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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1-10-22 HLC Minutes * M I N U T E S * HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION January 10, 2022 City Hall, 801 Main Street, Beaumont, Texas … A Regular Meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission was held on January 10, 2022 and called to order at 3:34 p.m. with the following members present: Vice-Chairman Dohn LaBiche Commissioner Yolanda Nan Avery Commissioner Hester Bell Commissioner Christina Crawford Commissioner Theresa Goodness Commissioner Marva Provo Commissioner Janelle Templeton Commission Members absent : Commissioner John Berube Commissioner Hajrah Javed Commissioner Lynda Kay Makin Commissioner Thomas Sigee Also present: Demi Engman, Senior Planner Pashae Bates, Oaks Historic Code Enforcement Officer Delancy Wood, Demolition Coordinator Catherine Allen, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Goodness moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held on December 13, 2021. Commissioner Bell seconded the motion. The motion to approve carried 7:0. REGULAR MEETING 1) PZ2021-397: Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to widen front porch and remove a door. Applicant: Evia Casillo Location: 2360 Rusk Street Mrs. Engman presented the staff report. Homeowner, Evia Casillo, is requesting permission to widen the front porch and remove a door at 2360 Rusk Street. She is in the process of renovating the structure into a single family home, as it was once a duplex. Ms. Casillo is requesting permission to remove the second front door in order to install one Historic Landmark Commission January 10, 2022 entrance to the home. The new front door will be made of fiber glass and include two sidelites with decorative glass elements. Additionally, she needs to repair and replace the rotten wood to the existing front porch. During this process, she would like to widen the porch to become 6' wide and 17.5' long. She intends to have architectural features to closely match the existing porch. Staff recommended approval of the request. Slides of the subject property, proposed columns, proposed and existing handrails, the plan for the porch and the proposed door were shown. Vice-Chairman LaBiche asked when the new porch is widened, if it will require modifications to the roof and Mrs. Engman replied that it would not. The applicant was present. Evia Casillo, 2350 Rusk Street, addressed the Commission. With the assistance of a translator, she stated that she wants to make repairs to and extend the porch and added that it is in a state of deterioration. She stated that both front doors are rotting and she would like to replace them with one front door, as the house is a single family dwelling. Commissioner Bell asked if the windows had already been replaced. The applicant replied that some windows had been replaced in the past but not recently. Vice-Chairman LaBiche stated that the trim around the doors needs to be exactly the same as the current and could be removed and replaced. Ms. Casillo stated that she understood and agreed to this condition. Commissioner Crawford moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to widen front porch and remove a door, for the property at 2360 Rusk Street, as requested in file PZ2021-397 with the following conditions: 1. Trim around doors must match existing after installation 2. Expansion of the porch must not alter the profile of the existing roof. Commissioner Avery seconded the motion. Commissioner Templeton suggested that the new door should be of similar style to the house and could be approved by staff. Commissioner Crawford amended her motion to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to widen front porch and remove a door, for the property at 2360 Rusk Street, as requested in file PZ2021-397 with the following conditions: 1. Trim around doors must match existing after installation 2. Door choice must be similar to style of house 3. Expansion of the porch must not alter the profile of the existing roof. Commissioner Avery seconded the amended motion. The motion to approve the request carried 7:0. 2 Historic Landmark Commission January 10, 2022 2) PZ2021-431: A request for a Certificate of Demolition to demolish a house. Applicant: City of Beaumont Location: 2019 Pecos Street Mrs. Engman presented the staff report. Boyd Meier, Building Official, requests a Certificate of Demolition for the house located at 2019 Pecos Street. According to the inspection report, this structure was originally tagged on September 16, 2021. The structure has mold throughout and the floor is rotting in many places. The roof would need to be replaced due to the deep hole in the middle of it, including the rotted eaves and soffit. The owner has signed a demolition consent form. Based on the extensive repairs needed for this structure, the Building Codes Staff is recommending a raze order. The house is not in the SPARE Beaumont Survey. Staff recommended approval of the request. Notices were mailed to property owners within two hundred (200) feet of the subject property. Five (5) responses were received in favor and zero were received in opposition of the demolition. Slides of the subject property were shown. Vice-Chairman LaBiche asked if the property was owned by an individual or a business and Ms. Wood confirmed it to be owned by Gulf Coast Electric Company. Commissioner Templeton questioned why the company had not had it demolished and Ms. Wood replied that they are in favor of the demolition. Brief discussion followed about the age of the home and the difficulty in determining an accurate age. Further discussion was had concerning the demolition process, the cost to the city and the ability of the company to complete the demolition with their own resources. Commissioner Provo asked how long the company had owned the property and Mrs. Engman consulted the appraisal district records to find that they had owned it since 2014. Commissioner Templeton moved to deny the request for a Certificate of Demolition to demolish a house, for the property at 2019 Pecos Street, as requested in file PZ2021-431. Commissioner Goodness seconded the motion. Vice-Chairman LaBiche stated that he intended to abstain from the vote, thus losing the quorum for a vote. Therefore, the request was tabled until the next meeting. 3) PZ2021-440: A request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to paint brick. 