Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

the March 18th meeting of the Columbia Burough Planning Commission. Could I have roll call, please? Chairperson Wikenheiser here. Vice Chairperson Lynn present. Secretary Lynn here. Member Evans here. Member Hartman here. Member Roach. Member Lair here. Okay. Who stand for the flag? Pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. At this time, do I have a motion regarding the minutes as presented in your packet from the February 18th meeting? Some move. I have a motion from Brad. Do I have a second? I'll second it. A second from Tiff. Any comments, changes? Hearing none. All in favor signify by saying I. I. No. Shoot carries. Okay. We have no zoning hearings. We have no engineers reviews, no demolition applications. Uh public comment or questions. Uh action items. I have on here request for the recreation waiver for 440 North Fourth Street. That would be the Rivertown Summit Project. Hi. Hello. Hi. My name is Mike Andreic. I'm the outreach manager with Lexter Lebanon

Habitat for Humanities and um yeah, we'd like to request that the recreation be waved on the 440 North Fourth Street project that we're going to be beginning uh to start uh later this April. Um just a little bit about that uh project just for some background, it's a five unit build. Um, all five of those units have been matched with our Habitat families. They're all firsttime home buyers, including um, Donata, who is a Columbia resident. She has three children in the Columbia school district. Um, really excited about this project. It's going to be most likely the site for our really popular women build event in the fall. Um so that brings a lot of a lot of excited groups out to um the sites and it's just going to be a really great event. Um so basically a little bit more just so you guys know about Habitat. Um we've worked with first-time home buyers that make 40 to 80% of the county AMI. That's like $83,000. So they're making 40 to 80% of that. They're uh willing to work with us, partner with us, um pay an affordable mortgage, and put in between 200 and 400 hours of sweat equity, which involves financial literacy classes, um home maintenance classes, and work on houses. So, that's just a little bit about um our program. Basically, you guys know Habitat for Humanity is a a nonprofit. So, we rely on uh gifts from our generous donors and various grants, different programs. Um so, that's why tonight we're just coming out here to ask if this fee could be waved just to make every dollar um from our gifts

stretched to go into this project, which yeah, we're very excited about and uh really can't wait to get started on it. And also I do have a a few cards on the set here. You guys, we'd love to see you guys volunteer. Anybody wants to volunteer with us, that would be great. Okay. Through you to register. Yeah, we do have for the women a letter here that was uh sent to uh council from Steve Gerberley at Harbor Engineering back on February 24th. Um we've worked with Habitat before. You've done the houses down on Fifth Street and we at that point um you had offered $500 per unit for the fee in lie of and um at that for that project we had waved it. We took into consideration you had the acquisition, you had the demolition, you know everything that was involved with that project. So I will leave this open to members of the planning commission their wishes regarding this request for waiver from the Enthia Lua for the Rivertown Summit Habitat for Humanity project. So does this get decided by council? No. So we're this is planning commission. This comes to Okay. I thought it was but then Steve had written it to the Yeah, that was the question that was thrown out there, you know, when this came up as to who does wave these fees and it is falls under the purview of the planning commission. So that's why I'm leaving this open for discussion by planning commission. I greatly appreciate you being back and Billmore in Colombia. Thank you very much, Mary. I don't have a problem with waving

it. Habitat for Humanity is an outstanding organization and uh choosing Colombia is very appreciative. So I don't have a problem with leaving it certainly for such a large nonprofit organization. So do I have such a motion? So moved. Second. Okay. We have motion from Brad, second from Justin to wave the ina fee for park and open space use for the Habitat for Humanity project, Rivertown Summit. All those in favor? I. Anyone opposed? Okay. The neighborhood's excited over on London Street for homes to be built there. When are you breaking ground over there? We're hoping. We're hoping late April and we working all summer lots and subcontractors in lots of pictures. We definitely will. You can find a lot of stuff on that online. It's nice to see this happening because that was a project proposed by a private individual a couple years ago. Yes. Yeah. Because the plans that we saw for habitat were very much like the plans that we had seen. I guess that was about two years ago. It was before co everything's before DC before co. So glad to see that project revived. Thank you very much. I have a question. When will it be completed?

