About this meeting
- Government Body
- Planning Commission
- Meeting Type
- Planning Commission
- Location
- Hudson, OH
- Meeting Date
- April 8, 2026
Transcript
1358 sections (from 1,412 segments)
So we'd like to call the meeting to order. This is the meeting of the Architectural and Historic Board of Review for Wednesday, 04/08/2026. Roll call, tonight we are only missing Ms. Manco, so we do have quorum, the meeting can continue. We'd like to open it for public comment now, this is when anybody may address the board regarding anything that is or is not on the agenda. We ask that you keep your comments to five minutes or less. Is there any public comment tonight?
You want to come up in?
Yeah. Sure.
My name is Chris Winters. I live at 152 Hudson Street, And, I have lived there for almost twenty five years. And, I have had many dealings with the architectural board. So, I'm pretty much familiar with how that goes. However, if there seems to be a great deal of inconsistencies in the architecture board and it's going to be affecting me directly with the demolition of 9 Hudson Street.
First of all, I had inquired I had heard rumors about the 159 being demolished, and I inquired to a council member whether this was something that was going to happen. And they assured me because it was in the historic district that it could not be torn down. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the historic district that I have lived in since it was implemented, does a U-turn around the North Side Of Hudson Street midway, even though the signage for the historic district is on the North Side Of Hudson Street down at Aurora Street. I don't know how this happened. I don't know how they qualify one side of the street versus the other.
159 Hudson Street was built in the thirties. My house was built in the thirties. It's catty corner across the street. The house next door to me was built in the thirties and several years back, they requested to tear that down and rebuild. It had some issues.
They were denied and at great expense and miraculous work, I have to say. They cut that house in half, moved half of it into the backyard and put in a new basement, lifted it, all kinds of stuff. And, when they were done, you wouldn't have even known that they did the work. I mean, it was just perfect. But, why were they required to do that and the house across the street can be torn down and wiped off the face of the earth?
I do not understand this. It's a set of precedents that other houses down the rest of the way of the street on the North Side can be torn down. I gotta tell you, some of them have gone through some really radical renovations that you may wanna tear it down instead of deal with that. I think it sets a terrible precedence and I'd like to really understand how half the street, not even half the street, just one particular section of the street is in the historical district and now it's not in the historical district. There's also the inconsistencies of enforcement of the rules.
When my husband and I about ten years ago took down an addition that had been built in the seventies and replaced the addition, we were required to have wood windows. Most people now are not required to have wood windows. Then, we wanted them earlier on, when we lived there, we wanted to put a story and a half small garage barn kind of thing in the back corner. We have about three quarters of an acre. It would have been down in the back corner, although it would have been directly catty cornered to a two story garage behind us in the neighbor's yard.
We were denied because it would have been taller than our house. Even though not visually taller because it was back down in the corner. And, we obliged by that and went on our merry way. And then a couple years ago, I think it was 188 Hudson Street in a renovation, they put an addition on the garage and now the garage is higher than the house. Right next to it, right up on the street.
How do you expect me to make sense of that? Is it worthwhile having an architectural board if there are incongruencies in what the terminations are? Anyway, that's and I'm just worried about the precedence this is setting for tearing down houses and I see that there's also one on the agenda for Elm Street. There is a big concern with the layout of the house that I have seen online. The house that's depicted online, and I understand some of that may be reviewed later today, they have a driveway that comes around and goes down the right side of the house, which is where the driveway is now only it goes straight back, not weeping around the front of the house.
But then there's also this courtyard wall that goes all the way to their neighbor's house, yard, property.
Gonna interrupt you for a moment. You're over five minutes if
you Am I already?
Yeah, almost six minutes.
I'm sorry, but that will be a flooding problem because the flooding comes from the Western Reserve also, not just from the size of their property. And we also don't want another driveway in that section because there already are three driveways.
Thank you. Is there any other public comment? Seeing none, will close public comment, move on to consent applications. Tonight we have two, twenty six-two zero seven-six thousand five hundred and ninety eight Stone Road, and 25 Dash 150550 West Streetsboro Street.
Make a motion approved as submitted. Second.
All in favor?
I second.
Opening old business. First is 5530 Stone Creek Way, case 2020 Two-seven 30. Yes. I
can give a brief orientation to the project. Staff notes that the project received HBR approval at the 09/28/2022 meeting. Upon final inspection staff observed deviations from the final approved plans including changes to the proposed window design, changes to the stone material on the front elevation, and the removal of freeze boards. The applicant has submitted revised elevations for the board's consideration to request the approval of the changes. For the window design, staff notes that a different window design was implemented as well as grid patterns.
However, the windows are consistent. Section four three e four states that the building shall have a typical window use for most windows. Additionally, additional stone has been applied to the front mass. Section four d three states that material used in any mass must be applied consistently on that mass on all sides of the structure. Staff notes the board may consider the additional stone as it is expanded in a small area and ends on an inside corner. For the freeze boards, the originally approved freeze boards have not been installed, but staff notes that there is no specific requirement freeze boards. The applicant is here this afternoon to answer any additional questions that the board may have and staff put together an exhibit that you have in your packets with the red line changes for easier understanding.
So you state your name in relationship to the application.
Absolutely. My name is Mayor Hlozada. I live at 12107 Nathaniel Lane in Twinsburg and I am here on behalf of the homeowners. One of them is actually out of the country on a business trip so she couldn't be here. So I'm here to actually request your blessings for our spare of the moment judgment calls on deleting the freeze board for the purpose of making the windows stand out even further and make the turret look a little bit taller.
We experimented with a freeze board and it didn't look as good as without, so we kind of made a decision right on the spot to just kind of do away with it. And the other thing about the windows is that, as Lauren said, they are identical or consistent with the plans. We just chose prairie window grills as opposed to colonial grills. And those are basically the two enhancement judgment calls that we made to the plans. As far as the stone, we just added that border on top of the transom above the front entry door just to be kind of consistent with the soldiers that are over the windows on the turret to also just make the transom stand out a little bit more.
In terms of the type of stone, it is synthetic stone. It's cultured stone. Same as the other stone. It's just that the color is black. It's not brick or anything. It's just synthetic stone or cultured stone just like the rest of the material, but it's just a different color.
Mr. Brown, any questions, comments or concerns?
Wanna confirm the the turret, the on the left, the height is the same, right? I I thought you said at one point that you made it taller.
No. The height is the same. It's just the appearance.
It makes it look Okay.
Without the freeze board, the appearance makes it look like it's a little bit taller.
I I don't have of the three, freeze boards, windows, and zone up on the least. If I understood, so that where the stone has been added, that's circled there, that's in the plane of the Dull window to the right, correct? Like that entire centerpiece is
out It's the entrance above the transom, you can see the soldiers.
The transom is in front, closer to us back at the same depth as the upper level.
I actually don't think you guys talk about the same thing. So Mr. Brown, are you talking about the area between the entrance and the turret where it's boxed out and says stone to be added? No.
Okay. To the right above where it says PVC window trim, the detail of the freeze board is pointing, yeah, that window right there, that is in plane with the area where stone was added, correct? I see. That's one mass, it's under that big hip.
Okay.
That's the only I mean, I'm not crazy about that.
You see where Lauren drew like a square and it said additional stone, that on the plan exactly right there, that on the plan was supposed showed it as siding. Siding would have looked like a little bit of a patch. So, kind of eliminated the siding in that little area and just continued the whole phase with stone. Let's go back to the previous one. Right, see that area that says proposed additional stone application right there, that's siding on the So
I understand, but my question or my comment I guess is making that stone makes it to me appear less differentiated from the stone over the entrance. Like it pushes those two together like a single plane rather than if it was siding, it would appear like it's part of the mass behind the entrance, which I would have preferred. I wasn't here when the board made determination, but I don't the window grills. Why that's I don't object either. That's all.
Stravinsky.
I'm kind of in the same boat as Mr. Brown where I agree windows I'm completely fine with, freeze board I'm completely fine with. It does feel just a bit off with that change from the stone. I think it technically follows standards. It's just a little bit even here, this second picture where because this sits back in here. It's a kind of a strange
Is it stone where it returns?
Because the stone doesn't return where the front door is, It's just flat on the, okay. Again I think it technically meets standards. I don't love it. I don't think it's I think it would have looked more consistent with the original design but
Are you referring to the stone that was added?
Yeah.
That does not meet standards.
Oh, does not. No. Because it's not.
It would have to be applied consistently around that entire mass.
So then it would need to go?
That whole mass would need stone then.
So it would be this piece also?
Correct. Like the other side of the from here To the other side of those two metal projections.
Because in that case it looks like it's recessed back but it must not be.
It's in the same plane as the double windows on the right.
On the right, okay.
Would
have There's little roof in front it between the cupola and the front entrance.
Okay, yeah I'm seeing that. So yeah, I guess in that case I'd prefer it to meet the standard of the siding that is on the right hand side of windows. So
the stone that you switched out the siding and put in the synthetic stone is black?
Oh no, no, same stone. I have a picture if you'd like to see it.
The black he was talking about is above that arched window.
It's kind of blend in, but it's falsely it makes you think it's part of the same plane as the entrance area. So it sits back, it's not part of the siding area that's to the right of the door. No. It's part of the other area that's back with the two windows. So it's really much much much deeper than would have stood up, it's it's really not on the right, it's not applied to the plane that you anticipated but doesn't look bad
on the fence about it.
Mr. Workley.
No consistency. I'm okay with the change from changing the grid location to the smaller size of the Craftsman style. It doesn't match the house, but at least it's consistent. Stone, I am opposed to because now not only is it in the wrong plane, it's an end in the inside corner as well. Right side does, what does the left side look like?
Rents into a roof. Ends
with with roof. Does
end at an inside corner in both cases. It does end on this inside corner.
Right side. What about the outside corner on the left?
It's the roof, it ends right at the roof right there, which is basically a corner with hip
That's a left elevation?
Intersects with the
Let's look at the left elevation above that. I don't agree with that. So I'm assuming that the vertical piece right there where you just had the window hand right there is where your stone is.
No. There's no stone there. With this elevation, see the entire siding. That little area is like independent. There's no corner. It doesn't come out. I mean, the roof of the Tourette hugs that corner.
The roof plan?
Yeah. I was just going to ask. I
don't see one in the packet.
I don't have one in this packet. I can see if there's previous one.
I mean just to jump in, the majority of the Board is feeling we should just adhere to the standard, you can certainly require them to go back to what we approved and approve the freeze board and window design change with this request. That's
So I would agree with that because it
does not
meet standard.
I agree that it doesn't strictly meet standards, but it's a very, very small surface and it stops at the corners on either side and
It's such a small area. He's saying it's cultured stone so it's not huge to remove it and replace it with something to make it compliant. That's my
Okay. Pet So that is your
and and the, you know, the change on the eyebrow windows, I'm not crazy about either.
But it's consistent.
No, it's not.
Well
Can you go to the photo and show the eyebrow stone over top of the windows itself? Yeah. So that black tile instead of stone, it was supposed to be stone to match the stone, it looks like an eyelash.
Eyebrow, yeah.
It looks like an eyelash, it's supposed to be an eyebrow but it's just, it's not, you would not normally do a change of material in the same thing. It was called out as stone and now it's tile or brick or something, it's not stone. I think that should be as well be removed and replaced to be the cultured stone because it doesn't match. Opposed to the color, but it just, it doesn't make sense that, you know, those stick out that way. That's the drawings, they were supposed to be stone. That's a fourth point that I don't like.
What is that material that he's referring to?
I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand.
The black over top of the windows and Oh, the soldiers?
Yeah. They are synthetic stone exactly like the synthetic stone that's on the surface. It's just that they're just black just to make the arch look more pronounced. But it's not brick. It's not a different material. It's the same material as that's on the house. It's cultured stone. It's just that soldiers in black. The previous soldiers were almost the same color as the stone. We just made it stand out
with
black soldiers instead of the same color, but it's the same material.
So on the turret area, on the original plans, it is called out as stone soldier cast keystone.
Doesn't Alright.
Look like stone. It looks like a rectangular piece of material. It doesn't look like the rest of the stone material, so it doesn't match in that consistency.
The
existing's not right on. It's got the comparison. So it does say stone, but it's drawn like there's a keystone at the top and smaller stones on each side. This one is like square bricks around it. It. That's what I'm saying.
I agree.
But I do think that that small area should be changed back to siding. That's my opinion.
Yeah, I do agree with that also. I don't see why we should make an exception after the fact just because we didn't follow the drawings.
We accept the changes to the window, the removal of the frieze, but because the siding removal is against the standards, we oppose that and we ask that it be replaced with siding. That's what we're saying. That's Okay. It's not a question of like or dislike, it's a question of following the standards. That Okay.
Okay. So I I do think that's the general opinion here?
Mhmm. Okay.
Know, may I make a comment? That little area is is like a rectangle. When we put the stone on that area instead of putting siding, it looked like a patch of sidings by itself. It's not connected to any siding of the house. So it was more of a, I guess, prudent decision to make this whole front stone altogether instead of just breaking up the stone into stone stone and then that little triangle as siding material because it's not connected to any siding of the house.
But it is connected to the siding because it is in plane and it is part of that mass that runs around the right side, and so when you just start changing materials, they're supposed to be consistently applied, and the drawing showed siding there, and somebody decided to not follow what was approved in the drawings and ask us to make an exception for it at this point, don't see a reason to. It should be applied consistently around, so if you want the stone there, you have to wrap it all the way around that whole mass. So you have to go from that whole right side there and all the way around because it has to be consistently applied to the entire mass.
I'll take it all the way around including that little triangle on the side? Yeah. Can you go back to that area and
It has to be consistently applied around the entire mass.
So that corner right there where you're pointing that triangle should also be stone? If if if we had done that, that would have been okay?
Not only that, but also on the opposite side of the house because it's all the same mass.
Yeah, it may have to wrap around the inside.
So it has to wrap around the right side also, not just the left.
This side and then the right side, which I'm not sure I understand. I thought the right side is completely filled with stone.
No, no, the right side is not completely filled with stone. Go back to the front elevation. So you would have to take stone where it says on the far right where it says removal of freeze boards around the entire mass, that section there, and you would have to come around that corner also because that's all the same mass.
You're talking about to the right of the door. Yes.
To the right of the door where she has the cursor right now. Both stories. Yeah. Both stories. You have to come all the way around that outside corner. It's the entire mass. It has to be applied around that entire mass.
So what options do I have? Either demolish the stone in that marked square and then put siding in there?
Yes. The best option is to do with the plans that were approved. That's the best option.
Okay. So wrapping the stone to that corner is okay. It's just that the front would have to be changed back to side? Every
Every wall plane under this roof that I'm pointing to would need stone. It would have to be around the whole mass. You have to go around the sides, back, I mean that would be substantial change that we'd need to take another look at if you were to propose something like that.
I'm not looking at adding a whole lot more stone. I mean So just
remove that little triangle and put some siding as was approved. That's what
the Board
is trying to say that would be the simplest, cleanest solution.
Build the house the way the plans were approved. That's the simplest solution.
The color of the siding is dark so it's just going to blend in and it's not going to stand out like a white siding or something.
No, you're right, it's not gonna stand out like a white siding, it's just that area would have siding that is not connected to any siding of the house.
It is part of that entire main mass under the hip roof. It is connected. That's why we say it has be consistently applied. So we need to move on.
If you just
make a motion.
So I move that we approve the change in the window design because the windows are consistent. Second, that the freeze boards remain uninstalled because there's no specific requirement for freeze boards in the standards, but that we request that the applied stone in the small triangle area be removed and replaced by the siding that was approved when the application was presented to the board.
Second.
All in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Alright, so you go over to staff to get those changes updated.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next is 20 Five-ten 2241 East Main Street, and this is an addition on a commercial structure in the historic district.
Yes. This is a commercial addition for office and storage space. Staff notes that this proposal received informal review at the 04/09/2025 meeting and planning commission approval on 01/12/2026. Section four of the architectural design standard state that details in the wing should be the same or subordinate to those in the main body. Staff notes the introduction of gable lens, window paneling, and widened corner boards on the proposed addition as well as staff notes that the design does follow the guidance of preservation brief 14 by being subordinate to the existing building.
The design is lower in height and is separated by a hyphen or link. Comment e is a administrative review just to remove the references to or approved equal where materials are referenced in the plans as well as verify that the proposed exterior door materials for the overhead and man door. The applicant is here this evening to answer any additional questions that the board may have.
You state your name and relationship to the application.
Hi, I'm Elizabeth Swearingen, I work for Peninsula Architects. I am here on behalf of the architecture firm.
Do you wanna walk us through the project?
Sure.
So the owners have a dentist office in the building that's right down the street. They've then been there for maybe thirty years or thirty so. They've absolutely loved it. It's a great space but they have kind of outgrown the building. And so they approached us to build this addition onto the back, so that they could have adequate space for their offices, their storage of materials, and then also, provide better maneuverability for whenever they have to replace things such as equipment.
