MINUTES CITY OF GRANBURY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013 The Granbury Historic Preservation Commission of the City of Granbury, Texas convened in regular session on Thursday, June 27, 2013. Notice of said meeting giving date, place and subject thereof having been posted as prescribed by Article 6252-17 V.A.T.C.S. with the following members present: Carrie Young * Chairperson Stan Wasielewski * Member Sara Baker * Member Carol Lippincott * Member Shirley Hooks * Member Bob Pannell * Vice-Chairperson Shad Rhoten * Planner Lauren McPhate * Recording Secretary Absent: Kay Collerain * Member A. CALL TO ORDER B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of June 13, 2013 Ms. Baker made a motion to approve the Minutes for June 13, 2013. Ms. Lippincott seconded the motion and the vote was to approve. MOTION TO APPROVE 5-0 Ms. Carrie Young enters the meeting. C. REGULAR AGENDA 1
Consider and act upon a request for a Certificate of Appropriateness (C. of A.) to allow for the placement of a wall sign on the building sited on the property addressed as 100 N. Crockett Street. The applicant is Mr. Jerry & Jenna Hitt, property owner of the Fillin Station. Mr. Rhoten addressed the Commission stating the owner has previous approval on a 2 x 2 sign from the Commission on May 23 rd. The owner now wishes to place a 4 x 4 sign in lieu of the previously approved sign to be located on the wall next to the front door. It is understood that the colors approved on the previous sign would apply and they are colors from Lowe s (Valspar Paints). RED-La Fonda Fire Berry (1010-1); YELLOW-Mark Twain House (3011-3); BLACK-Lincoln Cottage (4009-2) and BLUE-Montpelier Wedgewood (4004-6A). Ms. Lippincott made a motion to approve the request as presented. Mr. Wasielewski seconded the motion and the vote was to approve. MOTION TO APPROVE 6-0 Consider and act upon a request for a Certificate of Appropriateness (C. of A.) to allow for the placement of a wall sign on the building and new faceplate installation for a freestanding sign located at 307 W. Pearl Street. The applicant is Mr. Jeff Johnson with Signmasters acting on behalf of the property owner. Mr. Rhoten addressed the Commission stating the applicant proposes to install the following signage: 1. A 22 sq. ft. wall sign (9.5 w x 2.3 h) over the tenant space. The facade would allow for signage up to 110 sq. ft. The sign color will be black. The signage will be attached to the building fascia, however it is unknown if new holes are required to support the sign. The HPC has the latitude to allow new holes in the fascia as this is not a historic building (approximate construction date 1976). 2. Apply vinyl lettering to the blank sign face plate on the existing freestanding side adjacent to Pearl St. The vinyl letters are red, royal blue and black. The lettering will be placed directly on the sign face plate and the face plates will not be removed. The application does not indicate if the vinyl letters intended for the freestanding sign are in accordance with a Historic Color palette. The applicant will use black lettering for the wall signage. The HPC can require the vinyl letters to be matched against a historic color palette if so desired. Although face plat changes/refaces do not require a sign permit outside the Historic Overlay, any material change in color does require a C. of A. within the Historic Overlay. The size of the wall sign complies with the size suggested by the Historic Design Guidelines. As stated previously, it is unknown if new holes are required to support the sign, however the HPC has the latitude to allow new holes in the fascia as this is not a historic building. 2
Kristi Davenport, owner of the business addressed the Commission stated if they needed to match colors from the historic color palette they would do so. Mr. Pannell made a motion to give staff the discretion to approve signs submitted by the applicant as long as they are from the historic color palette. Ms. Baker seconded the motion and the vote was to approve. MOTION TO APPROVE 6-0 Consider and act upon a request for a Certificate of Appropriateness (C. of A.) to remove two live oak trees greater than 6 in diameter sited on the property addressed as 308 E. Pearl St. The applicant is the City of Granbury. Mr. Rhoten addressed the Commission stating The City of Granbury Parks Department is requesting to remove two (2) live oak trees from the Langdon Center property addressed at 308 E Pearl St. The Parks Department has assessed the two trees are dead. The trees are 13 and 24 in diameter. The trees apparently died over the winter. Staff recommends approval of the request. Ms. Baker made a motion to approve the request as presented. Mr. Wasielewski seconded the motion and the vote was to approve. MOTION TO APPROVE 6-0 Consider and select the preferred background design (texture) for the new landmark plaques. Mr. Rhoten addressed the Commission stating On April 25 th the Historic Commission opened an agenda item and discussed new companies and related costs to fabricate the Granbury Historic Landmark plaque. This was due to the fact that the previous company casting the plaques for the city was out of business. Mr. Abrigg worked with the Commission and obtained quotes from interested businesses and forwarded the costs and design for Commission action and approval. The selected company has come back to the city and has an offering of three (3) different backgrounds which can be cast into the landmark. Staff is requesting that the Commission choose one preferred background on the approved design. It appears that the Fine Stipple background texture is the most similar to the previous landmarks cast. Mr. Pannell asked if the Fine Stipple background texture within the medium price range. Mr. Rhoten stated he understood all of the samples are within the medium price range. 3
