MINUTES
TOWN OF NORMAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
CITY HALL
CONFERENCE ROOM C
100 EAST PHOENIX AVENUE
NORMAL, ILLINOIS
REGULAR MEETING
June 14, 2005 @ 7:00 p.m.
Members Present
Nancy Armstrong, Kathy Smith Whitman, Bruce Warloe, Bob Ward
Members Absent
Anne Matter, Kathy Burgess
Others Present
Lauren Kerestes, Associate Planner, Debbi Whitehouse, Office Associate, Judith Brown (1306 Hillcrest), Abigail Jahiel & Thomas Lutze (1308 S. Fell), Laura & John Dimascio (704 Normal), Franklin Dodson (702 Normal)
Call to Order
Mr. Warloe called the meeting to order at 7:25 p.m. and noted a quorum was present.
Minutes
Ms. Armstrong moved, Mr. Ward seconded to approve the minutes of the regular meeting on May 10, 2005.
CA-05-05-14, 1306 Hillcrest, Rebuild front porch, tuck-pointing and brick replacement
Ms. Kerestes briefed the commission members about the porch at 1306 Hillcrest. Ms. Kerestes said that like 1304 Hillcrest and many of the other brick homes in Cedar Crest built around the same time, the porch at 1306 Hillcrest was in need of extensive repair, possibly due to hard mortar, water penetration, and settling, or some combination of the three. She said that Ms. Brown is looking to use as much of the existing bricks as possible, but will have to replace some and she showed the commission the replacement selection from the brick samples Ms. Brown brought.
Mr. Ward said that he had visited the site and that the porch was in need of repair.
Ms. Armstrong moved to approve, Mr. Ward seconded. Motion carried 4-0. Ms.
Kerestes reminded Ms. Brown that the mortar color would need to match as well.
CA-05-05-16, 1308 S. Fell, Replacement of wood basement window on north side of house with larger, egress window.
Ms. Kerestes spoke saying the applicant would like to replace the existing basement window on the north side of the house with an egress window. Mr. Lutze said they need the extra room downstairs for living space and would like to put an office in it. They would need an egress window per Residential Building Inspector, Bill Dodd. Mr. Lutze had some pictures to show the commission.
Mr. Lutze said that the replacement window would be wood and be 23 inches longer than the existing window. This would require them to dig down and put in a window well, however this would have little visual impact on the façade from the street, since the top and width of the window would be the same as the existing window. The window would be three over one, similar to others in the house.
Ms. Smith-Whitman moved to approve the replacement window as specified in the
application, Ms. Armstrong seconded. The motion carried 4-0.
CA-05-06-17, 1308 S. Fell, Repair of three additional, original wood basement windows.
Mr. Lutze said the three basement windows are not in good condition and in need of repair. He said he would like to have them repaired, painted, and re-glazed.
Ms. Armstrong said she liked the idea of fixing the original windows. She
moved to approve the repair of the three windows. Ms. Smith Whitman seconded and
the motion carried 4-0.
BG-05-06-05, 1308 S. Fell, Repair of three additional, original wood basement windows.
The Commission discussed how the proposed work would be defined per the grant program.
Ms. Armstrong said that part of the commission’s charge was encouraging homeowners to keep their original windows and that though this work would not technically be restoration, it would certainly be preservation. Mr. Warloe said he agreed, but would be more favorable to consider giving grant money for replacing the existing windows with new windows in an effort to achieve visual consistency with the new egress window. Mr. Ward agreed with Mr. Warloe.
Ms. Smith Whitman commented on the repair/maintenance nature of the proposed work as opposed to restoration as listed in the grant program guidelines. She also commented on the small costs associated with this project as compared to a larger project.
Mr. Warloe asked Mr. Lutze if he was interested in getting estimates for replacing the three basement windows. Mr. Lutze said he might be, but was more favorable to maintaining the existing original windows. Ms. Kerestes said Mr. Lutze would have to file another Certificate of Appropriateness and Bone Grant application to replace the windows instead of repair and asked the Commission to give Mr. Lutze better direction as to what to do next. She also wanted to make clear that even if Mr. Lutze was to refile and obtain bids for the July meeting to replace the windows, there was no guarantee that he would be approved for the work or for the grant.
Ms. Smith-Whitman said that though she prefers repairing the original windows over replacement, that the proposed repair work would not be considered restoration grant program.
Ms. Armstrong motioned to approve the Bone Grant request for the repair of
the three basement windows. There was no second. The motion failed.
CA-05-06-18, 702 Normal, Erect wood fence on side and back of property and erect a wrought iron fence along Normal and Gregory Street sides of property (corner lot)
Franklin Dodson was present to answer any questions the commissioners had about his request to put a fence along his property line at 702 Normal Avenue. Mr. Dodson said he wanted to replace the stockade wood fence with a dog-ear wood fence in the rear of the property. The wrought iron fence would be in the front yard along Normal and Gregory.
There was much discussion amongst the commissioners on whether they thought the fence was historically accurate and whether it would be aesthetically appropriate in the historic district context. Generally, the commission was favorable with the wrought iron fence, but was against the appearance and appropriateness of the wood fence, because of its height and lack of transparency. The Commission felt it would stick out and also hide the visual line of sight of the house just east of Mr. Dodson on Gregory Street.
Ms. Kerestes noted that neither fence would be a permanent, irreversible fixture.
Mr. Warloe said that the fence meets town codes for setbacks. Ms. Smith-Whitman felt the fence was not appropriate historically.
Neighbors, Laura & John Dimascio, were present to voice there opinions of Mr. Dodson’s fence. Ms. Dimascio said that she felt the fence was not appropriate for the character and appearance of the neighborhood.
Ms. Armstrong motioned to deny both the wood and wrought iron fence as submitted by Mr. Dodson, Ms. Smith-Whitman seconded. Motion carried 4-0.
Mr. Warloe said that he and the other commissioners would go out to the 702 Normal property and determine which fence might be the most appropriate. The Commission could then also determine the impact that the installation of the fence would have on the property and the surrounding property, i.e. line of sight issues. Mr. Warloe indicated that Ms. Kerestes would then contact Mr. Dodson with the Commission’s recommendation.
Other Business:
Ms. Kerestes mentioned that the following Certificate of Appropriateness was approved through expedited review:
Approved: BG-05-05-15E, 717 School, Non-contributing property (built 1952) Window replacement, new bay and skylight windows on sides of house.
Adjournment
There being no further business, Ms. Smith-Whitman moved that the meeting be adjourned at approximately 8:50 p.m. Ms. Armstrong seconded. The motion carried 4-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Lauren Kerestes
Associate Planner
Debbi Whitehouse
Office Associate