HUNTSVILLE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION COMMISSION



HUNTSVILLE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION COMMISSIONMINUTESMarch 11, 2019The Huntsville Historic Preservation Commission met in the Conference Room on the 1st Floor of the Public Service Building located at 320 Fountain Circle on March 11, 2019. The members present were:Mr. Mike HolbrookMr. Peter LoweMs. Drenda KingMs. Sheree HollandMs. Frances AkridgeMr. John Kvach Mr. Randy CunninghamMr. Dennis MadsenAlso present at the meeting was Ms. Katie Stamps, Historic Preservation Consultant, and Ms. Sharon Mize, Recording Secretary. The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. by Mr. Mike Holbrook. Chairman. Mr. Holbrook introduced the Commission members and read the preamble of the HHPC. 700 Greene Street – Mr. Keith Maples for Nathan & Angie CobbMr. Maples said the Cobbs are remodeling their kitchen and bathrooms and would like to add a window on the rear of the house. It will be a Pella wood window and will match the other windows on the rear of the house. Mr. Lowe made the motion to approve the addition of a window on the rear of the house and Mr. Madsen seconded the motion. The Commission voted unanimously to approve. 428 McClung Avenue – Mr. Pete Van Waveren for Manish Mehta & Kasha BentonThis request is to replace two windows on the back of the house with wood windows which will match the windows on the rest of the house. The storm windows will not be put back on the windows. Mr. Madsen made the motion to approve replacing the two windows and Mr. Cunningham seconded the motion. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the motion.1009 Pratt Avenue – Mr. Greg Kamback of Arcspaces Studios for Kirk & Cindy GilesMr. Kamback said the Giles would like to add a dormer on the west side to add more head space for a bathroom in the former attic space. It will be a shed dormer and will provide enough headspace for the shower. This dormer will be smaller than the dormers on the east side of the house. They will either use metal or a shingle on the roof of the dormer. Mr. Lowe made the motion to approve the dormer on the west side of the house and Mr. Madsen seconded the motion. The Commission voted to approve the motion, except for Ms. Holland who recused herself. 406 Newman Avenue – Mr. James Barnes for Jonathan and Mackenzie MayhallThe applicants would like to make a rear addition of 808 square feet which will include a kitchen, den, and laundry space downstairs and office/bedroom upstairs, replace the siding on the gables, paint the house, remove the existing carport, add a 13’ x 14’ patio with an outdoor fireplace, and erect a fence. Mr. Mayhall said the additions will not be very visible from the street, only a little on the left elevation. Mr. Lowe said the Commission prefers smooth finish on the hardy plank; the Mayhall’s said they would be fine with that. Mr. Holbrook said he did not know why they would want to replace the wood on the gables because most of the wood looks to be in good shape. Mrs. Mayhall said there is a lot of rotted wood on the back of the house which needs to be replaced. The side porch has the worst damage. She said they would salvage as much of the wood as possible. Mr. Holbrook said it is preferable that the siding be retained because it is the original siding. Mr. Mayhall said he is not opposed to replacing the rotted pieces with wood siding. Mr. Holbrook suggested they salvage some of the siding from the rear of the house where they are adding the addition. Hardy plank siding can only be used on the addition.Mr. Holbrook said they need to differentiate the addition from the original structure. He said he would recommend they cut the brick vertically and leave the thickness of the brick when they lay the new brick to it, leave a half inch control joint between the two. They will need to move a window just past where the control joint will be. Mr. Holbrook said the motion needs to include maintaining the wood siding, including a differentiation between the existing house and the addition, which would follow the guidelines. They can replace the rotted siding with matching wood siding. Hardy board can be used on the addition. Mr. Kvach made the motion to approve the application with the amendments made by Mr. Holbrook. Ms. Akridge seconded the motion and the Commission voted unanimously for approval.509 Holmes Avenue – Mr. James Barnard for Farshad Bahador Mr. Barnard said the owner would like to erect a carport with a breezeway, enclose the rear porch and basement access with brick, repair the siding, paint the house, and remove the front porch roof railing and replace it with a copper roof. Mr. Kvach asked if they were wanting to paint the brick and Mr. Barnard said that is what they want to paint all the house including the brick. Mr. Kvach said that is a non-starter. Mr. Holbrook said another non-starter would be to change the entryway on the front of the house. He explained that the guidelines say that any unpainted brick is to remain unpainted and it does not allow for any original architectural elements to be removed. Mr. Holbrook said those are two issues which need to go back to the owner because they will not be approved. A copper roof would not be appropriate for this style house. Mr. Lowe said just for the record, he would approve them replacing the railing with the copper roof. Ms. Akridge said the railing would be a maintenance issue. Mr. Holbrook said it is the job of the Commission to keep as much of the contributing aspects of the home as possible. Mr. Lowe said he felt the railing was ugly and needed to be removed. Ms. Akridge said she agreed with Mr. Lowe and was in favor of preserving the overall look but thought they should look to the future of some change which would preserve the character. She thought removing the railing would be more attractive. Mr. Holbrook said if we start down that road then the guidelines will not be needed and the Commission needs to be consistent. Mr. Kvach made the motion to take each item individually and vote on them one at a time. Mr. Lowe said the brick on this house is unattractive and would look better if it were painted even though it does not follow the guidelines.1. Erect carport and breezeway. Ms. Stamps said this project was started without a COA and a stop work order was issued. The carport will be connected to the house with a breezeway. The carport will be 24 feet wide. The shingles and the brick will match the existing house. Mr. Kvach made the motion to approve the carport and breezeway and Ms. King seconded the motion. