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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7-13-20 HLC Minutes * M I N U T E S * HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION July 13, 2020 City Hall, 801 Main Street, Beaumont, Texas … A Regular Meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission was held on July 13, 2020 and called to order at 3:34 p.m. with the following members present: Chairman Paula Blazek Vice-Chairman Dohn LaBiche Commissioner Hester Bell Commissioner Marie Broussard Commissioner Marty Craig - *arrived at 3:40 pm Commissioner Terry Hallemann Commissioner Lynda Kay Makin Commissioner Thomas Sigee - *arrived at 3:55 pm Commission Members absent : Commissioner Theresa Goodness Commissioner Janelle Templeton Councilmembers present: None Also present: Chris Boone, Director of Planning and Community Development Katrina Purcell, Planner I Elayna Luckey, Historic Code Enforcement Officer Catherine Allen, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Makin moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held on June 8, 2020. Commissioner Craig seconded the motion. The motion to approve carried 7:0. REGULAR MEETING 1) CA-3198: Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to install a 6 ft. tall chain link fence with barbed wire. Applicant: Suzieanna Bone Location: 2120 Broadway Street Mrs. Purcell presented the staff report. Suzieanna Bone would like to keep a cyclone fence with barbed wire at 2120 Broadway Street. The apartment complex is being remodeled, updated and secured, and all former residents were evicted. After some discussion with Mrs. Luckey, the Historic Landmark Commission July 13, 2020 property owner misunderstood and installed a chain link and barbed wire fence along the north and west property lines. Security has been an issue while remodeling, as former residents and others have continually attempted to access the property. The neighboring property to the west is a single-family residential house. Staff would consider a wrought iron fence from the front property line past the front of the neighboring house, then a wooden six (6) or eight (8) ft. tall privacy fence for the remainder of the west property line. The apartment complex has entranceways along the west side of the building. The north property line borders an alley. The chain link provides a view of what is going on in the alley while the barbed wire discourages trespassers. The property is not listed in the SPARE Beaumont Survey. Staff recommended denial of the chain link and barbed wire along the west property line, and approval of the chain link and barbed wire along the north property line. Slides of the subject property were shown. Mrs. Purcell provided information about the ordinances concerning fences. Officer Luckey added information about the alley and the neighboring properties. Discussion followed concerning the fencing, the right-of-way of the alley and the misunderstanding between the applicant and staff. Further discussion involved clarification on the features of the property and staff’s recommendation to approve fencing on the north property line but deny it on the west property line. The applicant was not present. Chairman Blazek moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to install a 6 ft. tall chain link fence with barbed wire along the north property line and to deny the chain link and barbed wire along the west property line, for the property at 2120 Broadway Street, as requested in file CA-3198. Vice-Chairman LaBiche seconded the motion. The motion to approve carried 7:0. 2) CA-3200: Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to remove shutters. Applicant: Gerald Condon Location: 2455 Gladys Avenue Mrs. Purcell presented the staff report. Gerald Condon would like permission to permanently remove the shutters at 2455 Gladys. Mr. Condon is having the property painted and reroofed as approved by staff. The shutters have been removed for painting, and Mr. Condon would like to not replace them. A Field Guide to American Houses gives several examples of Ranch style homes without shutters on pages 479 and 480. The house is not listed in the SPARE survey. Staff recommended approval of the request. 2 Historic Landmark Commission July 13, 2020 Slides of the subject property were shown. A brief discussion followed regarding shutters in the historic district. The applicant was not present. Commissioner Makin moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to remove shutters, for the property at 2455 Gladys Avenue, as requested in file CA-3200. Commissioner Craig seconded the motion. The motion to approve carried 7:0. 