And so this building here, is two stories. It acts as a nice bridge which was kind of mentioned before where we're bridging between a commercial into the residential and so we were using precedents from the neighborhood to kind of create this design as well as pulling elements from the building. As mentioned, the we tried to be as cautious and taking in the guidelines of the National Park Services Secretary of Interiors by creating a subordinate building that is smaller in height, smaller in size, and also connected with the breezeway which would reduce the amount of actual intervention that would happen to the historic building. That way if one day in the future if something was to happen and this addition would need to be removed, the existing historic structure wouldn't have have as much intervention as maybe some other things. Let's see.
So then I included some images and some of the neighboring precedents that we had taken. I think it's on maybe the second or third pages, to kind of look at the dormers and the windows and things like that. We also pulled some of the motifs that are on the front of the building, which I included some pictures as well, but I have printed out a couple other ones, to kind of help tie in the existing structure into this new, new design. When it comes to materials, we are sticking with, stone and wood, which is different, from the brick and stone but we wanted to be very deliberate in saying that this is a new addition versus a historic structure. We are looking at putting in wood windows, half round gutters, asphalt shingles.
We've got these beautiful custom doors that are gonna be put on the side of the building as well as on the back.
Yeah. Is there anything?
Hi, my name is Steve Plovlich, I'm the one who's overseeing the project and I'm the preservation carpenter on the project and I'm doing all the exterior details And some of the details that we want to include in the building we are taking from this building because it's such a unique Asher Benjamin details and I feel that we should include those. Like I suggested the panels on the side on the Division Street side in the lower windows, I'd like to include and I would like to include some of the larger corner boards and some larger trim details around the windows. I know what the standards are, I read that and I understand, but I don't think that you're still going to be able to tell that this is a new building versus the 1841 Building. And then the doors, the side door, the carriage door I'm proposing to build, it would be an out swingers and they would have glass in them, it's not gonna be an overhead door which was original what was on the print or what was proposed, right?
Originally we had, when we first approached the board there was gonna be an overhead door in the back, but we had switched that. Another thing that I'd like to mention is that the owner has also asked to replace the soffit, a portion of the soffit on the existing milling that's starting to decay and fall apart.
Yeah, that's soffit on the original building. He said he replaced it thirty years ago when they got the building and what was removed was tongue and groove bead board and they just put up benefits half inch or three eighths plywood and it's all coming down. I'm proposing to put back the tongue and groove that was back in its time and it's same on the original or excuse me, on the new building, I would like to do that also is add tongue and groove on the soffits in that section too. I'm not a big fan of the plywood soffits. I mean historically it's not, it doesn't represent especially this age of this building.
Mr. Brown, questions, comments?
The siding is cedar, the bulk of the siding is cedar, but all the trim is Azac?
I prefer on the trim around the windows. I'm planning on using Sepele and the corner boards the same or it could potentially be Windsor one trim, which is a pre finished exterior material. But all the sills for the windows, I'm going to use sepele. Just generally that's what I'll I don't use a lot of the composites. I'm not a big being a preservation carpenter, I'm not huge in the composite world.
Just reading the note. Yep. I just want to make sure. So the corner boards, the sills, the window trim, everything is the same material?
Wood, yeah. And I'm planning on pushing hard on this project that to use. I don't know if this makes a huge difference to you guys, probably doesn't, but Alinsia Oil paints because of how beneficial they are to a wood structure versus the modern day plastic paints.
That's my only comment now.
Ms. Strudinski?
Do you have any questions or comments right now?
Ms. Orzula.
I don't think anything was noted but I had question in regards to the brackets under the gable proposed. There's really not, they're very substantial and there isn't anything similar in the existing house original building.
Sorry Ms. Brazulla, I just wanna interject here for staff. That set of plans that was, I'm not really sure what happened there, but that set of plans was the old set of plans. I just downloaded this and put this up on the screen. These were the plans that were reviewed with when the board set the agenda as well as the plans that should be before the board this evening. The gable brackets have been removed but the paneling was added and the wide and quarter boards here. I had pulled the wrong one up on the screen, I do apologize for any confusion on that but these are the correct set of plans, the gable ends or the gable brackets have been removed.
That's better. I did have a question though on are those gutter buckets and why is why are they more into the interior of the building rather than at the corner.
So we had designed this so that it looks pretty deliberate and, I guess a little bit more beautiful than having something that's just a gutter that's coming straight down because if you slide it over a little bit, it's gonna kind of conflict with the corner boards which are gonna be very beautiful and so we wanted it to look deliberate but also aesthetically pleasing.
So it is sort of a gutter bucket but it's a tiny, it looks really small. Yeah, yes.
It's a leader basically what they're called. Probably proportionally in this building it would be a fairly small one. I mean, they come in all different shapes and sizes. Probably want something pretty inconspicuous, I would assume. If if you guys aren't real keen on the downspouts there, then I could probably get really creative and do something different like possibly run them. I'm not doing the spouting but I could potentially run them. Maybe get myself in trouble here into the corner somehow and hide them. But
I don't know, I just was questioning them. I'm not sure I want them bigger or I don't know. Kinda not quite sure on it. But on corner boards, you're making them more detailed with the capping on them.
Yeah, I wanna include on the base on them and then on the top I wanna include some of the detail which is on the old pilasters, the different moldings.
Any approach? Yeah, I mean they look more like a pilaster than Oh, corner on the front.
Yeah, this molding here is kind of molding. Would be smaller than this very large.
I'm to
have to build into smaller.
I'm sorry
if you just want to speak into the microphone. Oh.
Well I feel very special. But this was the detail that I would like And to then similar on the bottom too just that Greek Doric, I mean those are Greek Doric columns and that's what I would propose. The corner boards, I'm not doing real fancy, I just want to include larger ones. I think originally what was on there was like maybe only like a four inches and I want to go something I'd like to at least a seven. I think that would be proportion for the building. So the corner boards didn't look like toothpicks when you're seeing it from Main Street.
The way you've drawn these you could consider that proportion?
Yeah this is what I would be, what they drew up would be around the same size, yeah. And
then what did you say about the panel and why you're doing the panel below the
The panel I'd like to
include below the windows here. This is on front and this is the very Greek revival detail. And I'm proposing that just to simply break it up a little bit, the siding, and just incorporate that because it's such a beautiful detail in the building.
One of the questions I would have is that that side of the building on division is very
plain. One conversation,
that's why I want to try to
I know, but the problem is for division to see the addition that is so much fancier than
the very plain or I
was gonna say shaker like front. I think it seems a little off, so I understand the need for the corner boards, but I would, I'm afraid to my eyes from this side it's not really compatible with the plainness of that side of the building. You see what I'm saying?
Oh yeah, I don't agree with it but yeah I see what you're Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. But again that building, when that building was designed, I mean I can pull it up in a book.
Uh-huh.
Astro Benjamin's 1797 book, which has basically that building front on there. And it's very plain, but at the same time, this is included in that. So that's why I thought it would be nice to incorporate a little bit. My opinion, what it's worth I don't know, but I think it's worth a lot. But I don't think it adds that much to the building that shows that much different that it would be.
Well not from the main street side,
but
certainly from the division Yeah, street
yeah I mean it could go one way or the other, but I
Alright, mister Workley, have any questions or comments?
Are you finished?
I am,
sir. What
do I
do with this?
Here. Just sit on the table with your
Oh yeah, we're gonna do. Alright,
so can I see the garage door? Does it show what you were talking about, the changes you wanted to do? So those are two built doors, is that what you were saying?
Yes, those are swing doors now.
Yeah, and unfortunately, Azam, the owner, Katri, he has a picture and he's not here. So they're very similar to that with carriage style with with this with the glass and and I'm I that's about unfortunately all I can offer you. I brought some samples of wood that I would like to make it out, I can show you if you're interested.
But is it gonna look like what's being presented or is it gonna be different?
It's very much the same what's there.
Okay if it's gonna be the same then that's fine how construct it. We're worried about bit matching.
What he has is very similar to what, and I believe that Peninsula Architects, because that picture that, okay.
Yeah, picture that we submitted, I think we submitted it a long time ago, but it's basically the exact same thing.
And then just on opposite of what my neighbors just said about the contextual of you bringing in the front detail of the building, I think it helps relate this building proportions to the residential neighborhood and back, whereas the front building with them being so, with bunch windows and everything is more commercial, this helps I think make that adjustment from commercial front street to the residential component, so I appreciate that detail from that standpoint. Where the gutter goes, I'm not, know, it's corner, you had it off a foot from the corner to this location, it's proportionally at this location in between in that division, so
I don't have a problem
with where it's located right now or the detailing. So I'm good with it. And the foundation is matching now? Yeah,
we wanna go with a veneer but it would be a real, it's not a cultured product, he wants to go with an actual sandstone. Sandstone
I think that's all I had.
I'm fine with the updates. I like that the brackets are gone. The windows on that side do not bother me one bit and I like the column detail on the corners. It does, it ties it to the front of the building and it is a street side, so I think it makes sense to do that. So yeah, I'm fine with it as is.
Is there any now there's regulations on color because no
It'll do colors.
Okay. I mean I'm not saying it's gonna be some It's gonna be contrast and
Okay. Were there any other?
On this set as opposed to what we have, is the material schedule changed on the on the corner
of sheet?
I think before it might have said brick, but now it's stone.
The the wood trim too because it said AZEK before.
Yeah. So it'll it'll be wood.
Which part of it?
You're talking about
talking about?
Up in the upper right hand corner there's material schedule and it said AZEK in the copy that I have. But it says it says here, no, down below. Exterior elevation all exposed. Yeah. That's an Azac wall.
Mister mister Brown, I'm tracking for potential conditions of approval. That would be one of them to revise the elevations to align with the materials that were stated today, submit the final door design to staff and remove references to or approved equal on the elevations like for the windows so we know the exact product that you're using. Those are the three that I'm using.
I just wanted to
make sure that
it matched.
Do you
want to see I brought a window, the brand I brought a sample and I don't know if you want to Which window was proposed?
It's Marvin.
It's the Marvin Ultimate? Yeah. Marvin Ultimate's fine.
Okay. Yeah. It's out in the hall.
We've seen it a lot.
Right. I figured that. But, yeah. He's very persistent in giving it to me so I said okay, I'll take it.
That's good, you don't need to drag it
in. The other question, there was a note about Gable and returns, we didn't talk about that.
I think with the brackets being gone, I mean, personally I don't have an issue with those returns. I mean, it is a detail that isn't anywhere else, but as narrow as that end is, I think the returns do kinda help it. It's just such a narrow but tall. I I think the the returns help. But
does anybody have Generally, the the the gable end returns, I I will do them a little bit smaller and they're not gonna be roofed like like everyone does a 45 and put shingles on it. No. This is gonna be very small and be very you know, just walk around town here with all the Greek revival buildings. I mean, or the houses, all the beautiful Gable one returns. It's just
Yeah. The way you detail it, it kind of finishes the column, the pediment and that little gable Yeah.
Exactly. Yeah.
You won't be disappointed, I promise.
Is anybody greatly opposed to
the One thing we should probably comment though on since you mentioned it, the replacement of the soffit should be in kind, that's all I think we direct you on.
Should be in what?
Replacement in kind.
Okay.
So since you're saying you're dealing with the original material, then you're meeting standards.
And then the door on the Division Street side that goes in, is there questions about that?
You just have to detail that to staff. If staff flags it that it's an issue, then it'll come back. Okay. So it'll just be one of the conditions that those details have to be submitted.
Okay.
And and staff will review that. If they find an issue with it, it'll come back then. If they don't see any issue with it, then we'll give them the authority to just carry out with the approval.
I'll make the motion. Nick, you're gonna have to help me. There are three things. Make approve as submitted with three things to provide a submittal of the door detailing to staff for review.
Both doors.
And what else would we have? Materials. Materials match, so we remove the note that or others, it should be the exact materials and to update the siding from a exact to materials being proposed. So that's just staff for approval.
Replace soffit with in kind material.
And replace the existing soffit with in kind material.
Second.
All in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Alright. Thank you.
Thank you
for your time. Appreciate it.
(202) 514-7888 and this is a door replacement?
Yes, we've been in contact with the applicant, our city solicitor has also, we've been advised by our city solicitor to table this one more time, and we will vote at the next meeting.
So if we have a motion to table it.
Motion to table this. Second.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. 2020 Five-nine 80 Six-six Thousand And 50 Pine Ridge Trail.
Okay, I can give a brief orientation. Staff notes this project received approval at the 09/10/2025 meeting. The applicant is requesting a modification of the approved plans and has submitted the revised elevations for the board's consideration. First is a window design change. Staff notes that window design change is proposed on the front and rear elevations.
Staff notes the proposed window changes meet the requirement that this building shall have a typical window. You can see it here on the front elevation on the porch. This window is proposed to be in line with the rest of the windows now the same size as well as this window on the rear on the original application there was three windows here, there's now two. Additionally, there's a window bump out, staff notes a rear elevation kitchen window bump out was added. Section four of the architectural design standards state that projections on Ground Floor should be carried through to the foundation and staff notes was to revise the rear kitchen window projection to depict a full foundation underneath.
That can be seen here. And as well as foundational height, staff notes the applicant is proposing to raise the foundational height on the rear elevation creating an inconsistent water table and to revise the elevations to depict a consistent foundational height on this side here. As well as the chimney staff notes the applicant is proposing the chimney on the rear elevation and just to revise the proposed chimney material to match the stone foundational material. The applicant is here this evening to answer any additional questions that the board may have.
You state your name and relationship to the application.
I'm John Russell. I'm president of Prestige Builder Group. We're the builder.
Elaine Schmidt, Vice President of Sales. So
I think the windows look good, but the chimney, is that
We're gonna change it. Okay. Let me make it. What happened there, it's kind of funny because we just looked. We actually took one chimney out. There was two of em. We took out one of the fireplaces. That was there but we'll change that to stone. It's set up for it. You know, yay. I don't know how that ended up like that. We never do it like that.
And then, oh, so the stone that raises up now and messes up your whole foundation water table.
What they do is they added a half wall, that's the porch. So, they added a half wall instead of a rail, okay? And the little lines there are are open so that if any water gets on the porch,
you can drain So, it
but we can redraw that elevation because it's not. It doesn't drop off quite like that. We can we can redraw that. Is that what you're asking? No. What are you asking?
The
Do not put the half wall in, leave the rail?
Water table term is what throws people.
Yeah. Yeah. So it it appears that the foundation comes all the way up in that one section only. Like, there's no break. It doesn't it doesn't appear to be a a half wall. It appears to be the foundation coming all the way up. That's where that comment comes from.
Okay.
Want me
to put a break in there? Can put a break in there. That's not a problem. Because inside of that is a concrete floor. Okay? And I don't think, I don't know if that porch has been poured or not but if I run that concrete out, you got stone to here but it'll pick up the stone up there but there'll be a break in there. Right below where those little slots are. Okay. That good? So you have
a concrete band and then the above will look like railing instead of foundation. Right.
So differentiate the foundation from the railing.
Above will look like railing?
You want the above to be railing and not stone?
No. Okay. Yeah.
So, it'll look like railing though. It's a half wall.
Yeah, the two little
holes where you have
look like scuppers would be concrete. Yeah. A band. Yeah.
Great. Inside, it's a half wall. Outside, it looks like a foundation. That's what
you're getting. That's the issue.
We can fix that. Not a problem.
And then underneath that window there on the left.
You know, that that is that window is up high. That's behind the sink, okay? So, it's just a matter of it. They want to extend the the countertop out a little bit but they're not extending like the floor out there because there's a cabinet there.
You know, have this design standard that says when you come out that far, you gotta put a foundation under it.
You're you're
coming out a little too far. How how far is that? I think it was
Like one foot.
Oh, think it showed more than that.
Well, I don't think so. Can you bring Yeah. The plan
There was a dimension that showed like two feet.
I don't think so. I don't think so. Let she can bring that bring it up
on her Yeah.
You have the floor pan?
Nick, what's the dimension that you have to put a I'm
looking that up. Okay.
Well, in the meantime, mister Brown. It
just says projections should be carried through to the foundation. So it's a should clause if it's minimal enough to
One foot five, Mr. Rung.
It sounds like the three previous are unsatisfied with the resolution of what you've already discussed. Maybe too often, but I've not been on the board since this has arisen, so I'm not sure what the board has decided in the past. Two feet would have probably was too much. A few inches is fine. I I don't know where I mean, one five kinda on the back of the house. I'm not as long as there is, that's what the board has done, that's consistent with what the board has done in the past.
Miss Rudinsky?
I'm the same. All the other ones I'm fine with. I can't think of since I've been on board where it's been a fairly small one like this where it just bumps out a little bit. So I don't know what the precedence is of this size.
I don't know how often we really see can you go back to the elevation?
It was tucked in the corner there.
I don't know if it makes sense to for a foot, not even a foot and a half to side all the way down. Miss Barzula?
I recall that it was 18 inches, beyond 18 inches needed the foundation but that's if you can find it in there. You have definitely verified that it's one foot five inches.
