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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2-14-22 HLC Minutes * M I N U T E S * HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION February 14, 2022 City Hall, 801 Main Street, Beaumont, Texas … A Regular Meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission was held on February 14, 2022 and called to order at 3:32 p.m. with the following members present: Acting Chair Lynda Kay Makin Commissioner Yolanda Nan Avery *arrived at 3:42 p.m. Commissioner Hester Bell Commissioner John Berube *arrived at 3:37 p.m. Commissioner Christina Crawford Commissioner Theresa Goodness Commissioner Hajrah Javed Commissioner Thomas Sigee Commissioner Janelle Templeton Commission Members absent : Vice-Chairman Dohn LaBiche Commissioner Marva Provo Also present: Demi Engman, Senior Planner Pashae Bates, Oaks Historic Code Enforcement Officer Catherine Allen, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Sigee moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held on January 10, 2022. Commissioner Bell seconded the motion. The motion to approve carried 7:0. Commissioner Sigee moved to approve the corrected minutes of the Regular Meeting held on December 13, 2021. Commissioner Crawford seconded the motion. The motion to approve carried 7:0. REGULAR MEETING 1) PZ2021-457: Request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to paint brick. Applicant: Rodney Cooley Location: 2475 Liberty Street Mrs. Engman presented the staff report. Rodney Cooley, homeowner, requests permission to paint the brick façade to his home located at 2475 Liberty Street. The color he intends Historic Landmark Commission February 14, 2022 to paint the brick is Behr Swiss Coffee (12u), which is a shade of white. The trim is to be Behr Incognito (N370-5m). Mr. Cooley expressed that the brick repair was done prior to them owning the house; however, the brick began to deteriorate. He let the vines grow over the home for years in order to cover the poor repair. They went to pull the vines down from the house and realized the vines have rotted the window sills and soffits. They now wish to bring the existing Swiss Coffee color down from the gable to the brick. 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 the request. Slides of the subject property were shown. Commissioner Crawford asked if the request was not approved, would the paint need to be removed and Mrs. Engman confirmed this to be the case. Brief discussion followed to clarify the history of the case and that the paint was applied prior to receiving approval. The applicant was present. Rodney Cooley, 2475 Liberty Street, addressed the Commission. He stated that the vines on the home died following last year’s winter storm and that after removing the vines, they discovered the damage to the brick. He added that he hired a contractor to paint the home and that they were only available for a limited amount of time so he had the painting completed before obtaining the certificate of appropriateness. Discussion followed concerning the vines being removed from the home and the painting and permitting timeline. Mrs. Engman explained the exceptions for painted brick in the city ordinance. Mr. Cooley disputed the process of having improved the home and being told he was subject to a fine. He stated that he improved the look of the home and increased its value. Discussion continued concerning the vines damaging the bricks, the improved look of the home, and other painted brick homes in the district. Mrs. Engman clarified the timeline of the painting and permit process. Commissioner Sigee moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to paint brick, for the property at 2475 Liberty Street, as requested in file PZ2021-457. Commissioner Bell seconded the motion. The motion to approve the request carried 9:0. 2 Historic Landmark Commission February 14, 2022 2) PZ2022-1: A request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to add siding to a structure. Applicant: Theresa Sabeha Location: 2570 Pecos Street Mrs. Engman presented the staff report. Theresa Sabeha would like to add siding to the second story of her apartment complex located at 2570 Pecos Street. The structure currently has a brick façade on the first story and paneling along the second story. The siding Ms. Sabeha would like to use is a horizontal HardiPlank profile that has a 6.25” reveal. The brick will remain intact along the first story of the structure. Ms. Sabeha intends to paint the siding with colors from our pre-approved selection. The house is not listed in the SPARE Beaumont Survey. Staff recommended approval of the request. Slides of the subject property were shown. Brief discussion followed concerning shutters on the windows. The applicant was not present. Commissioner Goodness moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to add siding to a structure, for the property at 2570 Pecos Street, as requested in file PZ2022-1. Commissioner Sigee seconded the motion. The motion to approve the request carried 9:0. 