Um, we're hoping that we can be wrapping it up in the fall. Okay. Wow. Sometimes, you know, construction schedules can change a lot, but that's exciting. Very excited. Good. Okay. Good luck. Thank you very much. Thank you very much again. Take good care. Good night. Um, the next one here is the executive summary for the comp plan. We had um sent this over to council because of needing an expenditure of funds. And in the meantime, Paula has been working trying to get some prices to be able to take to council and she has some different uh options here for the layout of this executive sum. That's all yours. Hi. So, this is five pages as you well know. You all have one of these? Yeah. Okay. So, I went down here to art printing and then also contacted Staples and I know that Chris Vera had contacted uh Vista Print also. Vista Print um pretty much came back with the same information our printing did um with me only. They were a lot more expensive. That's the one over near Maple Donuts. I don't know. Just the print. It's online. Yeah. She based out of Canada. Oh, okay. I went down and spoke to Chris at Art Printing and here are the options. It's a five pager. So, don't be laughing. These are your options. Okay, it would be one full sheet and um

Okay, now these would all be on good stock paper if not and stuff like this. Here's option one. Option two is they staple here. Option three is you go with two full pages instead of the insert. The problem with that, and I said this is not my decision to make, but I would not go this route. Um, you would have, if you went this way, you would have three blank pages that you could insert something. And his suggestion was perhaps a market house. Well, I don't know about you guys, but I want this to be this. Yeah. And only this, right? And but again, I was my own opinion said it's not for me to say, but I would think that they would want it strictly that. So, that's you're going to have three blank pages if you go this route. Save a trade. So, um let me make sure I got all my options down done here. I think the last one was this where it would be a trifold not this size obviously it would be a full size and then okay so that was an option they are the best price um I have that with me I would hope I'm going to say between here it is 295 3.95 where Staples was the heck was at least six

they were not cheap 608 and that was just the staple version so it would be more to go any other route than that um so you're you know you're looking at and I did you know talk to Mary when we met last Do you do you really want and need a hundred? That's the other thing to look at. You know, you figure you want everything because they could run more, you know? I mean, if let's just say everybody they all went, we got 50 of them and they all got taken or whatever. They could order more. Sure. Sure. How much of a price difference is it per piece if you lessen cut the amount in half? Usually it's cheaper the higher you go. The more you go. Right. Right. So that you know that is your call. So that trifold could be an 8 by10 trifold I believe. So I will double check on that. But um I remember him talking about that kind of went in one ear and out the other to me because I thought no. And then tonight as I'm putting my little demonstrations together I'm thinking you know that because it's all connected. Yeah. And you have everything right there. Insert. When he showed me the insert, I'm like, a lot could be lost and there will be language on every side. Yes. And Marilyn, when I said, you know, about getting these, I would look them at putting some into realtor's hands, right? Oh, that's right. You know, that's what I This wasn't just to put out there or to hand around to council or, you know, if somebody comes in looking wanting to do a project in town, you know, you hand something like that to them. That's why I felt the the hund wasn't too much out of So, the trifold is the cheapest way.

Hold on. It's a long page folded kind of like a brochure would, but it folds into an 8 and 12 by 11 final side. So, and it tends to be folded like a Z. So, yes, that is an option. Um, that would be that would be six. So, six pages either way. There would be a blank somewhere. My guess would be here. The back center. So that's 600. Did you say? No. No. Six pages. Six pages. I haven't looked at this for a week or so. Hold on. Yeah. And that was for 100. So, it's uh he gave gave me two different prices. It would either be somewhere between 295 and 3.95 for 100 of the trifold. Correct. I like the trifold. I do too. Is that two color? I'm sorry. Is it two color? Yes. That's good. I like that there's no loose pages, right? I like there's no loose pages because they all get pulled out sometimes. Okay. Wins. Okay. Thank you for your research. See, I like to keep Exactly. Right. Thinking the same thing. Okay. Alrighty. We have no that was kind of our old business but our discussion. Okay. Okay.