I'm okay. Mr. Workley.
Yeah, I'm good with changing the chimney back to brick. I'm okay with this window being one foot five out and as long as that brick, the concrete line for the porch protrudes out past the foundation line and looks like railing above as a separate detail element, I'm good with that as well.
Nothing to add.
Okay. Before you move on this, can I present something else? Sure. Okay, can you take the front elevation please?
Grab that microphone if you can get up and walk around. Thank you.
Is it on?
There you go.
Okay. So the owner called me originally on one of the plans we had the metal roof over here. Okay. I don't want to get into the middle of stuff, but the wife thought it was too many and took it off and now they'd like to add a metal roof there. Okay? To be consistent with these and I have it drawn on the plan and it looks like that. I mean is it good? Is it bad? It makes it consistent. You wanna add one over here.
So it would be three metal roofs each one over the triple windows more consistent than what it is but it takes it over to the side there. Looks good. Smile.
You love
that don't you? Love that. What do you think? All right.
Anybody opposed to the third little shed roof?
Okay. I do wanna make one more quick note. Talked about on the rear elevation where the water table's gonna go across, we talked about the piece of porch where the two kind of scupper drains are, but there's also the piece on the left and if you look at the side elevation, that kind of where the railing dies into a low wall, that low wall there also turns the corner and the same I would want the same detail there. Does that make sense? Yep. So it'll be the same. Just that that porch and that porch.
I'll do
it. Okay.
Thank you. That's all.
Can I just clarify that? You said use the word railing on it. So he's gonna have the bump out with the concrete. So
just imagine on that elevation, you see the two whole scuppers? Uh-huh. Imagine that's concrete and it's all the way across. Yeah. So it separates the foundation from above.
Yeah. Not that but
above it is.
Above it is, it could be wood railing, it could be stone, it's whatever but by separating it, it makes it a distinct element from the foundation.
Because you used the word railing and she said no railing, well Well,
the stone is the railing for that porch. It's a wall, not a traditional railing.
We're just making the distinction by separating it with the concrete.
Yeah, I get
that, okay.
Yeah, it becomes a detail and not part of the foundation.
Make a motion to approve with the changing of the chimney to brick, the windows being acceptable, the overhang of one foot five being acceptable and the change to the back porch having protrusion of the concrete to the outside separating the foundation to the upper component.
You wanna
note about that metal roof parting?
Metal on shed the front elevation being applied to the third window. Second.
All in favor? Anybody opposed? If you just give that copy to Lauren so that she has what you presented at the meeting. 2025 Dash 36133 East Streetsboro Street, and this is windows window alteration in the historic district.
Yes, just a brief orientation, staff notices application received approval for Pella Reserve series style windows at the May 14 meeting. At the March 11 meeting, the board reviewed the Anderson E series windows and requested additional documentation for consideration within the historic district. Staff understands that the applicant is currently working with their contractor to provide the requested materials. Staff does note the applicant is seeking approval for Anderson e series and that the window proposal is for new construction and not for the replacement of existing historic materials. As this is new construction, the proposal is for a wood aluminum clad window.
The board could consider approving the e series for this particular request. The board could then instruct the window representative to provide additional documentation to further evaluate whether this window series would be appropriate for the replacement of historic windows on historic buildings in the future, which is a higher bar review. The applicant is here this evening to answer any additional questions that the board may have.
Hello. If you state your name in relationship to
the applicant.
I'm Tracy Crawford and I am the daughter of my father, Alan Sabida, owns the house.
Okay. So I mean I think we've seen this a couple of times already.
Yes.
Mister Brown, do you have any issues with the aluminum clad being that it's a new structure? We have approved the Pella lifestyle on new structures and not going with the higher bar of the Pella Reserve.
My only question I guess is which, because as I understand it the E Series is more flexible than Pella Reserve so there are full divided lights, simulated divided lights, between the glass divided lights, so it's kinda like rather than, you know, I I feel like the windows that we lines that we accept are uniformly acceptable. Does make sense? But so I I don't have a problem with the e series in this case. My question is just like which one? I I would prefer
That's a good point, full we typically would require simulated divided even for new. So that's a good catch
So for not
to between the glass,
but in terms of like the product, don't have an issue with it in this application. And even though it was mentioned in the staff notes, we're not making a determination like broadly at this time, Okay. Yeah. So I would just ask for simulated divided lights or full divided lights if we approve this. That's all.
Miss Serensky?
I think I pretty much agree with that. I don't think I was at the last I think I was in the first meeting or at the second meeting when we discussed this. Yeah. So I don't have a whole structure, the it sounds like this could meet the requirements.
Mister Azula?
Okay. Aluminum clad and divided simulated divided lines. Right?
No additional comments.
Okay. A question last time, you said you would check to see if this was used in other historical districts like in Chagrin Falls, were you able to determine that?
I actually talked to Tony Tropey from Akron, are you familiar with his So he has sent us and told us that he used the Anderson E Series window in the renovation of the Beacon Journal building.
Okay.
So he added 84 of the Anderson e series windows in that building and he was doing it with also getting credits from the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits. He had gotten $2,550,000 in the renovation credit from them using that for that building by using also using those Anderson windows. And I did have a picture as well of the building that they did use them. And I have a email also from the Anderson salespeople saying that they did provide those windows and they were the e series windows to confirm that that was what he used. Bob had talked to people from Peninsula in
Peninsula in Chagrin Falls and Shaker Heights and getting ahold of somebody in an architectural review board is very hard. They said basically same thing, bring it, present it, and we'll take a look at it. But they did say that aluminum clad wood is acceptable.
Anything else? No. Okay.
We also did take down the vinyl shutters and if you put shutters back up there will be wood. He's still debating whether he wants shutters now at all.
Thank you.
So I move to approve the substitution of the Anderson e series windows for the Pella Reserve series that had originally be accepted and, excuse me, with simulated divided glass.
Should you mention that's the caveat that it's new construction?
And because, yeah, understanding that this is a lab because it's new construction and does not mean that it will be accepted for historic buildings.
Second.
All in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Alright, thank you.
I'm the next one too.
Just side, just mention that. Alright, so 26 Dash 20429 East Streetsboro. This is an accessory structure in the historic district.
Okay. This is a proposal for an approximate 300 square foot detached garage. Staff's only comment was staff notes that the Anderson e Siri windows are proposed in this proposal as well and understood the board was currently considering their appropriateness for use within the historic district.
State your name in relationship to the application.
I'm Tracy Crawford and I'm the daughter of Alan Sweeta. This is my father, Alan Sweeta, this is his garage for his own personal house.
Mister Brown, questions or comments?
There's no existing garage there. I'm not tearing something down. Don't
think so.
Miss Zwinski?
I don't think I have anything for this.
Miss Origula.
Previous note was material windows, question mark than we just answered, so I'm fine.
Miss Workley? Yeah.
What's the foundation material gonna be? Concrete block? Okay. That's all I have.
Miss Sweeney?
Any question?
Motion to approve as submitted.
Second.
All in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Alright, thank you.
Thank you, and that's Anderson E Series Windows
For the new construction, and they have no divides?
Right, it
didn't show any divides
in the Yeah.
Correct. Thank you. Alright.
261-5340 Roslyn, this is window replacement in the historic district.
Yes, this is for six windows to be replaced within the historic district. The applicant did reach out to staff earlier and mentioned that there was a mistake with the original submittal that the windows that are proposed are actually aluminum clad wood windows and not vinyl clad wood windows. So you have updated documentation in front of you that just confirms the the material for that window. Staff does note that this house was constructed in 1987 and is considered non contributing. The existing house has vinyl siding and other vinyl windows. The applicant is here this evening to answer any additional questions that the board may have.
You. You just state your name and relationship to the application.
Sure, David Thomas, owner at 40 Rawson.
Mr. Brunin, questions or comments?
These windows, there's two here and two on the other side.
And two on the back. Two on.
So there's six total? Correct. And they're all aluminum currently?
They're a combination, it's some vinyl and aluminum. Some are, some. They're 30 years old and rather inefficient.
Have a question, I'm trying to remember looking at this. Can you look at the sheet further down that shows the divisions?
I can't remember.
What will the pattern be of the divided lines?
Exactly as Exactly
as they are. I assume for non contributing building week. Replacing kind.
Yeah, was part of the expansion. This is non contributing, it's not in the period of significance And the house is vinyl sided with vinyl windows. So it's doing a wood with aluminum clad is an upgrade.
But wood with aluminum clad is not being proposed, right? They're wood with vinyl cladding?
No they are as noted on page two of the submittal I gave you tonight. Paper one. That's there on my part. Miscommunication, so it's anodized aluminum clad.
Okay. Okay.
And I have no other. Okay. No other questions.
Ms. Morozilla. Mr. Workley. Any additional comments? Miss Kippin. Additional comments.
I move to approve this proposal. I'll second.
All in favor? Aye. Anybody opposed? Alright, thank you. Next is 26 Dash 1, I'm sorry, 26 Dash 846142 Independence Drive. This is an addition.
Yes, this is for a garage addition and existing garage renovation. Staff notes that section three of the architectural design standards state that large expanses of blank wall are to be avoided. Staff suggested to incorporate additional fenestration on the rear elevation to meet this requirement As well as question the shed roof extension on the proposed addition as the main mass has a gable roof. And lastly, section four of the architectural design standards state that details in the main body must be consistently applied throughout all sides of the main body and to revise the elevations to depict shutters on the side elevation where the new windows are being added and the garage is being renovated to meet this requirement. The applicant is here this evening to answer any additional questions that the board may have.
Just state your name and your relationship.
Rob Cogdell, the contractor for mister and missus Luria. So yeah, I think I can make this pretty simple. I think the first notation here for the window, I think you're talking about the rear elevation. We talked window on that back of that garage, he has no problem with doing that. The roof structure I believe you're talking about the shed roof, it's just basically a roof overhang, that's what we're talking about on the back right here.
So that is basically for a TV area, didn't know if that was a major requirement. If we can keep it as is, we'd like to, if not we can do cable there just to enhance it a little bit. In the drawing it's more pronounced than what it would be in real life, but we can discuss that. And as far as the shutters, have no problem with putting shutters on the south elevation as well.
Alright, so really the only thing to discuss is the little shed roof there.
What about
the window on the left?
The left?
Roof, I don't know where
the windows are, we would never let that happen.
That was never mentioned, that to maintain egress for the 2nd Floor bedrooms. We had to do a separation between the house and the main structure so that we can keep the egress for the 2nd Floor bedroom.
How wide is that?
I think it's four feet.
Intersecting. What's the It's I mean it's relatively flat, but what's the pitch on that?
You're gonna get about two twelve pitch on that. It's totally rubberized roof that's going down in there on the back of the house. You know, it's one thing we tried to avoid but the the challenge we had is if we push that garage further south, we had no ability to turn in and out of the garage. So if you you look at the floor plan, you can you can see what we're up against. Well, that's I'm sorry, the site plan.
At having the two car garage pitch be different than the one car door garage
area to alleviate that,
to make that attachment in the house smaller?
You're still gonna wind up with a side, you're gonna wind up with a gable end between the two structures.
Right, but if you make that a very shallow pitch for the connection, it's gonna alleviate that window issue. The
whole window being inside of the well. And that's an option, don't know what is less for the two Eagles having the pitches on the back all be relatively the same with the small or alleviate that section drop it down. I don't know what would look. I'm almost thinking that if you did a shallower pitch on that, that's that one car. I'm just not sure that was.
What's the pitch on that you're proposing?
It's in the green one here. 12 or twelve twelve? I think it matches the existing.
It's be twelve twelve. It's an eight twelve. 812. It's eight.
I'm not even sure that would get us where we need to be unless we lower our plate height, which then runs into the situation where we're we're dying into the existing house.
I just think if you went four twelve there, that would cut that in half. You you would look at elevation, rear elevation, you're almost covering up half the window.
Yes. So you would drop that whole pitch between the two. You're still gonna be even in a four. You're gonna clip that window. There's gonna have to be some change in elevation one way or another. If you look at that elevation there you can see how small of a section of roof that were actually altering to accommodate for that window. It's not a large area. I also think that if we went with a four twelve between the between the main two car garage and the house, I'm
not
sure elevation wise that would be very attractive.
On the
south elevation, the north elevation, again, that's the pool house. There's another bump out of the existing structure there. It's really kind of a hidden area. Not sure if we're trying to eliminate that flat roof structure or we're trying to what we're trying to accomplish by going to a four twelve.
A water issue and a snow issue for our client against that window.
Well, we're still far enough away from that that we have rubber, we have a built up structure. Situations like that, I understand there's snow buildup, but I don't think it's going to be significant enough for changing a whole roof structure.
Mr. Brown, questions or comments?
I don't think I am the the little shed for the TV, I don't know. Don't have a comment.
Ms. Zavinsky?
No, I don't think I have any other. I think that shed for the TV area, I don't think it would look good with a gable so it's kind of, I mean it's just kind of tacked up there but it's harmless as far as I'm concerned.
Yeah, I agree and while I don't love the window egress area, I don't think it actually is an issue as far as the standards go. Do think it'll be a maintenance issue for the homeowner, but I guess that's up to them. Anything else Mr. Workley?
I have no additional comments.
Miss Kim?
No additional comments. Okay.
Motion.
Yeah. Yes. That's
yeah. Okay. So let's move. So gonna add the window to the windows of the room? Move I move that we accept the proposal with the understanding that there will be a window added to the back of the garage side, that shutters will be added to all sides of the main body, and we accept the shed roof extension.
Second.
All in favor?
Aye.
Anybody opposed?
Aye.
One nay for mister Workley. Alright. Thank you. 26 Dash 101200 Laurel Lake Drive, and this is for new villas.
Yes. Staff notes this application received informal review at the 02/28/2024 meeting, and the project received site plan approval from Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning and Building Appeals. Staff notes the board may want to take the first meeting for project orientation, initial comment, and review. Staff comments were attached in the additional PDF within the staff report and the applicant is here this evening to answer any additional questions that the board may have.
State your name and relationship to the application.
My name's Donna Anderson, I'm marketing director for Laurel Lake Retirement Community and I live at 1827 Windsor Street in Cuyahoga Falls.
I'm John Duckerman with RDL Architects.
So why don't you I guess start walking us through these villas?
Sure, so I think back in 2023 and 2024 when we originally submitted, had nine villa designs, duplex designs and as we continued through the process and had some issues with siting and with planning commission and the board of zoning appeals, we are now down to six duplex cottages with one single family home. Cottage 1 being the Cuyahoga on the Upper Northwest side of the site. Cottage 2, Villa 2 right next to it. Villa 3 is now down on the secondary loop of Laurel Lake Drive. Cottage 4 continues up, keep going right there.
Five is a different rendition now up towards the lake and then eight and nine are back towards the other lake. So I think as you'll see as we kind of get into each design, Villa 14, eight and nine were original designs that you guys saw that have kind of been modified with comments that we received from our informal review way back when. Two, five and three are modified based on the site constraints or are there kind of similarities between all of them? We have reviewed staff comments and willing to discuss them.
Yeah, we just start, I guess start with the Cuyahoga and start walking through staff comments. I I do think this will take two meetings to get through all of these. Nope, we understand. So yeah, if we can get maybe through the Cuyahoga and Brandywine and that might be all we have time for tonight. So
staff comment, the first one for the Cuyahoga discusses I guess and this filters through all of them really,
the main
front facing garages on some of them. We had initial discussions back when we first presented it, Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals have approved their locations but I understand that the front facing garages don't necessarily meet the architectural standards. However, majority of these cottages I think are setback villas, I'm sorry, from the 130 foot setback that would negate that requirement. We have implemented some side of loaded garages on some of the other villas we'll get to but the Cuyahoga, the first comment is the front facing garage. I think we have some opportunity to potentially push the garage back.
The second comment here regarding the visible mass is something that we've been kind of looking into in terms of to meet that requirement, but I guess it's, I don't wanna say BZA and Planning Commission approved it and not discussed it obviously, but that's why it's still facing forward. It also in tunes to the rest of the cottages on-site which do have forward facing garages of their existing cottages.
Going back to the informal, understanding was the board was comfortable with the front facing garages based on the existing conditions and land development code requirements, but the projection forward was an issue. So if you said you can have the opportunity to set those back because we looked at the existing villas and they are set They're in line or set back slightly.
I actually think the Cuyahoga is an opportunity, the garage is very large that we can move it back, reduce the size and then there's opportunity I think to bring the entry forward so it helps that garage and that larger mass in front and that might take care of comments one and two that you guys have. Question three is regarding shake siding in the interior of If we go to the rendering of the elevation, you'll notice that the shake siding does We do have these stone kind of pillars on front that are trying to accentuate the entry, but the water table, the stone water table and the shake siding would return into the front door and then come back and then die on I think the rendering, first rendering kind of depicts that in there as it kind of comes and goes back and comes to that stone. I think that answers your question.
