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HDC_04 08 20131 LITTLE ROCK HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES Monday, April 8, 2013, 5:00 p.m. Board Room, City Hall I. Roll Call Quorum was present being six (6) in number. Members Present: Randy Ripley Chris Vanlandingham BJ Bowen Toni Johnson Mark Brown Kwadjo Boaitey Members Absent: Julie Wiedower City Attorney: Debra Weldon Staff Present: Brian Minyard Citizens Present: John Emerson Gene Levy II. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner BJ Bowen to approve the minutes of March 11, 2013 as submitted. Commissioner Randy Ripley seconded and the minutes were approved with a vote of 6 ayes and 1 absent. Notice requirements were met on all applications to be heard tonight. III. Deferred Certificates of Appropriateness None IV. Certificates of Appropriateness DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 723 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1334 Phone: (501) 371-4790 Fax: (501) 399-3435 2 DATE : April 8, 2013 APPLICANT: John Emerson ADDRESS: 1301 Scott Street COA REQUEST: Onsite Parking, Fencing, & Bike Racks PROJECT BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION: The subject property is located at 1301 Scott Street. The property’s legal description is “Lots 1 and 2 and the north 1/2 of 3, Block 21, Original City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas." This multifamily building was built in 1887. The 2006 survey form states: “Original Queen Anne Style structure with turrets, roof decoration and window designs typical of this style. Several craftsman additions include porch and large multi-windowed addition on south.” “Changes in renovation included porch removal, attic conversion to 2nd floor, added sleeping porch and breakfast room.” It is considered a "Contributing Structure" to the MacArthur Park Historic District. This application is for Onsite Parking, Fencing, & Bike Racks. The parking will be off the alley and to the south side of the building. The fencing will be along the alley to hide/protect the ac units and there will be two bike racks, one on the north and one on the south side. A law office will be occupying the building. PREVIOUS ACTIONS ON THIS SITE: On May 6, 2008, a COC was issued to Taibi Kahler for the removal of inappropriate roof structure and installation of appropriate roof repairs. DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 723 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1334 Phone: (501) 371-4790 Fax: (501) 399-3435 STAFF REPORT ITEM NO. One. Location of Project 3 PROPOSAL AND WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATION BASED OFF OF INTENT AND GUIDELINES: This application has been reviewed by the CZDC at their March 28, 2013 meeting, the commission approved gravel paving for the vehicular use area, bike racks and fencing. On page 69, the Guidelines state: 2. Commercial, Office, and Institutional Parking: When houses or buildings are used for commercial, office, school, church, apartments, or other institutional use, parking should be located in rear yards. If this is not possible, parking may be in a side yard but located to the rear of the front wall of the structure. Fencing or shrubbery should screen the parking area. Parking lots between buildings should align edge screening with the front façades of adjacent buildings and the side property lines. Parking areas should be surfaced with gravel or concrete, not asphalt, aggregate, or brick. For security lighting please refer to Lighting previous page. Site plan Front Facade 4 The applicant proposes to meet the standards for number of parking spaces required by the CZDC. Neither the HDC nor the City of Little Rock dictates the number of spaces required in the CZDC area. The plan provides for 8 spaces on site and 5 from the Villa Marre in addition to two bike racks. A letter is on file with the agreement between the two parties for shared parking. There will be signage at the parking area to signify that the parking is for the Villa Marre and Emerson Poynter only. Signage should be no larger than 18”x24”, which is the standard size for parking signs. There will be five parking spaces angled in towards the house along the alley. Three more spaces will be provided on the south side of the house in an alcove under the second floor. The applicant proposes a base of SB2 gravel with small chat gravel on top. There are small trees along the alley that will be removed, but one large tree located between the stairs and the southernmost parking space on the alley will be preserved. One tree near the handicap ramp will be removed. The trees that are located on the property line between the applicant’s property and the Villa Marre are to be preserved. Photo of trees and fence to be removed along alley with view towards 13th Street Photo of trees along south property line bordering Villa Marre property and showing parking under building to left On page 70, the Guidelines state: 1. Heating, Air Conditioning units, and Ceiling Fans: HVAC units should be located where not readily visible from the street and should be screened with shrubbery or