##VIDEO ID:bYUoJ4xA2mg## the city of C gaes historic preservation board we are residents of progress we are residents of crl Gables and are charged with the preservation and protection of historic or architecturally worthy buildings structure sites neighborhoods and artifacts which impart a distinct historical Heritage of the city the board is comprised of nine members seven of whom were appointed by the commission one by the city manager and the ninth is selected by the board and confirmed by the commission five members of the board constitute a quorum and five affirmative votes are necessary for the adoption of any motion any person who acts as a lobbyist pursuant to the city of CR Gable's ordinance number 2006-11 must register with the city clerk prior to engaging lobbying activities or presentations before City staff boards committees Andor the city commission a copy of the ordinance is available in the office of the city clerk failure to register and provide proof of registration shall prohibit your ability to present to the store preservation board and applications under consideration this afternoon the lobby is defined as an individual Corporation partnership or other IL legal entity employed or retained whether paid or Not by a principle who seeks to encourage the approval disapproval adoption repeal passage defeat or modifications of any ordinance resolution action or decision of any City Commissioner any action decision recommendation of the city manager any City board or committee including but not limited to quasi judicial Advisory Board trust Authority or counsel or any action decision or recommendation of the city of City personnel during the time period of the entire decision-making process on the action decision or recommendation which foreseeably will be heard or reviewed by the city commission or a city board or committee including but not limited to quasi judicial Advisory Board trust Authority or counsel presentations made to this board are subject to the city's false claims ordinance chapter 39 of the city of CR Gable city code I now officially call the city of K G preservation board meeting of August 21st 2024 to order the time is 410 present today are to my left Miss Rolando Miss da Mr Maxwell to my right Miss ban Mr danana Mr BOS and myself Caesar Gracia [Music] Pond um approval of the minutes we have three different minutes to be approved today I'm going to call them out individ ually for a Voice vote um can I get u a motion or does anybody have any comments related to April 17 2024 is there a motion to approve to approve a second uh uh any vote no no okay motion passes 1 two 3 four five 7 nothing how about June 20th 2024 move to approve motion Mr Belle second second Mr Maxwell any Mr B I moved to approve you did yes yeah second Mr Maxwell oh I'm sorry I thought you were looking for the nothing um any comments all in favor I I okay motion passes 70 July 17th 2024 motion to approve motion Mr Maxwell second Mr BOS any comments all in favor I I okay motion passes 70 um notice regarding expar Communications please be advised that this board is a quasi judicial board and the items on the agenda are Quasi judicial in nature which requires board members to disclose all expar Communications any expar communication is defined as any contact communication conversation correspondence memorandum or other written or verbal communication that takes place outside of public hearing between a member of the public and a member of the Quasi judicial board regarding matters to be heard by the qu judicial board if anyone has made any contact with a board member when the issue comes before the board the member must State on the record the existence of the expart communication the party who originated the communication and whether the communication will affect the board member's ability to impartially consider the evidence to be presented regarding this matter does anybody have any expart Communications they wish to disclose at this time no deferrals madame pess are there any deferrals for today's meeting no thank you ma'am uh swearing in um if you're if you're going to speak today before the board if you can stand to be sworn in by staff of the clerk thank you yes ma'am right I was going to ask but every time I ask I say wait till the item is there anybody in Zoom that wishes to be sworn in yes I will be speaking Lu we need to have you on camera okay hey and Elizabeth G but I can't can someone undo my camera let's do the gentleman first and then we'll do Elizabeth let's do the gentleman first and then we'll do Elizabeth can you put the gentleman on the screen please do you see me on the screen yes please would you raise your right hand please prob we can't hear you I I cannot hear do you swear or firm the information you'll give today will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you thank you do we need a Lizabeth at this time or can we do it later sure that St needs to be okay the host open her camera please add Elizabeth Gwyn as a co-host [Music] cgtv Mr the chair why don't you move along and then want to I just asked and I was told to wait there we go okay hey Elizabeth would you raise your right hand please do you swear or firm the information you'll give today will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you okay I'm going to start with the first item unless there's any reason not to Mr Maxwell we have a change uh request for a change in the agenda sure uh vice mayor Ronda Anderson has uh made a request to make a brief presentation uh to update this board on the city hall project is Miss Anderson here um she's right outside thank you welcome Madam vice mayor thank you I sorry went to use the ladies room that was quick that was quick it was quick yes um but I I didn't want to trouble you guys too much but I did feel that I need to share with you some of the most recent information we just received on City Hall structural issues and why have taken some of the positions that I've taken trying to make sure that we take care of the infrastructure budget wise sure if you could speak to the mic ma'am I'm sorry it's a little thank you so much it's a little low appreciate not a problem so I I'll repeat I wanted to make you all aware being historic preservation some of the most recent information we received regarding City Hall and it will explain some of the positions that I've taken as far as where we need to put the money in the budget and I'm going to share the report with you and it's self-explanatory it's stated uh July 30th and um I didn't get it until about August 7th but uh anyway I'll hand out copies to you all and hopefully we can um work through this issue together and make sure we take care of this uh building of ours that's a gem okay that's it I just wanted to share it with you so we're just going to read it and come back ask you any questions well you know we'll have more meetings I'm sure we're going to have more meetings on this because you all have to see you know the plan and what we want to do with City Hall you know we need engineering drawings we need architectural drawings uh we need establish plan for the as I called it making sure the bones of this building are intact and then we can proceed to take care of the more decorative features on the on the building itself so I think it's self-explanatory that we need to we need to move forward okay greatly appreciate it thank you thank you Madame vice mayor you can come by anytime if your presentation is going to be that short hey thank you that's a hint to the rest of you thank you thank you so much mayor thank you um all right so we have this information we'll take a look at it maybe have it on an agenda it for next meeting um but uh thank you for bringing it over um great so we're going to start with the agenda that we have before us today which is the first item is case File lhd 224-8430 the East 10 ft of Lot 2 block 26 Carl Gables Grenada kurl Gables Grenada section revised according to the plat thereof as recorded in plat book 8 at page 113 of the public records of Miami day County Florida Madam Paras cjtv the presentation please the property at 1144 Milan Avenue is before you for consideration for designation as a local Historic Landmark the application was submitted by the owner at the request of the board of Architects the single family home was designed in 1923 by Martin Hampton as per article 8 section 88-103 of the Coral Gable zoning code criteria for design of historic landmarks a local Historic Landmark must have significant character interest or value as part of a historical cultural archaological aesthetic or architectural Heritage of the city state or Nation for designation of property must meet one of the criteria outlined in the code 1144 Milan Avenue is eligible as a local Historic Landmark based on three criteria historical cultural significance criteria four it exemplifies the hisor hisorical cultural political economic or social trends of the community architectural significance criteria one it portrays the environment in an era of History characterized by one or more distinctive architectural style criteria two it embodies those distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or period or method of construction the property at 1144 Milan Avenue sits on a 60 by 104 lot in the Granada section on the property or a single family home and a detached garage both permitted in 1923 and they retained their original style and character Coral Gables was originally conceived as a suburb of Miami and attracted investors from Across the Nation during the south Florida real estate boom of the 1920s mer Drew from the Garden City and City beautiful movements of the 19th and early 20th century to create his vision for a fully conceived Mediterranean inspired city which is now considered one of the first modern plan communities in the United States the city's developmental history divided into three major historical periods during the initial developmental period architectural design specifically combine elements commonly used in Spanish moris and Italian