Simsbury, CT - Design Review Board Minutes 06/10/2008

Design Review Board Minutes

Chairman Dahlquist called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices. The following members were present: Richard Schoenhardt, John Stewart, Kevin Gray, Rita Bond, Anthony Drapelick, Charles Stephenson and John Carroll. Mark Naccarato arrived at 5:35 PM. Also present were Mr. Hiram Peck, Director of Planning, and Alison Sturgeon, Commission Clerk.

II. APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES

Chairman Dahlquist appointed Commissioner Bond to serve in the absence of Commissioner Gardner and Commissioner Carroll to serve in the absence of Commissioner Naccarato.

III. PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE VOTE

a. Application of Joel D. Weisman for 7 Deer Park Road, LLC - Owner, Richard Mercer, Agent, for Site Plan Amendment for a mechanical room expansion at 7 Deer Park Road.

Tom Lane, of Tom Lane Design in West Hartford, stated that the applicant is proposing to use the front half of the building as a yoga studio. He stated that the footprint is being expanded for a mechanical room in the back and in the front for an entryway and stairwell. They are proposing to use a dark red brick stucco finish on the building. Mr. Lane showed the Board a sample material of the stucco.

Mr. Lane stated that the building will have a canopy with a shallow pitch supported by brackets. They are also proposing a roof awning to help keep the sunlight off of the windows.

Commissioner Stewart questioned how this proposal was different from the earlier presentation. Mr. Lane stated that the stucco is now darker and the color on the brackets are flushed out. He stated that the entryway is also more detailed.

Commissioner Stewart asked what the applicant was planning to do with the back half of the building. Mr. Lane stated that they are looking for a tenant. Regarding the parking lot, Commissioner Stewart questioned if it was big enough to accommodate another tenant. Mr. Lane stated that there is more than enough parking to accommodate different uses, depending on the possible tenant in the back of the building. Also, there cannot be any parking within 25' of the street; there are additional parking spaces, although they are not striped.

Chairman Dahlquist questioned if the applicant was proposing any landscaping. Mr. Lane stated that they were proposing a vegetative screen to help screen this property from the residential neighbors. Also, they will be adding vegetation of bush level plantings along the building. Mr. Lane stated that a Landscaping Plan has not yet been done.

Commissioner Stephenson questioned if the overhang went all the way around the building. Mr. Lane stated that the overhang terminates at the entryway and the mechanical room; it does not go around the entire building.

Regarding if the window treatments would be changed all the way around the building, Mr. Lane stated that he was not sure what kind of tenant might be going into the back of the building, so the windows will remain the same until then.

Commissioner Stewart questioned if parking spaces #27 & #28 were acceptable to the Town. Mr. Peck stated that they have met the requirements and that these two parking spaces, which are inside of the garage, are acceptable.

Chairman Dahlquist questioned the Board members if there was sufficient information to make a determination in terms of material presented. Commissioner Schoenhardt stated that the applicant has answered their questions, although they do not have anything documenting those answers. He feels that the Design Review Board needs to have plans that can be referenced.

Commissioner Stewart questioned if the applicant was proposing any signage on the building. Mr. Lane stated that they would be coming back before this Board for signage at a later date. Chairman Dahlquist stated that any lighting that was being proposed would need to be seen by the Board also along with the Landscaping Plan to see the buffer from the residential abutters.

Commissioner Stephenson stated that this plan is better than the previous plan. The choice of colors is appropriate and the brackets compliment the overhang nicely. He feels that the applicant is going in the right direction.

There was a consensus by the Board that more information would be needed before any recommendations could be made. Chairman Dahlquist stated that the Design Review Board would not take any action; the applicant will need to come back with more information at the next meeting.

b. Application of W. F. Curtiss, Owner, A. N. D. Management, LLC, Agent, for a Site Plan Amendment for a proposed Convenience Store on property located at the Sunoco Gas Station, 125 West Street. B-2 Zone.

Attorney Donohue distributed designs for the gas station along with plans showing the bump out for the walk-in cooler. He stated that this building is located at 125 West Street in the center of Town; it is an existing Sunoco Gas Station. Attorney Donohue stated that the applicant has already received approvals for the installation of a canopy from the Zoning Board of Appeals. He stated that this site will be nearly the exact same footprint as it is now.

Ramese Coda stated that there are minimal changes to the Site Plan. The two changes are the proposed canopy and the upgrade to the façade. He stated that the three gas pumps and the one diesel pump will be kept the same. Regarding the fascia of the canopy, they are not sure of the brand of gas they will be selling, so they will be taking a closer look at that in the future. Mr. Coda stated that they are proposing the three bay garage to be a convenient store. They are also proposing a walk-in cooler in the back of the building. They are also proposing to install a handicapped bathroom along with handicapped parking.

Mr. Coda showed the Board the existing elevations of the building and the new stucco façade where the three bays would be taken out. They are proposing earthy tones for the window trim on the front and the sides of the building. They are not proposing the stucco finish for the back of the building, although they will keep the color consistent with the front and sides of the building. Mr. Coda did not have samples to show the Board but will get them to the Board as soon as possible.

Chairman Dahlquist stated that the applicant indicated that the canopy would be a 36" flat laminated fascia. He asked Mr. Coda to explain this in more detail. Regarding the fascia applied to the canopy, Mr. Coda stated that the material would be sections of metal panels. Chairman Dahlquist questioned if there would be any lighting under the canopy. Mr. Coda stated that he did not have those details at this time, although he would provide this information to the Board.

