HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_HARC_08.24.2014Historic and Architectural Review Commission Page 1 of 4
Meeting: August 28, 2014
City of Georgetown, Texas
Historic and Architectural Review Commission Workshop
Minutes
Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.
Council and Courts Building
101 E. 7th Street, Georgetown, TX 78626
Members present: Anna Eby, Chair; Jennifer Brown, Nancy Knight, Vice‐ Chair; David Paul; Richard
Mee, and Mary Jo Winder.
Commissioners in Training present: Barbara Price and Rodolfo Martinez
Commissioners absent: Ty Gibson
Staff present: Matt Synatschk, Historic Planner; Andreina Davila, Project Coordinator; Jackson Daly,
Executive Assistant; Tamera Baird, Chief Plans Reviewer; and Karen Frost, Recording Secretary.
A. Call to Order by Eby at 6:01 p.m. with the reading of the meeting procedures.
* Those who speak must turn in a speaker form, located at the back of the room, to the recording
secretary before the item that they wish to address begins. Each speaker will be permitted to address the
Commission one time only for a maximum of three (3) minutes.
This Regular Session may, at any time, be recessed to convene an Executive Session for any purpose
authorized by the Open Meeting Act, Texas Government Code 551.
Legislative Agenda:
B. Discussion and possible action to approve the minutes from the June 26, 2014 regular meeting.
Motion by Mee to approve the minutes as submitted. Second by Knight. Approved 6 – 0.
C. Discussion and possible action to approve the minutes of the July 24, 2014 Workshop session.
Motion by Knight to approve the minutes as submitted. Second by Mee. Approved 6 – 0.
D. Public Hearing and possible action on a request for a Certificate of Design Compliance (CDC) for
exterior alterations for the property located at 114 East 7th Street, bearing the legal description of City
of Georgetown, Block 40, Lot 1, 4, .33 acres (CDC‐2014‐017).
Synatschk presented the staff report. The applicant seeks a Certificate of Design Compliance (CDC)
for exterior alterations to the Low Priority historic structure located at 114 East 7th Street. The project
involves altering the south (rear) building façade by removing two historic windows, replacing one
window to match existing windows, installing two new exit doors, and restoring existing windows,
as well as painting the structure with color matched paint (Exhibit 1).
The property owner wishes to divide the interior of the structure in to smaller spaces, requiring the
addition of the secondary doors. The windows proposed for removal are partially shielded from the
public view by the eastern portion of building, reducing the impact on the historic significance of the
structure and character of the district. The windows adjacent to the public right‐of‐way will be
rehabilitated, including restoring the frames and removing the paint from the glass. The Design
Guidelines generally discourage the removal of architectural elements from a façade; however, the
limited visibility reduces the impact on the structure. Additionally, the proposed location for the new
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Meeting: August 28, 2014
doors has the lowest overall impact on the structure. The wall around the doors will be restored with
new galvanized metal, matching the existing historic material.
The proposed unadorned doors are appropriate for the structure. City staff recommends the
proposed white doors be painted to match the building, further reducing the visual impact of the
exterior alteration. The applicant was not present for comments.
Eby opened the Public Hearing and with speakers coming forth, closed the public hearing.
Motion by Mee to approve the CDC as submitted with the condition that the proposed exterior
doors be painted to match the exterior building color. Second by Winder. Approved 6 – 0.
E. Public Hearing and possible action on a request for a Certificate of Design Compliance (CDC) for an
addition for the property located at 410 South Myrtle Street, bearing the legal description of
Glasscock Addition, Block 14, Lot 8, .16 acres (CDC‐2014‐028).
Synatschk presented the staff report. The proposed project for the Medium Priority historic structure
located at 401 South Myrtle Street adds additional square footage to the rear of the structure, creating
a more useful space for the property owner. The addition is placed at the rear of the structure,
limiting the impact on the historic significance and architectural features. The 350‐square foot
addition creates an increase in square footage of approximately 16%, in conformance with the
Downtown and Old Town Design Guidelines. Board and batten siding will be utilized to create the
material differentiation between the historic structure and the new construction.
The application was deemed complete by staff and contains sufficient information to review the
proposed project. The proposed project is in compliance with the standards set forth by the Unified
Development Code and the Downtown and Old Town Design Guidelines. The new addition and roof
do not significantly alter the integrity of the historic structure and are compatible with the
surrounding historic properties.
J. Bryant Boyd, the applicant, was available for questions and comments.
Eby opened the Public Hearing and with speakers coming forth, closed the public hearing.
Motion by Knight to approve CDC‐2014 ‐ 028 as submitted. Second by Mee. Approved 6 – 0.
F. Public Hearing and possible action on a request for a Certificate of Design Compliance (CDC) for
exterior alterations for the property located at 713 South Main Street, bearing the legal description of
City of Georgetown, Block 40, Lot 6 (SW/PT), .069 acres (CDC‐2014‐029).
Synatschk presented the staff report. The Escape business located at 713 S. Main Street on the
Courthouse Square wishes to update its business image. The update includes exterior paint and
signage for the structure. Additionally, the windows located on the second floor are proposed to be
restored. New business signage includes a canopy mounted sign, hanging sign, and window and
door signage. The exterior paint and signage design are coordinated to reflect the line of products
available for purchase.
