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Home My WebLink About04-02-2018 Item 4 - Cooper1 Tonikian, Victoria From:Allan Cooper < Sent:Saturday, March 31, 2018 1:40 PM To:Davidson, Doug; Leveille, Brian; Advisory Bodies; CityClerk Subject:667 Monterey Street Attachments:103_31_18...lettertoarc.pdf Dear Doug and Brian - Would you kindly forward the letter attached below to the Architectural Review Commission so that the Commissioners will have time to read it before their Monday, April 2, 2018 meeting? Happy Easter and thanks! - Allan To: Architectural Review Commission and Brian LeVeille, Senior Planner Re 667 Monterey Street - Review of revisions to a previously approved mixed-use project in the Downtown Historic District From: Allan Cooper, Secretary Save Our Downtown Date: March 31, 2018 Honorable Chair Wynn and Commissioners - Staff states the following: “The proposed revised project has a modern style more reﬂective of contemporary design intent…” and “The project site is in a transition zone of the Downtown where development includes buildings with varying heights and architectural styles…” and “The modern elements of the revised design also appear compatible with the contemporary design of the neighboring Children’s Museum”. With the exception of the Children’s Museum, there is no other indication presently that this could be described as a “transition zone”. And staff has misidentiﬁed the Children’s Museum as a “contemporary design” structure. The Children’s Museum was an attempt, albeit crude, to reﬂect the warehouse aesthetic that once prevailed at this end of town, i.e., the reconstructed Soda Water Works, the Bambu Batu, Old World Rugs and Antique Boutique building with its characteristic stamped metal and corrugated metal siding and the concrete block and corrugated metal aesthetic of The Creamery which will be further accentuated with The Creamery Marketplace (more corrugated siding) and 560 Higuera Street (more concrete block). 1023 Broad Street Creamery Marketplace 560 Higuera It should further be emphasized here that 1010 Nipomo Street (the Children’s Museum) has been singled out on page 40 in SLO’s “Historic Preservation Program Guidelines” as a “non- contributing architectural style” and therefore does not qualify as a standard for “compatibility” in this otherwise historic neighborhood. On page 15 of SLO’s Community Design Guidelines you will ﬁnd under the heading “general architectural design guidelines”: “Design factors that contribute to neighborhood compatibility include: a. Appropriate design theme;…d. Appropriate colors, textures, and building materials.” In order to scale down an already over tall structure please ask the architect to reconsider, as was recommended by the CHC, using the color white throughout. The design theme for this building calls to mind two other buildings (see below) designed by the same architectural ﬁrm. The ﬁrst was proposed to be located on Olive Street (which is clearly not located within an historic district) and the second was proposed to be located at 1321/1327 Osos Street. The latter project was located within the Downtown Historic District and was denied by the CHC at their June 23, 2014 meeting. The project encompasses 38,420 square feet, including an adjacent site for additionalparking. The property is now home to four buildings and a 15-space parking lot. It isaccessed by pedestrian and vehicle trafﬁc on Higuera Street as well as a parking lot offNipomo Street. It sits along San Luis Creek and lies next to a medium-high densityneighborhood. A rendering shows how the Creamery would look after a proposed remodel and expansion. The largest component of the project is the construction of a new, 2,880-square-foot commercial building along the western property line called the Farmer’s Building, which will house up to four retail units done in an agrarian-industrial design, according to a staff report. A structure on the east side of the property used for years as a storage facility behind Ciopinot on Nipomo Street will be converted into a taqueria. The existing parking lot will make way for a 400- square-foot pedestrian courtyard, and the remodel of an improved trash enclosure will be built next to Spike’s Pub. Spike’s will demolish its back room, which was built in the 1980s and is considered a nonhistoric addition, and construct a new back room as a secondary dining area. That back room will include a rollup door opening to a patio as part of the plaza. The project also entails extensive repair and repainting to the existing structures, installation of metal awnings, and a complete landscape remodel. Parking will be moved off-site to an adjacent parcel at 560 Higuera St. p a g e 6 g a r c i a a r c h i t e c t u r e + d e s i g n g a r c i a a r c h i t e c t u r e + d e s i g n 1 3 0 8 m o n t e r e y s t r e e t , s u I t e 2 3 0 , s a n l u i s o b i s p o , c a l i f o r n i a 9 3 4 0 1 p h o n e 8 0 5 . 7 8 3 . 1 8 8 0 f a x 8 0 5 . 7 8 3 . 