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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-02-07 Historic MINASHLAND HISTORIC COMMISSION Minutes February 7, 1990 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Jim Lewis at 7:38 p.m. Members present were Jim Lewis, Terry Skibby, Rick Harris and Joyce Ward (who arrived at 8:40 p.m.). Also present were Associate Planner John McLaughlin, Secretary Sonja Akerman and City Council Liaison Susan Reid. Commission members Lorraine Whitten, Maxine Colwell and Susan Reynolds were absent. Commission members Margaret Dode and Pat Warner have resigned. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Since there was not a quorum until Ward arrived, approval of the Minutes of the January 3, 1990 meeting was delayed until the next meeting. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN REVISIONS Kay Atwood commented on her revision of the Historic Preservation element of the Comprehensive Plan, which was included in the packet to the Commissioners. She stated that she had taken comments from the minutes of two Historic Commission meetings and notes from Hal Cloer for the revised version. She also explained that she had added brief descriptions of the four historic interest areas and accomplishments on the Ashland Cultural Resources Inventory. The next step for the Comp Plan revision will be to forward it to CPAC. Atwood then updated the Commission on the inventory. She is now working on the Siskiyou-Hargadine District, which will be finished in April. With the completion of the Skidmore District in August, the survey and the SHPO grant will be concluded. STAFF REPORTS It was decided to proceed without a quorum on three of the Planning Actions since they appeared to have little or no changes of previously approved Planning Commission decisions. PA 90-023 Extension of Previously Approved Site Review and Variance 133 Sixth Street Bob Martindale McLaughlin briefly explained the history of this request, reminding the Commission that compromises had been made by the applicant and the Historic Commission regarding the design of the proposed house and garage. The approval was granted on March 13, 1989. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes February 7, 1990 Nothing has changed in the plans, ordinances or policies. Harris recommended this action be passed to the Planning Commission without comment since nothing has changed. PA 90-040 Extension of Previously Approved Conditional Use Permit, Variance and Site Review 137 North Main Street James B. Parker McLaughlin clarified that all previous conditions will apply. Because there were no objections, this action will be passed to the Planning Commission without comment. PA 90-042 Change in Applicant 163 Granite Street Louise Samuelson McLaughlin stated this is a change in ownership and applicant. A Planning Action is required to make sure the new applicant is aware of all the conditions which were attached to the previous approval and to let the neighbors know of the change. Since the only change is the applicant and there were no objections, this action was also forwarded to the Planning Commission without comment. SIGN CODE ORDINANCE DRAFT REVISIONS McLaughlin distributed yet another draft copy of the Sign Code Ordinance revisions. He had discussed ways to make it more palatable to the public with John Fregonese, so after a few changes, came up with another draft. George Kramer stated the revisions imply that historic signs will be specially treated by the Council, but not "how". He also feels it needs to give owners more of an incentive to keep and maintain a historic sign. Discussion ensued regarding changes which Kramer and the Commission agreed needed to be made. The Commission directed Staff to make the changes which were discussed and to have it ready for the next meeting. HISTORIC COMMISSION BROCHURE The Commission agreed the content of the brochure was fine. Boundaries of the Historic District were discussed and it was acknowledged that now is the time to work on a definitive perimeter so it can be adopted at the same time the Comprehensive Plan is adopted. (Ward arr/ved at th/s t/m~) Ashland Historic Commission Minutes February 7, 1990 STAFF REPORTS (continued) PA 89-020 Conditional Use Permit and Site Review 34 Union Street and 549 Allison Street G.IC Schrock McLaughlin explained this is an abutting "L"-shaped piece of property which contains 17,000 square feet. The applicant proposes to located two upstairs units in the house at 34 Union Street, two in the remodeled garage, one in the new carriage house and three in the house at 549 Allison Street. This will be the largest B & B in Ashland if it is approved. The City has no limit as far as the Land Use Ordinance is concerned, while Jackson County has a limit of six units - and anything over that would be considered commercial enterprise. He