I guess I do have a question on the column there when you look at this rendering, so how does that stone and then the siding under the soffit there in this view right here, how do they how do they meet? Because it looks like that column comes all the way up and, like, the siding goes into or or
Oh, so I guess we're trying to depict maybe some sort of like faux cast stone header, is that what you're talking No,
I'm talking about that outside corner. To the left of it. Right behind the gutter basically. How does the siding and the stone meet there? Because you can't change materials on a corner like that.
Well, could build out the column and have it So the column could be its own entity, the siding would not be in plane with it, so it could bump out further to the siding, it would have something to die into in terms of the stone.
You'd have to do something else.
It just looks like, I understand, looks
like it's
in the
same plane currently.
Yeah. No we can, I think we can actually probably beef up those columns or adjust the detail of how the truss is bare maybe? But there will be a differentiation in plan. Comment number five was regarding window trim and I did notice that on some of the drawings. It will be consistent on all windows.
I guess the only caveat to that is we do have some locations, not particularly on the Cuyahoga where there is window fully encased in stone. So we wouldn't put window trim around a window if it's got full height stone. We'd provide a header and a sill and the stone would die into the window jambs. But on this particular one, the trim is supposed to be all the way around the windows and we can correct that if there's any missing on the drawings. Comment six regarding the proposed hips roof as they kind of conflict with the gable roof.
I think we've looked at pushing the garage back and I think it gives an opportunity to where we don't need a hip roof on the front of it because the gable that you see there that kind of spans between the main mass and the garage will just kind of go all the way through so there'll be a gable end now on the side of the That's a possible solution for that. I think it also relates to the sunrooms too. So we can, the witcher on the back of the villas, can Right now they're depicted as hips, we can easily change them to gables. I think that's it for the Cuyahoga, unless there are any other specific questions.
Can I have the arch circular window on the right elevation? Mhmm. It just seems like it's an element that's not in anything. If you could maybe that more like a cupola since you've, you know, you got three consistent bays. If you just make three consistent things
to the You
did on one
of them.
The other ones. That match that Sure.
So the catheter bay?
Doesn't feel
like such a foreign element. Okay. In the renderings, it looked like the the, you know, the asphalt shingle was gonna go would make it look like an eyebrow. It doesn't feel right.
Question two just regarding the sunrooms themselves. Think originally we designed them proportionally the windows were off I think when we originally submitted it. So we came back with the new header heights and they're lower to the ground, we were thinking more operable for seniors. I think it could lead itself to where the stone van could go all the way through and we can change the windows to maybe instead if we go to a gable, have more of a transom with double hung windows that reflect the rest of the architecture and then run the stone all the way through. Think it would help meet that requirement.
Originally when we brought down the windows I think the comment of the stone from the foundation up was challenging based on the space we have to even implement stone there. So if it would appease
the board, we're happy to
look into that.
Are there questions or comments, Mr. Brown?
I guess I have one question regarding the front facing driveways. I mean, I think I heard the front facing garages. Really a question for the board and maybe staff. In terms of land development where the garages are facing onto the development roads rather than a public road, how has that been, in this case I understand that there's already the context of all the front facing garages and their setback, but in terms of like how are the standards usually interpreted? I don't think I have an issue with it but trying to understand if the boards, if that matters.
Does that make sense?
No, that's something that has come up.
It's in two separate sections of the code. One is the land development code which was mentioned that was reviewed by the Planning Commission and for this case the Board of Zoning Appeals. So that states garage doors shall not face a street. Street is defined as a public right of way. So the land development code is, in our eyes, taken care of that way.
It is a separate requirement from the architectural design standards. We have reviewed that, I'm thinking of the townhome development that's currently under construction for Pulte on 91. We did require alleys for that. So I guess I would say from the architectural design standards, not completely erased, but I know from our informal discussions, meeting the Land Development Code and the fact that all of these existing buildings have front facing garages, the thought was almost it would be out of character to have them a different way.
But I mean you can interpret front facing in two ways. One, does it face the public realm? And two, is it the front of the building?
I think if this were an entirely new development we may require side loaded for all of these but with these existing conditions we had a discussion on that and informed, I understand you weren't on the board at that time but
That was my kind of clarification.
Yeah that's one of those things when you look at these like if they were to do side of the graduate, when you look at the rest of that neighborhood, it's completely out of context for the neighborhood to have that, so this really makes more sense to have them facing forward at least, but not projecting forward.
I agree with everything that's been said so far.
Ms. Zubinski?
On the sunrooms, are those windows or those screens? Windows. Those windows, okay.
Sergeila. I'm fine.
No additional comments?
Ms. Kane.
No additional comments and your answers for several of the points are gonna be the same for the other villas. So maybe we could agree that as a, to take it as a whole, right, that no villa, exactly. I
do think we need to look at maybe some of the massing based on all the comments but I think in general, say four through seven or eight are easy picked up ones to consistent windows, mutton designs that yes we will absolutely take
care of.
But maybe next go around we just have a couple views of the actual massing so it doesn't take up as much time. So
let's move on.
Villa 2, which is site specific, it was a duplex. Significant challenges with grading an existing detention basin as well as the pond led this to a single family home. It also helped kinda dictate its proximity to the road to be better off with the side loaded garage. It appears to be somewhat of a rendition of the brand new wine but the floor plan is completely different. I think the same things still apply here with the recessed entry that we have to look at in terms of the massing.
There were some other particular comments about the windows on the right side. One, we're going to have to put one in the bathroom that's there, there's the 12 foot requirement that we don't meet. And actually think that the four windows that you're seeing there, can make dull hung windows to match the rest of the building.
They were
designed that way to try to avoid conflicts with furniture because there are windows on either side, but I actually think it would look better with larger windows. And then maybe two smaller transoms or one kind of double hung window in the bathroom that may be frosted, but at least helps the elevation. Comment one is really regarding the entry in seven feet and how that masses, which we'll take a look at. Number two, the typical window comment. Three, they will have a consistent grid pattern.
Four was the 12 feet which we talked about. Five, question on this is the comment is that obviously if you're seeing a hip that it should be a gable just to match the main mass, is that kind of the intent with comment number five?
Yeah, it's all consistency, Consistent roof shape.
Which is an easy one for us to fix. Number six we talked about, which is the foundation material regarding the sunrooms, which I think next to middle have a different design to propose. The window trim question is number seven, which we have addressed. I think number eight is a duplicate of six, which regard the sunroom addition and its materiality. So that's it for field two in terms of the comments.
Any additional board comments? Kind of the same the same over all comments, okay.
Is the fenestration okay on the top left?
Well that's when he was submitted, he's gonna revise that and probably revise the window configuration anyway as to what they are. Let's keep going.
Keep rolling through. Yeah keep going.
We're moving quick enough, we
can keep going. Okay, so let's go.
We can
do that.
It'll be quicker as
they come. Okay, so Villa 3 is located, the first one on the inner loop, it is essentially a rendition of Villa 4. The dens were kind of pulled off the side because there's some steep grading there next to the skilled nursing building so we had to kind of condense the floor plan. But going through the Brandywine comments, I'll try to be a little quicker here. Number one still pertains to kind of the massing, the main body, so we'll take a look at that and resubmit.
Number two is the garage which the 18 inch requirement that the main mesh should be further out, so that's part of that. Number three, think regarding is basically the entry, saying that it's too far recessed for the mast. It either needs to come forward or be projected back. So I think we have some ideas to get through that. Four is the 12 foot window requirement which we will correct.
Five, the hipped roofs versus the gable roofs. Six, the sunroom. The exposed foundations on the sunroom and the trim question. And that's it for the Brandywine Villa 3.
Any additional comments or questions regarding the Brandywine at this point?
No. Okay.
I just noticed this is kind of like a large span on the right and left gables. Is there anything that should be added there or?
Well I thought that was the fenestration comment.
Is that the fenestration comment? I'm sorry.
There was a fenestration comment.
Sorry, I missed that one,
okay. Yeah.
Sorry to bring that up. Double checked them, they're under 12 feet.
It's these gable ends, you have this two story mass with only windows on the first story. Know it might not be, but it is two stories tall.
Oh okay, alright. We understand. So maybe there's some sort of larger element within the gable.
Yeah because it's a huge meet the intent it would
be more or maybe we could, okay.
Yeah it's just massive blank.
Does it have to be some sort of fenestration element or can it just be something broken up with maybe a roofline or something that changes the materiality Yeah, or something like
can be creative with it, it can't just be this blank, it's single roofs, no large blank roofs. It looks terrible when you have that expanse.
We will fix it.
Thank
you for clarifying that. Imagine four is coming unless there's any other contributors for three. Four is basically the same thing except the sunroom is now off the back and the plan is not compressed to meet those standards so this is one of the original ones that we had submitted. Number one and number two the massing and the 18 inches which we've agreed to work on. Number three is the large gable end with nothing there.
The roofs for number four we will turn to gables and take a look at that. And five, the foundational material in the sunroom as well as the window trim is number six. Happy to address those.
Any questions
on the floor? No, okay. Keep going. Anything. Better to grind through us. Sorry. We'll just move on to Villa 5 which is top left corner by the lake or the pond. So this one was a challenge and is a new floor plan. This had significant site constraints and as you can see from the site plan when you look at it it's very tight, also next to the pavilion, but I still think the same comments kind of apply. We need to work on number one which is the massing in the 18 inches which I think we will have a solution for.
Number two is regarding kind of the entry and the massing. Comment three, the foundation on the sunroom. Four, the grid pattern on the windows. Five, the roofs, gable between hips. Comment six regarding the sunroom foundation and then the window trim is number seven.
Left and right elevation is the so in that one, is the right side, that little pitch that comes down, are those roofs in a different location than on the right side versus the left side as to why that rake board comes down so far? It looks off balance. I
see that it should, that band should continue past where the ridge breaks it and yeah, maybe just something in with the modeling.
It's mirror on the left side too so
I was thinking it was
drawing her.
No, was just making sure nobody from the board had any additional questions. Trying to
And then Villas 8 And 9 which are the cascade models which are in the back, They are mirror images of themselves and they are broken a little bit more significantly than the other floor plans due to kind of proximity to the other villas next to them. The same kind of comments apply though. The one is the garages, two is the 18 inch requirement, three is the I think this would pertain to the gables just being too large, the 12 feet long on the gable end there. Four is the hip roof versus the gabled roof.
Five
is the sorry, proposed sunroom. Just trying to find my notes and that's that's it. Only five comments for those eight and nine.
I don't know what's going on with the
Currently on the skylights, do they have a frame around them or are they they're flat roof window units? Looks like they're just a solid top.
Think they're just picked it that way in the model, they will have some sort of bump up for a shingle installation.
So above the roof but not a bubble, they're
a flat
window. They would be flat
skylights, not a bubble skylight no. But there will be some sort of like flashing mechanism. They won't won't be that thin. That's all of them. Thanks for letting us finish all
of them. I honestly went to the same comments over and over, it goes quicker.
yeah I think if you can make some of those changes and work on really I I think mostly the massing with the garage, I think the other ones aren't difficult, that's probably the most difficult one. Is there anything from anybody else on the board that you would like to see or?
Chance of Gable, I would like to see how he treats that change. Yeah. That's.
So, well.
Thank you very much.
See you next meeting?
Yeah. We'll be back.
Thank you. To meet the holders
of this one?
Oh, yeah.
Do we?
Yeah. To table.
Yes. Okay. So I
move to table this application.
Second.
All in favor?
I have a aye.
Okay. Thanks
guys, appreciate it. Moving on to other business, we have an informal 8493, which is 159 Hudson Street.
Hi.
Okay, just a brief orientation here. Staff notice this application received informal review at the February 11 meeting by the board. The applicant has submitted revised plans for the board to review this evening and is here to answer any additional questions the board may have. You have the staff comments in front of you. Overall staff noted conflicts with massing and overall design of of the house. The applicant is here to answer any additional questions that the board may have.
So you state your name and relationship to the application?
Yes. I'm Brendan Boatwright with McAlpin Architecture. I'm the project manager representing the client.
Did you get a chance to
go through the staff comments? I did and I actually, so I would love to, I'm sorry the list is so long. I promise that I just wanna have the conversation with you and kind of just feel it out which is why we're having another informal because I think some of some of them I understand and and I think are fixable, then some things I kinda wanna go over to to kind of say why I think it would would might be be better for the neighborhood and the street to keep it as as we have it. If we wanna just like run through the list, that's fine. Sure. So reducing the overall footprint, I'm working with the landscape architects on that
right
now, so but I did have a question on that which is, is there any sort of driveway material that counts, that wouldn't count, like I mean if we were to do a
gravel drive, which we wanted to anyway. That actually, the impervious surface while it comes up in this is an engineering thing.
Maybe
Lorne or Nick can answer that question for
you. Is
there any material that is not considered impervious? That what you're we
were looking at doing a gravel drive and so right now we were calculating all of it as if it was impervious, but I didn't know, I couldn't find that answer.
Yeah, typically even gravel gets compacted so we can review with our engineering department, but it's pretty tough to flex from that
Not to take up any more time, so we will look at that and address that for the formal submittal. The second comment, so I believe that the new house does blend with the neighborhood quite well. I think as I said at the last meeting, the actual main front body of the house, it's kind of in keeping with the kind of nineteen twenties thirties architecture that's on that part of the street. The ceiling height in the entry when you walk in and all those front rooms, it's only eight feet tall. So it's not like this is some grand McMansion.
It's definitely trying to keep that same sort of nineteen twenties era in proportion and scale. I think one of the other comments just while we're looking at the front elevation is that the main mass, I guess where the front door is is considered the main mass even though, might wanna
just go
up and
hold down.
No, you're gonna have use
the same I just use it. Okay. Cool. So I was interpreting this as the main mass and the reason so is because I think that's really how it reads. With that logic, it's kind of like, and I actually did a four mile walk around Alpham Blocks this afternoon because it was so nice in Hudson, and I noticed that there are a lot of gable front houses that have these lower wings where the front door is, many of which are on Hudson Street and are actually in the historic district.
So this is a similar sort of massing to that. And you know, we could certainly raise the roof to have it equal with that but it just didn't seem necessary and we again, we're trying to keep the house as low as possible. So that's that's why I wanted to have this discussion about that because I know I know this is breaking some of the rules but I also understand why I understand why the rules are written and I and I just wanted to clarify why we're doing what we're doing is to just kind of keep it as low as we can.
Yeah. Just to clarify what the code our code, classifies this as the main mass and these as separate projections or wing masses. Okay. So it does not include those within the main mass, so then that's where you get the massing conflict in our code. Right.
It seems like the solution to that though would be, you know, just in looking at our plan would be to pull basically, the interior, pull everything kind of forward, which would increase the roof height which I I don't think, you know, we would really rather not do that just because I again, we we really are trying to keep it low and more of a cottage kind of feel to it. And again it's not that tall even as it is. Think those those those highest ridgelines are like 25 feet.
Well I think the issue isn't the overall height, it's that you you have these two side pieces that are taller, though, and and and so that's the conflict there. Right. It's not the overall height of the structure.
Right. Right.
It's the fact that you have these these side pieces now that are raising above, and and that's just I mean, that is something that we are pretty consistent about where, you know, your main mass is supposed to be your dominant feature, a projection or a wing.
Understood. Again though, I'm only pushing back on this because I just was walking around and I just saw this on so many houses that were in the historic district. It it seems like a very common thing to have like this it's almost like it's almost like these are these two wings are the main mass and then we have this connection thing in the middle. I mean, we're doing something a little bit different, but I think that's one of the reasons that we were hired for this. But I do think it's kind of consistent with certainly the street.
Look Did at maybe lowering them and leaving the windows popping in as dormers, kind of giving them little more of that French dormer look of what the You context might
know, I think that we I think that we could do that. I think that we could. I think we could possibly lower them a little bit and and maybe then raise the middle a little bit to get them equal, if that would solve the problem. I personally prefer it this way, but I you know, that that is something that we could look at doing.
Yeah. I would recommend that, because that's one of those things with the land development code. I know you you know, you will see things throughout the city that don't meet today's land development code, but that's what we're working with, is today's land development code.
Right. And totally understand that. I think if they weren't specifically historic structures, and I know there's been a lot of comments on doing something that's not in keeping with the historic district even though we're just outside of it, but that's another reason I bring it up. But okay. So let's see.
The next thing is so there's the 18 inch rule for the wings. Is that what the wings are not supposed to come forward more than 18 inches or the front of the front face of the main body must sit forward at least 18 inches from the front face of the wings. So is that that's saying like the front door would have to be like or would would that problem be solved if we fix the roof problem?
Well, that's saying those two side elements Yeah. Can come out five feet and be called a projection. Right. Then they can come out five feet. But if they come out more, they're considered a wing. And they have to be behind the main mass. Now come out more and we're considering the main mass The front door, the wall of the front door. The front door or the eave that goes over The wall of the front door. Okay.
Okay.
Is there any flexibility in that? Like just because we're trying to Did
you hear the previous one where they have all the villas and we want them to push all the garages back?
