City of Burlington Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes: July 12, 2017

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1 City of Burlington Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes: July 12, 2017 The City of Burlington Historic Preservation Commission held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM in the City Hall Complex, 525 High Street, Burlington, NJ. 1. Introduction: Chairman Van Sciver opened the meeting at 7:00 PM with an introduction to the procedures of the Historic Preservation Commission and a salute to the flag. 2. Roll call vote: Secretary Crivaro conducted the Roll Call. Present: Chairman Van Sciver, Vice Chair William Buehrig; Commissioners Elizabeth Baird, John Krimmel, Emma Jean Morgan, Milton Smith and William Stewart were present (7). Commissioner Frank Caruso was absent. Margaret Newman, the Historic Preservation Consultant, was also present. 3. Consideration of Minutes: Vice Chair William Buehrig made a motion to accept the minutes for the May meeting as presented; Commissioner Baird seconded. The vote was 6-0 in favor of accepting the minutes as presented with Commissioner Krimmel abstaining as he wasn t at the meeting. 4. Applications: HPC Application : Owner/Applicant: Paint exterior of the building Ian Rossman Site: 21 E. Union Street; Block 118, Lot 38 Designation: Contributing, Burlington City Municipal Historic District a. Description of the Property: 21 East Union Street is a three-story, three-bay, side-gabled, wood frame rowhouse covered with wood siding. There is a rear, two-story wing. The front windows are double hung, six over six, wood windows. The first floor has been extensively altered and has a pent roof with several satellite dishes ; a stained wood, paneled entry door with sidelights on the left side; paired double-hung windows in the center; and a second door (to an alley) on the right. There is also a wood access door to the basement, below the center windows. The house is attached on the right side and has an alley on the left. b. Scope of work proposed by applicant: The applicant proposes to repaint the exterior of the building, using Benjamin Moore Templeton Gray as the main color, with Wickham Gray as the accent/ trim color. 1

2 c. Documents Submitted: An application for the proposed work, including photographs of the building and cut sheets of the proposed colors, was received around June 16, d. Discussion/ Public Comment Mr. Ian Rossman was sworn in. He explained that he wanted to paint the entire exterior of the building and mentioned the gray colors he submitted. He stated he was fine with John Hatch s suggestions of a different trim color. He also said that the satellite dishes on the front have already been removed. After much back and forth between Mr. Rossman and the Commission it was determined that the upper section of the building will be darker gray, the lower section will be lighter. All the trim will be white and the painted doors will be light gray. Chairman Van Sciver asked if there was any public comment. Hearing none, he asked for a decision from the Commission. e. Commission Decision Commissioner Baird made a motion to approve the following colors: the upper section of the building will be Templeton Gray, the lower section will be Wickham Gray. All trim will be painted white. The front door will remain stained but the other three doors, including the alley door, will be painted Wickham Gray. The satellite dishes will be removed. Commissioner Smith seconded. Vote: 7-0, all in favor of the application. f. The Historic Preservation Commission has made its recommendations for the following reasons: The Commission believes that the proposed work will have a positive impact on the historic character of the building and the Historic District. HPC Application : Owner/ Applicant: Install electric car charging station City of Burlington Site: 432 High Street; Block 32, Lots 39 & 40 Designation: Significant, High Street State and National Register Historic District a. Description of the Property: Lyceum Hall (Burlington Old City Hall), 432 High Street, built in 1839 and renovated in 1910 by architect Henry Armitt Brown, is the most prominent Classical Revival building in the City. Originally constructed as a public lecture hall, theater and cultural center, it was used from 1851 until 1991 as the Burlington City Hall. It is currently an arts center, and was recently renovated. b. Scope of work proposed by applicant: 2