1 8 8 1 w w w . g a r c i a a r c h d e s i g n . c o m Site & Landscape Design In conjunction with the revised building architecture, site and landscaping improvements for this infill redevelopment project will continue to include hard and soft-scape public areas, including drought-tolerant, climate appropriate plantings and materials. The existing vehicular driveways off of Monterey Street will be consolidated into a single private vehicular access point for the project, in order to reduce traffic conflicts and provide more street exposure for pedestrian- oriented commercial uses. Where possible, additional on-site landscape areas will be provided to complement and enhance the aesthetics and sustainable architecture of the proposed project. The strategically located upper level common walkways not only provide an architectural break on each level, but will be treated as an inviting communal area to encourage interaction between the residential users. The exterior ground-floor commercial pedestrian paseo areas will be finished in colored and textured concrete or paver materials, intended to enhance the pedestrian experience and provide human scale.. All new on and off-site plant material will be drought tolerant and irrigated with typical water-conserving systems. In addition, all required residential parking for the proposed project will be provided on-site via private basement-level parking garage. The basement level will also provide required short and long-term bicycle parking, designed to encourage alternate modes of transportation. Proposed commercial signage will consist of building or canopy-mounted identification signage to denote the various commercial retail businesses on the ground floor, along with wall- mounted icon or individual logo signs to denote individual business within the development. All business and directional signage will be integrated into the architecture of the project, including building and address numbers located along the public way. All proposed signage will comply with the city’s adopted sign regulations. Attachment 4 CHC 3 - 31 Pacific Courtyards Project (ARC 96-13; 1321 & 1327 Osos Street) Cultural Heritage Committee - June 23, 2014 Page 8 Osos Street The Osos Street building elevation has a flat roof and substantial amounts of glazing. It is lower in height than the adjacent historic church to the west and somewhat taller than the rectilinear and flat roof Rio Bravo apartments built in 1918 to the east. Figure 5 includes a comparison between the plans reviewed last November and the current proposal (Sheet 2 of the comparison plans). Staff’s Analysis: Looking at the two elevations side by side, a case could be made that the original version with its darker base and neutral palette appears more recessive and is as compatible as, or more compatible than, the revised version. The advantage of the revised elevation is that it has more modulation in wall planes afforded by the second and third level decks and the void created by the central courtyard above the podium. In addition, the elevation includes ground floor fenestration provided by having some office space at the street level. However, neither elevation complements the streetscape and both look overly severe and boxy. Figure 5. Osos Street elevation CHC1 - 8 As you can see from the above four illustrations, a reoccurring signature architectural element is the use of large, heavy grid-like elements which frame deeply recessed large plate glass windows and cantilevered balconies. Per SLO’s HPP Guideline 3.2.1 “New structures in historic districts shall be designed tone architecturally compatible with the district’s prevailing historic character as measured by their consistency with scale, massing, rhythm, signature architectural elements, exterior materials, siting and street yard setbacks…” As you would readily concede, the three “contemporary” buildings below, which clearly reiterate these signature architectural elements, would never be allowed in our Downtown Historic District. Thank you! p a g e 8 g a r c i a a r c h i t e c t u r e + d e s i g n g a r c i a a r c h i t e c t u r e + d e s i g n 1 3 0 8 m o n t e r e y s t r e e t , s u I t e 2 3 0 , s a n l u i s o b i s p o , c a l i f o r n i a 9 3 4 0 1 p h o n e 8 0 5 . 7 8 3 . 1 8 8 0 f a x 8 0 5 . 7 8 3 . 1 8 8 1 w w w . g a r c i a a r c h d e s i g n . c o m 3. The project complies with all applicable City Design Guidelines; 4. There currently exists adequate public facilities, services and utilities to serve the proposed project; 5. The size, scale, and building design features are highly suited to the site and surrounding neighborhood, and will be compatible with the character of the current and future land uses and development intended for the surrounding neighborhood by the General Plan and Zoning Code; 6. The site is adequate for the proposed project, has access to existing public streets; and 7. The establishment and operation of the proposed project will not be detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of persons residing or working in the vicinity of the proposed project, nor will the project be detrimental or injurious to neighboring property or improvements, nor the general welfare of the City. Given the city’s goals and objectives to seek and provide more infill residential housing units, especially in the downtown core, this revised project will meet the city’s current desire and vision to encourage more in-fill redevelopment, as well as support the city’s short and long-term policy objectives for inclusionary housing components within mixed use redevelopment projects. Summary Monterey Place will bring long anticipated redevelopment to neglected, in-fill parcels of land along the historic Monterey Street downtown district. This environmentally responsible Smart Growth in-fill project will also help fulfil the city’s mandated goals of providing additional market- rate and affordable housing units to the greater San Luis Obispo region. Attachment 4 CHC 3 - 33