HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

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1 HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MEMBERS Chair Amanda Harrell-Seyburn Vice Chair Jessica Flores Chuck Roboski Aron Sousa Diane Wing James Robertson VACANCY MINUTES February 9, :00 p.m. 54-B District Court, Courtroom #2 101 Linden Street Present: Flores, Harrell-Seyburn, Robertson, Sousa, and Wing City Coucil Liaison Ruth Beier Staff Liaison Pablo Majano Absent: Staff Present: Roboski Majano Cty of East Lansing PLANNING BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT 410 Abbot Road East Lansing, MI (517) ) CALL TO ORDER Harrell-Seyburn called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. A) Roll Call At the calling of the roll, Commissioner Roboski was absent. B) Approval of Agenda Motion: Sousa moved to approve the agenda. Motion was seconded by Wing. Vote: All yeas. Motion carried unanimously by a vote of 5 to 0. C) Approval of Minutes - None 2) COMMUNICATIONS None 3) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT None 4) PUBLIC HEARINGS None 5) OLD BUSINESS A) A request from Dr. Gary Bente, for the property at 303 Chesterfield Parkway, to construct an addition of a front porch to the home. City of East Lansing Historic District Commission Minutes February 9, 2017 Page 1 of 6

2 Motion: Sousa moved to accept the applicants request for an extension of the application. Motion was seconded by Wing. Vote: All yeas. Motion carried unanimously by a vote of 5 to 0. B) Policy Review Wing requested the polices be distributed in an editable format to make comments. Harrell-Seyburn reccomnded the policies be updated on Google Drive to make edits. The Commission ageed. Harrell-Seyburn stated this document is more for Comission to Staff communication. C) One Pager Plus Wing suggested several changes to the One Pager Plus. Items discussed: Rewording answer to the first question on pager plus Difference of a handrail and guardrail Architectural railing principles The Commission discussed the changes and agreed on the updates. 6) NEW BUSINESS A) House of The Month Award Majano brought forward four nominations to the Commission for the house of the month Chesterfield Parkway 225 Chesterfield Parkway 656 Sunset Lane 1140 Michigan Avenue After discussion, the Commission unanimously voted for 1009 Chesterfield Parkway to be the house of the month for the month of February. 7) COMMISSIONER REPORTS None 8) STAFF REPORTS Majano stated the City Attorney will be available at the next meeting to discuss what can or cannot be eliminated in the Code. A) Corner of Harrison and Grand River City of East Lansing Historic District Commission Minutes February 9, 2017 Page 2 of 6

3 Majano discussed a potential project coming forward that would come to the Commission to demolish four historic properties and replace it a large building for the use of a sorority. Majano did not get into details of the property as he has not reviewed the project fully. Andrew Sass, representative for Joe Goodsir, introduced himself to the Commission and offered to answer any questions. Majano stated that this project was brought forward to the Commission for comments and no decisions are to be made Sass stated that they are working with Ken Jones from Studio Intrigue. Sass stated that this was inspired by the general plans from the City that was released in Wing wanted to clarify that the proposal will remove four houses and not three. Harrell-Seyburn clarified that the Ellsworth Co-Op building will not be removed. Harrell- Seyburn stated that she would like to have more of the materials called out on the drawings: Cladding Cornice Porch Windows Lintel and Shutters Harrell-Seyburn expressed her biggest concern is the volume of parking that is going to occur along Harrison. She stated that it would be nice to see more of a site plan showing the adjacent property to the south. She is concerned with the parking changing the streetscape. Majano asked the Commission if they would be comfortable with the demolition of the four buildings. Sousa stated the only standard that would fit is if the project would be a public benefit. Sousa asked the representative how this project is a public benefit. Sass responded by saying this was not discussed with this client (Joe Goodsir) Flores asked what types of funding sources are being used. Sass stated that he is certain it will be private funding and did not believe public funding would be used. Flores stated that if there is public funding, the project would have to go before the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Sousa stated that across the street the houses in Ardson Heights, looks across at the four properties being impacted by the proposal. Harrell-Seyburn stated that a case needs to be built as to why the houses should be demolished. City of East Lansing Historic District Commission Minutes February 9, 2017 Page 3 of 6

