Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-19-2003 ARC Minutes SAN LUIS OBISPO ARCHITECTUAL REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES MAY 19, 2003 ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Allen Root, Michael Boudreau, Zeljka Howard, David Smith, and Chairperson Charles Stevenson (with one vacancy). Absent: Commr. Jim Lopes Staff: Associate Planners Phil Dunsmore and Pam Ricci, and Recording Secretary Irene Pierce. ACCEPTANCE OF THE AGENDA: The agenda was accepted as presented. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTE: The Minutes of December 16, 2002, could not be approved due to the lack of a quorum of those who attended that meeting. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: Josephine Malone, SLO County, commented on the visual quality of the Sign Ordinance. MaryBeth Schroeder, 2085 Wilding Lane, felt the indecency of these displays is taking hold of her hometown and needs to be cleaned up. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. 1429 Osos Street. ARC 97-01; Review of proposed restoration and addition to a historic home; R-2-H zone; John Hough, applicant. Commr. Root abstained from Item 1 due to a conflict of interest. Associate Planner Phil Dunsmore presented the staff report recommending final approval to the project, subject to staff recommended conditions and code requirements. John Hough, applicant, noted he wants to improve the structural integrity of his historic home, and explained how the structure will be reengineered. Chairperson Stevenson asked the applicant if there were any questions or concerns on the conditions of approval. ARC Minutes May 19, 2003 Page 2 Mr. Hough expressed a concern with planting street trees in the front because there is such a small area between the front of the house and sidewalk. Planner Dunsmore felt this case has an unusual circumstance in that there may not be enough room for a standard street tree and noted an agreement could be entered into with the City Arborist to address this issue. PUBLIC COMMENT: MaryBeth Schroeder, 2085 Wilding Lane, noted that these older heritage homes are what attract people to San Luis Obispo. Melinda Serpa, Osos Street, noted that her grandmother is a next-door neighbor to this project and the family is concerned about the loss of privacy. She requested that there not be any large windows facing that house in order to preserve privacy. There were no further comments made by the public. COMMISSION COMMENTS: Commr. Smith complimented he applicant for taking this derelict building and bringing it back to life. Commr. Boudreau concurred with Commissioner Smith. Commr. Boudreau moved that final approval be granted to the project based on the findings and subject to the conditions noted in the staff report. Seconded by Commr. Howard. Chairperson Stevenson expressed support for the project. AYES: Commrs. Boudreau, Howard, Smith, and Chairperson Stevenson NOES: None ABSENT: Commr. Lopes ABSTAIN: Commr. Root The motion carried on a 4-0 vote (with one vacancy). 2. 2005 Dalidio Drive. ARC PR 108-02; Conceptual review of the proposed Prado Road Overpass as part of the SLO Marketplace project; SLO Marketplace Associates, applicant. Associate Planner Pam Ricci presented the staff report, requesting preliminary comments from the ARC on the overpass/interchange component of the project. Mike McCluskey, Public Works Director, noted they are asking for feedback on what the ARC would like to see in terms of the aesthetics of this interchange. He added that, as part of the presentation, there would be a number of examples of what other ARC Minutes May 19, 2003 Page 3 Interchanges throughout the State look like to provide the ARC with information regarding the variety of amenities that are available. Richard Tanaka, Mark Thomas & Co., provided a PowerPoint presentation on the proposed design of the interchange. He offered different options for bridge designs. He explained the various railing options. Mr. Tanaka gave a brief explanation on the two proposed retaining walls and explained that the first retaining wall is along the City Corporation Yard, which would wrap all the way around and will be 22-feet high, which makes it the highest. He noted that the other retaining wall is on the northbound wrap portion to the right side along Elks Lane, which would be 7-feet at the maximum height. He mentioned the kind of retaining wall that is proposed is one of the five Caltrans-approved retaining walls. He provided some photographs on how it would be constructed and what kinds of materials are used. He gave a brief summary of the cost of these retaining walls. He then gave a brief description of the three different kinds of landscape elements that are typically