Ms. Lippincott made a motion to approve the Fine Stipple background texture. Ms. Baker seconded the motion and the vote was to approve. MOTION TO APPROVE 6-0 D. DISCUSSION Discuss proposed new sign design for the property addressed as 114 W. Pearl Street (Babe s Chicken House Granbury). Mr. Rhoten addressed the Commission stating the applicant proposes to install the following signage: 1. A 15 tall and a ~54 sq. ft. area (by rectangular calculation) or ~40 sq. ft. (by oval shape specific calculations) freestanding sign is proposed by the applicant to initiate a discussion with the Commission (see attached sign elevation). As stated by the applicant, this proposed freestanding sign will replace the existing freestanding sign currently fronting Pearl Street. The owner of the Babe s franchise and sign contractor initiated a conversation with city staff regarding the need for their freestanding sign to be more visible than the one presently placed on-site. After some discussion, it was suggested that the applicant take an idea or two to the Historic Commission and under an agenda discussion (non-action) item use the feedback from the Commission to obtain a greater understanding on what may be considered as a workable solution and then submit a Certificate of Appropriateness request based on those discussions. In summary, the applicant has submitted a sign elevation with a cross section of his proposal. At first glance, the sign shown exhibits cedar post which fit into the structures architectural design. Additionally, the proposal suggests an acrylic face with a cabinet containing neon lighting. The applicant has also submitted perspectives on how the sign would look placed along the street frontage if constructed. The Commission may give the applicant commentary on the color, material, height, lighting, etc., on which to base his next submittal. Mr. Rhoten stated regarding the illumination and height of the sign when the design guideline were adopted, it was for the location of the central square itself. The design guidelines give a brief description of free standing signs saying they need to maintain some kind of relationship to the building or area. It does not give a lot of information on height or size of the signs rather than we have always gone by what the zoning ordinance allows which is 7 foot height, 75 sq. ft. In the historic district, the last couple of free standing sign averaged 7 to 8 feet in height, and 20-40 ft of advertising. This sign is considerably larger in both respects, the height and advertising. Regarding the illumination value - the design guidelines suggests each sign in the historic district should remain illuminated from an exterior kind of source not internally illuminated. 4
Mr. Paul Vineyard, the owner, stated they have had a harder than expected time in Granbury. In listening to their customers, they have a problem finding the restaurant. Mr. Vineyard presented figures in comparison with two other Babe s restaurants and in all Granbury (by population) does much less business than the other two stores. Granbury $686 per seat / 8,845 per seating Burleson - $1,058 per seat / 13,000 per seating Roenoke - $2,058 per seat / 24,874 per seating Mr. Vineyard addressed the Commission stated the new sign would be a tremendous advantage to the Babe s restaurant to where people can find them. They spend more in Granbury on billboards than any other store just to try to get people to find them in their particular location. Exposure is everything, and feels like it could make a real difference in their business in the long run. Mr. Mark Ulrich, sign contractor addressed the Commission stating they plan on using neon lighting. There is a clear acrylic face in front for protection. This is a bold style sign The style and fabrication is basically the same as they had back in the 30 s. There is better phosphorous for the neon- get truer colors, and they use aluminum instead of steel so there are no rust issues. Ms. Lippincott asked if the sign would stay lit just while they are open for business and then turned off. Mr. Vineyard stated it would generally stay lit 24-7 so people recognize where the business is if they are driving through. Ms. Baker asked Mr. Rhoten if there were any other neon lit signs in the historic district. He stated he did not know of any. Ms. Baker asked if they had given any consideration of getting rid of the vines for more visibility. He stated you still could not see the business until you are almost directly in front of the restaurant. Mr. Wasielewski stated they should find a sign which is unique to the property. Based on the visibility issue, he does not have a problem with the sign but does not particularly like the lighting. Ms. Young stated she does not have a problem with the sign (height, design, or color) but stated it should have the exterior lighting like all the other signs around the square. Ms. Baker stated if they allow a 15 ft. height sign they would have to allow a 15 ft. height sign for everybody. Mr. Wasielewski disagreed with Ms. Baker stating in the design guidelines, if it is unique to the property, it is the HPC s call. Ms. Lippincott stated they would need the sign this high to be visible. Mr. Pannell stated in this particular location the sign even being 15 feet, would be below the top of the building. Mr. Pannell stated he does have a problem with the neon lighting and does not feel it fits in with the historic district. Mr. Wasielewski asked if they could not use a goose neck type lighting from the top of the sign. Mr. Ulrich stated he is sure the first signs on this building were neon signs back in the early 1900 s. Any other type of lighting will not make the sign pop like a neon light would. Ms. Young stated the property is in a unique area and the city has guidelines to protect the integrity of the area and she feels like they could easily make the sign unique to their business without going against the guidelines. Ms. Baker stated they need to make sure the colors used for the sign are from the approved historic palette. 5
F. ADMINISTRATION G. ADJOURNMENT With there being no further business, Chairperson Young adjourned the meeting at 5:03 pm. Chairman Attest: Secretary 6