HomeMy Public PortalAbout2011-11-10 HPC MINUTES Village of Plainfield Historic Pres ervation Commission Record of Minutes Date: November 10, 2011 Location: Village Hall CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, PLEDGE Chairman Bortel called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll call was taken; Commissioners Bright, Olsen, Derrick, Witt, Buchanan, Hendrickse n, and Chairman Bortel were present. Also present were Michael S. Garrigan, Vill age Planner and Merrilee Trotz, Recording Secretary. Chairman Bortel led the pledge to the flag. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Bright made a motion to approve the Agenda. Motion seconded by Commissioner Olsen. Voice vote: All in favor. Opposed – no re sponse. Motion carried 7-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Derrick made minor revisions to clarify the minutes. Commissioner Witt made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Commissioner Derrick seconded the motion. Voice vote: All in favor. Opposed – no response. Motion carried 7-0. CHAIR’S COMMENTS: Chairman Bortel thanked the Village Board fo r approving the Downtown Historic District application and thanked the downtown busines ses who supported this Historic District; indicated Staff has applied for a CLG grant from IHPA to fund a Historic District nomination from the National Register and if suc cessful the Village could become the 15 th National Register Historic Downtown District in the state of Illinois; and announced there are currently two vacancies on the commission. COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS: Commissioner Hendricksen stated he recently attended the conference in Galesburg with Commissioner Buchanan and Chairm an Bortel and learned a lot a bout economics of restoration and preservation planning; congratulated Chairm an Bortel and the Com mission on the Historic Downtown District; is concerned with approv ing landmarks prior to the completion of the restoration and suggested changing the ordinance that an application fo r designation would not be accepted prior to the appearance of completion.
Historic Preservation Commission Minutes November 10, 2011 Page 2 of 5 Commissioner Bright also congrat ulated the Chairman and Vice Chairman on their efforts and commended Michael Lambert for all his years that he worked on the preservation of Plainfield. Commissioner Olsen asked how the commission could follow up on work that was approved by a Certificate of Appropriateness. Mr. Garrigan felt the Villag e would have recourse because there were conditions to the approv al of the COA. Discussion was held on the process of COAs and if the construction could possi bly be monitored. Mr. Garrigan indicated the pre-application meeting could include the applicant, building depa rtment and staff. There was a suggestion of adding guidelines for the improvements and to al so check with other communities to see how they monitor the construction. PUBLIC COMMENT: (Items not on the Agenda) No one approached the microphone. STAFF REPORT Mr. Garrigan indicated there have been no de molition permits submitted; no pre-application meetings for landmarks; and the watch list remains the same. Mr. Garrigan stated an applicant came before the Village Board with a concept plan for Shops at the Premium Triangle which could be located at Route 59 and Oak Street; th is matter was taken to the Central Area Plan Committee; there is no negative fee dback from the residents is th e area; this project is on hold until it is determined who will pay for th e relocation of the war memorial. NEW BUSINESS: Commissioner Derrick made a motion open the public hearing for case no. 1566-101311.COA. Commissioner Hendricksen seconded the motion. Vote by roll call: Commissioner Witt, yes; Commissioner Buchanan, yes; Commissioner Bright, yes; Commissi oner Olsen, yes; Commissioner Hendric ksen, yes; Commissioner Derrick, yes; Chairman Bortel, yes. Motion carried 7-0. Case No. 1566-101311.COA 15018 S Bartlett Avenue Mr. Garrigan indicated the applicant is seeki ng a COA to be allowed to proceed with the installation of a black d ecorative aluminum fence to enclose their back yard at 15018 S Bartlett Avenue located in the East Side Historic District. A COA is required unde r Article XV, Section 9-149(2) prior to issuance of a permit for minor and major work involving any new or other construction, alteration, repair, demolition, relocati on, or other material change that affect the exterior architectural appearance of a structure within a historic district. The property is currently fenced along the sout h and west side from neighbors fences and the applicant proposes to enclose th e remaining portion of her yard with fence material to match. The applicant would also like to proceed with the construction of a cement driveway in the spring.
Historic Preservation Commission Minutes November 10, 2011 Page 3 of 5 Based on Staff’s review and analysis the proposed decorative fence is generally consistent with the historical character of the East Side Dist rict we are making a favor able recommendation for the COA for the backyard fence located at 15018 S. Bartlett Avenue. Chairman Bortel swore in Candace Scholz, the applicant/owner. Commissioner Derrick asked about the chain link portion proposed. Ms. Scholz indicated this portion of the fence will not be visible from the front and connects with an existing chain link fence behind the garage. Ms. Scholz proposes to plant evergreens or some thing of the sort to further conceal the chain link fence portion. Th e proposed fence will be as six (6) feet tall approximately in six (6) foot sections in the st yle shown with the submittal, and flat top to the post. Commissioner Buchanan asked who was doing th e work and asked the time frame? Ms. Scholz stated Cedar Rustic would be doing the in stallation and this would be done as soon as possible after approval. Ms. Scholz did not ask how long it w ould take to complete the installation but did not think it w ould be more than a couple days. Commissioner Hendricksen asked if this was a direct match to the fence to the north. Ms. Scholz indicated it is similar a nd it is the same style to be consistent with the neighbor. Commissioner Hendricksen indicated he looked at the fence to the north and indicated it was an attractive fence and was a reasonably substantial fence. Commissioner Bright made a motion to close the public hearing. Commissioner Hendricksen seconded the motion. Vote by roll call: Commissioner Olsen, yes; Commissioner Derrick, yes; Commissioner Witt, yes; Commissioner Buchanan, ye s; Commissioner Hendr icksen, yes; Commissi oner Bright, yes; Chairman Bortel, yes. Motion carried 7-0. Commissioner Hendricksen stated as an adjacent home owner he would have no problem with the fence. Commissioner Olsen agreed that th e fence was appropriate for the neighborhood and the house. Commissioner Derrick made a motion to recommend approval of the proposed fencing with the following conditions: 1. That the fence installed matches what was pr esented in style, height, width, material and color. 2. That the chain link fence is not normally consis tent with the Historic District but because of this site’s particular conditions with it set way back at the rear of th e garage and that the evergreens do obscure the view and the homeowner is testifying she will be planting vegetative material that will screen the view, it should be conditioned that vegetation be planted there to screen the view and that it be maintained to sc reen the view, preferably to be screened all seasons so it not be deciduous vegetation. Ms. Scholz indicated she was happy to agree to an evergreen in front of the chain link fence.