Yeah.
Yeah. It's I mean, that's not one we generally give on a new construction.
Yeah. Mean, it's not
built yet.
Yeah. No. No. No.
No. Totally understand that. And the reason I'm the only reason I'm pushing back is because, you know, we we were hired to do something kind of unique and special and charming and I'm worried these things are making it just a little bit more generic. And that's just that's that's my only fear in doing it. We can certainly look at making all of these changes. That's this is why I wanted to have this conversation. So okay. We can look at changing that. Let me see. Architectural design standards.
Okay. Wings, roofline. Yes. Talked about that. I'm not sure about section let's see. So the section g, exposed foundations and tie courses, consistent material. So I think I mean, we have a we have a brick water table that blends into with certain masses. We have brick, you know, that goes all the way up to the eaves. So I didn't maybe fully understand that comment, but because I think in terms of the foundation, it's pretty consistent.
So looking at this elevation right here Yeah. When you look at the front projection, I mean, where's the foundation?
Well, mean, it's it the so the foundation is brick, and then so when when it's a wood wall, there's a brick water table, and then when it's a brick wall, it's it's there. It's just the brick wall that continues up. I mean, we could we could certainly add some sort of like like a brick, you know, detail to to to separate it. Absolutely. Yeah. This this seemed a little bit cleaner, I think. It's what we typically do.
We can pull forward
Oh, no no no, I would just love feedback since I'm gonna be making changes based on the feel of the board. So
Mr. Brown, I guess the comments so far, where are you at with?
Think given that it's new construction and that there are some very clear exceptions that would have to be made. And I don't know that there's I don't know that because I like the design or dislike the design is a compelling reason to grant an exception in one case over another. I mean, I don't know. I started my career working on shingle style houses on Long Island in New Jersey and so I kind of I understand your argument with the mass including those. I understand a lot of what you're doing here.
We're not to make decisions based on my, you know what I mean? The code is pretty clear and like Dom was saying, I mean, there are definitions of what's a wing and what's a projection and what's a whatever. And so I think the list of exceptions would have to be reduced to a few that aren't as significant, I guess, for me comfortable saying that because it's, you know, anyway so that's kind of like a general I guess comment. I'm sympathetic because of my history, but I think there are just too many things that are just, you know, it'd be hard to justify given how clear the goat is.
Ms. Sertinsky, where you're?
I mean I think anything, everything we've kinda discussed so far in terms of
the massing, in terms of the
wings, things like that, I think those are all, I mean there's too many things here that are not meaning code so I think that's definitely problematic. I'm trying to understand, you talked about, so is the same material applied on the whole structure then?
On the whole foundation, but where there's brick it would continue up. Okay.
So it's hard, I was looking at the color rendering so that's why
I was
Yeah.
Okay. In that case it looks like it's the same but it's not the same all
That's the way more of like a temporary when we do the formal, we'll do like a full like actual render but that was a quick one to get you like a feeling for what it would look like on the street so.
I mean I think it's a lovely house, just think it's not meeting a lot of our standards here so that's
a Okay.
Yeah I think there's a lot of challenges just halfway down the list here and the foundation, it really should be defined as a water table around whether it's brick or wood or some sort of distinction to
keep that consistent. Yeah, we can definitely
But do your main thing of course is
the projections and the wing and everything.
Right right right, and those we will address, absolutely.
Yeah so
my opinion is kinda contrary to that and we've had this discussion in the past, so I see that your dependencies on each side are all brick and it takes the water table up to the roof element. So for my understanding of that, there is no water table line in that element because it's all brick.
Right.
Whereas if it's like in the last one where it went up past and made a railing and was not a structural element or a defined element of the context of the elevation, then the water table needs to be carried through. So that's where I make designation just like where the window, bay window is and has the brick go
up a little bit
higher, I'm okay with that popping up because it's a defined element within that larger context that is a facade component. So that's why the carrying, if it's a whole brick element and it's a designed element in the structure, I don't think that it should have to have that brick line carrying the foundation line through, but that's my opinion.
Okay, so if you keep it this way, it will be voted down, right?
You know that.
No, I know that and that's why just want everyone
Yes, so just the two towers move back, lower them if you can.
Yeah.
That would be, yeah.
Okay, yeah. We'll get it. I'm sorry, I don't know if too informal is normal, I think we've been trying to kinda
I would rather have you use an informal than do an actual application against
the Right, know, and apologize and I thank you all for bearing with me, know I'm presenting a lot earlier than last time though so that's good.
Hopefully when you come back the list will be shorter.
Let's see, I'm so sorry, I'm just checking to make sure.
We were on H.
Fenestration, that's no problem, we can address that for sure. The thing on the roof shape, so we do so there is consistency with sloped roofs, everything is at a 12 to 10 pitch, However, we do have some areas where we radius it out just to make it a little bit softer and then we have a large section of flat roof but one of the things that I like about that, well one, it's all on the back of the house but two, what I like is that it kind of it keeps that kind of main mass of the house, that front portion kind of like small and delicate and you know it's really only a room and a half deep. So and then it drops down so that really you know from the street I think it'll still kind of feel like not a big house too between being low in height and also not being super deep. So that's But I I didn't know, but you know, as we continue to redesign and try to stay on schedule if there was a strong opinion one way or another about having the flat roofs in the back.
So that's an element that I actually can live with. I don't have a huge issue with that as long as it's pitching away. Again, you gotta be careful that it's not pitching towards the side walls.
Oh right, yeah.
Well we see it though. There's a specific line in the code about you cannot pitch it towards the wall because we run into that.
Okay, gotcha. Okay.
But yeah, that's something where for me having that down, I'd rather sometimes have that even though code wise it says it should be the same shape and everything, it makes more sense and it does, it makes it smaller.
Yeah and again the entire time that we've designed this house, even the previous iteration, really are trying to keep it, I know I keep saying this, but we really are trying to keep it low and small and and still, you know, give the client what she needs. So okay, that's good. And then the dominant material question, I think I understand considering we were thinking that the main mass as being including those two wings and those are brick. So basically if I get the roof to where it's level with basically the if I can bring the two wings down and back and then bring up the middle roof just a little bit, can we have a different material in between those two? You know, because we really and it's all gonna be painted the same color, it's actually all gonna be white, the brick and the wood, but we just like the texture difference.
And also I think in the back switching down actually, can't remember if we did brick or wood in the back. But but yeah, just that's just a question if there was a strong opinion about having wood in between.
And Lauren, help me out with the like, that comment. That
Sure, staff's intent with that comment was that this the main body needs to be a dominant material. Right now you have two dominant materials, you have the wood siding here and the brick and typically the two accent materials are reserved for gable ends or recess entrances and staff felt that this was not meeting that current code section.
We're considering those two end pieces projections not the main mass, correct? That's what's confusing me is that
Oh I see, okay.
We're calling Yeah, them projections then they're not the main mass, the main mass still has the horizontal siding. It Correct, is
yes, yes.
And it is on the back as well so that would be okay.
Especially if those are reduced, lowered. Right, okay.
And I actually think that's it but this is really helpful and yeah so I will revise and then I think our plan is to submit formally next.
It's a nice design, it's just some of these exceptions are a little
much Understood.
Because then what happens is everybody goes, well you approve that, and everybody wants us to allow forward projections, it's hard to give an exception in one case and
not another. I totally understand. I think it was unusual for me to see a code that was quite this extensive.
Yeah. Mr.
Chair, if I can make a comment on the comments with the historic district. Know there was a public comment at the beginning just So talk through this section of Hudson Street is not within the historic district. This house in particular is also not an individual historic landmark. So therefore, when it comes to demolition, structures 50 years or older, which are not historic landmarks, not in the historic district, do come to the board but only for recommendation. And I looked at the history, you know, I was trying to figure out too, like why wasn't this section included?
So this Hudson Street was included in the historic district in 1989. There was an expansion done then. And I don't have the exact reason, but my thought is that when you expand the district, expand by periods of significance. So now you're saying now we're including 1920s houses, now we're expanding the next time to 1930s. I think from 1989 these homes along this stretch were not within that period of significance that they were looking to expand at that time.
So that's my general thought on that. So this would be a formal for formal application would be a recommendation. The board would make a finding if or if not this house has historic significance and that it is ultimately up to the owner applicant
how they do It is a finding only, it's not a you can or can't.
Right, so it is not on the local or the national register.
Just to comment on that, I was at the house today and we had staked out just this version of it which shows and I think if you have the if you have like a little printout of the plan in front and you wanna walk it, I think it does show how it kind of right now the existing house has two very wide gables that face the street, and one of which used to be like clearly a two car garage because the concrete goes right up to it. And the it's very similar to what we're doing, but we're scaling them down so that they're actually more proportional to what they should have been all along because I like nineteen thirties architecture, but it's sort of a ranch. It's it's it's not it's not a particularly good example and so I would just And it has a very large '19 maybe eighties barn in the back that's particularly bad. Not we're talking about that, but like, Sure. So
Okay. Yeah. Alright. Well, hopefully you get the feedback you need.
Yes, and I appreciate that, so thank you. Good. Okay.
We do have another informal 8545, which is 530 Acres Lane.
Yes. This would be for an addition of a kitchen, master bedroom, bathrooms, and a garage. Overall staff comments for section four states the wings may be not not be larger or taller than the main body of the structure and staff questioned the overall size and appropriateness of the proposed addition and suggested reducing the length of the addition to be less than the main house to meet this requirement as well as revise the elevations to depict a consistent foundational height water table around the new addition. The applicant is here this evening to answer any additional questions that the board may have.
Okay. If you state your name in relationship to the, it's not really an application, but to the informal conversation.
My name is Matt Plesnick from Cleveland Draw Architecture, I'm Alyssa's architect.
Am Alyssa, the homeowner.
So if you would just walk us through the project.
Yeah, are these the most recent? Was there one before this? Maybe it doesn't matter.
These should be
the most recent.
Okay.
Yeah,
we could go through. I guess we could start on elevations. So the existing house is in the front, which would be on the right hand side of the page. There you see existing houses and existing veranda. We're demoing a portion of the existing veranda, the existing roof will remain and essentially rebuilding it within the same footprint.
It's same number of columns, almost the same type of height. Something that's slightly different is the railing where the railing is somewhat of a more standard six inches railing just to meet building code. We go to the upper elevations or the one on the upper side of the page. So on the right hand side, this is somewhat the existing building, you see the veranda on the right hand side, then the highest peak there is the existing structure. There was another addition added to the existing structure I think in the 30s or so.
Do you remember the original beginning
system? Is
it 1800?
Yeah, I
think it goes all the way back to the 1800s.
This is somewhat of a conglomeration of work. And then our addition is beyond that to the left hand side of the page. Existing structures essentially all aluminum clad site. New structure will also be aluminum siding with a garage on the base and then there's a small living area a two story So addition. It's roof similar to match the existing hip of the existing structures.
Guess if you go to the second page of the elevations, here we have I guess the other side of the elevation. Another addition we're adding is somewhat of a conservatory type structure with the big windows, it's located in the center there. That'll be a kitchen, we're demoing a portion of the existing building and within that same footprint we'll be sort of rebuilding this kitchen with big open windows, again somewhat of an old conservatory type structure, it'll have a roof deck with a railing at the top. And then the bulk of the new addition is accessible? Yes, the roof deck over the kitchen?
Yes, I guess if I understood, there is the high roof deck that is accessible, it will be accessible from the master bedroom area and then there is a deck that also the second tier deck I guess, next to the kitchen, you could step out onto the kitchen onto a deck which will eventually the pool, I think in the site plan we're showing a pool that's not going to be in the scope of work presently. We're showing it just to illustrate it, it'll likely be a future, something we'd be adding in the future, Thinking for it now in the design process. That pool will be on center with that pass through that you see along the in the new addition. Essentially a 10 foot by 10 foot pass through. So I believe one of the comments was generally the overall is subordinate to the principal structure, correct?
Can we go back to the previous sheet? This elevation? Yes. So I guess we were looking at this originally kind of looking at it different ways. The principal structure or the primary structure I guess is would you consider to be the original house, the 1800s house in which case then the new addition, I mean it's wider than that. But if you look at the I guess we weren't sure how the massing if you take that as the principal structure or if you take the addition as well, the 1930s, 40s addition, which is that middle section.
I think that comment was really not more about square footage, but when you take it and part of what we have to look at is in context with the neighborhood, and this is a unique neighborhood because it's this private drive, honestly you add this much to it, and almost every other home over there looks like the servants' quarters. In the context of the neighborhood, it just makes the house tremendous compared to all the neighbors, and it's out of context for the neighborhood at that point. It's so large of a structure just with the main mass and then the two additions. That's how I saw that comment.
I think it's a fair comment, but I also think, and I mean it's a big house to begin with as
is It's already, I think it's the biggest
They call it the big house, all of the other I think that was the original context, what you had mentioned. This was a house they parceled off the land and turned it into smaller houses behind it.
Yeah, so it's as is, I guess it's a big house.
Right, so as is it's a big house in context with neighborhood, and then this is what, two thirds about of the square footage of the main house in addition? If you just did the math by square footage, right, I think the addition is about two thirds of the, roughly, two thirds of call it the main, the original house as an addition.
Oh the original house? Yeah. So
are you calling the middle part the original house?
The middle part would be an addition.
Yeah, so if you consider the original house that, you got the cursor on, it's roughly 43 foot
that range.
Addition, it's I believe we're looking at 50 foot, or 25 foot. So I don't know, I wouldn't say two thirds, it's probably slightly more square foot, footprint wise, not Yeah, footprint. But some of the other things, we're subordinate I think to that primary structure and that setback quite a bit.
I agree with that. I do think that it is subordinate, and again though, in context with the neighborhood, it's massive. It doesn't fit with that neighborhood. That's my interpretation of that comment.
I see.
It makes it just too big for the for the neighborhood. Kind of like putting those houses, what are the neighboring houses? They're probably not more than 3,000 square feet?
Right, and several of the houses actually were candidates to be added as historic, to get the historic label, right. I was responsible for that part of the town, the southern quadrant. So you have a little neighborhood which is basically a historic neighborhood, right? So, to second what you commented, John. And I have a question, you mentioned that you would demo something on the main house. I'm not sure that Didn't you say that when you The existing veranda? Yeah, the existing veranda.
But it's not landmarked, mean it's not historically, it doesn't have to follow the preservation briefs. We're
not required
to abide by that.
And we're only demoing it because it's falling off.
That would be a good reason to
Yeah, we're we're With the exception of the railing, I think the veranda will look almost exactly
Okay. Have the veranda, so I bought the house. Good, good. Yeah, but I agree the massing is gonna be disproportionate to that of the neighboring houses and the lots are not big, right?
This So. Lot is I think a little, it's a fairly larger lot It's compared to what we two and a
half acres.
So it is bigger than that of
the As a standalone, think yes, but it's not it's this little neighborhood that's a self contained neighborhood. And so that would be my concern about the size of the addition.
What if it was detached?
Looked like it was detached.
Grease Way or a smaller connection between. Would you still feel the same?
Three car garage.
I think that would help.
So like moving the walkway to the other side and making that look more like a breezeway?
I think it would help because it would look like almost like a detached garage as opposed to a massive structure when you add the three together. Because it's really kind of three structures that are put one behind the other.
So is it, I guess the width is somewhat, I mean I think the house is big, that's existing, it is what it is, it's a big house,
but
adding to the width is what seems to be an issue width wise, right? I don't
think it's a specific dimension, it's the overall mass. When you look at it becomes a very large house in a neighborhood that doesn't fit that large, it kinda doesn't fit as it is, and you're making that more prominent.
I do think though that like you're saying the width, that does matter because this is the side that relates to those other
Yes, floor the main driver.
When you said separating it, also thought you could rotate it. This elevation in particular makes it look even bigger than it is like then if you look at the footprint because you don't see on this elevation that the former addition and the second addition are narrower rectangles. They're not big squares like the front. But it reads like, I mean from this side which is the side that faces the other houses, it's like its biggest side I think. So I don't know, I think there are probably ways to break it up.
So I guess you're, by separating it more from the mass, it sounds like is what you would be suggesting from the existing mass, the two
I think that would help, to create some sort of, I mean I think that would help.
Sorry, I'm So down to we'll have two bedrooms there and we have one child, we have another one on the way. So for the first part of the house, all of our bedrooms are being used up. For our next child, we don't want them to be in like a separate house. So
I see what you're saying.
Yeah. Yeah. And we're removing the two bedrooms that are currently within the house because the kitchen has a ceiling height that's much lower than the rest of the house for some reason. So we're raising the kitchen height, the kitchen ceiling, which eliminates the two bedrooms that would be for our future children. So that's my only fear with making it completely detached.
Yeah. Think there's a there's a strong functional aspect to that. To separate the structure I think it would be in many ways to the Lisa and her family.
Right, and children.