3) PZ2022-30: A request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to consider new porch posts. Applicant: Joyce Moore Newell Location: 2445 Louisiana Street Mrs. Engman presented the staff report. Joyce Newell is seeking permission to remove and install porch posts to the house located at 2445 Louisiana Street. This request was previously submitted to the Historic Landmark Commission (HLC) in December. It was stated on pages 2-3 of the minutes that the HLC "could approve the rest of the request and let staff approve appropriate posts." Sometime later, she approached staff about a design concept for the posts and was rejected because it was square in profile and did not seem appropriate. Ms. Newell requests the HLC to consider the design that was presented to staff. Ms. Newell stated the front porch posts are rotting at the bottom and that they are not original to the house. Further, she explains the current porch posts do not fit the overall style of their home for the time it was built and the surrounding houses within the neighborhood. She intends to restore the posts to as close as possible to its original design. This home is categorized as a Modern Ranch Style house. Examples of this style house are in A 3 Historic Landmark Commission February 14, 2022 Field Guide to American Houses (McAlester et al., pg. 478-480). The existing square top porch posts with decorative design elements seem appropriate for Ranch Style homes during the 1970's era. Changing the posts to an all square profile does not seem appropriate for homes of this era. It appears that many homes had round and decorative posts. The property is not listed in the SPARE Beaumont Survey. Staff recommended denial of this request. Slides of the subject property were shown. The applicants were present. Joyce and Eric Newell, 2445 Louisiana Street, addressed the Commission. Ms. Newell stated that she would like to have straight posts and that she has looked at other homes within the neighborhood that have similar posts. She stated that she believes the home is older than the 1970’s due to some plumbing features that indicate an older home. Ms. Newell stated she found at least six (6) homes with similar posts within the district. Finally, she stated that she feels that the straight posts or wrought iron work would both be historically appropriate, but that the wrought iron is specific to the time period and therefore not readily available. Commissioner Makin asked when they bought the home and if the current posts were there at the time. Mr. Newell replied that they bought the home in 2007 and that the posts were there then. He added that the house is in bad shape and has had storm damage from both Hurricane Rita and Tropical Storm Imelda. Mr. Newell stated that they have spent thousands of dollars on the home already and are trying to get it fixed up and looking nice. He stated that the appropriateness of the posts is a judgement call and that he has done further research and found that what they are requesting seems appropriate. Commissioner Berube asked about the size of the proposed posts and the Newells replied that they will be the same size as the current posts. Discussion continued about the description of the Modern Ranch Style house in A Field Guide to American Houses, the previous decision of the Commission on this home and the age of the home. Commissioner Goodness stated that she sees examples of both types of posts in A Field Guide to American Houses and read from the book concerning posts on ranch style homes. Commissioner Goodness moved to approve the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness to consider new porch posts, for the property at 2445 Louisiana Street, as requested in file PZ2022- 30. Commissioner Sigee seconded the motion. The motion to approve the request carried 9:0. OTHER BUSINESS rd 1) Discuss all options for a stucco wall at 794 3 Street. 4 Historic Landmark Commission February 14, 2022 rd Mrs. Engman reviewed the history of the request for a stucco wall at 794 3 Street, which came before the Commission in December 2021. She stated that an appeal was filed on this denial and that City Council had requested that it return to the Commission for a recommendation on what would be acceptable. Slides of examples of other stucco and brick walls in the district were shown. Commissioner Templeton stated that in the examples, the walls were an extension of the houses and that they were appropriate to the home, where the requested stucco wall was not. She stated that a wooden fence with brick or stucco painted to match the home may be more appropriate. She added that the stucco may appear nicer than wood, but that it is not historically appropriate. Commissioner Goodness asked for the wording of the City ordinance on the issue and Mrs. Engman stated that the ordinance states that concrete blocks are not permitted. Commissioner Berube stated that the stucco did not seem appropriate and agreed that a wooden fence with brick inlay would be preferable. A consensus was reached that a wooden fence with brick inlay would be recommended. In other business, Commissioner Templeton inquired about the demolition requests that were tabled at the last meeting. Mrs. Engman stated that they should be before the Commission again in March. Carol Gary, representing Beaumont Main Street, introduced herself to the Commission and stated that she looked forward to working with them. 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. Discussion followed about litter being a current common violation. Further discussion followed concerning the process that a violation goes through within the planning department and then at municipal court. THERE BEING NO OTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 4:20 P.M. 5