architecture the home at 1144 Milan Avenue was commissioned by Coral Gable's founder George Merrick and designed by Martin Hampton a member of his design team it espouses Merck's Mediterranean ideals and is a very early example of what are now known as the Coral Gables Cottages the 1921 map on the left shows the layout of Coral Gables when the first Lots went on sale in November of 1921 initial sales were in the direct vicinity of Mer's Homestead in section A circled here in Red Sales were very successful and the remainder of the land was divided into sections B through I as seen on the map on the right and offered for sale through 1922 as sales took off Merrick looked to expand his land Holdings records indicate he expended a tremendous amount of time extending his Holdings North to the tamami trail in the area highlighted in purple note that he initially only held Lots on either side of Granada Boulevard denoted as section f by Fall 1923 section F which is highlighted here in green was significantly expanded mer renamed this area the Granada section and directed hundreds of workers to lay Street sidewalks and water mains Milan Avenue was the southern border of this section and is the red line on this plat map in the Granada section mer began to develop Street Scapes following Garden City precepts unlike earlier sections it was platted with large areas allocated for smaller moderately priced homes to Showcase his vision Meritt commissioned architect H George Fink Martin Hampton and Lewis Brum to design 58 Mediterranean inspired homes to demonstrate that those smaller the moderately priced homes in Coral Gables would have the same quality of construction and Aesthetics as the larger homes in the Granada section Merck stated that these 58 homes would quote embody new and radical departures from the usual type of small house designing with compactness beauty and comfort that will appeal to smaller families each home will be a differently finely detailed design end quote their distribution of the 58 homes was 12 on Ferdinand Street 18 on Genoa Street eight on Milan Avenue six on Capri Street and 14 on pazara Avenue these one-story homes were the first of what would later be classified as Coral Gables Cottages the eight homes on Milan Avenue commission by George Merck are shown here by the Red Blocks 1144 Milan Avenue was one of these homes and is denoted by the orange arrow as intended these homes provided a model for and sparked interest in developing Milan Avenue with moderately priced homes the blue blocks here are the other homes on the street buil built afterwards in the 1920s Lan Avenue retains this historic context to date developing these streets was a source of Pride for Merck in 1925 he stated frequently at night Mrs Merck and I drive through Coral Gables we go into the moderate price sections and we find something which gives me even more pride in the accomplishment of an ideal people who formerly use stock plans can now have a well-appointed home it's gratifying to see the different in the attractiveness of one of our very moderately priced homes as compared to a house of similar cost in the unrestricted section of Miami the home at 1144 Milan Avenue was one of the earliest Coral Gables cottages and it played a significant role in the development of this typology in the city mer chose to develop Coral Gables as a Mediterranean inspired City because he felt that this type of architecture harmonized best with South Florida's climate and lifestyle Eric also encouraged and partially funded his team's tours to Europe to study Mediterranean architecture and bring back drawings and new insights on South Florida adaptations during the late summer 1923 Martin Hampton spent several weeks on such a tour and the home at 1144 Milan Avenue was one of his first designs after returning the home includes many additional prominent and character defining features of the Mediterranean Revival style which include but are not limited to those shown here of particular note is the pecky Cypress roof Ensemble and its two-piece Barrel tile the decorative front parit and the shoulder chimney stack the one-story house is built of masonry block units covered with a textured stucco a smooth faac slightly protruding masonry base wraps around the home enclosing its crawl space the living space is under a flat roof with parapets of varying Heights the parit copings are simple curves and periodically a canal inspired recess is cut out the windows throughout the home are recessed with protruding Sills the windows were originally casements changed to jalaes in the 1950s and to the current awning windows in 1982 the 1982 permit specifies that there were no changes to the size or placement of the windows round vents Decor arranged in triangles are above many of the windows on the side facades the front facade is comprised of a projecting living space Bay a recess covered front porch and an extended Wing wall the wing wall visually extends to the porch stairs at each end of the wall is terminated by a bookend Pier another narrow Wing wall projects at the rear of the porch the protruding living space at the Eastern end of the facade is punctuated with a centered simple pent paramit it's recessed slightly from the running parit which is cut out to form a negative image of the pediment at the Western end of the front facade is the entry porch and its shed roof Ensemble which is a Hallmark feature of the home home the porch roof is supported by Cypress Rafters whose ends are decoratively carved and project beyond the roof a Cypress lentil is likewise elegantly carved with a bracket against the wall at its eastern end and a decoratively carved tail at the open Western end the underside of the lentil is carved with undulating Manor and a series of molded drop balls are attached periodically across its fan the open end is enclosed by a barge board inspired feature the vertical Cypress boards have carved ends and between some of the boards are small diamond cutouts the porch roof is clad in two-piece Barrel tile The Ensemble was originally supported by a carved spindle post there was also a spindle railing along the western end of the porch Hampton provided a detail of them in the original permit these elements are replaced with metal elements at an unknown date also at it was the curved metal step railing originally another Cypress detail adorned the front facade and complemented the porch feature centered below the pediment is a double window the window originally had a carved wood Cypress surround as seen in the historic 1940s photo on the left it appears it was removed and perhaps partially stucked over in the 1950s when the casement windows were replaced with the jales the outline of the feature is still visible in the stucco as seen here on the right mhm Rising above the parit near the porch on the west facade is a prominent projecting chimney stack it has two distinctive shoulders the First on its northern side aligning with the top of the windows and a second on the South Side Rising above the parit as seen here the West facade retains its original configuration including the connecting garden wall to the garage it should be noted that during this era in Coral Gables it was not unusual for some features to be changed during construction in this home the use of square Vents and the cross formation was chained to Circular Vents and a triangular formation and the placement of the chimney shoulders was flipped oh the home has two small infill editions one at the rear Terrace shown in blue and another protruding at the center of the East facade shown in yellow both have flat roofs with no parapets which AIDS in distinguishing them as additions and the parapets of the original home are still clearly delineate the original footprint of the home the difference in Stucco texture also clearly demarks the additions no permits have been located to date for them however by early 1940s there were newspaper ads for a room bath and living room with a separate entrance hence by this time it's likely that the sleeping porch had been enclosed for a bedroom and the rear Edition was in place with its separate entry stair at the southwest corner of the property is the original detached garage the doors were initially Carriage doors and were changed prior to 1980 a permit for the work has not been found to date as seen in the original permit a garden wall with a gate ran between the northeast corner of the garage and the southwest corner of the house while the gate and some of the wall is no longer extant a portion of the wall still exist at both Corners in conclusion the single family home at 1144 Milan Avenue was one of eight homes commissioned by by City founder George Merrick in 1923 in accordance with Garden City precepts that guided Merck's development of Coral Gables he planted smaller Lots on some streets in the new Granada section intended for modest homes American Vision Milan Avenue as a street of moderately priced attractive homes he commissioned three members of his design team to demonstrate that these smaller homes be built with the same highquality construction and Mediterranean Revival style features as other structures that shaped the new city in the early 1920s the houses on the street are amongst the earliest of what are now known as the Coral Gables Cottage and they played a significant role in the development of this genre in the city in 1993 the City of Coral Gables passed the Coral Gables Cottage ordinance to recognize the importance of the cottages and offered zoning incentives to Aid in their preservation the home at 1144 Milan Avenue was designed designed in the Mediterranean Revival Style by architect Martin Hampton in the summer 1923 Merck sent him on a European tour to study Mediteranean architecture and bring back drawings and new insights the home at 1144 Milan Avenue was one of his first designs after returning the details of the home such as the porch roof Ensemble and the chimney shoulders demonstrate a new architectural vocabulary to the evolving Mediterranean Revival style in