Yeah. So that being said, there was based on an earlier conversation, we looked at an option where we made that, I guess that the new addition slightly narrower,
about
10 foot. So if you go back to the elevation, I could, I don't know, should I show them the sketch?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Essentially
the pass through, that 10 foot pass through that kind of goes through the center, if we basically eliminated that pass through, you still have the three car garage and then you have the living area above. It
just truck eats
that, brings it down about 10 feet. Can I show you this? Is this gonna be something? Bring that mic.
Don't forget the microphone. All the minutes are done off of the recording.
I see. Yeah, no thank you. So I guess if this is a no go, would something like this be considered a here, I'll give you here's the basically, this is that a new addition. We're coming 10 feet off, bringing it down this way. Eliminate the pass through, just garage below and then a living area above. And then we just kind of truncate that living area. It's not it's not our preferred option. And to Alyssa's point, think they need the space. They're an extended family, growing family. Like the area, so it's not But is this something that I guess, I don't know.
Well, let's run through
Consider.
I'm kinda
the only one that's talked, so let Oh, sure. Let
me see that.
Yeah. Yes. Yes.
Yeah. I'm interested in looking at the floor plan because I don't understand connection on the second story to the from the front building to the back building that you're doing that you're saying is can't be disconnected because right now it's disconnected. Is that because there's no way to get from the front bedroom to the back bedrooms on the 2nd Floor.
From the 2nd Floor, no.
Yeah. So I it already is disconnected. So what I'm saying is that the stair that you have that's that's now is adjacent to the kitchen Yeah. If that was the only element, a small element between your existing building and your new construction,
now
that separates this continuous long building apart and you have glass or whatever between that or a little breezeway this new building to the existing building.
So you'd have to go through a breezeway to get to the new addition? Sounds like It
could be a stair enclosure, I'm not saying it has to be open air. Yeah. But there's no difference than what I'm talking about than you're using the existing large structure there to do the same exact thing.
So I guess if if if I under like, let's here's keep this black.
To the left.
To the left this way.
Yeah. And disconnect it.
And then
you have like a
a smaller connection to the house.
That's gonna increase the width though, no? Of the whole thing? Which is what's the concern?
It's gonna increase the length of the the depth of it.
Right, yeah. This is going to get longer then, correct?
You create a break. On that second story there you create a break then. So if we go back to the elevation.
If we go back to elevation, push this back.
So if that breezeway was over here adjacent to that stair connector and you did a smaller connector.
It would be like a two story breezeway, no?
Yeah or story and a half or whatever. Yeah, it's not the full height of the both both buildings.
Right, but then if this was a concern, we just made it longer, no?
If you took 10 feet off the end, what if you took the 10 feet from this side and made it work that way?
So Matt,
I think they're saying that breezeway or that walkway that we have there put it in between the house, the existing house and this house and then I don't know, some sort of like glass tunnel. Just getting
that much.
So if we took this Yeah. It's just a small
connection between the So it looks like you had a garage that you just connected by the breezeway and a smaller detailed element.
Right.
So it was separated and now you've expanded the house and connected it.
I guess, let's if we could go back to I think I'm so if go back to this one, so basically push this this way and if this is some so this will there'll be relief here, right? So we'll just have a little bridge type connector, Not a bridge, but a connector.
There's your 1st Floor connector.
It'll be a 2nd Floor connector, right? Then if we go to the 1st Floor, if we can go there. So right now, that would create a I mean, this would push over or were you saying to basically put this on this side?
I'm just because you've got three stairs there right now. Is there any way that you can make that connector be more of that monumental stair that, you know, does what you're trying to do with the three separate ones?
Well, this goes to the basement, and I think this goes to this 1st Floor. So I I don't know that Where
does the one down below go to?
This one? Yeah. Basement.
To the right inside the building?
It goes to the 1st Floor Level.
The one where your building is now. It goes up to the 2nd Story?
This one? Yeah. It goes up to the 2nd Story, yeah.
So my only other concern though is when I pull into the garage with my groceries and things, that staircase we would still need to be able to like walk up those stairs with all of our things and that's why it was nice being attached to the house. I don't know because I don't have an architect's imagination, I'm not sure what this would look like functionality wise.
I think shrinking, what they showed there from a staff perspective addresses that require shrinking at 10 feet addresses that comment of this being subordinate to the main mass. It's lower in height. It will be have a less width, less of a run. That's exactly what we were envisioning when we made that comment I guess from
our can put the stair going down to
the basement under the stair going up to the kitchen. And that's combined, that's two stairs that you have in that space down to one now. Right now you've got a landing that goes two different ways and takes up that length of the building.
This stair? I guess
Short stair from garage up to that landing. And then you've got the other stair that goes down to the basement.
Right? Right.
So if you could combine those where they're stacked on each the top of each other, you're have to pull that
I don't know if we have a head height. Because these are very short run stairs. There's only a few treads. One, two, Yeah, a
of here on your property you could potentially look at that, but you've got three stairs in that area that you could combine to make it a little more efficient for your floor space that would reduce that area not having to be the whole building and make that connection smaller. That helps so then makes the roof connection smaller. Know, it's just a ripple effect through the whole rest of it is all we're saying. So just study it if you can.
You know, we're going informal here so
And then back to what I believe Nick did the 40 shrinking it? We passed around. For me
that would address our comments.
Okay. So we'll I guess look at those two options?
Yeah, that works for me. We could look at both of them.
Mean look at them and see how it works.
Zach?
Yeah sure. Was there
I think that was really the only comment on it, right?
When did comment? Yeah, haven't
seen it yet.
I don't think I have any other questions.
Go ahead.
I didn't realize that you are demolishing or intending to demolish the existing garage. Is that, what is the history or I mean I guess it won't matter but can we see with the scratch?
So you I don't know if
I have a picture of the existing garage. I remember vinyl door and So it's not a historic
I don't believe it's
Not significant.
Upbuilding, is that
what it is? Yeah. The wind
blows At
the very
top of
this Might come down.
See. Caving in.
This location.
And the walls are slanting on it.
We could have more.
Yeah, could show some
more Yeah, it's in the back side there. Yeah,
it's not pretty.
I wouldn't be too concerned about that coming
So have you considered having the garage entry in the rear so that it wouldn't look, I don't think it would look as massive if the garage doors weren't facing
No, they're too narrow. Other It's too narrow to do
that. Yeah, I think
we cut close to our, we're coming close to our property line to tilt it 90 degrees. Yeah, that's the main reason.
The other thing
that's really sticking on me is the veranda. It's the front elevation, you say well to code we need these straight rail and balusters but that Veranda has a beautiful Chippendale railing
that's I'm a Chippendale railing.
Can't So we you have a Chippendale railing that meets code? I mean I would think that there would be some way to do it. Just that it's so distinctive and it's part We of the
were looking at that quite a bit. Can you go to a picture of the chip and nail? For example, there are some styles that probably lend itself more to a code compliant Chippendale with the angles and basically increasing the angles and you could do it like a web kind of a thing. But so for this particular style, I don't know that we could mimic in a, I don't know, reasonable way that it still looks like the original Chippendale type, I mean we could put like rods in between kind of a thing but it's, I don't know that it
didn't you do research to find
out that that actually wasn't like in the era that the house was built?
Think it was added later too. It's just two by fours that were, so I don't think it was a, I mean stylistically it might have been, but from a construction standpoint I think it was added much later after the fact. But the Chippendale railing or this particular design, I don't know that this one we could adapt to a code compliant railing, which means no space greater than four inches on center. So there are other types of Chippendale type railings where we probably could, but that wouldn't be what we have here. So at that point to go in that direction or versus going in the other direction where we would just do a railing to match the new railing that we're adding everywhere else on the building, which would be like over the roof deck over the kitchen and there's a
Way back and
Yeah, which is further From
the front.
Yeah. I would like to see some effort made to have Chippendale to try to pay homage to that. Yeah. So
would you just want it on the front or all three of the
decks? I'm mostly concerned with the front because that's what you're seeing from the sleeve and it's so distinctive. I mean from And to go to something just a straight post The this
specific issue is the triangulars of the chimney, so you got a big space in between. You could get a four inch sphere is not supposed to be able to pass through that space, so that's where we come into trouble. So what often is done is additional elements could be added, you could do like a contemporary compatible type element that sits in the background but doesn't take a visual attention away from the actual railing, like if we put dark dowels behind it, so you just focus on the white railing not the dark dowels. I think it will become somewhat of a clunky solution, I don't think it will be a good solution. There's other chipping nail railings where do you see how it's like a center, imagine it like a spider web, like offset four inches and offset.
So we could do that style too. It's not true to the original design, but it's a compliant alternative. I don't know if that's any better. I could draw it for the next as a study if you'd like to see that.
There
was one other question about the wainscope I believe. You mentioned to add a wainscope around the structure.
Wide open Consistent
foundational height. Yes, right. So the grade slopes, I'm sorry, let me read this again, to pick the consistent foundational heightwater table around the news. So the grade slopes, to do a consistent height, I guess by water table do you mean like a stone base? Are we talking adding stone or
like talking about that line where the foundation obviously is So below that's where I was talking if you pulled the structure away and you had a breezeway or something between, that's what we've had a few other people do when they've tried to do this length and length and length of attachment. You pull it away and then you have that smaller defined element that separates the two. So you can have it look like this garage was built with a different foundation height and then attach it by breezeway.
So I guess there's two questions. The original structure doesn't have a water table. Do we add it or?
It's not the water table you're thinking of from architectural, it's the line of where the foundation stops and the building starts.
So here's the line, if we could so here here it's down here because the grade slopes, but as we go up here, this line is here.
Right. That matches the existing building.
Right. Yeah.
And it needs to come all the way across.
So you're saying bring this?
Yes. That's the water table.
So that's where it becomes problematic.
Right, is that what's desired?
That's the code.
That's what's code. Yeah. So the water table can't step to this?
Correct, there is no step in the foundation, it is a consistent foundation elevation all the way around.
To the point where some homes had to do a whole 1st Floor.
So we're introducing a completely new design element then to the existing building, right? If we'd be adding some kind of water table. If we go here, here's We the foundation, have no water table here. It's essentially to yeah, sandstone. We would have to I guess are we looking to add?
No, it's not adding a water table. It is the vertical height of the foundation has to be the same height all the way through.
Right now you're taking the siding on the addition
all
Right, the
right, bringing this but this is a sandstone foundation here. I mean we don't want to bring that higher, do we?
That's what the code says you have to do, it has to be the same elevation.
So then in such
Oh, it gets awkward.
It's a
quite It's awkward.
Yeah. I
think Mr. Workley was saying you find a way to separate the massing somehow so that
you can reset that.
Then that resets the water table.
Then you can move the water table down because it's a different, it's not a line that's just going across the building.
I see, It's so that's the
he's smart guy. Multiple solutions, multiple problems are getting solved by making that division.
Yes. So if we go back to sorry, this one. So you're saying, okay, so here's the water table again here, right? Or the foundation line.
Yes.
We'll say that. If we were to push this back 10 feet, create somewhat of a relief here, we could reset the foundation line water table, which would set that might be more of a correct, if I am understanding?
Because then your concept then is that you're having a carriage house that you're now connecting basically.
Yes. Okay. I mean, guess we could look at that. The alternative would be bringing in a new water table, which probably wouldn't be very historically accurate or introducing a new
No. Honestly, think especially on the other side of the house, you're gonna have foundation coming up to those windows. Yeah.
Yeah, here, if you go to
On the opposite side. Yeah, you'll have foundation all the way up to the windows. On the whole side. Yeah.
Right.
It ends up being what
It's quite a bit of
Yeah, it's a lot.
Blank, yeah. So, well, here's another, and because we're talking here, If we were to do a foundation, not a stone foundation, but a like a stucco, does this would this count as a
Foundations are supposed to be reasonably matched.
You're supposed to
be Well, I guess the what's there now is like this is a it's the old wall, it's like a big sandstone wall, blocks are just laid on top of each other, it's like dry stack. And it's a cementitious coating over everything and it's all painted white. Parched coat, it's all painted white. So it just looks like a white base. And then you have a white base and you have a siding above. A white base, is that something that would be acceptable?
Foundations are supposed to match?
I guess this would all be a white base here.
Yeah, but then you'd have to take that all the way through and all the way around at the same height.
And that's an awkward
Yeah, it is. So again, if you can get a separation there,
even though the separation kind of elongates it, that would be somewhat
shortened by 10 feet.
Oh, you're saying so shorten it by 10
feet I thought as
you either were or too.
Yeah, but you shorten the garage part, so to speak and then you have the
you can study and figure out what works for you. Yeah.
Well, that's a lot of Correct.
If you come back with a reasonable response as to why it slightly with the connector and the reasoning about it, think
we would be fine. Even if you wanna do it as
second and formal, think would be good. Because we can talk openly about it here versus saying this does or doesn't comply.
Explain again why you're eliminating the two bedrooms that are in the current house because what does that have to do with the
Because the ceiling heights for the current The ceiling height in all the house is beautiful, it's 13 foot ceilings. But in the kitchen it's like a nine foot ceiling and that's where I will be spending so much of my time. We cook at home, we eat at home. So we wanna raise the ceiling in kitchen to be 13 feet to match the rest of the house. Well above the kitchen are the two bedrooms that we will now be One's being basically eliminated completely, that ceiling in that room is going up to like it's just a four foot little attic space and then the other room, that ceiling is also being raised like that's becoming like maybe an eight foot room which still with sloped, the roof is sloped so it's not
If you go to eight It's just three zero turning
it into kind of a bonus room at that point because it's not really a bedroom anymore.
So why do you have to
bring the
kitchen to 13 feet?
Want it to match the rest of the house.
The floor to floor in this part of the house which is this added not the primary. Here's here's a so this is a very low floor existing. It's like seven foot maybe in some areas. It's a, you know, it's very low. Essentially, we're removing the floor and raising it to a nine foot ceiling height. That it just opens up, it's a more grander space, nicer space.
Basically the space kitchen area is an attic space now.
Yeah, I was thinking
It's an attic and you know what we're gonna end up
It's not have to, it's want to.
It's want to, it's yeah. Mean it the it's Yeah. There's an area, it'll be a two story area in one space, so it'll be the so this this exists these are it's a big, you know what I mean, big ceiling height. It's nice. Very spacious. As you go here, it's super small. You know, less than I think we're in the seven foot one range, so it feels long and tight. So we would be opening it up, expanding it on the interior side. The exterior will look the same at that area.
So hence why you build such a huge addition beyond that?
Correct, yeah.
And there are no bedrooms
There are, there's four.
No, there's three.
Three? Three. She's right. Sorry. Yeah. And we're adding two the two bedrooms that we're losing due to the raising of the floor, we're adding into the addition.
When you say there's three in that front, are you counting the one that was the bedroom?
Oh, it's a closet.
You It go to looks
like the size of this.
So there's an We're existing room before
changed it to a giant closet.
This one?
Yeah. The south side.
Yeah. We have an existing master master bathroom, bedroom one, two, three, I guess.
Okay. Well, I'm gonna look at those. See see what you can do with those.
Do you suggest that we do informal next time?
It's up to you. Can't tell you what to do on that, but if you can, I mean if it works and you can kind of institute these things, I think you'd be fine just doing a more formal, actual voted on presentation? If you go through it and it's, hey this isn't gonna work and we need this, I would probably do another informal just to kinda show what you guys did and why it's not gonna work.
Let me just ask a question, has anybody ever submitted it for review getting your comments and then asked for it to be changed to
Oh, the formal submittal that turns to informal?
Yeah.
So that's what you could
do if you get the comments back if that's allowed.
Yeah but usually we're issuing those comments the day of the agenda so that's tough for us.
So they come the day of the agenda? Yeah. So we won't get much
Right, there won't be a lot of time to coordinate on that end.
Alright, sorry.
Yeah, right, you'll get it Friday afternoon.
I'm trying to find a way out.
Okay, we'll talk and we can
You could run it by us first and then we can help.
I'll let Nick have a pretty good feel for
it. I'd
actually like to clarify
what Well
yeah the formal review will require a full survey and engineered drawings, you may want to come back from a formal before you.
We got our
survey today.
mean if you guys say so, I think we should be ready. I mean we can talk about it. If I could just revisit the one point when we, not to belabor a point, we take 10 foot off, so we shrink it, we truncate it. That even though I guess per code, that somewhat satisfies the
The massing issue.
The massing issue, correct.
But it doesn't address
the watershed. Foundation. The table issue, yeah.
So the other option would be to detach it and have the breezeway in between and then that addresses
And
both
that would include also taking the 10 feet out or that's undefined at this point I guess?
Undefined, okay.
But I think it goes a long way if it gets detached or at least gives the appearance of being detached, I think that goes a long way to solving the massing issue because now it looks like it's an attached carriage house.
Don't we have an example that you could provide them?
Could look into
By typing a
Is it the
next one on the agenda or was it
Do you know what
I'm talking about?
The old Mill Building.
It is the next one on the agenda. It is? Yeah. Okay. Isn't it?
Yes. It's mainstream. Alright.
