Agendas and Minutes

Historic Preservation Advisory Committee (View All)

Historic Commission Regular Meeting Minutes

Agenda
Wednesday, November 08, 2006

ASHLAND HISTORIC COMMISSION

Minutes

November 8, 2006

 

Community Development/Engineering Services Building – 51 Winburn Way – Siskiyou Room

 

 

Historic Commissioners Present: Dale Shostrom, Terry Skibby, Henry Baker, Keith Swink, Jay Leighton, Tom Giordano, Sam Whitford, Rob Saladoff,
Absent  Commission Members:  Molly Owens-Stevenson, Jay Leighton

Council Liaison: Alice Hardesty, absent

High School Liaison: None Appointed
SOU Liaison: None Appointed
Staff Present: Derek Severson, Associate Planner; Billie Boswell, Administration

 

CALL TO ORDER

 

At 7:05 pm, Chairman Dale Shostrom called the Historic Commission meeting to order.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

Mr. Swink made a motion to approve the minutes and it was seconded by Mr. Giordano. The motion passed unanimously by the commissioners present.  Mr. Whitford abstained as he was absent from the meeting.

 

PUBLIC FORUM:  No speakers

 

PUBLIC HEARING

 

Planning Action 2006-00612

160 Helman Street

Site Review

Siskiyou LLC/James Batzer

 

Chairman Shostrom read the description of the proposed project.  Mr. Severson reviewed the changes made since the last time the Commission looked at the plans.  He pointed out that Staff had an issue with an insufficient planting strip between the sidewalk and the 3-story building and they recommend the building be pushed back another three feet from Helman Street.  Their concern was how that would affect the building design.

 

Mr. Knox detailed the changes made to the corner entry to address the issues of the Historic and Planning Commissions.  The building was raised to create a level entry and the sidewalk was reduced to 5 feet to create a 6 foot planting strip.  Mr. Knox explained that when they tried to push the building back 3 feet from the Helman side, it threw off the symmetry and eliminated important windows.

 

Mr. McKechnie pointed out that the newly designed entry was reoriented more toward Helman Street because of a utility pole and tethering cable that would interfere with the entry if on the Van Ness side.  He also described how the ground floor of the building was raised 3 feet, a gable roof added over the entry and the corners popped up to break up the horizontal bands.  Planters and benches were added on the plaza side to soften the 6 foot rise from the lower plaza to the building entry.  There was discussion about bumping the sidewalk out to the curb to enhance the corner entry and allow 10 feet of landscape planting next to the building.

 

There being no one else in the audience wishing to speak, Chairman Shostrom closed the public meeting.

 

Mr. Skibby thought that eliminating 3 feet of the building would compromise the design.

Mr. Giordano liked the option of bumping out the sidewalk to allow a larger planting area.  He felt it would soften the mass and scale because more substantial plantings could be done.  Chairman Shostrom and Mr. Swink agreed that moving the sidewalk out to the curb would allow easier parking and exiting from a car.

 

Mr. Skibby made a motion to recommend approval with the condition that the sidewalk be bumped out to the sidewalk from the corner to the entry into the lower plaza in order to leave a 10 foot planting area to soften the building.  Mr. Giordano seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

 

 

Planning Action 2006-01999

25 North Main Street

Site Review and Conditional Use Permit

Ashland Holdings/Alan Sandler

 

Chairman Shostrom read the description of the project and confirmed that there were no conflicts of interest and no ex parte contact.

 

Mr. Severson explained that the applicants were adding a 2254 square foot addition on the third story of the Old Masonic building and would also need a conditional use permit to exceed the 40 foot height limitation.  The plans that were submitted showed a requested maximum height of 46’ 6”.

 

Mark McKechnie, architect, explained that the mansard roof and the mechanical equipment would be removed and the space would be raised 1 ½ feet higher than the existing partial third-story to create a dance club.  Chairman Shostrom asked about the required 3’ parapet because it wasn’t shown on the plans.  Mr. McKechnie said he didn’t think it was required.  It was suggested he check into it since it affected the overall height of the building.

 

Discussion followed regarding the inaccuracy and incompleteness of the submitted plans.  Plans brought to the meeting by the applicant were different than those submitted but still did not accurately reflect all of the elements of what is to be built.  Elevations did not match building sections and building heights were conflicting.

 

Mr. McKechnie showed they had added brackets on the porch design with stained beadboard on the front and wrapping on the sides to the stucco finish.  He said the color and texture of the stucco would be matched as closely as possible to the existing concrete.  The existing brick would be removed.

 

Mr. Giordano questioned the impact to the uphill neighbors off Granite.  Mr. McKechnie described the soundproofing plans for the construction of the dance club. 

 

There being no further questions of applicant and no one in the audience wishing to speak, the public meeting was closed.

 

Chairman Shostrom said he was unaware of the extent of the addition based on the drawings that were submitted with the Pre-Application.  None of the drawings submitted accurately reflect the existing building and what is being proposed.  Overall, he felt the total height of the building would be much too high compared to the other creekside buildings.

 

Mr. Giordano wanted pictures with overlays to assess the impact to the Granite street neighbor’s view and the compatibility with the existing buildings with the additional 10-12 feet of height.

 

Chairman Shostrom reopened the public meeting and Mr. Sandler said they would only be adding 5 feet even with the parapet.  Chairman Shostrom explained that the rear of the building is much shorter than the front and to enlarge the third story and raise the roof as high as they are indicating would add an additional 10-12 feet of height on the Guanajuato alley side as compared to what it is now.  In response to Mr. Saladoff’s question, Mr. McKechnie said the interior heights would be 11 feet in the dance hall and 9 feet in the cantilevered porch area.  The public hearing was again closed.

