Loading...
10-16-2019 DRC MinutesCITY OF ORANGE DESIGN REVIEW COMMITEE MINUTES – FINAL October 16, 2019 Committee Members Present: Anne McDermott – Chair Mary Anne Skorpanich – Vice Chair Tim McCormack Carol Fox Robert Imboden Staff in Attendance: Marissa Moshier, Historic Preservation Planner Robert Garcia, Senior Planner Kim Kinsler, Administrative Assistant Jessica Wang, Administrative Specialist Regular Session – 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Committee Members McCormack, Skorpanich, Imboden, McDermott, and Fox were present. FLAG SALUTE: Vice Chair Skorpanich led the flag salute. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Opportunity for Members of the public to address the Design Review Committee on matters not listed on the Agenda. There were no speakers. CONSENT ITEMS: (1) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: September 5, 2019 (2) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: September 18, 2019 Committee Member Skorpanich made a motion to approve the consent calendar as emended to staff. SECOND: Imboden AYES: McCormack, McDermott, Fox, Skorpanich, and Imboden NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None MOTION CARRIED. City of Orange – Design Review Committee Final Minutes for Meeting on October 16, 2019 Page 2 of 5 AGENDA ITEMS: Continued Items: (3) Design Review No. 4980-19 - Caesar Residence  A proposal to construct a new detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) behind an existing single-family residence. The property is a contributing historic resource within the Old Towne Historic District. The proposal was continued by the Design Review Committee (DRC) on September 5, 2019.  166 N. Cambridge Street  Staff Contact: Kelly Ribuffo, (714) 744-7223, kribuffo@cityoforange.org  DRC Action: Final Determination Marissa Moshier, Historic Preservation Planner provided an overview of the project consistent with the staff report. Michael Mocaby, project contractor, spoke on behalf of the project. He explained the changes made to the project based on the DRC comments from September 5, 2019. Chair McDermott opened the public comment portion of the meeting. There were no speakers, but the Committee disclosed they received an email from Jeff Frankel from the Old Towne Preservation Association opposing the project as presented. Chair McDermott closed the public comment portion of the meeting. The Committee had comments and questions on the following:  Lack of drawings or illustration that show context of the proposed building to the existing.  Discrepancy in the square footage of the existing building.  Applicant should review the Design Standards for Old Towne which recommends that infill development should meet the average FAR of the historic properties on the block.  Structure is too large for the lot and lot coverage is unlike other properties in the area.  The Building Department may not approve the plans due to size of the rooms. Habitable rooms require a 7 foot minimum; they may be forced to push the wall out another foot once it goes to plan check.  The Committee cannot make the required findings as stated in the report; the open space between buildings does not maintain the character and a sense of place in Old Towne.  Secretary of Interior Standards require that the relationship between buildings on the site be maintained ; the entire site is nearly covered with building.  Open space is deficient and out of character with the historic patterns in the District. The separation between the existing structure and the proposed structure is being achieved by cutting the eaves which is unacceptable.  At the prior meeting, the Committee stated that cutting the eaves is unacceptable; eaves are still cut in the new proposal. A possible solution would be to remove the 1962 addition from the historic structure in order to meet their needs. City of Orange – Design Review Committee Final Minutes for Meeting on October 16, 2019 Page 3 of 5 Mr. Mocaby and the Committee discussed potential solutions to increase open space on the property and agreed to continue the item in order to address the Committee's concerns. Committee Member Fox made a motion to continue Design Review No. 4980-19 - Caesar Residence based on the comments made in the discussion. SECOND: Imboden AYES: McCormack, Skorpanich, McDermott, Imboden, and Fox NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None MOTION CARRIED. (4) Design Review No. 4843-16 – Chapman Apartments (Orange Collection)  A request for approval of the final design elements pertaining to the office parking structure.  3800 W. Chapman Avenue  Staff Contact: Robert Garcia, (714) 744-7231, rgarcia@cityoforange.org  DRC Action: Final Determination Robert Garcia, Senior Planner, provided an overview of the project consistent with the staff report. Tarek Shaer, representative for the applicant, spoke on behalf of the project and provided an overview of the changes made in response to the DRC's prior comments. Chair McDermott opened the public comment portion of the meeting. There were no speakers. Chair McDermott closed the public comment portion of the meeting. The Committee had comments and questions on the following:  The Committee is pleased with the landscape development.  