Historic Preservation Commission Minutes November 10, 2011 Page 4 of 5 Commissioner Hendricksen seconded the motion. Vote by roll call: Commissioner Witt, yes; Commissioner Buchanan, yes; Commissioner Bright, yes; Commissi oner Olsen, yes; Commissioner Hendric ksen, yes; Commissioner Derrick, yes; Chairman Bortel, yes. Motion carried 7-0. OLD BUSINESS: Division Street De sign Guidelines Chairman Bortel stated he and Staff have had discussions of gui delines for Route 59 from Route 126 at Route 59 south to the north fence of the ce metery. Mr. Garrigan indicated there is some concern with the trend of development al ong Route 59; the IDOT improvements have dramatically changed the character of Rout e 59. The Board has consistently supported individual applications for changing the zoni ng to BTD (Business Transition) due to the changes to the character of Route 59. Mr. Ga rrigan presented a map showing a number of potential landmarks south of Lockport Street including the Corbin house and contributing structures from Route 126 south to the cemetery. Mr. Garrig an indicated BTD requires any use be consistent with the character of the area but does not prohibit the demolition of a structure but requires that the re placement would be similar in ch aracter of the area. Staff is looking for direction from the HPC – do you thi nk it is appropriate to do a comprehensive rezoning which would be a village board decision. Chairman Bortel stated 15003 S Lo ckport Street was a residential house that was converted to a readapted use under BTD zoning. Chairman Bort el indicated he would not like to see houses demolished and replaced with a strip retail cent er. The old Quinn house was demolished a few years ago and is currently still green space. Ch airman Bortel felt people need to be educated on how properties could be changed. Commissioner Hendricksen said we should not be building huggers ; would like to see the BT District be expanded to keep the feel of what we have today as much as possible. Commissioner Derrick felt the map was important and that a plan for this corridor is very important; felt a plan would be challenging beca use of the use of this corridor as a major arterial; felt it would be difficult to continue using some of these building as they were built; felt it would be helpful to provide education on succe ssful readapted uses a nd share the options so all decisions could be made with as much information as possible. Chairman Bortel indicated one house on the east side of Route 59 (15009 S Rt. 59) has been included in the East Side District. Commissioner Olsen indicated she would not like to see the fabric of streetscape change so much as to have strip mall all along Route 59. Commissioner Hendricksen felt this 2-1/2 to 3 block area along Rout e 59 is part of Plainfield’s original housing stock and should be cherished, this area can be modified and the commission should not be zealot as to complete restoration.
Historic Preservation Commission Minutes November 10, 2011 Page 5 of 5 Commissioner Buchanan concurred with the tho ughts of the other commissioners; this is our jewel of a downtown area and we want to save it; we may feel the need to rezone for commercial reasons but hopefully we will not be in too much of a rush to rezone this area. Mr. Garrigan suggested working on bullet points and potential design guidelines to address the corridor which would be reviewed at a later HPC meeting; and inquire of the Board to see if there is support to do a comprehensiv e change to Business Transition. Chairman Bortel asked if we should hold a join t meeting and invite re sidents. Mr. Garrigan agreed inviting residents might be a good idea to explain that the re sidential uses could continue and Business Transition is flexible and allo ws for either residential or business. Downtown Design Guidelines Chairman Bortel further explained the CLG gr ant and explained that now would be a good time to establish design guidelines. Mr. Garrigan presented a proposed set of guidelines used by another community. Chairman Bortel indicated he had another set of guidelines from another community and suggested the commissioners review and make changes to be discussed at a later meeting. Commissioner Derrick made a recommendation th at these design guidelines be remanded to a committee, take the proposed template, marry it with others and through committee come up with our best draft of both a residential set of guidelines and a commercial set of guidelines to be reviewed by the whole Commission for approval. Commissioners agreed and felt the proposed guidelines were a good start. COMMITTEE REPORTS : DISCUSSION: ADJOURN: Commissioner Derrick made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Bright se conded the motion. Voice vote: All in favor. 0 - opposed. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:17 p. m. __________________________ Respectfully submitted, Merrilee Trotz - Recording Secretary