Coral Gables hence the property at 1144 Milan Avenue significantly contributes to the historic fabric of the City of Coral Gables and staff recommends approval of its local historic designation based on its historical cultural and Architectural significance thank you anything else from staff put um Elizabeth on the screen please she needs to provide a statement hello again Elizabeth Gan the historic preservation coordinator and just for the record this presentation was a brief summary of the historic designation report that was prepared by staff thank you is that it Miss penus I know that we received a number of um letters of support can you st who they're from and what projects they're from I'll give you a minute while we sort of ask is there anybody from the ownership group um here that wishes to speak you don't have to I I don't see them but this was um submitted by the the property owner um we do have letters of um support and all the public comment that was received in advance of the meeting was distributed to the members nothing was received after that this morning um we have letters from uh Jamie and Zuli Paro um Mary Bell bamon Alice goldhagen this is not this one U Mr Bret Gillis and they're all in support yes yeah um the historic preservation Association of Coral Gables sorry I had them all together and that is all that I have for this address thank you um does anybody have any questions for staff if not I'll go to public comment and then come back I have a quick question I'm sorry I have apologize um H was this already designated as a Coral Gables Cottage early on okay we can't see you shaking your heads no it was not thank you with the Indulgence of the chair I would like to move to approve no public comment then I'll bring it back oh any questions for staff okay um opening up for public comment does anybody wish to speak in favor or opposition of this case closing public comment bring it back to the board happy to entertain any discussion or motion and if you're going to make a motion please be specific sure uh so I would like to move to approve uh the local historic designation of the property at 11:44 Milan Avenue legally described as lot three on the East 10 ft of the Lot 2 block 26 section revised based on historic cultural architectural significance incorporating by reference the staff's report the presentation made today as well as all the public um letters that received in support um can I ask you you agree with the three Criterion as selected by staff Criterion 41 and two incorporating uh the my agreement and agreement of the board with the criteria outlined uh as hey historic cultural significance criteria four exemplifies the historical cultural political economic and social trends of the community B architectural significance Criterion one portrays the envir the environment in an area historic or history characterized by one or more distinctive architectural Styles and Criterion two embodies those distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or period or method of construction thank you Mr BOS is there a second second second go ahead M second by Mr orando um any discussion yes Mr Maxwell I really think that you know Martin Luther Hampton was one of the most significant architects in all of South Florida he designed many of the most significant buildings I think one of the criteria should be you know going forward and it should be stated as a criteria that by an architect of significance yes but that's not one of the criteria we've run into issues in the past with that because the criteria state is a is an outstanding example of a significant architect and so um we just need to be careful on what we consider outstanding uh I would agree with you on his caliber of Architects but I'm not sure that this is necessarily one of his outstanding pieces of of work if we lose any more of these it will be so is there a friendly Amendment or you just making a statement okay thank you Mr Maxwell I'd also like to say that window that wood window round on that front elevation was made all the difference and I hope whoever renovates this house um it's it makes all the different so I thought I found it to be very attractive um great we have a motion and a second can we call the rle Please Mr danana yes Miss D yes Miss Spain yes Mr Rando yes Mr Banos yes Mr Maxwell yes Mr Garcia Pon yes motion passes 7 nothing next item case File lhd 20246 consideration of the local historic designation of the property at 3920 Durango Street legally described as lot 6 block 46 CW Gables Country Club section part three according to the plat thereof as recorded in plat book 10 at page 52 of the public records of my mid County Florida um K Gables TV please you can load the next presentation the property at 3920 Durango Street is before you for consideration for designation as a local Historic Landmark the designation is at the request of the owner in July 2023 there was a fire on the second story of the home it was declared not fit for habitation and has been vacant since the current owner purchased the property in September 2023 with the intention of restoring an adding to the house as per article 8 section 88-103 of the Coral Gable zoning code criteria for designation of historic landmarks a local Historic Landmark must have significant character interest or value as part of the historical cultural archaeological aesthetic or architectural Heritage of the city state or Nation for designation a property must meet one of the criteria outlined in the code 3920 Durango Street is eligible as a local Historic Landmark based on three criteria historical cultural significance criteria four it exemplifies the historical cultural political economic or social trends of the community architectural significance criteria one it portrays the environment in an era of History characterized by one or more distinctive architectural style and criteria two it embodies those distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or period or method of construction 3920 Durango Street is in Coral Gables Country Club section part three is located just north of the intersection of University Drive and Bird Road East of the bmar golf course it sits on an interior 50t x 110 ft lot which includes a single family residence and a detached auxiliary building it has retained its original style and character George Merck founded Coral Gables in the early 1920s based on his vision for a fully conceived Mediterranean inspired City the city's developmental history is divided into three major historical periods during the initial developmental period architectural design specifically combine elements commonly used in Spanish Morris and Italian architecture and has come to be known as the Mediterranean Revival style during the 1920s structures and amenities were built almost exclusively in accordance with the style the construction of this home at 3920 Durango Street occurred during this initial phase simultaneous to the incorporation of the city nationally acclaimed landscape architect Frank button drew the first comprehensive maps of Coral Gables in 1921 and 22 one of which which is on the left of this slide in the mid 1920s Amica announced plans for a premier Hotel and golf course at this time sections GH and I which were primarily undeveloped were reworked to accommodate the large $10 million builtmore Hotel complex these three sections were divided into six and renamed Country Club sections part 1 through six as seen here also Scenic boulevards were added such as Ocean Beach Drive which was later a renamed University Drive the home of 3920 Durango Street was built in this area in Country Club section part 3 which is outlined here in blue with the unbridled Florida lamb Boom the influx of new residents and winter visitors resulted in a housing shortage in South Florida by the mid 1920s as Coral graes grew exponentially so did its Workforce and the construction of homes and Coral Gables could not keep pace this coupled with the acute housing shortage in the region presented a challenge which by 1925 merik was trying to meet head on mer began a multi-prong approach to the issue he provided temporary housing in the form of tent city as seen in the photo on the upper left he commissioned the San Sebastian apartment hotel for employees and their families and he reached out to ml Rosenberg an Atlantic Builder and a close personal friend who agreed to build 10 apartment buildings in the Douglas section which would accommodate 128 families merik also wanted to provide the option of single family homes as a result of his trip to Atlanta to broker the deal with Rosenberg Merck's investment opportunity and needs came to the attention of Lindsay Hopkins and Herbert Nichols Lindsay Hopkins who is pictured here was a nationally acclaimed investor he was the director of the Coca-Cola Company the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Reynolds Metal Company he was also intensely interested in aviation Automobiles and road development and real estate all passions shared by merik but probably most important to mer was that Hopkins with his partner Herbert Nichols a prominent Builder were responsible for most of the homes in Druid Hills Druid Hills an exclusive suburb of Atlanta was initially planned by the premier landscape architect Frederick La Alstead in 1893 in 1908 it was sold to ACD Candler the president of Coca-Cola and developed in large part by Hopkins and Nichols between 1910 and 1936 Druid Hills is now listed on the national register for historic places this was one of several high-profile and successful Endeavors Hopkins and Nichols undertook under their Builder finance and Mortgage Company Hopkins and Nichols approached Merck in early 1925 with a large building program it was to include the construction of 500 single family homes at this time Merck had several criteria he was asking potential investors to demonstrate they had to show the ready capital and an understanding of his vision for the city they also had to have experience in building at at a large scale in a planned Community as