 

With a motion by Mr. Skibby and a second by Mr. Giordano, the Historic Commission unanimously recommended a continuance of the planning action for a Conditional Use Permit for the following reasons and recommendations:

 

  • Resubmit corrected elevation and section drawings for all sides of the building that accurately show the proposed building heights, parapets and mechanical screening and clearly identify their heights in relation to the existing building and parapet. 
  • Show wall sections with all dimensions and heights.
  • Provide photographs with proposed building height overlays showing the views from the alley, across the creek, and from Granite Street.
  • The mass, bulk and scale of the proposal, exaggerated by the 6-foot cantilever and the additional height, is hard to support.
  • Feel it may be possible to make this building work architecturally but historically it changes the whole character of the Calle Guanajuato alley.

 

 

OLD BUSINESS

 

A.      Review Board – Following is the month’s schedule for the Review Board, which meets every Thursday from 3:00 to at least 3:30 p.m. in the Planning Department:

 

November 9th

Terry, Keith, Henry

November 16th

Terry, Sam, Dale

November 23rd

Cancelled - Thanksgiving

November 30th

Terry, Rob Mollie, Tom

December 7th  

Terry, Keith, Henry

 

B.     PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS FOR PLANNING ACTIONS

 

PA #2000-120

485 “A” Street (Steve Hoxmeier)

Shostrom

PA #2004-102

832 “A” Street (Ilene Rubenstein)

Saladoff

PA #2004-110

150 Church St (Robert M. Saladoff)

Whitford

PA #2004-138

234 Vista St (Sid & Karen DeBoer)

Saladoff

PA #2004-154

180 Lithia Way (Archerd & Dresner)

Leighton

PA-#2004-160

685 A Street (William Reeves)

Swink

PL#2005-01226

820 “C” Street (Randy & Helen Ellison)

Shostrom

PL#2005-01674

11 First Street (Ron Yamaoka)

Skibby

PL#2005-02105

145 East Main St (Urban Development Services/SERA Arch)

Giordano/Baker

PL#2005-01307

125 Sherman Street (Russ Dale)

Shostrom

PL#2006-00057

247 Third Street (Marc Valens & Anne Golden)

Saladoff

PA#2006-00441

160 Nob Hill (ARU-Dan Heller & Don Sever)

Whitford

PA#2006-00453

175 North Main (First Methodist Church Remodel)

Swink

PA#2006-00875

520 Fairview Street (Stewart Ward-Porch)

Swink

PA#2006-00877

A Street between 5th & 6th Streets (Tax Lot 6507 – Jerry Kenefick)

Leighton

PA#2006-00612

160 Helman (Siskiyou LLC & James Batzer)

Shostrom/Giordano

 

C.  Lithia Fountain Repair – No report

 

D.  Historic Reconnaissance Survey – No report

 

E.  Lithia Springs National Register Nomination – No report

 

F.   Single Family Residential Design Standards – No report

 

G.  Co-Sponsorship with Conservation Commission for Fall Workshop – No report

 

DISCUSSION ITEMS

 

144 North Second Street

Modification to Pre-Application proposal

Applicant – Mary Nelke

 

Mr. Severson explained that after the original Pre-Application meeting was done, it was discovered that due to headroom miscalculations, the total square footage exceeded the Maximum Permitted Floor Area for dwellings within the Historic District by 20-21%.  As a result, the application will need a Conditional Use permit.

 

Mr. Skibby pointed out that the house currently has had aluminum siding added and wrought iron on the porch. He brought a historic picture of the house showing the original siding and porch detail.  Ms. Nelke said she was planning to restore or re-mill the original siding and replace the windows with vinyl windows.  She stated she would also be willing to restore the look of the original porch.

 

Chairman Shostrom said he was concerned about the bulk and scale of the new addition and the fact that there would be very little yard area left.  Mr. Saladoff agreed that the south side elevation with its long uninterrupted mass would not be compatible to the neighborhood or to the historic nature of the existing home. 

 

The Commissioners felt they could support the Conditional Use permit in order to see the historic nature of the home restored with the following suggestions:

 

·         Break up the mass by setting back the addition from the original structure similar to the way the north elevation is designed.

·         Add historic detail to the porch such as turned posts and railings appropriate to the period.

·         Restore the existing siding, re-milling for the new addition to match.

·         Recommend replacing windows with double-hung to match the front windows in style and head height. Vinyl windows would be OK.

·         The proposed door to the south side yard should be a French door or a single door with side windows instead of a sliding door.

·         Use same trim style & width on windows and doors as on original.

 

NEW BUSINESS – None

 

COMMISSION ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA – None

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

The next Historic Commission meeting will be on December 7, 2006 at 7:00 pm in the Siskiyou Room.

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

With a motion by Chairman Shostrom and a second by Mr. Skibby, it was the unanimous decision of the Commission to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 p.m.

Online City Services

UTILITIES-Connect/Disconnect,
Pay your bill & more 
Connect to
Ashland Fiber Network
Request Conservation
Evaluation
Proposals, Bids
& Notifications
Request Building
Inspection
Building Permit
Applications
Apply for Other
Permits & Licenses
Register for
Recreation Programs

©2024 City of Ashland, OR | Site Handcrafted in Ashland, Oregon by Project A

Quicklinks

Connect

Share

twitter facebook Email Share
back to top