I'll have
to go ahead. Yeah, they kinda have the same issue. It's almost exactly the same issue.
Okay, cool, thank you guys so much for your time.
Next is an informal for 8537258 North Main Street. This is an addition.
Okay. This is for an addition of a bedroom, bathroom, and an office and two car garage. Staff notes the proposal received informal review at the March 11 meeting. Staff notes the board previously provided comments regarding the overall size of the proposed addition and suggested reducing the footprint. The applicant has submitted revised elevations for the board's consideration in response to the feedback. As you can see, the footprint has been reduced and the applicant is here this evening to answer any additional questions that the board may have.
Good evening. Nate Bailey, architects. 10 West Streetsboro, Hudson. I said 10:45, so we're ten minutes ahead. It's a late one, guys.
Thanks for thanks for staying and what working through these two. So as mentioned, we were with the board last last session, I believe, for an informal. And some of the things that we had brought to the attention of the board that we were sensitive to and the reason we're kind of coming through the informals partly because of the engineered site plan requirements now for full art board submittals, but also because this project, we just brought to the board's attention, you know, is a series of additions on the existing house. So existing house is here. There was an addition, an addition, and I think maybe another addition or one was done at the same time.
So we've been pretty clear with the client. These are tricky situations just because the scale of what we're attaching to is an addition and addition. And that's always a bit, you know, of a dynamic request. So that was one, just sensitivity to the additions on additions. Two is just the scale of the massing. You know, we we we certainly wanna be sensitive to what's theirs, you know, historic or not, but also sensitive to the neighborhood. In our situation, this is a garage with a a space above it, and so we're trying to figure out the right proportion and massing to this. So that was one. The third one is just the feasibility of the garage. You know, this you can kinda see it here.
This is North Main. So it essentially, the driveway comes up and peaks at a height and then dumps back down and then continues to fall. So Lauren, I don't know if we can go to, like, the images maybe. I just want the board, maybe those who weren't here last time, just to understand, the way grade is working right now and you were just on it like two images below perhaps, not one of the rendered ones but the retaining retaining wall images. Yeah.
So the way grade is working now, it it dumps off dramatically. There's a walkout condition here you can see. And then this is the start of this horrendous interstate highway retaining wall prefabricated component with a concrete cap that's clearly failing. So and there's like I gave you guys a really juicy image if you wanna go like two more in advance just to really sell this. But yeah, I'm in here.
So the the way it's set up right now, there is a detached barn like structure with a really low quality garage door. This retaining wall element, which is visible at almost five feet from the neighbors down sort of closer south of us towards historic main or, you know, down towards the the shops. This is what they see. It's it's really ugly. And so our client came and just said, hey, we we would love a solution where if we could do an attached garage, great.
But, you know, it comes at the the celebration, we would say, removing all this concrete, removing this large retaining wall, and turning a lot of the backyard back into grass with this now attached garage. So that was the the, I guess, third sensitivity. And the last one we had, ironically was one you guys were just talking about which is foundation. It's been a theme tonight, right? The water table. And yeah, if you wanna go to any of these images here, can see it. So historic house, back in the day, there's stone. In addition, stone. In addition, this was a parched block. We were not a part of that project, so I I can't speak to it.
It's just what's there. They're maintaining the height of it, but as noted, as you turn the corner of this, grade does fall all the way down to a walkout condition. And I think there's sorry, Alone, you're driving here but
Go ahead.
A couple images in advance of this, we kinda turned the corner and you can just get a if you keep going down. I just want the board to see like how much foundation is exposed. Yeah. One of these or even the next one. Yeah. So so this is what we are proposing. That's our third sensitivity. So this is what we're proposing. In addition, it's a two car garage with a space above. The way we're making that work is we're getting unique and creative with a breezeway that connects back to the house.
When we were here last, we're we're positioning this garage somewhere between the existing basement and the 1st Floor. And we're we're doing that to a, just be sensitive to the massing and the height of this. We're doing that from an engineering perspective so that we don't have too much slope where getting into a garage is difficult. But it's also from a constructability standpoint. If we if we make this super high, it just means we have to raise grade or premium fill, etcetera.
So keeping it a little squatty helps us in a number of ways we feel, certainly from a design standpoint. When we're but here's the reality, like we we hate this this large expanse of parchment material. And so when we were here with the board last in the informal, we were discussing if there would be a variance is a strong word, maybe that it'd be that. If there would be a solution where we and this is what we show in our renderings, where we have siding coming down that acknowledges the foundation height and then we would we would use a piece of trim similar to this to then acknowledge continuity with the house. And then below that point, use the siding of a different exposure that starts to just decrease how much of this parsed material would exist.
And so what we have before you tonight is a revised massing. Some of the moves included taking off a third bay. Previously, was a third bay here. It was stepped back. It was lower head heights and roof lines, but we chopped it off, which was a win for I think everyone. We wanted to bring that to the the board's attention. We've finalized grade. By doing that, we lost a door here on the outside. Again, we're activating that 2nd Floor with some roof dormers that are centered up on the garage doors. And then you can see here this red line here depicts the foundation height if we track that through, the water table height, if we track that through.
And we're acknowledging and requesting, I guess this is informal so we're open to collaboration on this conversation, but using a material of an alternate exposure width that allows us to come down closer to grade instead of having eight feet of parched material. So those are some of the changes. Other changes that the board had recommended in the last informal was ways to connect between the addition and this new building. Taking some onus from the side elevation which is a patio. If you wanna go to the next elevation, Lauren.
So this is existing house, of course, that was the historic portion. There's this cool sort of low sloped element here which is an open patio with stairs up, side doors. And so the board thought, you know, as an option we could start to study that, try to carry some lines through which allows us to sort of design this more of like almost a bit of a carriage house element. It's not detached but it could read like that. But it also just is kind of continuing some lines from the existing house.
And so I thought that was a great idea. We're showing some engaged columns here, some windows. This is just sort of a breezeway, a covered conditioned sort of breezeway between existing house and that, you know, the 2nd Floor of this, over the garage. 1st Floor or lower level's garage, the floor above will be a small office, potentially a bedroom and a bathroom. This gentleman works from home, so that's what they were looking for. I think that's kind of the extent of what we revised and what we're here to discuss with you guys tonight.
Mr. Brown questions or comments?
So looking at the garage side with the doors not the backside. Yeah, so those, what you're calling, I mean the little connector with the two small windows, that's set back from both So the left and the I don't know, I mean kind of continuing discussion we had previous, I I do think, I'm not sure how I feel about the, I understand the change in exposure. I don't know if you have to though. Maybe something else could happen in that little thing that separates the I mean like we said for the last discussion, kind of resets. I mean that this is, like you said, this is reading like a carriage house.
Ms. Zwinski.
I wasn't here for, I think, the first informal. So as I'm understanding, you're suggesting a four inch siding like on the bottom half and a six inch. Is it otherwise matching like color and
Yeah. Would would say six inch is probably a typical exposure for houses of this age assuming that the additions matched what was there. I would be happy to change that language and say the main field, the the primary siding material would be succumbent would be to, you know, to match what's on the house. Assuming it's all the same, yes. And then we would wanna differentiate, I guess, with the board's approval. That's what was discussed last time. Things below that just so that
it Like so
it's It'd be the same material. Yeah. Sorry. I understand the question. Same material just different exposure.
Difference is
really the
only difference. Sorry. I I misunderstood that. Yeah.
With some sort of board differentiating in between?
Absolutely. Yeah. And we would use, let's say, like a piece of five quarters, something thicker so that there was hierarchy in the in the stepping.
What is the how's am I can
you explain the roofing on the the connecting piece?
Yeah.
Just to make sure I understand it.
Yeah. So this is a low slope roof that pitches this direction and it's coming in between, you know, this form and this form. I should have mentioned too the location of this. So on the rear of this house, they have a family room and so they were very interested in obviously maintaining views out of the rear of that. So the garage is the garage is pushed back off this edge.
You can see that in plan. And then as noted from mister Brown, this portion here is is pushed back off that outside corner. So we do we are trying to we are trying to keep, you know, the intent. You know, it's it's a really tricky one because there's like five different levels and head heights between basement and garage and 1st Floor. I know that's your problem but, yeah, this one's been just more difficult in thinking through.
I don't know how I feel about the different sizes. I get the the point of it but I have mixed reviews I suppose.
The distinction of the two different width of reveals on the siding, it's not as noticeable on this north side, but I don't care for it on the south side at all. And because of the garage doors, it's not,
you know, emphasized as much as it is on this side. And I
feel that it should all be consistent on at least and I don't know if you could do it just on this one side but.
Can I ask a follow-up question? So what we're depicting here in terms of grade could be manipulated based on you know, we haven't gotten to civil engineer yet in terms of grading in storm water just because we wanna get some traction for the client's benefit before we do that step. The amount of CMU or foundation material we're showing here could be in abundance to what we're actually able to pull off. No. I'm saying this would be we're being very conservative with what we're showing.
I think very honest with what we're showing. It would be my hope that, you know, because I'm I'm tracking with your comment. Like, as this starts to climb, it looks worse and worse because now it feels like it's an ice cream sandwich. We have three different, you know, materials going on. I if that's where you were headed with that, if that's something that's distracting to you, I would agree with that and and it'd be on our radar to try and cause all we're gonna do then is just bring grade back up alongside the foundation wall to decrease the height of foundation exposed.
I would still say that on this elevation I'd rather see a consistency of the siding reveal.
The consistency?
Consistency of the siding reveal rather than have two different widths.
Oh, okay. We would be happy to accommodate that.
Just my opinion.
Absolutely, we'd be happy to accommodate that.
Can we go to a photo? So I know on the right hand side under the, like, call it the large window group, what is is that just parched? We're just that white. It is. It's just parched.
So you'd start that siding behind the air conditioner there. Is there a tree or something between the house and the air conditioner?
That's a bush, yeah. So our proposed addition that's a small tree. Our proposed addition is inset office outside corner, so it's sitting inferior, of course, to the corner. And and that's where the condition that's where it would start. I guess, Lauren, could you zoom out? Like, I'm curious to see I guess it, you know, it could certainly be something we take out the client if the board was like, hey. You know, whatever we're doing here, can we continue around the face of that and return back at the this returns back at a corner in there when we're talking about maybe 25 feet and some distance. I don't know. I'm just
Under that porch, is that parched also with that little like windows kind of
That that is also parched. It almost looks like there's a yeah. I could there might be one more photo. I think there yeah. There is one if you popped on here that might show it a bit cleaner. I was trying to get that. There's a texture on it that could be a stone. I can't tell but it's certainly a parched over something. It it feels like it could be stone. But it's it's parched.
What was that structure that was you could see on that last photo where we were further back on the
The detached? Yeah. This That's a doll Well, it's a it's a kids playhouse.
Oh.
It would go away.
Has to leave.
It's
a large dollhouse.
And then so the existing garage, that's going away as well?
The existing garage
which is visible
right there
Yeah.
This would stay. Oh. And, you know, we had discussed can actually see, like, the extent of this ice hockey rink here. We had discussed with the board about putting a a, like, a carriage style garage door here on the face of this to activate this, which would allow us then all of this concrete, you know, minus the portion going to our new garage, all of this would go away. On the side of this garage and I apologize.
My pictures oh, here it is. The yeah. So that that is what's that's the side of that building. This well, that's a garage door. Unfortunately, like, the elements, the existing mezzanine or whatever we call it, 2nd Floor inside is too low to even get a car in, so it's it's not actually functional. And the deck garage door's pretty crappy.
So your plan is to remove that garage door inside?
That would be the plan. Yeah. Yeah.
And then it would just be landscaped on this portion of it Correct. Coming towards We
would then just take all of this concrete and go away. Yeah.
And just kinda grade it out.
Yeah. And we feel like it's a win. The family that wants to move back into it, they have a young daughter. So it's a playground. I mean, it'd be a great backyard. It's actually a reasonably sized lot despite its location.
Mr. Warkley?
Yeah, now that you kind of highlighted the ice cream effect on that line, almost feel more strongly to have the joist or freeze board continue all the way around your new construction, but have the siding above and below be the same rather than having it differentiate to try and represent the foundation. I think we're already kind of separated at making it a carriage house so let's just wrap that line saying this is the assumed or we're trying to match the addition, addition, addition of the water table and just let it go as it is.
I don't disagree with that. I think keeping the siding consistent looks better. I think we're trying too hard.
So my question was going to be whether we could make an exception regarding the fact that the water foundation line has to be the same throughout considering the excessive grade, right? See what I'm saying, would we be reasonable to say you do not have to?
I would just be careful of that because there have been other ones where somebody's doing an addition on the back of their house and then we're like, no, you gotta bring it all the way up. It's just one of those things where if we say this is okay, then how do we say no to the previous one?
Then we decide what the, how should I say it, what the grade, beyond certain grade, an exception could be granted. So that it's not a question of personal opinion saying, you know, if the grade is above this, this particular rule doesn't really make sense. I'm asking the question. You'd have
to change the Well, plan
yeah, I do not want to start making that exception for every time goes because we had the one that was on, what was it, I think Stow Room or whatever, that house where it was kind of the same situation.
Right, but that was all the thing they wanted to cover.
That's a
little different situation though, but I get what you're talking about.
Yeah, I do wanna be careful that we're not granting one exception and pinning ourselves into doing this every single time somebody has a grade drop off and wanna do an addition.
Well can we premise on that based upon the design components for this particular location that the intent was to separate the structure and have a smaller connector, which is what kind of reinforces or separates the foundation line even though it's still all connected. So that's part of the intent of when somebody's doing it, is there a way that it separates the elements of the structure so that it makes sense that the stepping or the condition happens. If this was all one building then I would say no, the foundation would have to be the same.
Right, but it's not. Yeah.
Yeah. We should
have to just clarify that and look at what our exceptions mean and how we reference it to those.
So much like we don't allow material transitions to occur except on an inside corner through the creations of inside and outside corners in the the inferiority of the connection breezeway to the primary carriage house massing that creates conditions that would be considerable for considered considerable for an exception?
Yeah, think it makes sense and it would look so much nicer to have that siding consistent going around.
I think if an exception was considered it could be tied to visibility and compatibility. This is a very historic structure so I think we do want to emphasize having that foundation up so high wouldn't be compatible with the existing historic structure or the neighborhood. So those are the two.
This elevation is very visible, you can see it from Owen Brown.
Yeah. So
I really don't want it to be parged all the way across there and I don't like the parging that's already there, I think it looks terrible. I just don't wanna accrete where we hear about it every meeting now that we allowed it and
Well, that's why we have to be very clear about the actions under which an exception would be made and it has to be, yes,
written very clearly. Yes,
I would be more in favor of keep the siding consistent, we could add the freeze board going around to keep that, call it the long table, that the siding reveal is the same in the same siding all the way around.
In siding, we would just change our note that siding would match the exposure on the house, which is probably five or something, but we would, you know, would that be acceptable to the board?
I'll be fine with it.
Pick and freeze or that Pick and Floor line go through.
You just take
And that's like a 12 inches anyway,
It's isn't a big chunky
It's a large piece.
It is, yeah.
I think
That was informal. So, yeah, we'll probably be back in two or so meetings pending the engineering stuff that we need to
do. Okay.
So then next we have eighty five seventy which is 179 Elm Street and this is discussion around the demolition of a single family dwelling in the historic district.
Good evening, Nate Bailey, Harrah Architects, 10 West Streetsboro in Hudson, Ohio. So yeah, there's like there's a weight to tonight's agenda. Right? To be clear, we're here to have a conversation with the board about this property in particular to discuss the criteria that exists that would deem whether a property is contributing or non contributing in the historic district. And that's really what we we want to talk about tonight with the board.
Obviously, this is a conversation as as informal. It's it's it's not our hope or desire to change the face of Hudson by tearing down historic properties. We we do feel like there's plenty of information that we'd like to present to you guys tonight and can provide a written write up to to follow what we have said already that would establish this. So just a quick lay of the land, the National Register of Historic Places, you know, this is an honorary framework. It does not regulate or approve demolitions.
It merely provides criteria for local enforcement bodies, of course, like yourselves. And that demolition can be supported if a structure is deemed non contributing. A non contributing structure would lack integrity. It's altered or deteriorated. It would not meet criteria a through d, which we'll quickly unpack for y'all.
It would deemed not to be adding to the district's character, and it would be deemed economically and feasible to renovate. So like straight from the National Register of Historic Places, a property must represent a significant a significant part of the history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture of an area, and it must have the characteristics to make it a good represent representative of properties associated with the aspects of that past. So we've asked, know, the city we've got some records here. We've been reading through the city's 2022 documentation that evaluated the expansion of the historic district. And it talks about this specific style of house is a minimal traditional house.
Nine houses on Elmen Rasen were constructed from 1941 to 1954. This house was constructed in 1952. And so this house according to the write up for the city was included in the documentation not because and that per the report there's no specific identification or acknowledgment to this house being contributing beyond the fact that it meets the period of significance. And what's interesting about that is according to the National Register of Historic Places, there's clear criteria that are important to understand that would dictate that you must meet these to be considered contributing and that the age of significance is not enough of a baseline factor as is. So let's talk about that.