well as the ability to mobilize quickly and independently of construction currently underway and Coral Gables to meet this last requirement Hopkins shipped 10 Railway car loads of building materials and submitted plans to build a concrete plant in Coral Gables thus in April 1925 with the purchase of the first 50 Lots the submission of architectural drawings a contract was issued and the plan was announced these 50 Lots were purchased in undeveloped sections 30 of the homes were concentrated in the Coconut Grove section just south of the plan San Sebastian apartment hotel which broke ground a few months later and the other 20 were scattered over Country Club sections part 3 4 and five which wrap around the southern portion of the Miami builtmore golf course which was then under construction these 50 homes were designed either by Architects H George Fink or Frank Wyatt Woods who are both members of Merck's design team as agreed some of the homes were moderately priced for Working Families the permit for 3920 Durango Street was approved in early June 1925 along with six other Hopkins Nichols homes in the country club section part three the permit book records it as permit 1204 however while the drawings of the homes for the other six permits match what was built the plans associated with 124 do not the most likely explanation relates to the permitting process at the time C Gables was incorporated in April of 1925 and began officially permitting plans in August prior to this may Coral Gables Corporation approved plans and track them by legal addresses in August the city began assigning permit numbers and they asked that all Architects and Builders who had constructed buildings in the city submit the approved plans the city then retroactively assigned permit numbers since Nicholls was submitting over 70 plans at the time it's possible that the plans for the home at 3920 Durango Street were switched with another Nicholls home research is ongoing to determine if this was the case even without the original plans it's clear that the home was built in late 1925 contemporaneous to the other six nickels homes in early January 1926 new newspapers report the first owners of 3920 Durango Street Daniel and Susan redf had moved in newspapers also confirm that the home was built under the Hopkins Nichols contract as it records the title transfer from the Builder finance and mortgage company to the red FNS a few months later the first 50 homes of the Hopkins Nichols contract were designed either by H George fank or by Frank Wyatt Woods while both our ARS were designing in the Mediterranean Revival style they had distinct interpretations with f leaning more towards Spanish and Morris precedence and woods leaning towards the Italian thus it is often clear who designed which home in the case of 3920 Durango Street the features in the massing are in keeping with Frank's design furthermore it is very similar to another home he designed for the Hopkins nll contract that was built in the Coconut Grove section at 318 alicio Avenue the elicio home has the same massing and layout as well as similar features to 3920 Durango Street hence staff is com comfortable in attributing the design of the home at 3920 Durango Street to H George Fink 3920 Durango Street is a one and two story residence with a detached garage building built in the Mediterranean Revival style this slide list some of its character defining features of particular note are the textured stucco the front entry classical coin suround and swooped Hood Ensemble and its vertical plank front door The prominent Bell Tower inspired chimney the low pitched roofs clad in two-piece Barrel tile its wing walls as well as the pork cusher with crenelated parapets Barrel tile copings and masy lentils over its openings the single family residence constructed with masonry block units is built over a crawl space and clad with texured stucco at the northeast corner of the home Rises to two stories under a hipped roof the roof pitch is shallow with minimal overhang and until recently was clad in two-piece Barrel tile apart from the front shed roofed Florida room the remainder of the living space is under a one-story flat roof whose parapets have simp copings the original Windows throughout the home were casements in a divided light configuration with high profile muttons and protruding Sills permits for the change in window type have not been located to date in reviewing historic photos it is discerned that by 1977 the Florida room was enclosed with awning windows and the current single hung windows were installed throughout the home between 1980 and 2006 the asymmetrical front facade has at a core a two-story portion of the home extending from it to the South is the on story Florida room and to its North the POR Kare at the front corners of the POR Kare on the Florida room simple footed Wing walls flare out one Hallmark feature of the home is the front entry the front door appears to be original to the home it's a vertical plank door with a Diamond cutout window embellishing the entry is a masonry coin surround and a swooped hood the hood in the surround have a smooth texture with contrast with the textured stucco of the home the merine lentils of the porer openings and the protruding seals of the home are also smooth in texture and provide visual links also note the crenelated parapets of the POR cusher with a two-piece Barrel tile in its valleys another Hallmark feature is the large chimney Rising through the porer along the north facade in an odd to Spanish Colonial architecture it is reminiscent of the belfrey as seen in the historic photo on the right there was originally a final cap feature that also had a smooth texture it was damaged in a windstorm in 1996 and not replaced on the front facade until recently there was a metal window box holder below the center Second Story window in keeping with the Spanish Colonial influences the ornamentation of the remainder of the home is simpler with the entry as the Prime Focus along the north side of the home running behind the Porco Sher to the garage auxiliary building is a wood deck and trellis a pair of French doors lead out onto it from the dining room at the rear of the home the original back porch area and its Bay is retained at the northwest corner of the property is the garage auxiliary building as early as 1930 newspaper ads and City directories document that there were servant quarters attached to the garage by 1944 the bace was being rented out and remained a rental unit for decades at an unknown date the garage door opening was inclosed and it's now listed as a guest house some of the alterations to the front facade of the structure are obvious from the stucko pattern the rigal floor plan from 318 Aliso Avenue is shown on the right here with a current plan from this home the layout and the sighting of the auxiliary building and its loia connection to the servant quarters to the home is likely similar to the original plan for this home certain aspects of the current front facade suggest that it may have been altered early early in its history note that the window sill on the southern window on the second story is slightly lower than its counterparts also note that the shed roof over the Florida room is truncated halfway AC over the second window think designed hundreds of homes and Coral Gables in the 1920s and the overall impression of these elements is not wholly characteristic of his designs a closer examination reveals a distinct line in in Stucco at the southeast corner of the Second Story a comparison of this home to the very similar home designed by thinket 38 alisio Avenue May yield the answer in the Aliso home both the front and the back corner of the Second Story above the Florida room and the porch area are notched resulting in a protruding stair Hall Bay currently in this home only the rear corner is notched the location of the stucko es however suggest the front corner was also originally notched the earliest historic photo of this home found to date dates to the early 1940s the alteration if it occurred predates this photo note that the stule line and change are present in the early photo a permit was granted in September 1936 for General repairs to the home the plans or the work description has not been located to date however it fits the time frame for the alteration it is staff's opinion that the front faad was probably more in line with 318 Aliso Avenue and the southeast corner of the home was built out since the home is about to undergo restoration of the second story as a result of the recent fire there may be an opportunity to verify and document it 3920 Durango Street remains as one of approximately 100 homes built by Nichols and Hopkins after the 1926 hurricane due to the declining economy amongst other National issues Hopkins and Nichols reduced their contract with Merck in return Hopkins provided the final necessary financing for the San Sebastian and eventually he purchased it in 1928 as you can see in these early aerial photos the home at 3920 Durango Street was one of the few Mediterranean Revival homes built in this area of the city and it stands as a testament to Mer's vision for Coral Gables hence the property exemplifies the historical cultural political economic and social trends of the initial development of the history of this community in conclusion the single family residents at 3920 Durango Avenue constructed in 1925 and in the Mediterranean Revival style exemplifies the the Menat tranan ideals espoused by City founder George Merrick and is indicative of the type of architecture that was the founding premise of Coral Gables financing construction by nationally acclaimed team of Lindsay Hopkins and HW Nichols it represents an integral piece of how mer developed Coral Gables the home is one of a handful of the homes built in this initial phase in Country Club section part three and it is part of a collection of quality buildings that serves as a visible reminder of the history and the culture cultural heritage of the city the property of 3920 Durango