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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_HARC_03.24.2011Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 1 of 5 March 24, 2011 City of Georgetown, Texas Historic and Architectural Review Commission Meeting Minutes Thursday, March 24, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. City Council and Municipal Court Building, Georgetown, TX 78627 101 E. 7th Street, Georgetown, TX 78626 Members present: Will Moore, Chair; Sarah Blankenship; Susan Firth; Gregg Herriott;; David Paul; Dee Rapp and Nelia Ibsen Schrum. Commissioners in Training present: Raymond Wehrenbrock and Andy Welch. Members absent: none 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 6:10 p.m. 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. Consent Agenda: 1. Review and possible approval of the minutes from the February 24, 2011 regular HARC meeting. 2. Public hearing and possible action on a Certificate of Design Compliance for new signage at City of Georgetown, Block 41, Lot 5 (pt), also known as Urban Homes and Land, located at 714 S. Austin Avenue, Suite 201. (CDC-2011-005) Motion by Rapp to approve the minutes as submitted. The second item was voted on and approved at the Sign Subcommittee Meeting. Second by Herriott. Approved 7 – 0. Regular Agenda: Chair Moore introduced the new members to HARC and the Commissioners in Training in the audience. He then noted that Susan Firth and Dee Rapp were existing members of the Sign Subcommittee and they confirmed they would remain on the subcommittee. He asked for one more volunteer and Sarah Blankenship agreed to serve. 3. Election of HARC Officers; Vice-Chair & Secretary. Firth nominated Rapp for Vice-Chair. Second by Herriott. Approved 7 – 0. Rapp nominated Herriott for Secreta ry. Second by Firth. Approved 7 – 0. 4. Public hearing and possible action on a Certificate of Design Compliance for site changes, including a fenced-in outdoor seating area and urban gardens, at City of Georgetown, Block 28, Lots 1 – 8, Also known as the Monument Cafe site, located at 500 S. Austin Avenue. (CDC-2011- 006) Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 2 of 5 March 24, 2011 Wyler presented the staff report. The applicant seeks Certificate of Design Compliance approval from HARC for the addition of an outdoor seating area and urban garden to the Monument Cafe site. Shown on the provided site layout, the outdoor seating area, referred to as the biergarten, will be located to the southeast of the main restaurant, directly east and in front of an existing structure that will contain a future market. The biergarten, which will have a decomposed granite floor, will be screened from both Austin Avenue and 6th Street using a six (6) foot western red cedar or stained hardie-panel privacy fence. Either fence will be designed to support vegetation from both sides and will serve to insulate and screen the biergarten from the streets. As part of the biergarten project, the applicant will expand the existing herb garden and plant a small orchard between the biergarten and Austin Avenue as shown on the site layout. This will provide additional vegetation between the proposed fence and Austin Avenue sidewalk. Staff will review the plantings to ensure compliance with site and safety regulations. An urban garden is also proposed for the northwest portion of the property, directly behind the restaurant along Rock and 5th Streets. This will be used for production, education and dining purposes. A four (4) foot ornamental antique woven wire fence (shown on the provided photo) will surround the urban garden to control access. It will be installed and maintained to ensure it does not block the view of the garden from the surrounding public space. Staff recommends approval of the Certificate of Design Compliance amendment, based on the Design Guidelines, for both the outdoor seating area (biergarten) and urban garden as proposed by the applicant with the following conditions: 1) Staff recommends the applicant use the stained hardie-panel woven privacy fence rather than the western red cedar design. The woven -panel design provides a more urban and attractive appearance to the property and will better complement the surrounding landscape and streetscape. 2) The applicant will need to receive staff approval for all new landscaping prior to commencing with construction of the outdoor seating and urban garden to ensure compliance with the site plan. The applicant, Rusty Winkstern, was available for questions. Rapp questioned the work being done on 6th Street and the addition of a signal across Austin Avenue at 6th Street. Wyler responded that the city and the applicant have an agreement regarding the construction of 6th Street, along with the standardized sidewalks, landscaping, lighting and benches in accordance with the Downtown Master Plan. That work is occurring at this time. Elizabeth Cook explained that there will be a pedestrian signal installed, either at 5th or 6th Street and Austin Avenue, but not a traffic signal. The pedestrian signal should be installed by the end of the year. Winkstern explained that he has not been able find tenants for the office space so he has a new proposal for the biergarten, with the dual purpose of bringing people to the downtown area at night. He is still planning and working on the 3500 square foot market space that he hopes will open in April. And he is still working with the concept of taking food from the farm to the table and making it educational at the same time. Rapp questioned whether he intended to permanently retire the office building. Winkstern responded that he still intends to build it when the market turns. The orchard and herb garden will stay at that time, and the biergarten will become a small courtyard. Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 3 of 5 March 24, 2011 Rapp commented that she likes the woven fence that is proposed but questioned the inclusion of the red cedar fence. Winkstern explained he was giving the commissioners options. Blankenship commented that she “applauds” the project. She like the woven fence but suggest it should then into the property more. Winkstern explained that the parapet and stucco wall will be extended, which is not shown in the photos, and will tie in. Blankenship suggested moving the greenery around the biergarten and moving the biergarten forward toward Austin Avenue. Winkstern explained that TABC requires them to have a 6 foot fence and because of that, moving the biergarten and fence forward would affect the site lines of the vehicles on 6th Street. He likes the ideas but states they are also more expensive than he can afford at this time. They discussed other ideas on the development of the site. Winkstern stated he would cost her ideas out and consider them. Ibsen-Schrum stated she thought this was a good project. Paul stated this would be good for downtown. Herriott questioned the plantings on the roof. Winkstern explained that the weight of planting directly on the roof was too great for the structure and so they were trying planters. He said that was not working well either and that he only had 8 inches of dirt to work with. He may come back to HARC with another plan. Firth questioned the supports of the fence. Winkstern said that right now it is proposed as galvanized pipes and they will apply vinegar or something to make it less shiny. Motion by Rapp to approve the CDC as presented with the following conditions: that the applicant will install a mahogany stained hardie-panel fence around the biergarten and will bring a color sample in for staff approval and the height will be adjusted based on TABC certification; and the applicant will work with staff for approval of all landscaping. Second by Paul. Approved 7 – 0. 