Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_HARC_12.09.2010Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 1 of 5 December 9, 2010 City of Georgetown, Texas Historic and Architectural Review Commission Meeting Minutes Thursday, December 9. 2010 at 6:00 p.m. City Council and Courts Building 101 E. 7th Street, Georgetown, Texas 78626 Members Present: Will Moore, Chair; Susan Firth; J.C. Johnson; Larry Moseley; Ron Pergl; and Dee Rapp Members Absent: Greg Herriott Staff Present: Robbie Wyler, Historic District Planner; Elizabeth Cook, Community Development Director; Valerie Kreger, Principal Planner; and Karen Frost, Recording Secretary Regular Session - To begin no earlier than 6:00 p.m. Chair Moore called the meeting to order at 6:12 p.m. There was a slight delay due to technical difficulties with the computer programs and projector. The Historic and Architectural Review Commission, appointed by the Mayor and the City Council, is responsible for hearing and taking final action on applications, by issuing Certificates of Design Compliance based upon the City Council adopted Downtown Design Guidelines and Unified Development Code. (Commission may, at any time, recess the Regular Session to convene an Executive Session at the request of the Chair, a Commissioner, the Director or legal counsel for any purpose authorized by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551.) Consent Agenda: The Consent Agenda includes non-controversial and routine items that the Commission may act on with one single vote. A Commissioner or any member of the public may request that any item from the Consent Agenda be pulled in order that the Commission discuss and act upon it individually as part of the Regular Agenda. The Historic and Architectural Review Commission's approval of an item on the Consent Agenda will be consistent with the staff recommendation described in the report, unless otherwise noted. 1. Review and possible approval of the minutes from the September 23, 2010 Regular HARC meeting. Pergl stated the Sign Subcommittee approved the other consent agenda items and there would not need to be another vote on those items. He then moved to approve the minutes of the September 23 meeting as written. Second by Rapp. Approved 6 – 0. 2. Consideration and possible action on a Certificate of Design Compliance for new signage at Glasscock Addition, Block 22, Lots 5-8, also known as Main Street Baptist Church, located at 1001 S. Main Street. (CDC-2010-027) 3. Consideration and possible action on a Certificate of Design Compliance for new signage at City of Georgetown, Block 39, Lot 1 (pt) & Lot 4 (pt), also known as Mecca Hair Salon, located at 117 E. 7th Street. (CDC-2010-028) 4. Consideration and possible action on a Certificate of Design Compliance for new signage at City of Georgetown, Block 50, Lot 1 (s/pt), also known as the Moksha Yoga on the Square, Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 2 of 5 December 9, 2010 located at 824 S. Austin Avenue. (CDC-2010-029) Regular Agenda: 5. Consideration and possible action on a Certificate of Design Compliance for infill at City of Georgetown, Block 3, to be known as River Place, located at 100 S. Austin Avenue. (CDC- 2010-030) Robbie Wyler gave background of the property and the applicants provided a summary of the proposed site plan. Wyler: A prior applicant received CDC approval from HARC in 2005 on an infill project, to be called River Place, which was to occupy all of Block 3. Simultaneously, that applicant went through the Site Plan review process and was granted approval from both HARC and Staff. The project was to be constructed in phases, with eventual office and retail in separate buildings where parking was originally planned. Phase one included restaurant space in addition to some office and retail. The new applicant returns to HARC requesting Certificate of Design Compliance approval for a similar site layout and an updated building elevation. The new proposal, also positioning the restaurant to overlook Blue Hole on the South San Gabriel River, will contain approximately 7,000 square feet of interior space, a 4,200 square foot dining courtyard and a 2,000 square foot deck with seating for approximately 300 people. As part of the project there will be sidewalks, street furniture, landscaping and street parking on 2nd and Rock Streets. There are also future plans for traffic and pedestrian signals at 2nd and 6th Streets respectively, that will improve the pedestrian experience along Austin Avenue and connect River Place to the Square. Cliff Whittingstall with Overland Properties introduced himself and why Overland Properties was doing this project, along with a brief history of their company. He stressed that he and his company felt this property is a gateway site and is important to Georgetown and they want to be a part of that. Whittingstall introduced the Commission to Sketchup, the software that allowed him to show 2-D images of the entire site plan. He started with a walk-through of the property, beginning when the customer parks on the decomposed granite parking court and continuing through the courtyard with a rammed earth wall. The restaurant building design is contemporary, reminiscent of vernacular commercial buildings. The building will be faced with antique old Chicago brick and high -efficiency aluminum windows modeled after steel window systems used in commercial and industrial buildings. The single story building will have a flat roof with parapets to fully conceal all rooftop mechanical systems. A wrapping trellis system will be utilized at the outdoor seating area along the river and water and landscape features will be incorporated for visual appeal. The building will be oriented around a heavily landscaped central dining courtyard. Mark Wood of Word Design from Austin designed the landscaping and explained their ideas. They are attempting to unify the new and old elements of the property. They designed a thin profile parapet over the courtyard and used stone encased columns throughout. The sidewalk from Austin Avenue brings pedestrians through a garden and green vertical trellis. They designed wire boxes along Austin Avenue that will have vines growing on them and will separate the parking areas and traffic from the restaurant. A wooden service gate has been designed that will help the back of the restaurant not look so much as a service entrance on Austin Avenue. They have designed all the landscaping with Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 3 of 5 December 9, 2010 a focus on native and well adapted plants to reduce water usage, have low maintenance and