applied or used in Caltrans projects Commr. Smith asked what kind of landscaping is presently in that general area. Mr. McClusky replied there is some tree planting along the various property lines to obscure the Corporation Yard and the bus barn. PUBLIC COMMENTS: MaryBeth Schroeder, 2085 Wilding Lane, felt the public needs to be informed on where Prado Road is going and where it will connect. Planner Ricci noted that this Interchange is consistent with the General Plan in terms of the alignment of Prado Road. Mila Vujovich-LaBarre, 650 Skyline Drive, asked for clarification on the design of the Interchange, specifically questioning the number of lanes on the proposed overpass. She requested that it be user friendly for people of all economic backgrounds. She expressed a concern that the Prado Road alignment be looked at as part of this project. Jim Jacobson, SLO, suggested looking at different color combinations and design details. Bill Wilson expressed concern with the loss of prime agriculture land with the development of the project. He felt this discussion is premature because the Los Osos Valley Road overpass that is being planned has not been completed, noting there are other alternatives. Chairperson Stevenson explained the purview of the ARC is to look at the aesthetics for this project. There were no further comments made from the public. ARC Minutes May 19, 2003 Page 4 COMMISSSION COMMENTS: Planner Ricci reiterated that no final decisions are being made at this meeting. She noted that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is being prepared and a number of other project entitlements need to go forward. The Commission went through the different options and discussed the ones they supported. Commr. Boudreau commented that the support structure for the bridge should be as thin as possible in profile, and supported the square and transparent railing. He felt that minimal seems to be the best. He suggested that the retaining walls be designed so that they could be planted, and reintroducing trees to frame the bridge. Commr. Howard concurred with Commissioner Boudreau, and noted the arches in the concrete are nice, which makes it look narrower. Regarding landscaping, she felt that the trees or bushes be of significant size and have some color. Commr. Smith noted that since this project is at the gateway to San Luis Obispo, it should look as good as possible. He supported the flared columns, as well as the Cuesta Grade type rock wall. He felt that tree planting was important. Commr. Root concurred that the shadow lines were an important feature. He supported the longer span arch if this is their only choice, but noted there are many other options available. He expressed encouragement of art features. He also mentioned the importance of the rail articulation, but felt it should be invisible to some extent. He supported the stone facing on the retaining wall and the idea of ivy growing on it. Chairperson Stevenson said he likes the boxed abutments on the bridge. He mentioned that lighting is an area that can be overdone, and felt an option is bollard lighting, which could be at the height of the pedestrian rail. He commented this is going to be a long expanding bridge, which concerns him some, but felt the pop-out lighting would help break up the linear feeling of this bridge. He expressed support for Option 4, and felt that significant landscaping is needed in key locations. Commr. Boudreau commented on the lighting, noting that fewer, more quality fixtures was preferred, and suggested incorporating the lights in rhythm with the railing. Chairperson Stevenson summarized the recommendations of the Commission as follows: 1. Lighting should be subdued and minimal. Taller fixtures would be most appropriate at the ends of the bridge with pedestrian-oriented, lower-scale lighting in between. 2. Fence rail and lighting locations could be coterminous. 3. Bridge abutments should be closed with rock-facing or other treatments underneath. 4. Consider public art, which identifies the community, at the ends of the bridge. ARC Minutes May 19, 2003 Page 5 5. Drought-tolerant and colorful landscaping should be selected taking into account a view analysis that considers maintaining the vantages of surrounding hillsides. Taller trees should be included at strategic locations. 6. Consider a gradual increase in the height of the railing from the edges of the bridges. 7. Support for a sloped deck and either squared or flared columns for the bridge structure. 8. Consider color variations for the concrete used in the bridge and the sidewalks. 9. Rock-facing was supported for the outer faces of retaining walls with opportunities provided for landscaping in front of the taller portions of the walls. 