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the carport and breezeway.2. Enclose the rear porch and basement access with brick. Mr. Lowe said they needed to make it a little wider. The brick will match the existing brick and will be flush with the column. This porch was probably not part of the original structure. Mr. Kvach made the motion to approve enclosing the back porch and basement access with brick and Ms. King seconded the motion. Mr. Lowe said he thought it would look better if they set the brick back slightly. Mr. Holbrook said that would look nice. Mr. Kvach modified the motion to allow the brick to be set back ?” to 1” on the infill and to extend the brick wall to match the back. The Commission voted unanimously to approve enclosing the rear porch and basement access and set back the in-fill brick ?” and extend the low wall to the other wall. 3. Repair siding on the east side. The siding will be replaced with matching brick. The brick had to be removed to repair the roof and they are hoping to re-use the brick which was removed. Mr. Holbrook asked if they were putting in windows. Mr. Barnard said one of the windows is existing and they were wanting to add another window. Mr. Holbrook said that was not on the application and will need to come back before the Commission. Mr. Madsen made the motion to approve replacing the gable end brick with matching brick. Mr. Kvach seconded the motion and the Commission voted to approve unanimously.4. Paint house. Mr. Kvach made the motion to reject painting the house and Ms. King seconded the motion. Mr. Lowe said they will have a difficult time making the brick match well. It is not an attractive brick and he feels this is one time an exception should be made. Mr. Holbrook said all the infills and changes are on the back of the house and will not be that noticable. The Commission voted to deny painting the brick, except for Mr. Lowe who abstained. They will need to come back before the Commission for approval to paint the trim and gutters.5. Remove railing from front porch and replace with copper roof. Ms. Stamps said they should correct the railing which is bad repair. She said this porch was redone in the 1940’s and they don’t need to lose this decorative element on the house. This item died for lack of motion. Old Business:Ms. Holland made the motion to approve the minutes from the February 11, 2019 meeting and Mr. Lowe seconded the motion. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the minutes.New Business:Ms. Stamps sent out training opportunities to the Commission. There is a free training session in Decatur and several will be attending. There is a conference in Tuscaloosa at the end of April they can attend as well. Ms. Stamps will be presenting a paper at that conference. The McThornmor Acres will be on the National Register review board meeting on the same day in Tuscaloosa and she is planning on attending. Mr. Holbrook recommended they attend the CLG training because they can get all their training in one day. Ms. Stamps said Preservation month is coming up in May and she is working with the Communications Office to get things lined up for the month. This year they will be celebrating people of preservation and she encouraged everyone to participate. Ms. Stamps said she has incorporated the edits for the ordinance and they will need to have the Legal Department look at it. This will be a long process and this is the early phase of the revisions. Later on, they will address changes to the guidelines which would include staff approval for certain items like paint colors. Mr. Holbrook said that should also be addressed in the ordinance as well. Staff review could keep some residents from having to come before the Commission for somethings. Ms. Akridge presented a list to the Commission for consideration for changes to the ordinances which included:Considering market pressures that impede sale of large houses (such as those in Twickenham) because luxury market is expanding to the east. In a competitive market, the decisions of a COA ought to factor in an owner’s costs are just as important as the historic accuracy of a residence and will contribute to the character of the area.Implementing Expedited Approval process by Administrative review (staff) for minor alterations – paint colors, roof replacement, shutters, awnings, repointing, stucco repair, and repair to existing windows and ramps for handicap access.Enforce decisions with continued use stop-work orders for major changes made to structures that do not have Building Permit/Certificate of Appropriateness.Addition of expedited approval process that does not involve the Commission for minor alterations.Designate historical homes based on a set date, not a sliding scale (i.e. 1940 and before, instead of “anything 50 years or older”).Ability to solicit approval of adjacent homeowners to proceed with updates.The homeowners want more involvement with the immediate area. It may be that we need subcommittees in the Commission; one for each historic area, with ability to vote for members of the Commission or subcommittee.Ms. Stamps said that to keep consistent in the districts the Commission should continue to review the applications. This Commission is a CLG and to hold the standards of the CLG they answer to the State of Alabama Historic Commission, who goes through the National Preservation Commission. By being a member of the CLG the Commission can apply for matching grants to help with the districts. For example, the Commission applied for a grant to pay for a survey of the McThornmor Acres and Edmonton Heights so they could be added to the National Register as a historic neighborhood.The next planning meeting will be in April to discuss further the changes to the ordinances. Mr. Holbrook thanked the public who stayed for the whole meeting and their concern for the districts. Mr. David Johnston said the community is afraid of the Commission because they don’t know what is being done with the ordinances. He said they want to be part of the process and they love their homes and