3 Historic Landmark Commission January 10, 2022 Applicant: Troy Marsaw Location: 2205 Laurel Street Mrs. Engman presented the staff report. Troy Marsaw requests permission to paint the brick façade and columns of the commercial structure located at 2205 Laurel Street. The color he intends to paint the brick is Sherwin Williams (SW7666) Fleur de Sel, which is off-white. The rest of the building, not covered in brick, will also be painted this color. Currently, the brick seems to be intact. Sec. 28.03.018 Historic-Cultural Landmark Preservation Overlay District (g)(H)(ii) states “brick surfaces not previously painted may not be painted unless the applicant establishes that the color and texture of replacement brick cannot be matched with that of the existing brick surface or that the painting is necessary to restore or preserve the brick itself.” The structure is not listed in the SPARE survey. Staff recommended denial of this request. Slides of the subject property and color swatch were shown. The applicant was not present. Commissioner Bell asked why the applicant wanted to paint the brick and Mrs. Engman replied that it was a recommendation from his interior designer. Discussion followed concerning the rationale for painting brick and the ordinance prohibiting the painting of brick. Commissioner Templeton asked if the applicant would be adding additional brick and Mrs. Engman stated that they will not be doing so. Commissioner Crawford stated that this is a newer structure rather than a historic home and Mrs. Engman replied that it still falls under the regulations of the historic district. Vice-Chairman LaBiche stated that he did not feel that painting the brick and the building all the same color would enhance the aesthetics and that he would prefer the unpainted brick. Discussion followed about tabling the item or denying it and allowing the applicant to return with a different request. Commissioner Templeton moved to deny the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to paint brick, for the property at 2205 Laurel Street, as requested in file PZ2021-440. Commissioner Bell seconded the motion. The motion to deny the request carried 7:0. 4) PZ2021-441: A request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to resize windows. Applicant: Jason Gums 4 Historic Landmark Commission January 10, 2022 Location: 1891 Broadway Street Mrs. Engman presented the staff report. Jason Gums, property owner, is seeking permission to resize eleven (11) windows to the triplex located at 1891 Broadway Street. The original profile of windows is 32" x 80" and Mr. Gums is requesting to reduce the size to 32" x 60". The windows to be resized are located on the north, west and east facade of the triplex. According to Jefferson County Appraisal District, this structure was built in 1993. Building Codes has no records of permits ever being issued to this property. This house is not in the SPARE Beaumont Survey. Staff recommended approval of this request with the following conditions: 1. Windows shall be 1 over 1 in appearance and made of either vinyl or wood 2. Window caps and trim shall be installed to match existing windows Slides of the subject property and proposed window changes were shown. Mrs. Engman stated that the reason for the request to resize the windows was due to the difficulty in finding windows in the current size. Discussion followed concerning the history of the property and the difficulty in finding historic records about it. The applicant was present. Shelly Gums, 6020 Longwood Street, addressed the Commission. She stated that she and her husband are trying to renovate the property in order to rent it out. She stated that 32” x 80” windows are very difficult to find and that 32” x 60” windows are readily available. Discussion followed about the siding and trim and the view of the windows from the street. Commissioner Goodness moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to resize windows, for the property at 1891 Broadway Street, as requested in file PZ2021-441 with the following conditions: 1. The same trim needs to be put back around the windows and the new siding needs to match the current siding exactly Commissioner Avery seconded the motion. After some discussion, Commissioner Goodness amended her motion to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to resize windows, for the property at 1891 Broadway Street, as requested in file PZ2021-441 with the following conditions: 1. The same trim needs to be put back around the windows and the new siding needs to match the current siding exactly 2. The shutters need to be replaced on the window that has existing shutters Commissioner Avery seconded the amended motion. The motion to approve the request failed 3:4 (LaBiche, Bell, Crawford, Templeton). 5 Historic Landmark Commission January 10, 2022 5) PZ2021-448: A request for a Certificate of Demolition to demolish a house Applicant: City of Beaumont Location: 2169 South Street Mrs. Engman presented the staff report. Boyd Meier, Building Official, requests a Certificate of Demolition for the house located at 2169 South Street. According to the inspection report, this structure was originally tagged on September 30, 2020. The structure is unsecure. The exterior of the home requires the siding and window sills to be replaced as they are rotted. The interior damage includes sagging floors, collapsed ceiling, termite damage to structural beams, and exposed electrical wires throughout the structure. Based on the extensive repairs needed for this structure, the Building Codes Staff is recommending a raze order. The house is listed in the 1990 SPARE Beaumont Survey. SPARE states the house was built c. 1913. The property was listed as an example of middle class housing built in Beaumont after the first Spindletop boom. Planning staff recommended approval of this request. Notices were mailed to property owners within two hundred (200) feet of the subject property. Three (3) responses were received in favor and zero were received in opposition of the demolition. Slides of the subject property were shown. Commissioner Templeton asked about the status of the property owner and Ms. Wood stated that the owner had not responded to contact attempts and owes back taxes on the property. Commissioner Crawford asked if the property was vacant and Ms. Wood confirmed this to be the case. Discussion followed about the back taxes on the property and the cost of demolition to the city. Commissioner Templeton moved to deny the request for a Certificate of Demolition to demolish a house, for the property located at 2169 South Street, as requested in file PZ2021-448. The motion failed for the lack of a second. Further discussion was had concerning the county auction process and the Commission’s role of balancing historic and aesthetic value versus public safety. Commissioner Templeton moved to table the request for a Certificate of Demolition to demolish a house, for the property located at 2169 South Street, as requested in file PZ2021-448, in order to research other available options. The motion failed for the lack of a second. 6 Historic Landmark Commission January 10, 2022 Commissioner Goodness moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Demolition to demolish a house, for the property located at 2169 South Street, as requested in file PZ2021-448. The motion failed for the lack of a second. As no action was taken on this request, the Commission came to a consensus to table the item until a future meeting. 6) Historic District Code Enforcement Report Officer Bates presented the Historic District Code Enforcement Report, including information about current violations, inspections, Certificates of Appropriateness and stop work orders. OTHER BUSINESS None. THERE BEING NO OTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 4:28 P.M. 7