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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-07-06 Historic MINASHLAND HISTORIC COMMISSION Minutes July 6, 1994 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Vice Chairperson Terry Skibby at 7:35 p.m. Members present were Terry Skibby, Steve Ennis, Chloe Winston, H.L. Wood, Larry Cardinale, and Keith Chambers. Also present were Associate Planner Mark Knox and Secretary Sonja Akerman. Casey Mitchell, Jim Lewis and Bill Harriff were absent. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ennis moved and Cardinale seconded to approve the Minutes of the June 8, 1994 meeting as submitted. The motion passed unanimously. STAFF REPORTS PA 94-104 Sign Variance 10 Water Street Grady and Susan Golden Knox explained this application is for a Sign Code Variance for the placement of signs, the number of signs and the size of the signs for the French Quarter. The awning signs were put up with out permits, therefore, without approval. Knox said the Sign Code Ordinance is very cumbersome, but is a very good ordinance and has done a lot of good for the City as a whole. According to the ordinance, frontage is defined as a single wall surface of a building facing a given direction. These signs are painted on the Water Street, East Main Street and Lithia Way sides. Only the Water Street side sign is legal. The legal number of signs a business can have is two. The French Quarter has five, totalling 77 square feet. Only 24 square feet is allowed because there is only 24 lineal feet of the business. The ordinance prohibits variance approval for size and number of signs, and would need to be changed in order for this to be approved. He also noted the design is similar to others in the downtown area, however, Staff is recommending the variances not be approved by the Planning Commission as submitted. If the Commission approves the variance, the owners would still need to bring the square footage down to 24 feet. Cardinale asked if the awning would have to be removed. Knox answered it would not because it is all on private property, and added the awning is a separate structure because it is not entirely supported by the building. Chambers asked if the sign could go beyond the three foot limit. Knox said the ordinance was written to accommodate', the rights-of-way, which would be public property, but since the awning is on private property, it could remain on the awning provided the square footage was scaled down to what is allowed in the ordinance. When Winston questioned how the owners could not know about the Sign Code Ordinance, Knox stated the owners hired a contractor to make the awning and signs. Knox related the Commission would need to make sure there are extraordinary circumstances if considering approval. There also may be long range impacts of such approval, such as setting a precedence for other businesses to apply for Sign Code Variances. Susan Golden, part owner of the French Quarter, stated the business is not actually facing a street, which has been a big dilemma. The building is at an odd angle in a parking lot. The address is on Water Street, but it is very difficult to find because there is no access off Water Street, only East Main Street. They wanted an awning which would look nice in Ashland and also be visually accessible. Ennis asked if the owners could cut down the number of signs to two and the square footage to 24 feet. Grady Golden, the other part owner, said there is actually 30 lineal feet to their business. Their business faces the beaver slide. He asserted one can't actually see the awning coming down North Main Street until past Munchies because of the espresso cart and the Adventure Center. They hired professional people to design the awning and signs for them and expected the contractor to follow the requirements. He would be willing to remove the sign facing Lithia Way, but for the sake of his business, they need to keep the East Main and Water Street sides. When Chambers questioned his knowledge about the Sign Code Ordinance, Golden answered he relied on the contractor, as they were in the process of moving their business and remodelling at the same time. Grady Golden also called attention to a letter submitted by Jac Nickels in support of the variance. Golden said the frontage can be worked out. They tried to do something tasteful and have received thanks and compliments for their efforts. They have also provided more security for the area with added lighting. The prior hair dresser located in the building went out of business because of the lack of visibility. Their problem seems to be the angle of building vs. street vs. address. Susan Golden noted the reason they are applying for the variance is because of their unique situation. Ted Clay, 219 Meade Street, stated if the real issue is one of recognizing the nature of the building, and if you look at the intent of the ordinance whereby the signs are not too big, since the nature of this sign makes it appear smaller, it would seem logical to approve the variance. Skibby stated the sign is large and it appears larger than the surrounding ones. Grady Golden stated man3, signs in the City do not comply with the ordinance. Knox replied he and John McLaughlin will be taking care of violations of the Sign Code Ordinance the following week, as everyone should have the same equal share and not compete for the largest sign. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes July 6, 1994 Page 2 Ennis reminded the applicants their request cannot be approved without public hearings and City Council approval of ordinance changes. Chambers stated there is an issue of symmetry here, as the awning looks out of balance. If everyone wanted a bigger sign, we would have what Ashland looked like 30 years ago. He can see, however, a reduction of size. Skibby said he does not feel bound by the fact the awning is already existing. Ennis noted if the sign permit application came in and it were being reviewed from scratch, it simply would not be approved. Skibby then stated a standard awning or sign on the building could be approved. He said he feels the sign should be regulated by the ordinance and the applicants should start over, since it was put up without a permit. Ennis stated he can see a special need for having the sign facing East Main Street, and personally agrees with the variance for facing East Main Street. Cardinale stated he has a similar circumstance with his business (Handyman). His building is located below Ashland Street and people have a very difficult time finding it. He personally feels the ordinance should be more lenient, but he does not have a say in it, so the ordinance should be followed. Winston remarked while she appreciated the applicants efforts, the signs are out of scale and she felt they should have been wiser. She advised the contractor should be financially responsible. Wood moved to recommend denial of the application to the Planning Commission, and Winston seconded the motion. Chambers asked for clarification. Winston stated the intent would be to remove the signs. Chambers said the massing and scale are too large, but he is not against a variance for the placement of a 24 square foot sign. The motion carried with all voting aye except Ennis and Chambers, who both stated they were not in favor of what exists, but felt the owners should be allowed to have a sign facing East Main Street. Ennis suggested the applicants go to the Planning Commission meeting agreeing to reduce the size of the signs and ask for a variance for the side location only. DEMOLITION REQUEST- 168 MEADE STREET Skibby clarified the house is on the Heritage Landmarks List. Ted Clay, new owner of the property, acknowledged he was in error when he stated it was not. Skibby then gave a short history of 168 Meade Street and passed around photos of the property. When questioned by Skibby if the garage would remain, Clay answered it would. Skibby stated he felt the garage had more architectural merit than the house. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes July 6, 1994 Page 3 Clay conveyed he has had several people take a look at the house. One was a house mover and one was an architect, and neither felt the house was worth saving. Because of the fire, the house has been condemned. Everything above four feet on the main floor has been scorched and suffered fire damage. When asked what will occupy the site, Clay said he will be building a single family residence. The design will not be similar, but it will be compatible. Also, it will be', one and one-half stories. Skibby stated that by keeping the garage, it will keep the history of the site, and he can understand the request for demolition of the house. Ennis also understands and added the existing house sits much too low. Ennis moved to recommend approval of the demolition request given the condition of the existing house, the recent history, and the fact it is ranked as a secondary structure on the Heritage Landmarks List. Furthermore, as part of the motion, the Commission agreed the garage structure shall be retained. Chambers seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Clay then asked if it would be most important to keep the garage as it is and have it compatible but not similar, or change the windows and siding. The Commission agreed the garage should retain as much of the original siding and windows as possible. If adding on, the siding and windows should match the existing. Proposed Central Avenue/Water Street Railroad Spur Wes Vail presented a railroad slide show. He stated he would like to get the railroad line, at least from Ashland to Shasta, on the National Register because SP is in the process of tearing up the line and taking out the old crossings, etc. He also stated he owns the railroad right-of-way spur between Water Street and Central Avenue. He has three nice old rail cars and needs a building to house them. The design would be similar to the old depot hotel with a porch, only on a smaller scale and it would be a shed. Eventually, he will probably give the cars to the State of Oregon. The structure will be for storage of the cars, and possible a museum at the most. If and when the railroad ever runs over the Siskiyou Mountains again, his cars can be used. In the meantime, he needs to shelter them. Vail then presented elevations of the proposed building, which would be 250 feet long. He said he chose an Eastlake design because all the depots SP built in the northwest at that time were of this style. Ennis stated and the Commission agreed it would be very important to see drawings of the massing of the building and streetscape. Vail said he is not in a hurry at this point and he will work with the Review Board. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes July 6, 1994 Page 4 BUILDING PERMITS Permits reviewed by members of the Historic Commission and issued during the month of June follow: 164 Fifth Street 165 Gresham Street 105 East Main Street 750 "A" Street 499 Iowa Street 27 Dewey Street 774 "C" Street 152 Strawberry Lane 407 Scenic Drive 407 Scenic Drive 407 Scenic Drive 165 Gresham Street 561 "C" Street 34 Union Street 220 Van Ness Avenue 399 East Main Street 91 Gresham Street 586 East Main Street 115 East Main Street 258 "A" Street Fred/Laura Perloff Hank/Karen O'Dougherty Brent Thompson Allan Sandler Tom Marvin Patricia Poe Myrtle Franklin Laura Dunbar Bressler Richard/Dorothy Davis Richard/Dorothy Davis Richard/Dorothy Davis Hank/Karen O'Dougherty Sandra Simonette G.K. Schrock Darrell Boldt Fussywugs Antique Rose Inn Anne Hathaway's Cottage Trapeze Lot 9 Replace Windows Remodel/Addition Revisions/Remodel Interior Remodel Deck Remodel/Addition Skylights Remodel Remodel Garage Conv to Unit Garage Reroof Garage Interior Remod/Garage Greenhouse Four-plex Sign Sign Sign Sign Sign REVIEW BOARD Following is the schedule (until the next meeting) for the Review Board, which meets every Thursday at least from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Planning Department: July 7 July 14 July 21 July 28 Skibby and Winston Skibby, Chambers and Wood Skibby, Winston and Cardinale Skibby, Winston and Cardinale OLD BUSINESS Goal Setting/Orientation Meeting Skibby stated he felt the Commission should support the re-activation of a railroad line in this area, and offered to write a letter. Goals will be discussed at the next meeting. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes July 6, 1994 Page 5 SHPO Workshop Knox stated the workshop will be on July 20th at the Old Ashland Armory. Agendas will be mailed to the City Council, Historic Commission and Planning Commission members. Also, announcements will be placed in the newspaper. Seismic Retrofitting Brochure The Commission reviewed a memo from Building Official Mike Broomfield that was sent to the Mayor and Council in February. The Commission needs to know how far the City has gotten on this before it proceeds. Graffiti in Ashland Wood reported the City Attorney is keeping an eye on what is happening with the ordinances in Klamath Falls and Grants Pass. He also noted there is a "graffiti watch", whereby if the Police Department is notified of new graffiti, someone will be sent out to remove it. Knox volunteered to draft an article for the newspaper, then show it to Police Chief Gary Brown before submitting it. NEW BUSINESS Removal and Replacement of Lithia Water Fountains/Spigot on Plaza The Commission felt the replacement of the eight fountains would be fine, however, more information on the design and orientation of the spigot replacement is needed. Sandblasting the Ganiard Opera House (It was agreed to extend the meeting beyond 10:00 p.m.) The letter requesting City Council approval for sandblasting the Ganiard Opera House was discussed. Owner Brent Thompson will be contacted and notified of alternative methods, since sandblasting old buildings is not acceptable. ADJOURNMENT With a motion by Chambers and second by Cardinale, it was the unanimous decision to adjourn the meeting at 10:20 p.m. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes July 6, 1994 Page 6