the neighborhoods. He said the community feels they are concerned about the power the Commission will have and they want to be informed. He said the Commission has done a commendable job but people are concerned when they are turned down by the Commission. He said it is costly to maintain the homes in the districts. He thinks the Commission should listen to the community. Mr. Holbrook said they are not at the point the draft of the ordinance is available for the public. The Legal Department will review any changes they propose to make before it can be made public. He said the changes are not major changes that will negatively impact the districts. Mr. Johnston said they are forcing the community to make this a political issue out of this. Mr. Holbrook said the Legal Department has told the Commission they cannot present any of the proposed changes to the public until they have reviewed the proposed changes. Mr. Todd Dodgen of 700 Randolph Avenue said they are missing the point. The community would like to be involved in the process since they are the ones who will be affected by the changes. It makes no sense to get input from the neighborhoods. He said properties downtown stay on the market for a long time partly because of the Commission. He said the Commission needs to get it right this time and eliminate the uncertainty and to strike a balance. The neighbors need to have input into the process; and his guess is the Commission cannot give a good reason to why the neighbors do not have any input into the process.Mr. Kvach replied said it is easier to get a document drafted with ideas which are not formalized and not permanent and show you something and get your opinion at that time. Give the Commission a chance to get something solid together to present to the neighborhoods and then get their input. Mr. Dodgen said the Commission had no way of knowing the concerns of the neighborhoods since only three of the members of the Commission lived within the districts. Mr. Holbrook said the Commission does not have anything to give to the public yet for review. Mr. Dodgen asked if the Commission did not think the residents would not be concerned they were trying to make violations a criminal offense or that landscaping would also be under review. Ms. Stamps said that was struck from the proposed changes. Mr. Holbrook said since Mr. Dodgen was not at the last meeting he wanted to give him a little background. Where the body of this new ordinance came from is they pulled from various other districts around the country because they needed to look at making some changes. The existing ordinance is only one page and it gives the Commission no teeth when it comes to violations. It was a good place to start and they are in the process of editing, deleting and adding things to conform to what Huntsville needs. Mr. Dodgen said he is concerned because what they do will have an impact on his property values. They have asked to be involved at the front end of the project. Mr. Holbrook said the Commission is allowing them to be in on the front end but at this point they don’t have anything for them to review yet. Mr. Dodgen asked if the draft will be published on the web site. Mr. Holbrook said that would be up to the Legal Department.Mr. Johnston said they need to talk to the people who are living in the districts and ask for their input. He said this is a community and they do not want to be held hostage. Mr. Holbrook said there is some misinformation out there. Mr. Johnston said that was because there were some misinformed people. Mr. Holbrook said people are talking and are making something of it that is not what they are talking about at all. Mr. Holbrook said they want to redo the guidelines. Some of the things they need in the guidelines are methods of enforcement. If this is not important to each of us, then why do we require homeowners to come before the Commission the second Monday of each month and go through what some have characterized as a grueling inquisition to get approval. If guidelines are not important and we do not have some sort of metric, then we will just let each of the districts do just what they want to do. It is important and we must get it right. There have been a lot of inconsistencies within the district and that is part of the reason we are doing this to get things more consistent. They do want public comment. Usually by the end of each meeting there is no public left because no one seems to care. He encouraged them to bring more of their neighbors to see the process. The public is given an opportunity to speak on every item on the agenda. That gives the Commission to see what the neighbors are feeling. He applauded them for coming and encouraged them to bring more people with them.Mr. Dodgen said they would like to come back when we can talk about the issues and they can tell you. We want input on the rules. He said most of the residents do not know the process is going on and they have the right to know. You should be seeking input from them before you pay lawyers and get the thing drafted. Ms. Akridge said he was making accusations. All the meetings have been advertised and open to the public for their input. Mr. Dodgen said he did not say that; what he was saying is there are a lot of people who reside in these districts who do not know this process is happening. Take the input from the public who have an economic interest in this and then put together a new ordinance. Ms. Stamps said they have not put it out to public review because it is still in the draft stage. You would not put a legal document out for review with edits all over it. Mr. Dodgen said he did not ask to see the document, he just asked for input. Ms. Stamps said she has called the leader of each of the districts to let them know of the meetings so they can spread the word. She suggested they come to the meetings to put in their thoughts and comments. Mr. Holbrook said before they started the process they consulted with the Legal Department and this is the process they advised them to take. Ms. Stamps said she would advertise at least two weeks in advance of the next staff meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6:32 p.m.Respectfully submitted,Dennis MadsenManager of Urban and Long Range Planning ................
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