Under new business. This is an interesting project, gentlemen. I've been wondering what's happening down there at the right mansion and the freight station. They've even put a gate in that fence in the back there. [Music] Got to turn this around. [Applause] Do you want to come up and sit so you can see this? You can if you want to walk with that, take it. No, no, walk with it. Good either. I'm Ben Morton. I'm a landscape architect and manager with Associates out of our city office. And um with me tonight is James Abbott, the executive director of I'll turn it over to him in a moment to give a little bit of the background on uh the mansion, what they're doing now and what they're hoping to do before getting um but just wanted to say we've been working now for a while with um their architects to work through what the vision is for this project. And then um late last month had a sit down with the burrow manager and burough engineer um to try and get some feedback from staff and one of the things they said was that it would be really helpful if we came in and introduced the project to

you before we did the full uh land development submission. So um here tonight to go over that and you know hope to answer some questions but also you know take your comments and um as we work towards the final design. So thank you. My name is Jim Abbott, James Abbott. I'm the executive director for Wright's Fair Mansion and the Louise Diamond Von Hess Foundation. And um most of you, I would hope all of you are familiar with Wrightberry Mansion. It has been open as a museum for 40 plus years. Um it is um recognized as the definitive representation of um Pennsylvania colonial architecture, decorative arts design for the period 1700 1750. It was um as most of you again know it was built initially by Susanna Wright of the Wright family Wright's fair in 1738. It remained in the Wright family until 1921 1922 at which time it was acquired by um one family and then that family sold it subsequently to Richard C. Von Hess and Louise Diamond Voness in 1973. So there have been three owners basically since 1738. And um with the purchase in 1973, Mr. Mrs. Von has dedicated four years and much funding um to um a thorough restoration um and study of the house and then the furnishing of it. And when I spent um more than 40 years as a museum, um keep in mind that we are we see the house as an artifact. So with that, we are unlike every other museum you

probably visit. We do not want more visitors to the museum. The museum is an artifact. Original floorboards, plaster, etc. We preserve those as much as we preserve the furniture, the textiles, ceramic, glass, metal work. To that um we do feel as if there is um um a need to be more of a yearround entity. And so we are looking at we own um the railroad freight building which um was designed by Frank Verness. Um we um stabilized that um about 20 years ago and now we would like to incorporate that into a larger campus where that would be a a yearround uh museum that would tell the story about Susanna Wright about the um her desire for a silk industry about the her um abilities to negotiate with native um cultures. um her friendship with Logan, with um Benjamin Franklin. Um it would become much more of a an introduction to rights, variant, match, and proper. To that there will also be an extension of our decorative arts um library. Um we have um the cottage that was built initially to be the offices for the museum. The cottage stands on at 382nd Street, South Second Street, just behind the uh the mansion that um will the plan is to have that open as a gallery, an art gallery of Mr. Mrs. Voness's personal art collection as well as the research library that they established in the 1970s and that has been continually built up to this point. that will become a publicly accessible um library research um opportunity for scholars um of of every level um by appointment. And then the in the

railroad building there will also be an annex to that library because it's continued to grow for 40 years. I can assure you it's outgrown the initial library space. So the desire is to have one campus that will celebrate Brits fairy that will acknowledge Mr. and Mrs. Flus and that will also nurture um uh present day and hopefully future interest in historic preservation in the study and appreciation of decorative arts and fine arts of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. So I will May I May I ask you um several years well quite a few years ago when that dig was done down at River Park, right? Are those artifacts still in the basement at the rate mansion? They are in storage. They're in a climate control facility and some of those are actually going to be part of the exhibition, the permanent exhibition that will be in the railroad building. So I can tell you that the vision is the initial centerpiece of the railroad building is going to be a story and a half loose tree mulbury tree that's going to introduce Susanna Wright her vision of the silk industry. we have received um a number of objects that um are more recent but they're associated with Wright family. So we're going to take the right family story up to the present day. Um and then um with that we're also going to have some hands-on components and then there will also be um two vignettes that will introduce Mr. Mrs. Bond House and her their per personal pursuits. The artifacts have always been they were never stored in the basement. They were studied in the basement. Studied. Okay. Okay. I knew they were in the basement at one point. They they have always been um as artifacts um stored in climate control facility to that were fortunate in the 1920s