Street retains its architectural integrity and significantly contributes to the historic fabric of the City of Coral Gables hence staff recommends approval of the local historic designation of the property at 3920 Durango Street based on its historical cultural and Architectural significance thank you Elizabeth do you have a statement to make in addition to the presentation yes I do Elizabeth Gan historic preservation coordinator and just for the record again this presentation is a brief summary of the historic designation report that was prepared by staff thank you anything additional by staff is the owner of the property here Ander wish to speak you don't have to Great okay um any um Miss B can I have the letters of recommendation or excuse me the public comment public comment received in support of the designation was by um Jamie and zulie Paro um okay read my own handwriting now miss bamon Elise goldhagen U Mr Bret Gillis and the Carell carbonel on behalf of the hpac thank you any questions for staff well I do Mr just briefly given compared to the Milan property that we just decided a little while ago okay this one perhaps because they're permitting it's not you you don't have the plans and things like that and you lost the permit uh if the board decides to approve is there any additional language that should be referenced in order to make sure that if there's any future question as with the signation that that is covered so this designation actually came about uh because the new property owner who purchased it um was kind of seeing what they can do with the property the the property um has significant fire damage right now um so we did I walked through the property with her and her architect kind of explain the incentives of historic designation and she has been working with the architect to go do a restoration of the house and an addition at the rear so that'll be coming for before you in the next few weeks it did go to boa last week I believe last week last week and was deferred with comments so it they're already implemented a lot of the designation and restoration work that we would like to see and they've been working with us so so no additional language nothing within the designation criteria that you need to add thank you Mr vanel um I'm going to any other additional questions for staff okay let me uh open it to public hearing does anybody wish to speak in favor or an opposition to this case hearing none bringing it back to the closing public he and bring it back to the board um any discussion amongst ourselves or entertaining a motion I would like to make a motion with the Indulgence of the chair uh to approve the local historic designation on the property at 3920 Durango Street legally described as lot six block uh 46 corg Gables Country Club section part three according to the plat der off as recorded in the plat book 10 of page 52 of the public records of Miami day County Florida based on his historic cultural and Architectural significance incorporating by reference the staff's report the uh presentation made uh during the the the meeting along with the commentary in uh in support all commentary that was received by staff I'm further outlining that the reasoning is uh is that the property meets several criteria specifically a historic cultural significance Criterion four exemplifies historical cultural political economic and social trends of the community B architectural significance Criterion one portrays envir the environment and area historic characterization by one or more distinctive architectural Styles Criterion two embodies those distinguishing characteristics of architectural style or period or method or construction thank you Mr banel is there a second I'll second second by Mr Dano any discussion any amongst the board members okay n let's call the role okay Mr yes Miss Rando yes Miss Spain yes uh Mr dananana yes Mr Banos yes Mr Maxwell yes Mr Garcia Pals yes motion passes 70 thank you um I'm going to read the next item in case File lhd 202 24-7 and COA 224-0235 historic designation of the property at 4722 alhamra Circle legally described as lot 11 and 12 block 79 corl Gables Country Club section part five according to the plat thereof as recorded in plat book 23 at page 55 of the public records of mday County Florida the applicant is also requesting the issuance of an accelerated special certificate of appropriateness and design approval for the demolition of the original auxiliary structure additions and additions to the residents and site work um Miss Quinn do you need to read some um make a statement before the presentation surely hello again Elizabeth G and historic preservation coordinator and the following presentation is a brief summary of the historic designation report prepared by staff thank you can we get the Mr chair before we begin begin the presentation if I may make a brief comment please um I just want to be clear that we're considering two items here today the designation and the accelerated COA um if it's all right with you Mr chair I would suggest that we um do the designation first have a motion on that and then have a separate presentation on the COA after that separate public comments separate presentations Etc just for the record that would be great let's do it thank you great I think we're ready for the presentation cgtv the property at 4722 alhamra Circle historically known as 4722 Ferdinand Street is before you for consideration for designation as a local Historic Landmark this designation is before you as a result of a historic significance determination application filed by the owner as per article 8 section 8-13 of the Coral Gable zoning code criteria for designation of historic landmarks a local Historic Landmark must have significant character interest or value as part of the historical cultural archaeological aesthetic or architectural Heritage of the city state or Nation for designation a property must meet one of the criteria outlined in the code 4722 alhamra circle is eligible as a local Historic Landmark based on three criteria historical cultural significance criteria 4 it exemplifies the historical cultural political economic or social trends of the community architectural significance criteria one it portrays the environment and era of History characterized by one or more distinctive architectural style and criteria two it embodies those distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or period or method of construction the property at 4722 alhamra circle is a 100 foot by 105 ft Corner Lot in Country Club section part 5 on the property or single family home and attached garage both permanent in 1925 there have been no additions to the structures and they retained their original style and character George Merck founded Coral Gables during the south Florida real estate boom of the 1920s mer Drew from Garden City and City beautiful movements of the 19th and early 20th Century to create his vision for a fully conceived Mediterranean inspired city which is now considered one of the first modern planed communities in the United States nationally acclaimed landscape architect Frank button drew the first comprehensive maps of Coral Gables in 1921 and 22 during the early 1920s sales were highly successful and Mer continued to substantially increase his land Holdings in March 1925 meric announced the purchase of 6,8 along bisc Bay it included the Coco Plum Beach property from James and Charles Dearing and it was to house the University of Miami an extensive Waterway system a high school and recreational amenities Merck named it the Riviera section during this time lot and home sales were booming and Merrick's vision for Coral Gables continued to expand likewise Merrick's Workforce also grew Crews were needed to clear the land build the structures lay the streets and sidewalks as well as create some of the larger Ventures such as the builtmore Hotel and golf course seen here under construction in the photo on the right and of course there was the sales force and the office staff who are pictured here in a 1923 Photograph by the mid 1920s the available housing could not keep Pace with the demand in both Coral Gables and throughout South Florida by 1925 Merck began a multi-prong approach to this issue he provided temporary housing in the form of tent city a seen here in the photo on the upper left he commissioned the San Sebastian Apartments and he began to invite investors to work with his own Coral Gables Corporation who could provide their own construction management and quickly mobilize the ad of the bottom of the slide posted in June 1925 was specifically for investors for the new Riviera section George Merck always dreamed big and he found a kindred spirit in Myers Cooper on August 2nd 1925 meric announced a $75 million contract with Cooper to expand the architectural vocabulary of Coral Gables in a controlled and exciting manner from Ohio Cooper was a financier and the head of a well-established construction company in Cincinnati to finance this endeavor he spearheaded the formation of the American building corporation which was comprised of a group of Cincinnati capitalists in August 1925 a fullpage ad in the Miami Herald entitled a Riviera house explained their plans for this new section mer described the early Mediterranean inspired homes of Coral Gables as initially heavily influenced by Spanish prototypes which involved to include moish Italian and French precedents and likewise the Riviera section ction would evolve too he asserted that while Coral Gables would remain a primarily Mediterranean inspired City the new Riviera section would have contained zones or Village type groupings where new distinctive International Styles would be produced it was later dubbed The Village project due to a combination of factors The Village project was never completed however a number of the distinct groupings were started seven of these Villages are now designated as historic districts am's vision for the Riviera section was that it was to have a different vibe from sections north of Bird Road initially