08/12/2002 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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.'A Mrs. Heil came forward and pointed out that she wants to change her driveway from blacktop to cement. Mr. Barker asked if she would be changing the configuration of the driveway in any way. Mrs. Heil said there may be a bit more depth back by the garage. It is a detached garage and it will give them more room to turn around. P. Barker made a motion to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness for Frances Heil, 25427 Butternut Ridge, to change driveway from asphalt to concrete per request. The motion was seconded by M. Davis and unanimously approved. s Certificate of Appropriateness for pouglas E. Baldi 26706 Butternut Ridge Road. Proposal consists of changing existing driveway to brick. Mr. Corell pointed out that Mr. Baldi was not present. He inentioned that a buildinD permit had already been issued for the project. Mrs. Davis indicated the bricks are already there at the property. Mr. Barker indicated he spoke with Annie Kilbane in the Commissions Office. Mrs. Kilbane informed Mr. Barker that she believes the permit was submitted and that W. Conway, the Building Commissioner, has arranged for Mr. Baldi to go to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Mr. Barker added that this goes back to their last meeting. They discussed having the responsibility for telling people where they can or cannot put their driveways. In the building code it specifies that a driveway must be either concrete or asphalt. Brick is not mentioned, and that is his concern. He wondered if they could grant a certificate of appropriateness provided it is approved by all other boards and coininissions. He said they are going against the building code. He mentioned the letter from Law Director Dubelko that addressed the issue. Mr. Barker said that Landmarks does not have the charge to tell Mr. Baldi what to do or not do. He said he thinks brick is a good idea and it goes along well in the historical district, but his concern with true brick is that the area will be maintained. If a new owner comes in, a brick driveway could present a problem. Mr. Corell asked for Mr. O'Malley's thoughts on the issue. Mr. Corell said in terms of whether one material is used or not, it is specified in the code, it is not for the board to decide which material because they are both legitimate materials. In this instance the only thing he sees is that the ordinance isn't completely silent on the subject of brick. Mr. O'Malley said he would not disagree if the building commissioner has determined that the resident has to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals. He said the memo he wrote was in response to the building commissioner's request of the board to make a ruling as to whether or not a certificate could be waived under certain circumstances. He said for some time now the City Council has had before it and considered whether or not to expand the exempt activities that might not require a certificate of appropriateness. The suggestion was made that there might be some areas where the coinmission might not have an interest in matters and the resident might by-pass the commission under certain circumstances. He said perhaps switching from blacktop to cement would make a good example of an area where the commission need not be involved. Mrs. Davis pointed out that both materials are according to code. Mr. O'Malley said the legal question is what is the scope of the commission's function on location, materials, color, and historical significance. Mrs. Davis said it depends a great deal on what the structure is to begin with. Mr. O'Malley indicated that Council was cautious of this. It started off as a concept of a minor change format, which is a procedure used by the Planning Commission where certain changes can be made without a full-scale hearing. It was difficult to outline procedures for a minor change. They are currently considering trying to identify certain activities that might be exempt from a certificate of appropriateness. He would ask the Council and the building commissioner to permit the Landmarks Commission to review that legislation when it is being considered. Mr. Corell asked if it would be helpful for a group from the board to sit down with someone from the Law Department and their representative on Council, John Dailey, to try to give them an idea of things that need to be incorporated so they can move the process on. He said this has been talked about for a couple of years. The board's concern is they are putting residents through 2