um EMTT Brassbridge his family the second owner of the house had actually acquired some architectural artifacts of the house of Belmont before it was demolished. So there will also be a dormer surround for that house which Susanna Ree inherited that will be included in the exhibition. Sounds wonderful. This is exciting. Yeah, this is exciting. This is Is the museum currently only open by appointment? It never has been open by appointment. It's open um Tuesday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The tours are on the hour 10:00, 11 o'clock, 12, 1, 2. Last is at 3. They leave from that door. And one of the things that we are going to continue is because so many people are familiar with entering the house or starting a tour on Second Street. We will actually begin tours in two places. There will be tours at traditional second uh second street entrance and then at the railroad. That will also be a starting point for tours. We have a maximum of 10 people on tour and I know that some people see that as elitist and we're keeping people out. Um just the fact of the matter is we do it to preserve those four separate so under 4,000 people annually for the mansion that's that was start implemented by Mr. and Mrs. mass in 1978 and what it's April through October something May May 1st and end of October. Everything's put to rest. Everything is packed. Great. Okay. Thank you. Um so just taking a moment with the um existing conditions and some of those pieces that we'll be looking at here. Um the project area does um span five

parcels. um owned by the foundation and then just a little bit of a walkway extension onto the burrows property at the parking lot. Um the one of those parcels is 38 South Second Street where the the mansion and the cottage are located. Um that is in the downtown commercial zone and then the remaining uh four parcels are riverfront commercial. Um, three of those are located between Bank Avenue and the railroad and are continuous and we're planning to consolidate those. Um, the last one is a really just a sliver of land that's not in the right way between the burough parking lot and front street where there'll be a little bit of landscaping. Um, in both of those zones, the cultural center museum use is left by right. Um, so we don't see any challenges there for zoning or setbacks. May I may I ask with consolidating those, will you be giving any consideration to that piece that goes into the now burough parking lot being um being possibly deed to the burrow or would that continue to be our plan at this point? that the way the way that it was. Yeah. Our understanding is that there's some allowance for rights mansion to utilize spaces in the lot, but of course there's no demarcation of the difference in ownership. I just had to ask. Yeah. Thank you. No, we were we're intending to leave that as is. And in terms of the parking requirements for activating the railroad building, um we're going to address all those on the railroad property. So, okay. Um, and let's

see. Um, maybe I'll I'll note though to that point before we go on that Bank Avenue um is not actually completely within the right of way at this point. Um and rather than move the road, we're planning to look at um a dedication of a portion of it to of the hardway itself um to clarify sort of the maintenance and rights of travel across the roadway. So, um, as described, you know, much of what this project is about right now is activating the railroad building and sort of expanding the the vision and ability for people to visit through that building. Um, and from a site standpoint and to help tie all this together, there's going to be a new entrance on what is the plants outside of the building facing the river, which then will tie into uh the pedestrian circulation. uh plan west over to the new parking area as well as a new connection into the burrow lot and then to the east uh we'll have a very focused crossing point of Bank Avenue to then a gateway to the original uh mansion site. Um, in that gateway there will be steps to get up the hill and then there will also be an accessible walkway that will traverse some new planting areas and get you to the same location uh by the entrance to the cottage building. Um, in terms of the crossing of Bank Avenue, you know, there's not a lot of traffic on it right now, but we do have some concerns over the speed of at least some people who go down the road. So, we're looking to um repave the section

that you see hatched on your plans. Um you know, we're thinking in terms of something that adds some texture, gives a sense that you should slow down and we've been thinking about cobblestones. Um in talking with the burough engineer, he suggested that we do need to discuss with Department of Public Works whether they would be comfortable with that versus some sort of texture. stamp. Yeah. Either or concrete that might um be easier for maintenance in the long term. But um in either sense, an aesthetic improvement, something that provides some traffic calming. Um and then at the crossing itself, we'd be looking to do sort of a gentle speed table where you raise raise it up, enhance the visibility of pedestrians and give people a sense that, you know, you need to slow down. Um, we're also planning to have a wooden guard rail along the frontage of the property, both to um, keep any traffic from going onto the lawn or also to protect the building, but will also serve to make it so that people are really crossing the street at that location of the crosswalk and the ra table. um rather than kind of as they may choose when walking on the east side of the building. Yes. So that's what's pictured here on the west side of Bank Avenue. Uh it's running right. Okay. And that is something we're um I I don't have images at this point, but we've been looking at um you know some very particular detailing on that. So that it it certainly can be a step above just a standard wood guard rail and I think that really enhance the aesthetics of the drive. Um, another improvement that we're looking