fencing. Window air-conditioners should be located in windows on the rear or side façades and should not result in the removal or replacement of the original window sash or surround. Ceiling fans on porches should be mounted high enough so that they cannot be seen from the street. The applicant desires to move four ac units to the rear alley side of the structure from underneath the canopy on the south side of the structure. The location will be between the alley and the southernmost stairs to the second floor of the house (not to be confused with the handicap ramp on the northeast corner). They will place the ac units on a concrete pad and wish to enclose them with a “6’ tall plain western cedar (fence) with a chain link security top that 5 lays flat across the rectangular shape of the fenced area.” The gate will match the fence. The cedar will be allowed to weather naturally. This fence conforms to the guidelines. Bike Racks are not specifically called out in the design guidelines. However, the Secretary of Interior’s Standards give guidance in standard numbers 3, 9 and 10, which respectively state the following (paraphrased): 3) changes that create a false sense of historical development shall not be undertaken. 9) New additions or alterations shall not destroy historic fabric and shall be differentiated from the old. 10) New additions and modifications shall be able to be removed later without harming the structure. The north bike rack will be installed just inside the fence gate along 13th Street at the sidewalk to the house in the lawn area with gravel paving underneath. The south one will be located in the south parking lot. The bike racks are definitely modern in style, yet simple in design, and will not create a false sense of history. There will be signage at the bike racks to state that the bike racks are for public use, not just clients of the law firm. Signage should be no larger than 18”x24”, which is the standard size for parking signs. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS AND REACTION: At the time of distribution, there were no comments regarding this application. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval with the following conditions: 1. Obtaining a building permit. COMMISSION ACTION: April 8, 2013 There was a brief presentation to the Commission by Brian Minyard, Staff. There were no questions of Staff by the Commission. John Emerson, the applicant, addressed the commission. The stated it was a big project and they plan to move into the office in mid to late May. They bought the property for $405,000. He stated that it needed a new roof. He mentioned the interior damage from water and has a contractor to replace the roof. He stated that the trees that are on the property line with the Villa Marre to the south would be killed with concrete paving. He has received approval from the CZDC for gravel on the parking area. He has also worked with Christy Marvel, City of Little Rock, to shield the parking with appropriate landscaping. Commissioner Randy Ripley stated that the Commission reviews what is visible from the street. Mr. Minyard stated that that the parking off the alley will be visible from 13th Street. The parking under the house may or may not be visible from the street. He continued that a COC will be issued for the roof for the asphalt shingle portion and paint job. Commissioner Ripley asked about replacement windows. Mr. Emerson responded that they do not need replaced. Bike rack on north side Bike rack on south side 6 Mr. Emerson spoke of screening on the Villa Marre side and the 13th Street side for the three car parking area. On the 13th Street side, they will add screening and will only see the parking if going east on 13th Street. He spoke of the shared parking arrangements between them and the Villa Marre. Commissioner Ripley asked if they were taking out trees. Mr. Emerson stated that they were adding a tree on Scott Street to replace one that was removed earlier. It is Bradford Pear to match the others on the street. He stated that only one tree is coming out for the parking along the alley. He is keeping the tree by the air conditioner unites and is trying to keep as many trees as possible to add to the historic nature of the house. Commissioner Ripley said that he was happy someone was doing something with the house. Commissioner Toni Johnson made a motion to approve as submitted. Commissioner Kwadjo Boaitey seconded and the motion passed with a vote of 6 ayes and 1 absent. V. Other Matters Guidelines edit Mr. Minyard stated that the Guidelines discussion will be postponed to the next hearing. Enforcement issues Mr. Minyard stated there was nothing new except that Mr. Hollinger will be in front of the commission in May for his vinyl fence. Mr. Minyard stated that he would send a COC list to the commission for next month. He also stated that they are working on a flagpole for Parks and Recreation near the front door of the MacArthur Museum. Citizen Communication There were no citizens present at this time. VI. Adjournment There was a motion to adjourn and the meeting ended at 5:35 p.m. Attest: a, s Secretary/Staff 7 Date Date