5. Discussion with the property owner of 409 E. University Avenue on converting the residential property to office. Chair Moore confirmed that before discussing the options, the process was to rezone the property through the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. This would not be considered for a Special Use Permit. And HARC does not make recommendations on zoning or use. He wants to make it clear that the commissioners were not making any recommendations on use. Wyler confirmed. Wyler introduced Jim Babcock, the property owner. Babcock explained that the charter states that HARC gives advice and guidance on historic properties and he was asking for their opinions. Babcock provided some comparables and explained that he has been unable to sell his property as a residence due to the very busy traffic on University Avenue. He prefers to preserve the house. He believes that rezoning the property may be his only option and asked for the Commissioners’ thoughts. Moore stated that the comparables noted are all in the Mixed Use – Downtown zoning district and that this house was not. He questioned whether the boundaries could be extended to that lot. Cook said not at this time, but that the Comprehensive Plan how has more flexibility for residential structures with a non-residential use. There was further discussion of how Babcock could alter the site to get the amount of parking he would need for an office use. It was suggested that he could use the existing driveway as a one way in and have a one-way egress on Ash Street. The commissioners were not in favor of allowing additional parking on Ash Street. Babcock questioned the commissioners about their Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 4 of 5 March 24, 2011 support of rezoning the property and whether they could support the action. There was not a formal vote but Moore explained that he felt he could support a different zoning district based on the location of the structure and the other options presented. Babcock thanked the commissioners for their time and help. 6. Appointment of Sign Subcommittee members. See action listed before item number 3. 7. Appointment of Demolition Subcommittee members. Cook explained that the new requirements for a demolition or relocation in the Downtown Overlay District, as amended in the Unified Development Code recently, require an applicant to meet with staff and a Demolition Subcommittee or designated member(s) of HARC to determine the criteria needed for the application. This person or persons must be available to meet with the applicant during daytime hours, typically a Wednesday morning or Thursday afternoon. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 7. This is not an ad hoc position to be called until we find someone, but an appointed subcommittee that would fulfill this specific role but not all the members must attend for staff to make a decision. These meetings usually last an hour, but there could be two or three on a day. Moore asked if anyone would be interested in this subcommittee. Paul asked that Cook explain the next item before anyone made a commitment to the first subcommittee. 8. Discussion and consideration on participants for the Economic Review Subcommittee. Cook explains this subcommittee meets to review applications that have been made with the statement that there is no economically viable use for that property. This person should be someone that does not have a financial or personal interest in the property but that will have knowledge of economic development in the area. This should not be a HARC member or staff member. Cook suggests getting a pool of people to choose from that could be called to review applications. Firth suggested Cook or staff write a letter explaining the position and qualifications and then the letters could be handed out and interest noted. Moore then asked again for volunteers of the Demolition Subcommittee. Firth, Ibsen-Schrum and Paul volunteered. Motion by Rapp to appoint those three individuals to the Subcommittee. Second by Herriott. Approved 7 – 0. 9. Discussion on UDC, Design Guidelines and HARC Bylaws. Cook reported that the Legal Department of the City and the City Secretary’s office were reviewing all the board and commission bylaws for consistency. HARC’s bylaws were recently revised, last October, and the City Secretary might be sending the bylaws back to the commission for review and revision within the next few months. The Design Guidelines are being updated and freshened up based on the Unified Development Code updates and ordinances that have been passed in the past months. Staff is working with the original author, Noré Winter, with those updates. Commissioner comments are being incorporated into the document also. The Guidelines will be coming to the Commissioners sometime this summer for review. Cook also reminded everyone that the Commissioners are required to have training twice a year per their bylaws. With the new members now appointed, this would be a good time to have an Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 5 of 5 March 24, 2011 overview of the Design Guidelines and Downtown Master Plan, along with a detailed discussion of the new UDC updates on demolition and infill in the Downtown Overlay District. Everyone reviewed their calendars. Consensus was to meet on Tuesday, April 19, 2011. Dinner will be served at 5:00 p.m. and the training session would begin at 5:30 p.m. 10. Reminder that the next regular HARC meeting will take place on April 28, 2011. Moore asked the commissioners in training (CIT) if they had any comments. Wahrenbrock asked about receiving the same information that the commissioners had. Wyler explained that the packet materials would be provided to them in the future, but were not included this time because the new CIT were not appointed when the applicants submitted their materials and there were not any extras to send. The number of materials required for future submittals is being increased. Wahrenbrock and Welch both questioned their ability to comment or deliberate on any of the items. Cook stated they were not allowed to deliberate each item on the agenda, but that she would look into the ability to participate through comments at the beginning or end of each meeting. This may be allowed as a standard agenda item. Wyler reminded the commissioners that the Sign Subcommittee meets on the second Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. and the 4th Thursday at 5:30 p.m., but there will not be a meeting on April 13 for lack of applications. 11. Adjournment Moore adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. ___________________________________ _________________________________ Approved, Dee Rapp, Chair Attest, Greg Herriott, Secretary