ASHLAND HISTORIC COMMISSION

Minutes

October 4, 2006

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

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

Council Liaison: Alice Hardesty

High School Liaison: None Appointed
SOU Liaison: None Appointed
Staff Present: Maria Harris, Senior Planner; Billie Boswell, Administration

CALL TO ORDER

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

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Ms. Leighton made a motion to approve the minutes and it was seconded by Mr. Baker. The motion passed unanimously by the commissioners present.  Mr. Giordano abstained as he was absent for a portion of 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.  Ms. Harris reviewed the changes made since the last time the Commission looked at the plans.  The most significant changes were the setback of the third story and a redesign of the front entry to look more like a storefront.  She also explained that Staff had some concerns regarding the finished floor elevation on the West elevation being 3 ˝ feet below the street grade, the mass and scale of the Van Ness corner building as it related to the residential transition area, a vision clearance issue with the support columns and how the applicant calculated the 65% non-residential component.  Ms. Harris said that Staff recommends a continuance to allow the applicant to address these issues.

Ms. Harris also pointed out to the Commissioners that the description “blurb” of this project on the agenda is incorrect.  However the description was correct on the notice that was published and mailed out. 

Applicant, Mark Knox, 320 E. Main St. #202, voiced frustration over this project coming to the Commissions 5-6 times over the past 2 years and design standards not being made clear.  He felt it unfair that new items of concern were brought up every time.

Mr. Knox pointed out that the proposed corner building, set back 14 feet from the curb, created a “bookend” look with the building across the street which is setback 8-10 feet from the curb and is of similar mass.    Also, there is an excess of right-of-way of about 12 feet on the Van Ness corner and with the 8 foot building clearance the design more than meets the vision clearance requirements. 

The applicant’s architect, Mark McKechnie, 4406 San Juan Drive in Medford, described the design changes including the entrance designs.  He explained the drop on the corner to the entrance was only two feet below the grade on the corner.  They raised the level of the 2^nd floor for vision clearance and shortened the other floor heights to keep the overall height of the building down. On the Helman side, the drop is about three feet from the sidewalk level to the first floor level. 

Mr. McKechnie detailed the exterior materials as bronze metal for the roof, some elements of galvanized corrugated metal, stucco for the main body and brick for the projections, some horizontal siding for the residential recesses, black iron railings, steel sash windows and structural steel lintels. 

Mr. Skibby questioned how the proposed building aligns with the building across the intersection.  Mr. McKechnie said there is an offset of about 6-8 feet.  There was additional discussion regarding the corner entry and the design of the stairs and ramps and entry.

Mr. Giordano felt the building had a “wedding cake” look with too heavy a bottom accented by the very strong horizontal band and the varying exterior finishes.  There was discussion about bringing the stucco finish down for the actual entry and adding steeper roof projections to heighten the sense of entry.

There being no one in the audience wishing to speak, the public meeting was closed.

Ms. Harris confirmed that the plaza end corner building is 20,000 square feet.

Chairman Shostrom reopened the public meeting in order to get clarification on some questions.  He clarified with the applicants that the setback of the building was 14.5 feet.  The building across the street is 8-10 feet.

The Commissioners discussed the exterior materials and the design elements to get consensus on the changes they want to recommend.

Chairman Shostrom made a motion to recommend approval of the Site Review with the following design recommendations:

• Building 2

o        Corner entry feature needs more emphasis, strengthen vertical emphasis.  The strong horizontal bands of the building on both street elevations need to be broken up.

o        Make the Helman & Van Ness corner entrance more prominent adding canopy roof to break up strong horizontal banding and using a common exterior finish such as stucco to differentiate the entrance from the sides.

o        Rework corner entrance “plaza” to be more pedestrian friendly including the relocation of the bike rack.

o        Second story awnings have too little depth to be in proportion to the building.

·         Provide exterior design details and material and color samples to full Historic Commission for approval prior to submitting for the Building Permit

Mr. Giordano seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously.

A.      Planning Action 2006-00453

175 North Main Street

Follow-up to the Conditional Use Permit and Site Review Approval

First United Methodist Church of Ashland

Beverly Thruston of 1105 Siskiyou Boulevard presented the design details as submitted on the building permit plans.  She explained how the stained glass windows would be reused.  She also commented that if cost becomes an issue, the project would be done in phases with the courtyard and arcade being done in Phase 2.

The Commissioners were in support of the details presented.

B.     Ms. Leighton announced that she has submitted her resignation to be effective after the December Historic Commission meeting.  She will be unable to attend the November meeting.

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:

PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS FOR PLANNING ACTIONS

D.  (Continued)  Historic Reconnaissance Survey – Review of the survey would be done at a special Study Session scheduled for October 23, 2006 at 5:30 PM.

C.     Lithia Springs National Register Nomination – No Report

D.     Single Family Residential Design Standards – No Report

E.     Co-Sponsorship with Conservation Commission for Fall Workshop – No Report

DISCUSSION ITEMS

A.         Commission Survey – Commissioners agreed to discuss their responses to the survey at the Study Session scheduled for October 23, 2006 at 5:30 PM.

NEW BUSINESS

COMMISSION ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA

A.         150 Lithia Way – Bob Kendrick submitted brick samples and other exterior detail information as requested by the Historic Commission.  The wire mesh screening was eliminated and the windows and c-channels will be clear anodized aluminum instead of black.  The Commissioners approved the details.

B.        25 North Main – Allen Sandler shared a plan to add a 3^rd story addition to the old Masonic Temple.  Chairman Shostrom felt the windows weren’t balanced and the design had a monolithic look.  Commissioners felt that the cantilever design was rare in old historic buildings and suggested corbels be used.  Suggested photos be included when the design plans were submitted.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Historic Commission Study Session will be on October 23, 2006 at 5:30 pm in the Siskiyou Room.

The next Historic Commission meeting will be on November 8, 2006 at 7:00 pm in the Siskiyou Room.

ADJOURNMENT

With a motion by Chairman Shostrom and a second by Mr. Swink, it was the unanimous decision of the Commission to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 p.m.