to make on the 38 South Second Street property are a terrace on the west side of the building. um that we are looking to do as sort of an accelerated um project that's likely to be processed as a small storm water plant um with a small rain garden, but it will again serve the ability to have um additional people engaging with the property in ways that haven't been able to thus far. And that would be an uncovered terrace that correct be strictly Yeah. Okay. Um right now for sort of planting from a land development standpoint, we are looking at you know adding some trees around the parking lot. Um providing both screening and sort of some landscape in between the buroughs parking lot and our new lot so that we're not getting sort of too much of an expansive patient without the greenery. Um, and we're going to be looking to make sure that we're focusing some views of the building. And then we're also trying to keep views from the walkway in front of the railroad building towards the river to be um open. You've taken some trees down in that back in the back property there. Yes. Like in the last years. I I've walked that regularly down there and I I just thought, you know, probably back in the fall it looked like there no no inside the uh fence on the actual property. We had we did do that and the reasoning was that a staff member fulfilled Mr.

Vanessa's original vision which was to mask the building from being seen and unfortunately what that did is it held in the water and we just went through about $250,000 worth of replacement siding on the cottage alone um and um and we saw some roofing issues. So everyone advised us the trees were beautiful and we saved the ones that have been initially plot plotted planted by Mr. Von but we had to remove others because they detrimental to the stability kind of in that area where you've got the gate in there now right? Yeah. The gate's new and the gate is for access. Oh yeah access right now. That's what you're talking about with the gate. Yes. That's um we're actually tomorrow having some of the geotechnical testing that we need to do for storm water management done and um because we're putting the rain garden on on that property, we need to get some equipment in there. So that's the the purpose there. Um there is a plan to both restore the retaining wall that is along there. Some of it's very beautiful under there where you can see it. It's beautiful. and then um integrating with the wall a new fence. And so the only actual gateway through in in the future will be this new structure that's that's on the Yeah, I'm anxious to see that down there. You know, even even just being able to see that wall again and all of that overground vine and stuff, you just can't see anything down there. And then the railroad

beautiful the doors that basically pull up. So you will enter through one side and you'll be able the you enter the building the other side will be permanently open. So you'll be able to see the museum. So it will make a much stronger visual connection between the mansion and the river. very excited about. Wow. So, over in this area where you're putting flag stone in sand to the south side of the existing building there, is that also going to be any kind of a terrace or is that more for storm water or what? you're talking about on this. Yeah, those two spots. Yeah. Well, on the There's one right next to the building. It'll be a courtyard. Okay. The intent is that you have the current driveway on Second Street. Actually draws people that comes down there. So the intent is to actually have a gathering place while the museums are open that people can benches there um cottage trees etc. It will create a gathering place between the two that the railroad building and the mansion. So okay this is so exciting. It's a shame all that bamboo is not on your property that you could get rid of it. It's a blessing for Maya. Oh, that just takes over down there. It just takes over. I I'm personally I like very much what

I'm seeing. When I got this packet and opened that up, I thought, now I know what I've been seeing down there, what's coming. And it's pretty awesome. It's nice to see. This is awesome. This is awesome. The railroad building will also have a changing exhibition stage the opportunity to celebrate contemporary artists for the research of current historians to celebrate them in context of Susanna right that gives you an idea that there is definitely a vision there to continue to celebrate not just the story let's try to bridge contemporary Oh, also we are not doing any we have no intention um to be a rental. Um so the properties are being enjoyed context that they're being designed for. So those pallets of flag stone that are sitting out there are for this project. Those are actually for um we hired a master um gardener to give us an inventory of plantings that would be that were in in the region 1700 1750 and behind the fence of second street there will be because it's uneven we're using those stones to create an even bed and it will be it's basically going to be wild because the second street entrance She writes very man as you are well aware it's the back door is the back door. So we want to convey more of a naturalistic environment. So there will be those plantings and then the the mode front lawn. Our hope is to do a clover lawn. Um so with that the grass will be