4 Sousa stated that the Commission only uses Secretary of Interiors Standards. He stated that the only way a building would get demolished is if they are a danger or if it is a public good. Sass acknowledged Sousa s comments. Sass understood the difficulty of the project and stated he would be more than happy to sit down with the Commission to go over any concerns. Majano stated that he has a concern of approval from a Planning Commission (PC) to the Historic District Commission (HDC) for site plan approval. Harrell-Seyburn stated the Commission cannot do much about the site plan configuration; however, there are some suggestions the HDC may make to that affect. Majano stated that there has to be substantial evidence of why the buildings are being demolished before the Commission can make any type of approval. Majano stated that precedence must be avoided. Harrell-Seyburn asked if there has been a condition report done on the four buildings, about the condition in general. Sass responded by saying the houses are licensed rentals and are inspected annually. Flores asked what about time frame for the project. Sass said he did not have one. Majano stated that staff would have to discuss what route the project would have to take in order to conduct appropriate reviews from both the PC and HDC. Sousa stated that even if the HDC does not approve the project, the owner could go to Council. Majano stated that they could appeal the decision to the state review board. Harrell-Seyburn did notice that the materials were called out in one of the site plan pages, so the need for a list of materials was not needed. Harrell-Seyburn stated that it would be nice if the actual materials were present at the meeting and appreciated that vinyl is not called out in any of the materials. After further review, Harrell-Seyburn stated that she would like to see what material the vent and the columns are going to be made of. Majano stated the Commission will see the application formally at another meeting. Sass stated that between now and then he would try to get the Commission specifications and materials. Saas wanted to make sure that the Commission was comfortable with project. Majano again stated that if the Commission is on board with the project that a study would need to be done on the four houses. B) 442 GROVE STREET City of East Lansing Historic District Commission Minutes February 9, 2017 Page 4 of 6

5 Majano discussed the property located at 442 Grove Street. Majano presented pictures and an aerial showing a standalone structure in the rear of the property that is presumed to be red tagged by the Building Official. Majano stated under the Historic Preservation Code of East Lansing an order from the Building Official would not require a Certificate of Appropriateness. 9) ASSIGNMENTS Majano assigned Commissioners to come up with nominations for the house of the month award in March. Wing recomended that the Commission walk by the houses on the corner of Harrison and Grand River. Wing stated that there is one house of the four that she would never agree to a demolition. Harrell-Seyburn stated that it would be beneficial for the Commission to meet at the site. Majano stated that whole Commission would have to meet together. Wing and Sousa both stated that the Commission could have a special meeting at the site. Harrell-Seyburn stated that the Commission needs to do their due diligence on this project and that they should be on-site for a special meeting to discuss the project. Sousa stated that it is diffucult to see how this project is beneficial to the public. Harrell-Seyburn stated that it is not. Wing stated that the Chesterfield Hills Neighborhood Association still includes everything east of Harrison to the Delta triangle. Wing said that it was deliberate because the Association felt that if they did not include that area, that the neighborhood would just be demolished without question. Further discussion took place about the project. Robertson stated the applicant can do a better job at concealing the exposed parking lot. Robertson had concerns about the setback and clear vision. The Commission had conversation about the angle of the building. Wing suggested the Commission discuss a meeting time to talk about the project. Flores asked if the meeting on March 9, 2017 could be on site (corner of Harrison and Grandriver)? Harrell-Seyburn said that we could have the meeting at 6:00 p.m. and then hold the regulary scheduled meeting at 7:00 pm at the usual location. City of East Lansing Historic District Commission Minutes February 9, 2017 Page 5 of 6

6 10) ADJOURNMENT Motion: Sousa moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Wing Vote: All yeas. Motion carried unanimously by a vote of 5 to 0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 pm. Amanda Harrell-Seyburn Chair Pablo Majano Secretary City of East Lansing Historic District Commission Minutes February 9, 2017 Page 6 of 6

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MEMBERS Chair Amanda Harrell-Seyburn Vice Chair Jessica Flores Chuck Roboski Aron Sousa Diane Wing James Robertson VACANCY City Coucil Liaison Ruth Beier Staff Liaison Pablo