Commissioner Bond questioned if the applicant was proposing any landscaping. Mr. Coda stated that they would be upgrading the landscaping and also adding some planters.

Commissioner Carroll stated that he feels the applicant has an opportunity to do something more with this site. He stated his concerns that the adjacent buildings look more residential than business. Also, he feels that the proposed colors are fine, although depending on the brand of gas that the owner may wish to sell will dictate the logo and other colors. He questioned how this would be dealt with. Mr. Coda stated that when brandings are converted, there is signage that goes into this. If the applicant decides to change anything, they would come back before this Board.

Commissioner Stewart stated that he agrees with Commissioner Carroll. His concern is that the building being proposed is not appropriate for this area. He would like to see more of an effort made for the building to fit into the center of Town. He stated that there is an opportunity for the applicant to make the building more appropriate for this area.

Commissioner Drapelick stated that he does not have a problem with the design of the building. He feels that it is an improvement and he would not vote against it as it is being proposed.

Commissioner Stephenson stated that this is a good start, although he feels that the applicant should study how the fenestration is handled and broken down, not necessarily having less, but how it is treated.

Commissioner Gray stated that he feels that more can be done with this building; there is an opportunity to do more.

Commissioner Schoenhardt agreed with Commissioner Stephenson that the windows where the bays were should match the rest of the windows. He also feels that the stark white canopy will be distracting. He would recommend, if possible, that the canopy match the color of the stucco. If that is not possible, he would like to see the canopy a gray color.

Commissioner Bond stated that she would also like to see the canopy match the color of the stucco. She also recommended that plantings be planted to soften the features of the gas station and to make the entryway more appealing.

Commissioner Naccarato stated that the proposed building looks more commercial; he sees this building as a landmark. Also, regarding the walk-in cooler, if this can be seen by the residents on Bushy Hill Lane, he would like the back of the building to be stucco also.

Mr. Peck stated that the applicant has been successful at the Zoning Board of Appeals. Also, the circulation of one way in and one way out traffic works well. He stated that the comments from this Board regarding the windows and having the canopy blend in are good ideas that the applicant can look into.

The applicant asked for more direction regarding the windows. Commissioner Stephenson stated that they should put articulation within the glass and that all of the windows should match in the front of the building.

Chairman Dahlquist stated that no action will be taken on this application tonight. The applicant is invited to attend the next meeting on June 24th. This will still allow the applicant to go before the Zoning Commission prior to their deadlines.

IV. CONTINUATION OF DISCUSSION AND DESIGN OF TOWN GATEWAY SIGNS

Chairman Dahlquist distributed pictures of a monumental brownstone sign that was designed by Dean Johnson. He stated that this sign group is now only looking into initially replacing the Gateway signs. They would also like to use the wording that the Design Review Board came up with: Town of Simsbury, Est. 1670.

Regarding the monumental sign created by Dean Johnson, this sign has a brownstone base with a carved or painted 6" thick sign. This sign is similar to the Free Library sign. The sign also had metal work around the top of the sign. The Board members were not in favor of having the metal work around the sign the way it was depicted. They discussed other options and possibilities.

Regarding the slope of the sign, Commissioner Schoenhardt stated that as it slopes, it needs to be very narrow at the top otherwise it will hide part of the sign. If there is some way to elevate the sign more, leaving space will improve the visibility of the sign.

Commissioner Stewart stated that he would not want the sign to be too massive. Commissioner Schoenhardt stated that he likes the idea of the metal framework around the sign; it adds some interest and distinction, although he does not feel that it should have a contemporary look. Commissioner Stewart stated that Mr. Johnson took something that is somewhat contemporary but brought it back to a more traditional look by making it simple.

The Design Review Board believes that this is a great start.

Chairman Dahlquist stated that he received a thank you letter from a teacher at the High School. Recently, he was asked to speak at the High School for their business program to talk about design review and the approval process.

Mr. Peck stated that they started out with putting together both a RFQ and RFP, which is often done. Through the process, they decided to only put together the RFQ to allow consultants to submit their qualifications and discuss how they would approach the process. The two primary goals are to look at the Town Center and prepare, using a Charrette process, a form based Regulation for the Center. Everyone has agreed that the center should be the focus of attention. Secondarily, they will take a look at the other areas in Town that are on two maps in the POCD. One is the Economic Development map and the other is the Special Areas map. Mr. Peck believes that the Town will receive approximately 8-10 responses to the RFQ. They will interview some of the firms and will invite 3-5 to make proposals. He stated that he is still hopeful that the Charrette process can be started in September and have the form-based Regulation in place by the end of the year.

Mr. Peck stated that they are also considering having a public opinion poll in regard to economic development in Town. Many people wanted to know what the people of Simsbury want to see in terms of overall development. This information will be needed prior to going forward with the Charrette process. He stated that they are looking for an objective professional consultant to do this survey by the end of August.

VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES of May 27, 2008

Commissioner Stewart made a motion to approve the May 27, 2008 minutes as written. Commissioner Stephenson seconded the motion, which was approved. Commissioners Carroll and Stephenson abstained.

Commissioner Stephenson made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:58 p.m. Commissioner Drapelick seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.