The criteria from the register criteria a through d and just want to bring you guys up to the speed on these things. So a talks about the significance for events. So a property must be shown to be significant for it must meet one or more of the four criteria for valuation. So criteria a is event. To be considered for listing under criteria a, a property must be associated with one or more events important in the defined historic context.
So it's not just important that it's historical, it must be historical to the culture and the place where it is, which I think is really important. It must be noted that a specific event marking an important moment in American prehistory or history or pattern of events or historic trends that made significant contribution to the development of a community. So I think it's safe to say that 179 Elm does not meet this criteria a. Criteria b talks about persons. Whether or not any significant historic persons inhabited this house or associated with this house.
The language specifically talks about if there's contributions to history that could be identified and documented, people of significant past, individuals whose activities are demon demonstrable important to a local state or you know national historic context. And so again in looking through the city's report and doing our own research on one seven nine, This house is not associated with any significant historic persons in Hudson. Criteria c talks about design and construction. It speaks specifically that properties should be significant for physical design. They should embody distinctive characteristics of a type or period.
They could represent the work of a master. They could possess high artistic value or they could represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. So again, per the report of the district expansion, but also from our own personal opinion, this house lacks distinct significant architecture. And I would even say, know, we'll read the letters from support from the neighbors, the two flanking neighbors, but in their opinion too. They found it to be a house of no significant architecture.
And the last one is information potential. It talks about whether or not this house is likely to yield important historic information whether through archaeology or some other form. And again, this is criteria d. It's it's it's not fitting. In terms of the conversation about whether or not it adds to the district's character, you know, it's interesting when we were pulling up records for this in 2011 this house was presented to the board.
Obviously, this board probably different ones of you guys on here, but pre the district this house was approved for demolition in 2011. It's interesting because the owners the the folks who presented that had the intent to tear this down and build a new house. Those are the owners who the past fifteen years have been renting it out and then just recently sold to our clients. Our clients are currently Hudson residents. They have two kids.
They live on Brandywine and the wife just took a job at a nonprofit in Hudson. And so they're very excited about they they she grew up in Hudson. They were in New York for a while. They came back. They're very excited about the opportunity to be a part of the fabric, the walking potential, etcetera.
When this came up, they were excited about the opportunity to maybe do something new that in their in their desire much like the house down the street that was done maybe ten years ago or so, adds to the character of the street in the district. And of course, are separate submittals. Right? So the demolition is one, architecture would be a separate one. So plenty of time to react at the architecture side.
You know, the last one kind of to think about here is that would lead it to be non contributing, but also the hardship is the the renovation component whether it's feasible or infeasible. So this is an single story house with no basement, four twelve or a very shallow pitched roof. It's undergone a series what looks like to be additions just based on unique things here. So you can see there's an oddity here where two It feels like this whole portion was probably an addition because there's a weird gutter line coming down here, a downspout line where two gutters come together. It's been a rental since 2011 and it's beyond the the current state it's in in terms of siding, trim, interior components falling apart.
There's also just the reality that a renovation on this or is gonna be infeasible. Putting a second story on this would not be considered by the art board because we'd be increasing the height over the existing mass. There's no basement. Right? It's a slab on grade. So any renovations done to the inside are going to be jackhammering up the slab and everything else. Short of I mean, the the garage is already forward of the house. Right? So adding a different garage would be very difficult. I think beyond the fact it's it's it doesn't exhibit any architectural significance.
It's in a severe state of disrepair. It's not considered a contributing property per the criteria a through d of the National Register. It was approved by art board back in 2011, which I know is different. But then even just to read a quick snippet from the two neighbors, Barbara and John Hanna, it was cool to hear that John used to run the Saywells, the general store downtown. He just said they and it was included in the the Application or the presentation, but they've lived next to 179 Elm for fifty plus years thirty five years respectively.
They are in support of This proposal to remove the house and build something new They're in support of it because they feel that this house does not add character to the district in its current state and you know the fact it's a rental property. It's in some state of disrepair. They they referenced the two newer homes that replaced similar homes on Elm Street that were built with taste and blending with historic neighborhood. So these are the neighbors directly to the right. You can catch a snippet of their house over there.
And then Susan Moorhead, the neighbor at 173 Elm, which is that super cool greenhouse next to us. She just said she's in favor of our board approving the demo either approving the demolition of this house as well, that she doesn't believe this property continues contributes to the district and it and and supports this. And obviously, we're here for an informal. We don't we don't take these requests lightly. We certainly wanna be respectful of the board's time because it is a late night, but wanted to have a conversation about the criteria that we think deem this a non contributing property in the historic district that brings no value to the street and this district.
And that you know, we would love the opportunity to work with these homeowners to provide something that would.
I have two first thoughts. What are the, do you have the address of the two houses that, wrote the homeowners wrote those two houses that were torn down and
There's, I don't have off the top of my head. One is
Is that prior the establishment of Elm Street as part of the historical, I assume?
Because this was part of
the expansion. Don't think we've
No, I think if the expansion was 2022, Pete and Claire Smith's house.
Oh, metal Oh, the metal house, yeah, yeah.
The metal house that was pulled down, the prefab house that was That was prior. Was it prior?
I think it
was just prior. Okay.
Yeah, we haven't had a demo proposal like it was established.
Mean I think in that whole area the only demo that we've seen is Oviatt.
Well there's two ish on Oviatt, one is 13 North Oviatt which is in construction now and then there was one that was like the other Oviatt where they put the facades back on.
That wasn't supposed to be torn down. That was never approved.
That was not us. Understood. That
was not an approved demolition. Okay.
So that you didn't I don't know if you mentioned it but that 2011 request
for demolition.
By way, noticed you was the board chair that night. But
it was not.
It was not, that's correct.
It was not in the history.
Yeah, was 2011, was obviously pre district, yes ma'am.
I'm sorry, Mr. Brock.
That's okay. I can get those though.
Which of the houses and when, if that's answered. And my other is reflected also in the comments from the last time this was reviewed that the board said they'd wanna know what was going there, which I understand that's, mean, are two separate
But normally we won't approve a demolition unless we also have the plans for the new, correct? Like, I mean we might have to informally say yes or no but like we wouldn't formally do it.
Think, Nick is that correct that generally we don't do I I know this is not, we're not voting tonight, this is informal. When
did you get to the formal part I thought? There was
Yeah but
I think they're correctly asking before they get into full design.
Right, so that's kind of further down there but before we formally vote on that we would have a plan in front of us typically.
These scenarios right?
Other words we don't
have to do
a vacant lot. Right,
that makes sense.
Yeah we would be happy
Then it
would be
a combined demo new house application. If were to move forward, yeah.
We would be happy to accommodate that. I couldn't remember how it worked with 13 North Oviatt because we were not involved in the demolition request. We only came online after for the architecture.
Was a rendering that was
But perhaps there was something that was strong.
13 North Oak.
Okay. Yep. We would be happy and
it was very similar to what was built or what is being built. Yeah.
But we didn't actually have
a blanket demo
because they Right.
We shrunk it. We it better. That would be a fair request. Absolutely.
What mean? In terms of don't make sense to me. Specific, I think it's a little tricky that specific criteria of whether or not this building contributes. I mean the building wasn't singled out for protection because it meets a particular standard because it's part of a neighborhood that
An age of significance. Yeah, it would fall under the age of significance.
As a piece of that neighborhood. Without seeing it I guess I would want to see it also, I'd want to go out and see it. I
would agree that it, I think it'd be irresponsible for us to say, hey demo house without us going there and looking at it.
Sure, 100%. 100%.
And are there more other than the board heard it and the board approved it, do records exist of a discussion or a site visit or having a consultant give an opinion or did anything happen We in 20
can look, I assume it would have, I mean it was similar to the previous informal where it would be a recommendation by the board if it were 50 years or older at that time but they wouldn't have reviewed it to historic criteria.
Everything that we received from our records request was submitted. There were minutes that we highlighted. I do believe miss Marzula was the chair at that time. On there. Hey. It was it was pre 2022. It's okay. And then there was a follow-up document that I think it was just a letter from this someone at the city just stating like, hey. It's been approved. And that's as far as it went.
According to the letter from the neighbor at 187, a design was presented. We don't I I don't know what was presented. You know? So, obviously, it'd be completely separate and would be happy to follow any process the board and city planning would require of us site visit, etcetera. Does that mean,
I guess in addition to a site visit to see this building specifically, I would personally want to better understand what drove the expansion to the street and what in terms of what other kind of how many other buildings on the street could be argued that they're non contributing you know what I mean, in the interest of not making an exception that is too broad I guess.
Right, well
I think that's why this discussion is good knowing the history that was being demoed at one point in time and the reasoning for that. When it came into the historic neighborhood, it was also part of the thing that we should contribute to the situation. And then looking at the definition of the minimal traditional side gable house that is one of the reasonings for the neighborhood and whether it's contributing or not. And from me looking at what that defines, it basically says that it's designed for affordability, it features a simple low pitched gable roof with minimal eaves, it has a side facing main roof gable, often with a smaller front facing gable over entrance, minimal ornamentation, and compact design often called dysentery or modest. Now when I take that and apply it to this, yes it has a gable, it has a side element, but that's not the front entrance, it's the garage, which is obviously against our design principles as well.
When I say that something that has a front facing garage is contributing, that would be to me is going like, no, I don't wanna highlight this as something that we wanna keep. There's some way that it could be, where's the door, does it go into the side of the garage? Where's the main entrance to this building? To me it doesn't mimic what character is meaning for the actual design style that we said we're trying to have in the historic district, that's what I'm saying.
I guess what I struggled with was our nomination for this district identified 35 contributing houses, eight non contributing and multiple times it was included in the contributing. So we're we've already said it's contributing.
This is one of the 35? Correct. Okay.
But I would argue that the only criteria that allows it to be contributing is age of significance, which according to the National Register of Historic Places is not enough to dictate a contributing property. So that's that is our argument that that the age is not enough for this in addition to deterioration, in addition to lack of historical context to Hudson, which is specific language, it has to be historic to place. It doesn't have any of these factors which is why we're arguing.
What were the eight that weren't contributing, not a year date only?
Is it in this attachment or?
What are they just referring to Elm only?
I would assume it's by date. Yeah, there were the new houses, there's new houses.
Sure, that would make sense. Mean it would make sense if that's how it would be presented.
This was the second link.
Oh okay, in
the end we said hey state and national, 35 are contributing and they said yes. They accepted the designation and our proposal so that's what I'm struggling with this. We're kind of on record for saying these are contributing.
That's not able to be amended.
Say it's not. Can be an
issue. Amend the nomination?
Have this question for you though. So if we approve to tear it down, what's the repercussion? If we decide as a board that this house really doesn't truly have historic significance, especially in context of the street. Let's say we go up another street and we're like, okay, there's three houses on this street that are similar to this in the sense of they don't have the character, the age, they're not your typical Hudson historic, and we vote yes, it's okay to tear it down. Do they take away the nomination?
Guess Are there any repercussions? I mean
what's I can can speak to that actually.
Anything in jeopardy is basically
the don't know. Someone else
I I can read this snippet if you'd like.
Sure.
This is a snippet from the National Registry of Historic Places. It talks about historic districts. It says for a district to retain integrity as a whole, the majority of the components that make up the district's historic character must possess integrity. It talks about the relationships between the district's components must be substantially unchanged since the period of significance when evaluating the impact of intrusions, taking into consideration the number and scale. It says the district is not eligible if it contains so many alterations or new intrusions that it no longer conveys the sense of historic environment.
And to me, what's interesting about that is that as mister Sugar mentioned, there were 89 and like what were the non contributing?
20 non contributing? Yeah. I or something.
Eighty nine and eight. Okay. So there's a majority one. And then two, would say the intent is Cool.
And nine. Sorry. 35 contributing
Thirty five and nine. Okay. So our argument would be with the removal of one that doesn't sway the balance and then with the insertion of something new that matches the district's character that reinforces the district whereas this is not in our opinion, would be our argument for that. I'm happy to include all this language into a pre read for the board too, but that's I'm sure the the staff will city will do that something. But that's how the dare I say the Bible for how this works speaks to it, the historic district.
For me, historic is more than just age. Just the age of it doesn't make it necessarily historic.
But we already made that decision for the Oviatt House, right? It was within the period of significance.
It It was questionable if it was in the period of significance.
Well, but also it had architecturally no interest, right?
I believe so.
It was, the materials were not good quality, there was a lot of vinyl, there was no basement, if I remember correctly, So it was a very undistinguished house regarding of the date at which it was built. So it might be worth looking at the language that was used to justify its demolition.
Yeah. North
My understanding was the board accepted that that was outside the period of significance based on their research. It was less than 50 years old. And that's where we landed on that. We looked at that before this Yeah,
because it was 'sixty three. And there was something in the county that said it was before 'sixty three but they had aerial photos that you could not distinguish it.
Yeah, it's true.
But again, I'm not saying that without seeing it that I would be in favor of tearing it down, but I will say that just because age shouldn't be the only factor I think in our decision, that's just my personal opinion.
Based on the criteria that's used to distinguish and award these districts you know, like these individual awards? A 100%. Age is not a criteria. It's in the public's mind, of course, is. It's old. It must be salvaged. But that's not how the language of the criteria a through d reads. It takes into account economic infeasibility. The reality is, you know, I don't know the condition of the if anything's changed for the I think the house by the middle school. But when the city is petitioning to have someone move and take down. But if they don't, it's slated for demolition. Right?
Shouldn't That's outside the district.
Right. But either way, I'm just saying like that is a that is a property that is a structure that is old in age, but it's economically infeasible infeasible to to salvage and renovate. And so I would just I would ask the board to you know, I'd love next steps to be a site visit. I would just ask the board to keep an open mind to the criteria we presented tonight, which is not of our own accord, but clearly documented in what is being used. And to think about what beyond the age of significance, if this property has meets any other criteria that would deem it contributing.
We currently do not have a consultant. We can reach out to SHPO State Historic Preservation Office. We can also ask Mr. Bailey to have a preservation consultant write an opinion.
Yeah, that'd be fine.
Based on our nomination and in the your comments. We can go from there and schedule a site visit in the meantime to keep things to keep the conversation moving. I
think it's fair.
Okay, thank you. Thank you. Okay, thank you.
What happened to our consultant?
Yeah, they said that they were so busy with their schedule they were no longer able to serve us unfortunately.
Alright. So this is all for our other and informals. So we do have the approval of the minutes from March 11. Were there any corrections or additions to those minutes? I didn't see any.
I was absent in Maryland too.
Yeah, didn't see any. So if we get a motion to approve those minutes.
A motion to approve the March 11 meeting minutes.
I second.
All in favor?
Aye. Abstain. So
we have Mr. Dinske and Ms. Marzullar abstaining.
You weren't there.
Present, yeah.
Should be staying also, guess I was not there. I apologize.
We need
to move it, I do
the call. I think we need to, we lost court.
That's fine. Yeah, need to.
It's Yeah, it's minutes. We'll
move it to the next meeting.
We're up
to two south.
You've my motion.
Yep, move it to the next. And then any update from staff or anything from staff?
We have, sorry.
No, go ahead.
Scheduled for April 29, the historic landmark expansion resident meeting. So we've identified the, received feedback from over twenty, twenty five. Yeah about 23
I think right now.
Way more than I would have expected.
For the Elman Rosalyn expansion we were just talking about, we had a resident open house for that, an informational session. We're gonna do the same. We're gonna partner with We're gonna meet with them in a couple weeks to kind of plan out the meeting, but it'd really just be explaining the process in full, explaining what it means to be in the district as a historic landmark, and then fielding questions from people. But it seems like everyone who's reached out is very interested in the preservation minded, so it seems like it's gonna be like
a really positive.
So then we'll take that and then really the subcommittee will make a formal recommendation to the architecture review board who will make a formal recommendation to counsel and get that in motion as a formal text amendment. And that's how we'll track this project. I will know a lot more after the resident meeting on the 20 I think about twenty, twenty three houses then. Yeah, were quite a few from 30 acres. There's some pockets that were identified, yeah.
Great. Somebody told me that 30 acres is requesting to be considered a historic street or lane, is that?
We have not heard such formal requests. Typically we've only tacked onto our existing district so we can look at that. And not all of them would be historic. There's some that are non contributing. I don't know, I'm just talking out loud but we haven't heard such requests from those. They may come up at the meeting if four or five of them come.
And then I have a question that has come up to me, the bandstand. So I sent you an email, right? Because I read architectural standards. And section one, it was very clear that I thought
that Orboard had
jurisdiction over not only the structure, but the grounds around. And then Greg sent us a memo a couple of days ago where he didn't cite section one, he cited section three that referred to buildings. And I wondered if there was any way we could have a discussion about it because obviously we have two different interpretations of what it is, and I think we really need to talk about it so that, because
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