windows that are being removed as to their era of construction to justify their removal and replacement with modern. There were some concerns expressed regarding proportionality of support in the courtyard porch in that it either needs to be beefed up to be more proportionately appropriate or look at a cantilevered solution to alleviate the problem. The applicant was given guidance that new wood windows have to be true divided light not simulated however a case can be made for simulated in new additions. The application should include an after the fact approval for the front window restoration so there is a record of that and any information on the sleeping porch history and when it was added to the building.
F. Work Session
1. Review of Rules of Procedure
Vice Chair Leahy noted the purpose for the review because there was a request from the Office of Law that all Boards and Commissions have similar procedures. He reviewed the Rules of Procedure for the Board of Appeals and mapped them to the HPC Rules of Procedure. He found the structure of the Board of Appeals Rules of Procedure to be feasible to the HPC Rules of Procedures so made specific comments that identify the differences of the two and those areas that are similar. There was discussion regarding adding an alternate in the event of lack of quorum. The HPC suggested removing specifically emergency stop work order and violations from the Rules of Procedures. Vice Chair Leahy agreed to make the suggested changes in a rough draft to be distributed to the HPC for review. This will be placed on the May administrative hearing agenda.
2. Administrative Approval Guidelines
It was suggested that the HPC come prepared to discuss the organization, clarity of the delegated authority and the amount of routine maintenance as well as the types of materials.
With there being no further business, Ms. Phillips moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:11 pm. Ms. Zeno seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously in a vote of 6-0.
https://www.annapolis.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_03222018-1348
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