all the villages were to be in the Riviera section another prong of the American Building Corporation contract was that there was to be an area that showcased a variety of Italian inspired style homes this area as circled in red on the left compris of Country Club section part five and Riviera section part one as discussed in the designation report these included homes inspired by Italian Country Village ventian country and Canal houses and Italian farmhouses the first homes contracted for the American building Corporation project were designed by architect Frank Wyatt Woods he was to produce homes inspired by the Italian country houses these homes blended with the Mediterranean Revival style of the city and exhibited Italian inspired Hallmark features such as a combination of one room wide one and twostory sections with intersecting pitched roof angles arranged in the L-shaped plan additional features included slender chimneys with decorative caps series of arch openings Barrel tile roofs and exterior staircases these homes had 25 foot front setbacks and they were surrounded by perimeter walls typical of Italian country houses and featured a formal Garden as seen in the plot plan shown here note the plot plan at the top is for the home at 4722 alhamra Circle there were five built along ferdinan Street which is now called alhamra Circle and 4722 alhamra Circle was amongst this Cadre they are shown under construction in April 1926 on the left the drawings for 4722 Al Hamber Circle are dated August 25th 1925 just weeks after the contract was announced on October 24th 1925 the American Building Corporation filed its first 12 permits among them were three of these Italian inspired homes by Woods along a Hamer Circle and it included this home at 4722 it was completed in July of 1926 and was immediately featured in a full page ad about the project most of the homes built in Coral Gables in the 1920s combined elements commonly used in Spanish mors and Italian architecture and has come to be known as the Mediterranean reval style in addition to the Italian country home influences the character defining features of this home include but are not limited to its textured stucco a Juliet Balcony with decorative carv surround and metal railings Coral Rock front entry coin surround a vertical plank front door with decorative strap hinges carved RAF Tails several decorative masonry grills and recessed windows with projecting Sills this antagon inspired Mediterranean Revival style home is constructed of masonry units over a crawl space and clad in textured stucco the home is L-shaped in plan and is comprised of twostory and one-story sections yielding roughly 2400 ft of living space Woods designed the home with four bedrooms the north south one-story portion contained the living room and a screen porch at the North End which is now enclosed these spaces were designed with large arched openings that opened out to and afforded views of the formal Garden in the rear and the landscaped entry drive on the front the home is under a variety of pitched roofs that were originally clad in two-piece Barrel tile the change to s tile occurred in 1996 the original window type throughout the home was casement the current impact resistance single hung windows were installed in 2013 applied muttons were used to attempt to replicate the original casement pattern the original size and location of the windows were retained on the front facade is a Juliet falcony Ensemble as seen in the image on the right it retains its metal railing and scroll supports as well as the decorative door surround with its carved top piece another prominent feature on the front facade is the distinctive covered stair hle Bay that is tucked in the corner of the two-story L its steep shed roof follows the angle of the staircase likewise small arched Windows step down its facade to light the stair Hall a decorative masonry Grill provides light Under the Stairs the stair Hall Bay is anchored by the front entry under a hipped roof the doorway has a rectangular opening in contrast to the various Street facing arched openings across the front facade and it is demarked by a coral Rock coin door surround the front vertical plank door has metal strap hinges above the front entry at the northeast corner of the second story is a corner window feature with A continuous seill that wraps around the corner the window is in what was the original master bedroom behind the corner window is the Italian inspired narrow semi-attached chimney that rises a half story above the roof it is finished with a decorative flared cap and a Weather Vein that sits on a course of bricks the one-story north south Wing is under a stepped gable roof with decorative carved rafter tails in the eaves it has full height semicircular arched openings on all exposed facil SIDS in the living room The French Door ensembles provide views of and access to the front and rear yards as well as cross ventilation through this space they were replaced with the current double glass doors in 1998 which although aesthetically different provide the same original intention also at this time the screen porch was enclosed for living space with the current glass and Grill ensembles except for the change of fenestration type the rear facade retains its 1925 design at the southwest corner of the home is a flat roofed Bay that was originally a screened back entry porch in 1998 the screened openings were replaced with window and a back door one of the screened openings flanking the rear door was filled in however the infill was recessed and the original protruding seill retained hence the original design is easily discernible at the southwest corner of the lot is the original garage building it was originally a two-car garage with a secondstory servant quarters over the Northern Bay an exterior staircase along the north facade led to the servants quarters on the north side of the staircase are graceful narrow arched openings in 1959 the owners received a permit to repair the 9 ft by 12T frame stuck a room from the top of the CBS garage it was later amended to say remove rather than repair no permit has been located to date for the change of the garage doors or the enclosing of the north bay in conclusion the single family home and detached garage at 4722 Al Hamer Circle was designed in 1925 by distinguished architect Frank Wyatt Woods for the American build building Corporation in the mid 1920s when the need for housing had outpaced construction City founder George Merrick purchased 6,000 acres and sought investors who could Aid in developing the new RAR section in August 1925 merri announced a $75 million contract with what has become known as The Village project newspaper articles indicate that Woods designed the first homes for the project and they includeed 4722 alamer Circle the homes designed by Woods were Mediterranean inspired and had perimeter walls and formal garding features a front setback of 25 ft as well as massing and a host of features inspired by Italian architecture this home was part of a larger unfulfilled plan to develop the area just south of Bird Road with homes showcasing a variety of Italian precedents the property at 4722 alhamra Circle showcases Wood's thoughtful design as well as the intention for for this area hence the property at 4722 alhamra Circle retains its integrity and significantly contributes to the historic fabric of the City of Coral Gables the property is part of a collection of quality buildings that serves as a visible reminder of the history and the cultural heritage of the city staff recommends approval of the local historic designation of the property at 4722 alhamra Circle based on its historical cultural and Architectural significance thank you is there anything additional by staff does the owner of the house wish to speak thank you please come up state your name can you hear me yes so my name is Harin natrajan I'm a professor at the University of Miami I've been a professor at the University now for 21 years I teach at the Miami herwood Business School uh this is my wife prti ramakrishna uh we have been married 21 years the year that I got a job at um is the year that we got married uh we have 11-year-old son and when we moved here first in 2003 we absolutely fell in love with the neighborhood uh that love continues we've been long time Coral gaes residents and we hope that we'll continue to be longtime Coral gaes residents so I mean you saw the presentation when we bought this house um you know one of the things that struck us was of course it's exceptionally beautiful and that's something that we value and cherish U but at the same time there were several practical limitations to the house it was not built for modern day living it was built in 1926 so it didn't contemplate several of the requirements that modern day living living needs and so we wanted to plan a kind of thoughtful addition to the house and that process is what has brought us here in front of you today so first off uh thanks to all of you you for this opportunity to appear in front of the board and plead our case um so you know if you look at the main argument um Anna is it possible to load our presentation oh there we go ah there you go okay can we miss por I just are we this is a a a presentation on the historical significance portion of it I'm sorry in the designation portion of it right yes okay right so you saw all the arguments that were made made so eloquently before I mean designed by Frank whitewoods original houses and all of that stuff but I want to beg your Indulgence here and uh look at the broader case that we're making and then um uh what we'd like to do is present a balance of Interest argument that we'll hopefully you will be able to entertain so I want to start off by explaining what the structure is what the site looks like uh give you a feel for what these structures have gone over time and in particular focus on the substantial alterations that have been made to the detached structure which is primarily the one in question with our uh plans as well