The Committee would like the plans to reflect the reduction in green screens.  The Committee discussed the types of vines on the parking structure and placement of the green screens on the north and west elevations.  The Committee expressed concerned about the depth of the footings on the parking structure and if they are deep enough to accept soil on top of them for the proposed plants.  The Furcraea plant tends to become very large; the Committee suggested finding alternative options.  The Committee discussed ceiling lights on Floors 4-7 of the parking structure and whether they could be seen from below.  The Committee and applicant discussed the color of the elevator tower. City of Orange – Design Review Committee Final Minutes for Meeting on October 16, 2019 Page 4 of 5 Committee Member Fox made a motion to approve Design Review No. 4843-16 – Chapman Apartments (Orange Collection) based on the findings and conditions listed in the staff report with the additional conditions and recommendations as follows: Conditions:  The green screen vine pockets shall all have a minimum of 2 feet of soil above the footings.  Green screens at the west façade shall be added in two additional locations on the planting plan per the exterior elevation.  The green screen at grid line 9.5 shall be one floor higher than drawn on Exhibit A 3.3.  The Ficus vines shall be changed to a 1 gallon instead of 5 gallon.  The Tristania “BRI” needs to be changed to Tristania “CON” to match the legend. Recommendations:  The applicant has the option to paint the building with one of the colors that was presented and approved, instead of using both colors and, with the approval of staff, have the option to paint the elevator tower a shade darker.  Boston Ivy may be mixed in with Ficus vines. SECOND: McCormack AYES: McCormack, Skorpanich, McDermott, Imboden and Fox NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None MOTION CARRIED. New Agenda Items: (5) Design Review No. 4981-19 – St. John’s Courtyard  Applicant is requesting final approval of the design of the refreshment and information counters prior to building permit issuance. The project was approved by the DRC on September 18, 2019 subject to review of refinements.  185 S. Center Street, Old Towne Historic District  Staff Contact: Marissa Moshier, (714) 744-7243, mmoshier@cityoforange.org  DRC Action: Final Determination Marissa Moshier, Historic Preservation Planner, provided an overview of the upgrades to the courtyard consistent with the staff report. Stephanie Shermoen, representative for the applicant, spoke on behalf of the project and provided an overview of all the changes that were made to the plans per the DRC's comments and recommendations at the September 18, 2019 meeting. Chair McDermott opened the public comment portion of the meeting. There were no speakers. City of Orange – Design Review Committee Final Minutes for Meeting on October 16, 2019 Page 5 of 5 Chair McDermott closed the public comment portion of the meeting. The Committee had questions and comments on the following:  The grade change of the courtyard and how the applicant needs to be cautious in setting the level and height of the counter.  The need for a toe kick or providing a cantilever at the counters.  The type of brick on the columns and underneath the countertops; the Committee suggested eliminating the bullnose brick.  Integrating electrical outlets and lighting into the design to avoid conduits being placed as an afterthought.  The planter height needs to be corrected on Sheet 5. Committee Member Imboden made a motion to approve Design Review No. 4981-19 – St. John’s Courtyard subject to the findings and conditions in the staff report with the following: Conditions:  The applicant shall be allowed to have a plus or minus 36-inch counter at the information center.  A full course of brick shall remain between the lower accessible counter and the higher counter of the information center.  A 3-inch overhang shall be included at the higher countertop of the information center.  The full dimensional brick shall be used, as opposed to bullnose, to match the existing courtyard columns.  The flat brick surfaces shall be laid in a pattern that does not use 45° miter cut.  The planter heights shall be adjusted to 18 inches high at the information counter. Recommendation:  The applicant can consider replacing existing bullnose brick on the existing planter at the back of the courtyard with full dimensional brick to match the remainder of the project. SECOND: Skorpanich AYES: McCormack, Skorpanich, McDermott, Imboden and Fox NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None MOTION CARRIED. ADJOURNMENT: Chair McDermott adjourned the meeting at 8:09 P.M. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 6, 2019.