using plants that are drought and freeze tolerant. Chair Moore thanked the presenters. He opened the Public Hearing at 6:42 p.m. and as there were no speakers coming forth, closed the Public Hearing. Moore invited the commissioners to make comments or ask questions. Commissioner Susan Firth began by thanking the applicants for designing a beautiful building. She asked about the back patio and whether it would be covered or not. Whittingstall answered that they were still doing “sun studies” and that it could be trellised, or maybe use trees and umbrellas for shading. Firth expressed concern over not having a specific design in that area for review. She then went on to discuss the service area gate, stating she felt it was not in character with the rest of the building. Firth questioned staff on the use of parallel parking on Austin Avenue. Wyler responded that it was under review by staff with the site plan and that it would probably not be allowed. He also stated sfaff was concerned about the one point ingress and egress of the parking lot. Rusty Winkstern, the owner/ applicant, responded that as the property was built out, with the additional office and retail spaces, the parking would be placed off-site. They have already purchased the land for this purpose. He also stated that he is asking as part of the Development Agreement with the city that the speed on Austin Avenue be reduced to 30 mph and that a pedestrian crossing light be installed along Austin Avenue. Commissioner Larry Moseley expressed his concern about the building’s design being too atmospheric. Winkstern stated he felt the design was appropriate with the history of the site and the location of the restaurant. Commissioner Dee Rapp expressed that she likes the concept and that this is exciting for Georgetown. She expressed concern about the view from Austin Avenue. She stated that the elements along the other sides of the property are very nice, but that the vines that will be used on the Austin Avenue “screens” will n ot be evergreen and therefore not provide the screening that is desired. Mark Word responded that seasonal plants will be switched out on all sides of the building to keep the property well landscaped. He also explained that the evergreen boxes/ screens will only be bare in the first couple of winters but that other plants will be placed behind them to cover the brick walls and service area wall. Rapp still expressed concern about the service area being unattractive from the Austin Avenue side. Commissioner J.C. Johnson questioned who will switch out the landscape once the landscape architect was finished with the job. Winkstern stated he would be responsible for that as he currently was doing at the Monument Café, his other restaurant property on Austin Avenue. Johnson stated he did not like the decorative gate as well and felt it could be plainer and fit in with the character of the building. He also questioned the flood plain and whether the building could weather a high-rising river. Whittingstall explained the 500 year flood plain is listed at 697 feet and the building foundation is built to 698.5 feet, an extra 18 inches. Chair Will Moore stated he does not have any concerns about the building but that he supports the idea of reduced speed on Austin Avenue. He is also concerned about the back of the building facing Austin Avenue and the lack of the pedestrian quality that is trying to be maintained in the Downtown area. Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 4 of 5 December 9, 2010 Commissioner Moseley questioned the parapet material. Whittingstall explained it is to be a cast stone cap that will be the same color as the rammed earth wall. Moseley then questioned the amount of parking needed for this restaurant and how that was calculated. Wyler responded that per the Downtown Design Guidelines, 1 spaces was required per 500 square feet of restaurant seating area, meaning that 42 spaces are required for this restaurant. 62 spaces are provided offsite at this time, and the applicant is looking into valet parking during peak hours. Commissioner Pergl stated he thinks the applicant is missing an opportunity to open up the restaurant views to the water of the river. He expressed he felt the windows along the back were a good idea, but that they are still closed and the applicants should look into that. He suggested looking at the fenestrations and facades and open up the kitchen area with more windows also. Whittingstall explained that phase 2 of the development project would actually cover the service wall of the restaurant from Austin Avenue and place a building along Austin Avenue, showing more urban and bringing the downtown “feel” closer. Rapp questioned the timing of the project. Winkstern responded that his intent was to have the restaurant built first to bring energy to the area and then bring in the retail and office components. There was discussion amongst the commissioners regarding the presentation being different than the original submission. Motion by Moseley to approve the CDC with the following conditions:  That the applicant continue to work with staff and HARC on solutions to enhance the street view for pedestrians and drivers along Austin Avenue,  And continue to look at possible solutions for the river front to include features of fenestrations or trellising on the patio. Second by Pergl. Moseley then amended his motion to state that the applicant was to work with staff to bring a presentation back to HARC for the features that were listed. Amendment seconded by Pergl. Motion and amendment passed 6 – 0. Discussion of timing of future meetings and the applicants need to apply for a building permit in January. Chair Moore called for a brief intermission for commissioners to check calendars. Chair Moore called the meeting back to order at 7:50 p.m. Elizabeth Cook pointed out that there is a decomposed sidewalk from Austin Avenue to the restaurant that might not have been seen earlier but that is on the plan for pedestrian access. Motion by Pergl to continue this meeting on December 20, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. in the Georgetown Municipal Complex and to keep this item open for further discussion, looking at the two conditional items. Second by Rapp. Approved 6 – 0. 6. Reminder that the next regular HARC meeting will take place on January 27, 2010. 7. Adjournment. This meeting was not adjourned but ended at 7:58 p.m. __________________________________ _________________________________ Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 5 of 5 December 9, 2010 Approved, Will Moore, Chair Attest, Susan Firth, Secretary