and then review the criteria for historical designation and you know make an argument for why this might or might not fit the way it is currently been uh proposed so this is our site you've already seen a picture from uh Miss Gwynn's presentation uh we are at the southwest corner of Aliano and alhamra circle um a minute's walk from the University of Miami which of course is very convenient for me um the site is basically built with two structures uh oop sorry can you see the point oh yes so this main L-shaped structure is the dwelling and then what you see in the southwest corner back here is the detached garage structure right so um what we want to see want you to show want to show you rather is how this is evolved over time so these are the pictures I think that uh Miss Gwen used in her presentation as well this is what the property originally looked like in 1926 uh what I want you to focus on is uh what the structure in the background looks like it's a two-story structure uh intended to be a servants quarters in the second story and intend intended to be a two-car garage in the uh first story in the ground floor right um if you look at what it looks like right now I mean I would agree that a large part of what you see in the for ground has largely been preserved which is exceptionally beautiful and What attracted us to the house in the first place right that's not an issue here um what you'll see in the background perhaps not so clearly with this picture is the fact that it no longer has a second floor in fact this is what our structure looks like right now um Miss Gwen pointed out that this structure has been substantially modified over time in 1959 a permit was issued approved for removal demolition of the second story so the original design was in fact disrupted and corrupted by this decision and what you'll also see is that uh the staircase leads now up to what we call the Staircase to Nowhere um because what it does is it leads it to an open Terrace where the side walls are the parapet walls on the open Terrace are less than 18 in you'll see a couple of potted plants that we have in front of the staircase that's what we use to prevent small kids from running up and uh potentially uh avoid liability in that process right what you'll also see is that the second garage door um is practically not usable as a garage because you'd have to be some exceptionally good Formula 1 driver to be able to make that turn and still park the car so at some point of time um and this is the part where she said they couldn't find the MIT for it um at some point of time it was repurposed into an into a habitable space in doing so substantial modifications were made so you'll see that the column that separates the two garage doors actually was a very thin column originally it now is about 14 in more than a foot uh if you look at the wall that appears at the bottom the curb that basically supports the window that's about 18 in and if you actually look closely you'll see that the Stu T the finishes everything is fundamentally different on this side of the garage and you see that uh not so pleasant looking door as well this is what it is and so it has electricity connections it has all of this stuff essentially built for someone to actually uh live there at some point of time right so there are also many other modifications I don't have a lot of pictures here but if you look at this picture here you'll see that the top part of it is all kind of modern concrete and this is the old Breck and plaster that uh the structure originally came with this is the space on the Left Right the garage opening on the left is not Mr B into the microphone please I I apologize this is a space on the left like the the garage entrance itself so once you enter the garage this is actually on the kind of uh top part of the walls across the entire garage I'm showing you one section here but it's actually something that you'll see at many different I don't think this was ever used as a garage although and there's a wooden plank that supports the garage door so it doesn't quite open so here's the argument that we're making right if you look at this detached structure alone uh it has two stories originally single story now two car garage it's a single car garage now so you can go through the list it doesn't have the intended design it doesn't have the intended purpose it's not usable any in any way shape or form the way it was originally intended there are substantial modifications that have taken place so if you look at section 8103 on the one hand it lists a bunch of criteria that uh um for designation of historical but it starts off with a statement that says for something to be designated as historically significant it must possess Integrity of design materials and workmanship and I would like to humbly present you that this structure contains none of that it does not have integrity of design it does not have integrity of workmanship and materials because that door clearly didn't exist in 1926 right so this presents predicament right because one of the challenges that we have is that you know if you look at it overall if you want to designate the whole site this structure for sure does not qualify right so what I'd like to do is beg your Indulgence and make a proposal here we are committed to Historic preservation and you'll see from our plans that our plans to build on this site actually do not impact the main structure at all we love the main structure we want to keep the main structure but the problem that we are having is really with this garage because this garage comes in the southwest corner which is really the only viable place in our entire lot where we can build an addition and bring this house to the 21st century right so what I'd like to suggest is the following I looked up the section 8101 it permits the opportunity for the board to consider designating the main dwelling structure alone as historic allowing us the opportunity to designate this non-historic non- architecturally valuable structure as non-historic so that we could then proceed with our plans that's the argument we want do you read that section of the code do you have that section of the code that allows us to do that 101 you want to do this uh so the section says uh the purpose of the designation of historic landmarks and districts is to promote the educational cultural economic welfare of the public by preserving and protecting historic structures or sites so structures or sites portions of structure so you could even take a portion of a structure and designated as historic man-made or natural landscape elements works of art integrated combinations thereof which serve as reminders of the history and cultural heritage of the city the uh the structure in the foreground the main dwelling is absolutely Ely worth preserving the structure in the back that is not that's just an old building it is not historic that's the argument that we wanted to make in front of you and we're happy to take any questions thank you before before we do this what I'm going to do is um as residents we're going to give you as much time as you want this is your property and we'll ask questions of them but I also want to make sure that staff um have you spoken to staff is Staff clear as to what the COA processes does does the owner understand what the the certificate of appropriateness is and the difference between designation of the building and the ability to yes so so the like we said mentioned that this application was um instigated by the request for the historic significance letter determination letter um this was after the applicant the property owners had gone through the board of Architects processes were going through the permitting process to demolish the structure and they needed the letter in order for to move forward with permitting so it came to our attention that it met the criteria for designation since I think believe that was in June of this year and we've met AE maybe five to 10 times if we've not talked on the phone or you know try to coordinate with the meeting um that was originally scheduled for July and then um was continued to today uh we did discuss that this is a hearing for designation as one section and then the other section would be the certificate of appropriateness in discussion I think my understanding and please correct me if I'm wrong is that you know within our report we start to call out significant features or contributing features within the site because we're looking at it as the site for the designation and so it is their intent again correct I'm wrong is their request that you all consider that because of the changes to the garage that they presented today that it is not included as part of that those features so I'm sorry before I open up the questions again for staff um does designation preclude alterations to that rear building no no it does not no so the same to any COA that you see before you we you know to a certain extent we're allowed to do modifications to structures within a historically designated site and my last question and open up for um anybody from the board um the homeowner has referenced section 8-1 saying that we have the authority to remove and designate specific sections of a property can you opine on that please I will I'll let the City attorney Please Mr Garcia Pon thank you I just want to read a section of the code um the property owners certainly referenced a correct section of the code 8101 I would just like to point um point you all to a section of the code in 8104 designation procedures section B preparation of Historic Landmark designation report proposed boundaries boundaries for individual historic sites shall generally include the entire property or tract of land unless such tract is so large that portions thereof are visually and functionally unrelated to any significant historic Improvement and then there's District boundaries as well so um that that's sort of the language about an individual historic site I don't know that you all are precluded from designating one building or