10. Consider the use of decorative tiles along the interior wall of the bridge structure inset into the concrete. 3. 990 Palm Street. ARC PA 55-03; Review of a proposed public art piece at the corner of Osos and Palm Streets as part of the downtown transit center; PF-H zone; City of San Luis Obispo Public Works Department, applicant. (Hilary Hodges) Pam Ricci presented the staff report, explaining the design of the art piece, and recommending that the ARC find that the proposed artwork entitled “The American Spirit” meets the City’s Public Art Guidelines, with one condition: That the base of the sculpture be modified to have steps that are 7-inches to 9-inches high, or to be a color that will contrast with the surrounding concrete and brick so that it is not a tripping hazard. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Jim Jacobson, originator and sculptor of the project, noted the RFP for the project requested that the sculpture relate to transportation, City and County government, the City/County Library, and that it reflect the environment to which it will be situated, as well as the surrounding architectural elements. He felt this piece meets the criteria requested. He explained the piece has an engineered base, which he would like to be of red brick, which will tie it in with nearby buildings. He gave a detailed description of the piece, noting above the base is a diamond plate to give it an industrial look, and about that the 16 panels depict variations of transportation from the early Chumash to more modern times. He noted there would be a low-voltage light inside that illuminates the piece so that the background of the Palm trees and grizzly bears will be outlined. He also noted some abstract designs are included in the piece which are similar to car treads. He distributed a color sample that depicted the shades of powder coating proposed. Eric Wand, graphic artist for the art piece, explained his portion was the “public information” section of the obelisk that will be near eye-level with the 16 “historical transportation” panels. He felt that adequate research has been done to find a variety of different topics and will incorporate photographs and historical imagery from the County Historical Museum, the library, and other sources, that will be incorporated ARC Minutes May 19, 2003 Page 6 along with the text and descriptions of those images. He added that the proposed materials are impervious to external criteria such as the elements and vandalism. Christine Cornejo explained that some of the smaller details were removed at the request of the Committee to make each panel visible and aesthetically pleasing. Wilt Carlton, glass blower, explained that because the tiles are 12-14 feet tall, he needed something graphic without much detail. He described the selected “x” and “o” as the universal physics symbols of coming and going, which would be depicted in abstract form. He explained that they would be mounted in the metal frame with silicone. He noted the flames at the top will be 14-16 inches tall and will also be mounted with silicone. Christine Cornejo clarified that the location of the art piece is in the center tree well, and this tree well was originally thought of as a future public art piece location. The existing tree is in a planter container and can be easily removed. She also noted the footings will be recessed down into the well, and there is existing water and lighting to that well. On motion by Commr. Boudreau to find that the proposed public artwork, with the added condition that the base of the sculpture be modified to have steps that are 7-inches to 9- inches high, or to be a color that will contrast with the surrounding concrete and brick so that it is not a tripping hazard, meets the City’s Public Art Guidelines. Seconded by Commr. Root. AYES: Commrs. Boudreau, Root, Howard, Smith, and Stevenson NOES: None ABSENT: Commr. Lopes ABSTAIN: None The motion carried 5-0. COMMENT AND DISCUSSION: 4. Staff: A. Agenda Forecast: June 2, 2003: Review of a new monument pole Ford Dealership; Pizza Brokers changes in the public art and outdoor seating; Morin Brothers Automotive proposing a 2,400 square foot addition and caretakers unit; Review of park improvements for proposed Chinese garden. June 16, 2003: Modifications to Mission Plaza for better circulation. 5. Commission: A. Lessons Learned: Chairperson Stevenson complimented the new office building on Walnut Street. ARC Minutes May 19, 2003 Page 7 With no further business before the Commission, the meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. to the next regular meeting scheduled for June 2, 2003, at 5:00 p.m. in Council Hearing Room. Respectfully submitted by Irene E. Pierce Recording Secretary