it will be maintained obviously but at the same time it'll be more natural to you have bees in here then? We will have bees. Bees for the clothes. We want them. I know that some people do. Okay. Any further comments from It's really fabulous. Appreciate you coming early. That is the area that you have to like the idea of the speed table. That speed pumps work so well. We have found that stamped concrete per stamp uh in several crossings we had another project on street. If you go across to do the stamp you guess you know it again burn there's a little bit of a rise and people feel that little bit of a rise to go down. Something to think about. Uh, I stick my foot in my mouth here. If you're not aware, this is Mary Lee Edwards. He's actually the gentleman who introduced cobblestones about three years ago. So, I'm changing my mind. The other part of this is, you know, I look at this and I look at what's going to happen down there and I can't help but wonder, should this be a oneway road from from Union, I believe. to me safer

um as representing the rights are I think it's a discussion for the bureau it's discussion for the neighbors I can see the benefit for it with regards to this project but I would never want to force the issue I think it's something my only concern is there the antique store But that's that's almost adjacent to Union Street, right? So So it's not you would be traveling further back and there the traffic isn't that then you can get 441. Yeah. People like to run avenues off walking from Locust to Union most times any traffic is coming a discussion for council. The other the other the other final thing is the the triangle to the east of of the train station. Any thought about putting some parking in there? want to keep it natural. That's the density of the industrial listen. No, no. I I my my fear is that it's so densely industrial. What we're trying to do is bridge the early 18th century with the 21st century. And we want to at least have some sense of the rural aspect which is which is what you know Susanna Wright and Reich's area knew. I wanted to hear you say that Mr. because you're that tells me that the parking you have

provided the amount of visitors at one time is going to be added and you don't need parking. It basically create parking problems for us. Yeah. Well, and keep in mind that from at least the mentioned perspective, you know, 10 maximum on the tour each hour. Um, and we do take reservations for tours because we're not exclusive, but because we want to be exclusive. We're exclusive because we're preservation. So, um, we're we're one of the we're fortunate. We don't have we will not have coaches. We will not have a 60 seat coach pulling in. That's not our audience. There is plenty of three buses in that. I don't want to encourage it. Okay. That's too much. I think I think it's fabulous. It's great. It's going to be do a lot that I think and I think you you coined it very well. So softening this do I'll also throw in we add a degree of security for the neighborhood security cameras uh security cameras on that building and that will increase in number as this is developed you've increased the lighting on that question too next the chief answer. Yep. They've also increased the lighting on that building. Hopefully that will be adjusted amended because I think it's a little bit tense now. Um but right now it serves our purposes and I hope the security certainly makes it.

Okay. Well, again, thank you very much. look forward to wow seeing this developed and we will see you very much probably missed it but where's the handicap that entire either side this entrance here this is a ramp up and then ramps back down and somewhere because you have an entrance and building across the way. There's also a ramp there. Now to that um there are only two rooms in a mansion that can be seen by with someone but to that um Joe Kendrick II before he passed away did a tour of each of the rooms of the mansion. So one can actually go into will be go into the railroad building to sit in the theater and to actually tour every one of the rooms and learn about the collection. So you it will be an intensive study with the person that's political. Oh, he's got one of the books. I've done. Yeah. So, um I if you could share this. This is on the collection and I'm sorry it isn't the match set and this is on the house. But these were published. That's wonderful. About 10 years ago. So, just to remind her remind you of the house and it collection. Thank you so much. I sent my sister a set of those for a Christmas gift one year cuz they had toured it. She lives out of state and she loved it. She loved it. The museum is really an opera. There's a lovely woman who came my first two years as executive director come in April from Japan. She seen this house and for two years I had to tell her that she could I did give her a set of the books and um

we short change people when when you have a seasonal schedule. So this year round museum is hopefully going to be able to entice people, give them enough information that they can come back. Okay, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. That's exciting. Okay. Um, our next meeting is our joint meeting on Thursday evening, 7 o'clock here. Our next planning commission meeting is April 15th. Any further comments from members? If not, I will entertain a motion to adjourn. Okay. All right. Brad and Tiff. Okay. I have a motion to adjurnn. All in favor signify by saying I. I. We are adjourned at 7:48. Thank you very much all. Thank you very much. See you Thursday.