3 The City of Burlington proposes to install a dual EVI Electric Car Charging Station at the side of the building. The charging station will be installed on a concrete base, and two parking spaces will be marked for use by electric vehicles. c. Documents Submitted: An application for the proposed work, including photographs of the building, a site aerial showing the proposed location and cut sheets of the charger, was received around June 22, A photo of a station and its signage was submitted via on July 10,2017. d. Discussion/ Public Comment David Ballard, the City Administrator, was sworn in. He explained that the City is working with Tesla and has received a grant for six charging stations. Tonight, he is proposing two sites of two charging stations. The current application will be housed in a parking lot at the Lyceum and will therefore not remove any parking from High Street. The stations will be flush with the sidewalk and the signage will duplicate the photo submitted by . Discussion followed about the credit card and payment system unit and whether it was affixed to the charging station or a separate unit. Although not completely sure, Mr. Ballard believes it is built into the machine. Chairman Van Sciver agreed that the machines he has seen have the payment system built right in. Commissioner Baird had a few questions. First, she asked whether this was the best location for the units or if the rear of the parking lot would be better. Second, she thought they were located the wrong way from traffic flow. Last, she wondered whether the parking spaces and machines can accommodate handicap drivers. A discussion followed about these three points. First, although he didn t think it was mandated, Mr. Ballard agreed to look into it the accessibility question. As far as the proposed location, he stated this was the preferred site as it is closest to the power source but agreed to evaluate Commissioner Baird s idea. Finally, it was agreed that electric car drivers tend to back into spots to charge their vehicles so the proposed location agrees with this trend. With this in mind, Commissioner Smith asked if larger curbs should be installed to protect the machines. Mr. Ballard agreed this was a good suggestion. He then stated the City needs to make clear that these are charging stations not parking spaces. Commissioner Krimmel asked about Mr. Hatch s comment. Mr. Ballard stated that he would contact the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office and the New Jersey Historic Trust to ensure compliance with both entities. Ms. Newman agreed the Preservation Office should be contacted and that they normally tend to agree with the decisions of the local commission on an issue like this. The Trust probably should be contacted as a courtesy but the easement only deals directly with the building and it appears the easement has just ended. Chairman Van Sciver asked if there was any public comment. Hearing none, he asked for a decision from the Commission. e. Commission Decision Commissioner Smith made a motion to accept the application as submitted. Commissioner Morgan seconded. Vote: 7-0, all in favor of the application. 3

4 f. The Historic Preservation Commission has made its recommendations for the following reasons: The Commission believes that the proposed work will not have a negative impact on the historic character of the building or the Historic District. HPC Application : Owner/ Applicant: Install electric car charging station City of Burlington Site: 202 High Street; Block 12, Lots 1 & 2 Designation: Significant, High Street State and National Register Historic District a. Description of the Property: 202 High Street, also known as the Hoskin House, is a federal style, brick rowhouse that is owned and operated as a museum by the City of Burlington. b. Scope of work proposed by applicant: The City proposes to install a dual EVI Electric Car Charging Station on the West Pearl Street side of the building, at the sidewalk along the street. The charging station will be installed on a concrete base and two parking spaces will be marked for use by electric vehicles. c. Documents Submitted: An application for the proposed work, including photographs of the building, a site aerial showing the proposed location and cut sheets of the charger, was received around June 22, A photo of a station and its signage was submitted via on July 10,2017. d. Discussion/ Public Comment Mr. Ballard discussed the location of the proposed charging stations saying that the electrical service at the Hoskins House may need to be increased to accommodate this new use and that with the installation of these charging parking spaces, additional parking will be able to be added by the City as currently, not all the available spaces have been striped. A discussion followed about where this parking would be located. Mr. Ballard said that the highway engineers will be involved with the project and that the City will add as many as can be accommodated safely. Commission Morgan wondered if the stations would be installed on the sidewalk. Mr. Ballard confirmed that they would be and that the sidewalk is very wide at this location. Chairman Van Sciver asked if there would be a need for wayfinding signage to these stations throughout the City and Mr. Ballard said probably not as most electric car drivers find stations via apps on their smartphones. Commissioner Baird asked why the Hoskins House was chosen and Mr. Ballard explained it is because it is a City-owned building. He went on to discuss the remaining two stations granted from Tesla. He stated that the City has reached out to community businesses to house the remaining stations but so far, has no takers. There is a chance that if a NJ Transit grant application is successful, the 4

5 last two stations will be included in an upgrade of a City-owned parking lot within the 300 block. Chairman Van Sciver asked if there was any public comment. Hearing none, he asked for a decision from the Commission e. Commission Decision Commissioner Morgan Baird made a motion to accept the application as submitted. Vice Chair Buehrig seconded. Vote: 7-0, all in favor of the application. f. The Historic Preservation Commission has made its recommendations for the following reasons: The Commission believes that the proposed work will not have a negative impact on the historic character of the building or the Historic District. 5. Old Business a. Chairman Van Sciver said he had a long conversation with Guy Fowler about the proposed new building. Now that the foundation has been laid, Mr. Fowler will come in and work with the Commission for the design of the new building. b. There was a discussion about the sign at the Mini Mart at 7 East Broad Street. It is unclear where it stands. 6. New Business a. Commissioner Smith said he received notification of an update to the Secretary's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Reconstructing Historic Buildings. Chairman Van Sciver asked him to forward the link. Commissioner Smith also mentioned that he received a flyer about Certified Local Government grants that are now available. A discussion followed about fundable activities. 7. Public Comment: a. NA 8. Correspondence: a. NA 9. Adjournment: a. Commissioner Baird made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Commissioner Buehrig seconded. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:50 PM. 5

6 Respectfully submitted on July 17, 2017 by Margaret Newman, Consultant to the Burlington City Historic Preservation Commission. 6