3) CA-3201: Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to widen a rock driveway to create a parking pad in front of the house. Applicant: Carl Hubbell Location: 2355 Liberty Avenue Mrs. Purcell presented the staff report. Carl Hubbell created a rock parking pad in his front yard at 2355 Liberty Avenue. No Certificate of Appropriateness or permit was issued for this construction. Mr. Hubbell is requesting permission to keep the rock parking space. The ordinance states, “Within front or side yards, off-street surface parking is not permitted on grassed areas. Said grassed areas may not be paved or otherwise destroyed without a certificate of appropriateness. Vehicles may only be parked on paved surfaces.” The house is not listed in the SPARE survey. Staff recommended denial of the request. Slides of the subject property were shown. Discussion followed concerning the timeframe of construction, history of parking at the property and the zoning of the property. The applicant, Carl Hubbell, 2355 Liberty Avenue, addressed the Commission. He stated that he has a large number of people living with him, most with their own vehicles. Mr. Hubbell discussed problems with street parking due to frequent speeding on Liberty Avenue. He provided pictures of the property and vehicles. He also stated that he did not realize he needed a permit for the parking pad construction. Further discussion followed between the Commission, the applicant and staff regarding parking codes and requirements in the district and possible options for the applicant to remedy the situation. Vice-Chairman LaBiche moved to deny the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to widen a rock driveway to create a parking pad in front of the house, for the property located at 2355 Liberty Avenue, as requested in file CA-3201. Commissioner Hallemann seconded the motion. The motion to deny carried 8:0. 3 Historic Landmark Commission July 13, 2020 4) CA-3209: Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to add a front porch to a house. Applicant: Quenten Pete Location: 2075 South Street Mrs. Purcell presented the staff report. Quenten Pete would like to add a front porch to his house at 2075 South Street. Mr. Pete began work on the porch without the benefit of a CA (Certificate of Appropriateness) or permit. A stop work order was issued. At this point, staff noticed that the proposed porch would encroach into the front setback of the property. A Variance was requested and approved, with the understanding that his porch must be approved by the Historic Landmark Commission. The house is not listed in the SPARE Beaumont Survey. Staff recommended approval of a porch similar to Mr. Pete’s design, with a pitch to match the gable above the porch. Slides of the subject property were shown. Discussion followed concerning the pitch and placement of the proposed porch. The applicant, Quenten Pete, 2075 South Street, addressed the Commission. He stated that he needs a bigger porch in order to be able to sit on the porch and watch his children play. He also stated that he would like to extend the gables to provide better cover from rain. Further discussion followed concerning the gables and paint color. Commissioner Makin moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to add a front porch to a house with a pitch to match the gable above the porch, for the property located at 2075 South Street, as requested in file CA-3209. Commissioner Craig seconded the motion. The motion to approve carried 8:0. 5) CA-3212: Request for a Certificate of Demolition to demolish a house. Applicant: City of Beaumont Location: 1791 North Street Mrs. Purcell presented the staff report. Boyd Meier, Building Official, requests a certificate of demolition for the house located at 1791 North Street. According to the inspection report, this structure was originally tagged on January 18, 2019. After attempts to save the house were met with theft and vandalism, the owner signed a demolition consent. The report states that part of an exterior wall is missing and much of the sheetrock is gone. All of the electrical, mechanical and plumbing would need to be brought up to the current code. Based on the extensive repairs needed for this structure, the Building Codes Staff is recommending a raze order. The house is in the 1990 SPARE Beaumont Survey. SPARE states that the house was built c.1922. The house is Craftsman style that was typical of middle class housing built in Beaumont in the 1920’s and 1930’s. 4 Historic Landmark Commission July 13, 2020 Staff recommended approval of the request. Slides of the subject property were shown. Commissioner Hallemann moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Demolition to demolish a house, for the property located at 1791 North Street, as requested in file CA-3212. Commissioner Sigee seconded the motion. The motion to approve carried 8:0. 6) Historic District Code Enforcement Report Officer Luckey reported that Municipal Court has still been closed for code dockets due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She presented information on inspections, charges and grass cutting in the historic district. OTHER BUSINESS None. THERE BEING NO OTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 4:16 P.M. 5