The structure experienced a fire in the 1930’s, at which time the exterior masonry was painted to
cover the scorch marks. Based upon the Design Guidelines, the repainting of the structure is
appropriate. The paint colors are selected to highlight the key architectural features of the structure,
including the character defining storefront components, decorative stonework and windows. The
signs will be mounted on the canopy to prevent the obstruction of architectural elements of the
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Meeting: August 28, 2014
second floor. Small lights will be installed on the canopy to provide backlighting for the proposed
sign. The proposed project complies with the Downtown and Old Town Design Guidelines and
allows the property owner to refresh their business, ensuring continued success on the Square.
Len Lester, the applicant/ Owner, was present for questions and stated that after 18 years in business,
they wanted to update and remarket their business.
Knight confirmed that the doors are wood and would remain wood. Lester also confirmed that the
current name and date on the building were painted green and would be changed to a dark blue,
matching the new gutter color. Knight asked if the sign was bigger. Lester explained that the
signage was slightly smaller overall.
Winder asked about the painted finials and exterior. Lester explained that the exterior was painted
after the fire in the late 1930’s. There was further discussion of attempts as removing the painted
exterior to reveal the limestone. Mee commented that he thinks the new paint choices are excellent.
Eby opened the Public Hearing and with speakers coming forth, closed the public hearing.
Winder made comments about the colors being too bold and bright for stone elements, citing Design
Guidelines 11.5, 11.6 and 5.1, explaining that the paint obscures the elements and the owner should
be using more earth tones.
Motion by Mee to approve the CDC as submitted. Second by Paul. Approved 5 – 1. (Winder
opposed.)
G. Discussion and possible action to reduce the development delay for unapproved demolition of a
historic accessory structure at 913 Walnut Street.
Synatschk presented pictures of the property and explained that the contractor for this project had
removed an accessory structure with the plan to rebuild another structure, only bigger, on the same
location. He explained that there was no documentation that indicated this to be an historical
structure, so the assumption is that it is. Since a CDC was not granted for demolition prior to the
demolition, the contractor was issued a stop work order and was ordered to submit a request to
HARC. The UDC process states that a project can be delayed for up to 365 days, or a time that is
deemed appropriate by the Commission.
John Lawton, the applicant/contractor, was present for discussion. He explained that when he took
the walls down, he knew he should have gone to the City, but made the choice to go ahead and
remove the structure. He explained that he did have a permit at the time to rebuild the new structure
and because there were several reasons to keep moving forward, he decided to keep going.
Mee confirmed that the city does not have record that this was a historic structure. Synatschk
explained that the accessory structure was not listed on any survey. Knight confirmed that the city
issued a permit to rebuild the structure and then stopped the work when it was discovered that it
might be historic.
Knight expressed concern that there is a big “disconnect” between demolition of big historic houses
and small non‐historic or decaying shacks and garages in people’s backyards. She wants to reduce
the delay period so citizens will be more inclined to apply for CDC’s and use the process. Winder
expressed concern about the definition of historic versus historically significant.
Motion by Paul to reduce the delay period to 100 days based upon the demolition has limited impact
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Meeting: August 28, 2014
on the remaining historic significance of the property, and the 365 day delay constitutes a risk to
health, safety and wellness. Second by Eby. Motion failed 2 – 4. (Brown, Mee, Winder and Knight
opposed.)
Motion by Knight to reduce the delay period to 45 days from July 17, with an expiration of August
31, before application for a CDC for demolition, based upon the demolition has limited impact on
the remaining historic significance of the property, and the 365 day delay constitutes a risk to
health, safety and wellness. Second by Mee. Approved 4 – 2. (Paul and Eby opposed.)
H. Conceptual review for 1802 South Austin Avenue.
J. Bryant Boyd, the architect for this propose project presented the concept plan of residential
structure renovation. The house is next door to the Georgian Apartments, for reference. The owners
are proposing to remove the upstairs addition and add additional rooms to the back of the existing
house, taking out a couple of non‐historic structures in the process. They intend to replace some
siding that is decayed, repair that which can be repaired and place new siding on the new areas of the
house. The replaced and new siding will be similar to the current lap siding. Their intent is to
renovate, not restore, while being respectful of the existing structure.
Commissioners did not offer many comments other than this looked like a good project and they look
forward to seeing the full application.
I. Update from Sign Subcommittee.
Knight reported that there is work being done on a new Business Owner brochure that will help
explain the sign regulations.
J. Downtown and Old Town Design Guidelines Training ‐ Renee Hanson
This item was postponed until another meeting due to time restraints.
K. Questions and comments from Commissioners in Training.
There were no comments given.
L. Staff updates and reminder of future meetings.
Proposed Downtown Overlay Expansion is going through the public hearing process.
CLG Grant for National Register District update
9th Street streets and sidewalks, west of Austin Ave. are being worked on next.
Tin Barn Alley and 8th Street rehabilitation is ongoing.
Sign Subcommittee Meeting – Sept 9th @ 4:00 (No cases at this time, could be cancelled.)
HARC Meeting – September 25th , 5:30 Sign Subcommittee (tbd) and 6:00 regular meeting.
Adjournment. Eby adjourned the meeting at 7:26 p.m.
________________________________ __________________________________
Approved, Anna Eby, Chair Attest, Nancy Knight