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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2016-12-15 HPC Minutes Village of Plainfield Meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission Record of Minutes Date: December 15, 2016 Location: Village Hall CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, PLEDGE Chairman Bortel called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Roll call was taken; Commissioners Schmidt, Olsen (7:24 p.m.) Derrick, Hendricksen, Rapp, Hagen, and Chairman Bortel were present. Commissioners Lucas and Barvian were absent. Also in attendance: Jonathan Proulx, Director of Planning and Merrilee Trotz, recording secretary. Chairman Bortel led the pledge to the flag. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Derrick made a motion to approve the agenda. Seconded by Commissioner Hagen. Olsen. Voice Vote. All in favor. 0 opposed. Motion carried 7-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Hendricksen made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Seconded by Commissioner Hagen. Voice Vote. All in favor. 0 opposed. Motion carried 7-0. The minutes from November 17, 2016 were accepted as amended. CHAIR’S COMMENTS: None COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS: None PUBLIC COMMENT: There was no response. OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS CASE NO: 1746-120816/COA 24215 W Lockport Street Mr. Proulx stated this property is located on the south side of Lockport Street just east of James Street, a circa 1940’s Cape Cod style home. This home is being converted to a commercial use; the current owners have begun their plans for the adaptive reuse; to remodel; and to locate a real estate office in this property. Staff met with the owners earlier this year; the owners have been working with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency to obtain approval for participation in the federal tax credit program. Mr. Proulx stated the project is under construction; the owners are in the process of replacing the siding and replacing infill siding of the original garage opening with a carriage style garage door; replacing the siding on the dormers; repairing the existing sidewalks and construction of a new sidewalk on the east side of the property to provide an accessible entrance; IHPA considered removal and replacement of the siding and approved this request based on IHPA’s understanding that the original material was Masonite and was not salvageable. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 15, 2016 Page 2 of 4 Mr. Proulx reviewed the general guidelines and U.S. Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation as noted in the staff report dated December 13, 2016. Staff seeks input on whether the proposed shutters would be consistent with shutters that may have been present previously and if there is documentation (such as photographs) for the proposed design. Chairman Bortel swore in Cathy Dames. Ms. Dames bought the home in January and started working with IHPA; IHPA required that the front door remain. Ms. Dames felt the shutters are significant; felt the fish scales are fitting for the Cape Cod style; described the lighthouse sign as cute. Ms. Dames further described some of the interior work that had been approved. Chairman Bortel recounted matters that were discussed in the meeting at the house last January. Some of those items were that the ADA compliant entry could be in the rear so the front door could remain; the windows on the first floor were historic and should remain. Commissioner Hagen asked about the siding material. A sample of the siding was presented. Ms. Dames stated the siding is the same width as the original. Commissioner Hagen asked about sprinkling of the building. Ms. Dames indicated the system has been installed. Commissioner Hendricksen indicated the Commission tried to get the Fire District to agree to forego this requirement as no one would be sleeping in the structure. Mr. Proulx stated the Fire District agreed to a residential sprinkler system being installed as opposed to what would be required in a commercial building. Mr. Proulx stated there was a 1-1/2 inch water line provided when Lockport Street was reconstructed. Commissioner Derrick asked for more information about the Masonite versus cedar siding. Ms. Dames stated she thought the siding was Masonite previously; stated Anthony Rubano visited the site and originally thought the siding was not as bad as it was. Commissioner Hendricksen stated that composition siding that has been encroached by water will have lost its integrity. Chairman Bortel thought the original siding, fascia and soffit was wood. Commissioner Rapp agreed the original siding was wood. Commissioner Hendricksen did not think this type of shutter would have appeared in Plainfield in 1948; asked if they might replace the shutters with something that would have been more correct for that time period in this town. Commissioner Derrick asked if they have evidence (historic photographs) that this building ever had shutters; stated when you take the tax credit the project is held to a higher standard; it needs to be consistent with the Secretary of Interior Standards; this means that things are not added to a building that cannot be confirmed i.e. the fish scales did not exist on this building. Commissioner Derrick stated this Commission is an advisory commission and these items need to be made a part of the record; IHPA may have approved the siding due to misinformation being provided; in the future other projects may come through the process asking for hardy board because it was approved on this project; and we need to make it part of the record that this may have occurred because of misinformation. Commissioner Derrick mentioned sometimes you can see a ghost of hardware, screw holes in the frames, or other evidence that there were shutters at some point; then this Commission can discuss the type of shutters. Commissioner Rapp indicated he did not remember this house having shutters. Ms. Dames agreed Mr. Rubano was aware there were no fish scales on this building. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 15, 2016 Page 3 of 4 Commissioner Olsen asked about the approval of the siding; stated this material is not hardy board and is more of a fiber board. Ms. Dames stated Mr. Rubano talked with the contractor about the siding. Commissioner Hendricksen stated that Mr. Rubano was under the impression that it was a composition siding on the building originally. Commissioners Derrick and Olsen asked where Mr. Rubano got this information about the original siding. Commissioner Schmidt asked about the two different renderings provided in the packet; one of the renderings does not have the shutters at the windows or the railing on the porch. Commissioner Hendricksen asked if Mr. Proulx and Chairman Bortel could contact Mr. Rubano to see what was approved. Chairman Bortel suggested he could send an email to Mr. Rubano tomorrow to check on the shutters and the fish scales and could possibly have a response by Monday. Mr. Proulx read a conditions sheet received from IHPA that the new composite siding must match the scale, overlap, and profile of the existing siding; it must have a flat, not wood-grained, texture; stated there was another condition that in order to consider this change the rest of the project had to be true. Mr. Proulx stated the siding installation has been ongoing, Staff is asking if the Commission is comfortable with that proceeding; however in asking the applicant to hold off on installation of the fish scales until verification with IHPA in order to verify the fish scale and shutters. Ms. Dames said she would contact the contractor. Commissioner Olsen asked about the material of the fish scales. Ms. Dames indicated she thought it was cedar. Commissioner Schmidt asked the dimensions of the proposed lighthouse sign. The applicant indicated they are looking for direction of what would be permitted for the sign. Chairman Bortel mentioned the village ordinance. Commissioner Schmidt felt less is more when you come to signage. Commissioner Derrick stated Plainfield does not have navigable water so the lighthouse is not something that would historically be associated with Plainfield; the house style is the name of a style that was a very functional house style; historically the lighthouse does not have a historical precedent in the district. Commissioner Derrick said we want to preserve the history of the area. Chairman Bortel stated this is a vernacular Cape Cod house; this style is not made of stone and it is not fancy. Commissioner Hendricksen did not feel they are ready to issue a COA; the shutters can be installed in the spring; the siding is already installed, the garage door is already installed and the front door is staying. Chairman Bortel indicated he would call Mr. Rubano and they can prepare a stipulation to the letter of agreement after this discussion with Mr. Rubano. Commissioner Olsen asked if the Building Dept. was aware of the properties that have been landmarked or are located in the historic district. Mr. Proulx indicated the Building Dept. sends all commercial projects to the Planning Dept. for review. Chairman Bortel reviewed some of the Commissioners concerns to be included in the letter of agreement. 1) Height of the garage door – is it scaled appropriately; 2) Fish scale shingles at the roof dormers – is there evidence that this type of shingle was on this building; 3) Shutters – is there proof that there were shutters historically on this building; then the commission could approve something more subtle; Historic Preservation Commission Minutes December 15, 2016 Page 4 of 4 4) Need evidence that there was a porch railing, or if it is required for code; 5) Barge boards – the rendering submitted makes these appears much larger than what is shown in original images. Mr. Proulx stated the garage door has already been installed. Commissioner Derrick would like a record of what took place with this project. IHPA Invite Chairman Bortel asked Mr. Rubano if he might come to a meeting of this Commission and give a presentation. Mr. Rubano indicated he could attend March 9, 2017 to this Commission and mentioned some topics he could cover: a) that when IHPA reviews a tax freeze application they look at the interior; he could discuss this if HPC would find this helpful; b) discuss the tax freeze process; c) the exterior review additions; and thought inviting surrounding Preservation Commissions and the public would be great. Chairman Bortel suggested inviting Kendall County, Joliet, Will County and Oswego to this meeting in March. Commissioner Olsen suggested they discuss the exterior not the interior. Chairman Bortel indicated Mr. Rubano could discuss projects here in Plainfield. Review of the brick and mortar sample for 24108 W Lockport Street. Chairman Bortel indicated this will be reviewed at a future meeting. Chairman Bortel suggested taking a picture of the destroyed front brick and mortar for the design guidelines manual. Commissioner Hendricksen indicated he has a picture from a year ago of the south face looking towards the east of the glazed brick. Mr. Proulx indicated he spoke with Jason Morales and the width of the mortar will match the existing bricks; thought the color of the brick will be open for discussion; indicated Mr. Morales preferred the aesthetics of the color he presented rather than the red brick. Commissioners Olsen and Derrick indicated the profile of the grout should match what is existing. Mr. Morales indicated they will not be working on the brick until April 2017. DISCUSSION Chairman Bortel asked for a status report on the building east of the Trolley Barn. Mr. Proulx indicated those owners are in for a review of the building permit application. A need for an elevator has arisen due to the proposed workstations on the second floor. Mr. Proulx indicated this will be a spring construction. ADJOURN: Commissioner Derrick made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Hendricksen seconded the motion. Voice vote. All in favor; 0 opposed. Motion carried 7-0. Meeting adjourned at 8:24 p. m. Respectfully submitted, Merrilee Trotz Recording Secretary