added that if the lot was vacant, it would accommodate seven apartment units. The alley is already paved. G.K. Schrock then stated he is trying to bring three things together with this application. The first is the rehabilitation of the property at 34 Union Street. It is of the vernacular style with an all wood interior and no plaster. The location is very close to downtown and only a block from where the Stage Road turned. He wants to bring the workmanship together on the lower portion with vertical boards and battens, identical to the structure on Highway 66 (the Dunn House). The carriage, he added will not be board and batt because it is of a later date. The new coach house will be in a simple Victorian style which will bring back a feeling of the American Renaissance. The porch at 34 Union Street will be removed and the addition will be attached to the Northeast wing. Two dormers will be added to the front of the house, while the roof will remain the same. No exterior changes will be made to 549 Allison. He also mentioned that the interior at 34 Union Street will remain the same. The Commission discussed at length the great extent of outside changes at 34 Union, even though a 200 square feet addition is not that much. Harris stated he did not feel the changes to 34 Union Street were homogenous with the area or the historic structure of the existing house. Lewis stated the heavy modification, especially with the removal of the front and back porch, vertical siding, window changes and gable ends, would be making its own history and not retaining anything from its original history. Schrock interjected that the upstairs needs to be rehabilitated in order to make the structure more sturdy, and that while changing the look by adding dormers, the roof will remain the same. Jac Nichols, architect, added that the retention of the porch had been discussed with Mr. Schrock and was a possibility. Schrock stated the previous owner had told him that board and batt siding is under the existing siding. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes February 7, 1990 George Kramer informed those present that he had recently earned a masters degree in historic preservation from the University of Oregon and one of his professors is an authority on this type of construction. He stated board and batten housing was very rare in Oregon and it would be very inappropriate to have one within the City limits of Ashland, even though that may have been the siding at one time. Harris said the need is to try to maintain compatibility and that such a mix of designs does not add to the look of the house in a historic way, nor maintain the history. It defeats the purpose of historic preservation in town to have such heavy modification to a structure. Skibby asserted the carriage house design is not compatible with either house. He said he felt the B & B ordinance is to save original architecture of houses and not to alter them so drastically. This clearly, he feels, is not the intent of the ordinance. Ward stated she felt the use of the property fits, but how the buildings are treated is what matters. Harris moved to recommend approval of the Conditional Use Permit with the following conditions: that only six units be approved because the remodel of the garage is not appropriate due to setbacks and substantial change, and that the modification of 34 Union Street and garage be not significantly altered, and that the Historic Commission will work with the owner and architect to accomplish a new design. After a short discussion, he withdrew the motion. Skibby moved to recommend denial of the project because the plans, as presented, are not compatible with the area and that the remodel is too drastic; that the new building is not compatible in design regarding placement of windows and design of roof; and because these changes so drastically alter the historic character of the neighborhood, that it is not in keeping with the intent of the ordinance. Ward seconded the motion. Discussion followed to clarify the points of concern: 1, Gable end of 34 Union Street is too asymmetrical and since it is a primary view, is not compatible. 2. Board and batten siding is inappropriate for 34 Union Street. 3. Caps on all windows are inappropriate with the design of 34 Union Street. Entryway contributes to the asynunetricality of the house and modernization of the design. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes February 7, 1990 0 Horizontal windows at 34 Union Street are incompatible and the scale and orientation are inappropriate in the Southeast elevation. e The screen porch windows of the Southeast elevation of 34 Union Street are a detriment to that elevation and are not compatible with the original window design. , The hip design of the roof addition is different than the original structure and is inappropriate at 34 Union Street. 8. The cantilevers on the carriage house are inappropriate. 9. The geometric design of the carriage house is inappropriate. It was the unanimous opinion of the Commission that the eclectic design of the project does not make any sense and it should be redesigned. On voice vote, the Commission unanimously approved the motion. PA 90-027 Conditional Use Permit and Site Review 666 "A" Street James and Cheryl Lewis McLaughlin stated that last month, portions of this action were reviewed. The Lewis' plan on moving a house from Medford, which was slated for demolition, to this site. Because it is zoned for employment, a residential structure requires a Conditional Use Permit. Staff feels there are no negative impacts with this proposal and that the size is appropriate for the neighborhood. Lewis declared a conflict of interest. McLaughlin said the houses need to be located so that the property could eventually be split. When questioned about the distance between the houses, Lewis stated there will be at least 15 feet between them. He also discussed the landscaping, verifying they will be planting approved street trees, but two existing cottonwoods will have to be removed. In addition, he is in the process of searching for photos of the house so he can replicate the porch. Harris moved and Skibby seconded to recommend approval of the project to the Planning Commission. Lewis abstained; Harris, Skibby and Ward all voted aye. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes February 7, 1990 BUILDING PERMITS Permits reviewed by members of the Historic Commission and issued during the month of January follow: Jackie Bruni Brent Thompson Stella Moser Ann Clouse Simon Kechlovian Rob Holman M. Dunn Roberts BP Scrap Peddlers of Ashland Vocational Resource Consultants Ashland's Optical Expressions Lithia Sports Ltd. 130 Helman St. Garage 535 Iowa St. Window 135 "B" St. Addition* 70 Water St. Door 212 Vista St. Remodel 75 N. Main St. Remodel 159 N. Laurel St. Remodel & Fnd 595 N. Main St. Sign 240 E. Main St. Sign 150 N. Pioneer St.Sign 30 N. Main St. Sign 372 E. Main St. Sign * Denotes a permit that was disapproved by Historic Commission. NEW BUSINESS National Historic Preservation Week George Kramer spoke on behalf of Siskiyou Pioneer Sites Foundation, representing the Historic Preservation League of Oregon. He said that SITES is trying to arrange a series of lectures on historic preservation prior to Historic Preservation Week, with the final lecture to be held during that week. The lectures would be held in Jacksonville, Medford and Ashland (hopefully, with monetary participation from the Ashland Historic Commission, Medford Historic Commission and Southern Oregon Historical Society for printing posters and tickets). The Historic Commission agreed this would be a worthwhile educational project to increase awareness of historic preservation. Harris suggested the Commission advertise in conjunction with Historic Preservation Week and that the lecture series culminate in Ashland. Kramer will return to the next meeting with more information. The Commission also agreed the bill stuffer is fine as it is. Skibby will print a photograph for the first page of the newsletter. OLD BUSINESS Ordinance Revisions This will be discussed at the March 7, 1990 meeting. Ashland Historic Commission Minutes February 7, 1990 Review Board Following is the schedule (until the next meeting) for the Review Board, which meets every Thursday from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Planning Department: February 8 - Lewis, Harris and Skibby February 15 - Ward, Lewis and Reynolds February 22- Harris, Skibby and Colwell March 1 - Ward, Skibby and Whitten (Harris moved to extend the meeting past 10:30 p.m. Skibby seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.) NEW BUSINESS Golden Spike Memorial Park Because of the time, the Commission agreed to discuss this during the March meeting. Skibby stated that the Ashland Heritage Committee will be addressing this at its next meeting, so he will report to the Commission on the results. Special Assessment - 35 Granite Street Harris moved and Skibby seconded to recommend approval for special assessment of the residence located at 35 Granite Street, and the motion was unanimously passed. 35 Granite Street is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Other Skibby discussed the construction work at 115 Sherman Street. The building permit was approved at the time of Conditional Use Permit and Site Review approval, based on drawings which were turned in and statements made at the Historic Commission meeting by the owner, Laura Laurence. McLaughlin stated the owner will be writing a letter to explain why the construction happened as it did and what is going on now. This will be reviewed by both the Historic Commission and the Planning Commission. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:40 p.m.