another I'm not sure that that's generally been the practice of this board but um the the code specifies that generally it should include the entire property if including multiple structures unless you can so um visually or functionally distinguish them thank you Madam City attorney so it sounds like we have a bunch of questions what I'd like to do is do this in some sort of an order um if you have a question from the board be specific as to who the question is to and what the question is and I'll take um I'm happy to recognize people in the order that they wish to be recognized does anybody have any questions for anybody Mr yes I have a a a question a quick question for staff when you were writing up your report you only considered the site design ation correct so what we have before us so this is a new request right now to carve out something that is the property owner request yes thank you sp please I spoken a lot I just want to make sure that anybody else has a question now clearly Miss bares Even though that's their modified request to some degree that's not really what least what what I see that is in front of us we can certainly designate the entire site and then as part of the certificate appropriateness allow them to the mge D structure right so in other words their request even though it is organized in their perspective because for whatever reason they may think that it might be helpful if the board ultimately decides the certificate of appropriateness you know will be granted it's moot to some degree that's correct okay so do do you do you understand that sir okay yes okay all right they just don't want to take any chances yeah I got it okay I I I think I think you'll be fine any any specific questions from the board to either the homeowner or staff I don't okay Mr Maxwell I have just one brief one um I haven't seen it on the survey but it did your architect look at incorporating the walls of the of the I'm sorry Mr Maxwell let's do just the designation not the COA right all right the designation is for yeah okay got ahead like a motion wait let me check no no no I I'm happy to see the floor okay so no motions yet um anything so we understand we have no further questions anything else you have for us no okay thank thank you very much from staff before I take it to public comment I was just going to let you know about the public comment okay please let us know um so for the public comment in regards to the designation we did receive re a letter of support for the designation by U Miss corellia carbonel for the historic preservation um Association of Coral Gables and um we did receive some letters of support within the from the last meeting that are Incorporated within your file ID specific to the designation so there are other public comment just so I could clarify that will be um mentioned for the COA thank you Miss P so I'm going to close this open it up to public hearing yes thank you so much is anybody in the audience have wish to speak in favor or opposition to this case Okay hearing none I am closing public comment and bringing it back to the board um this is only the designation item is there any discussion or does anybody wish to make a motion on that one item I'd like to make a motion Mr n okay I'd like to make a motion to approve the local historic designation of the property located for 722 alhamra Circle based upon the evidence presented to the board specifically in the designation report which details the character defining features in the architect Frank Whitewood and the Italian inspired architecture of the 1920s and that it meets three of the criteria stipulated in article 8 section 88-103 of the Coral Gable zoning code specifically criteria 4 it exemplifies the historical cultural political economic or social trends of the community and its architectural significance as detailed in the designation report tic um criteria one betrays the environment in an era of History characterized by one or more distinctive architectural Styles and criteria three embodies as distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or period or method of construction and also taking into consideration article 88-104 B regarding boundaries uh for sites thank you Mr n is there a second just second that we just point of clarification you're just ass the entire site right that was your motion yes all right great pursuant to article 8-14 so yes I'll second okay I thought Mr Maxwell second is you want it's F let me give it to Mr Maxwell um with a second any discussion amongst the board members are we clear what we're voting on excellent okay let's call the role okay Mr dananana yes Miss Rando yes Miss Spain yes Mr Banos yes Miss Den yes Mr Maxwell yes Mr Garcia Pon yes motion passes 7 to zero do I need to read the item again into the record so we're going to move on to the COA portion of the request is there anything from staff that's required at this time yes I'm just going to read exerpts from the um staff report um Anna peris Pres reservation officer um the applicant is also requesting an issuance of an accelerated special certificate of appropriateness and design approval for the demolition of the original auxiliary structure additions and alterations to the residence and site work the two story Edition will include a new onecar garage kitchen living room laundry room prayer room and bathroom at the first floor and master bedroom suite with his and hers closet bathroom and Studio at the second floor the addition is slightly taller than the original house and should be lowered so that it does not overwhelm the historic structure if considered for approval the site work includes the demolition of the original garage building to accommodate the proposed two-story addition the garage was originally a two-car garage with a second story over the northern portion as mentioned before in 1959 a permit was issued to repair the 9x12 frame and stucko room and was later revised to remove instead of repair the exterior staircase along the north elevation remains and the two-car garage have been the two car garage openings have been slightly modified the structure is visible from Alhambra Circle and Alano Avenue per section 8-17 D of the crg zoning code the board shall consider the following criteria in evaluating the applications for a special certificate of appropriateness for demolition of Des designated properties the degree to which the building structure Improvement or site contributes to the historic and or architectural significance of the Historic Site the structure is original to the construction of the house and its detailing corresponds with the main house this is considered a contributing structure to be a character defining feature of the site number two whether the building structure Improvement or site is one of the last remaining examples of its kind in the neighborhood the county or the region um this is uh the the detached auxiliary structures were common in the original development of the city of cor Gables but many have been altered or demolished number three whether the loss of the building structure Improvement or site would adversely affect the historic Andor architectural Integrity of the historic site or District the removal of the original historic fabric is considered drastic action whether the number four whether the retention of the building structure Improvement or site would promote the general W welfare of the City by providing an opportunity for study or local history architecture or design or by developing an understanding of the importance of the value of the particular culture and Heritage the detach auxiliary structures were common um but many of and there are other opportunities for this type of study whether architectural plans have been presented to the board for the refuse of the property if the proposed demolition were to be carried out and the appropriateness of said plans to the character of the historic site if applicable and demonstration as well as the posting of a bond required that there are sufficient funds in place to carry out the plans um the proposed Redevelopment plans are not compatible with the original structure and need to be further studied um no bond has been presented to staff at this time number six whether the building structure Improvement or site possesses an imminent threat to the public health or safety the structure is in good condition number seven whether the applicant has demonstrated that retention of the building structure Improvement or site would create an unreasonable or undue economic hardship as described in section 8-15 um thenone have been presented to staff and number eight whether there is compelling public interest requiring the Demolition and none have been presented to staff as proposed the additions are not compatible with the existing development of the site and the architecture of the historic structures as per the design designation report the garage structure is considered to be a character defining feature of the site and its demolition should be considered a major alteration staff met with the applicants on multiple occasions to express concern over the proposed demolition of the original auxiliary structure and staff recommends reconsidering the organ organization of the new addition and exhaust all attempts to reuse the original garage prior to considering demolition staff recommends denial of the application um in addition there are presentations that were submitted by by the architect and applicant um just prior to this meeting so staff hasn't had sufficient time to review but um they would like to come before you I believe the Mr or the architect okay you okay sorry so um the property owner is going to start with his presentation please thank you m peras uh so Anna can we go back to where we were in the same deck and start Carl gaes tvtv do you know what slide it would be maybe uh I can tell you oh he got almost there yeah keep going keep going one more one more perfect okay all right so um I mean we we do have our architect here and he will present our plans to you so you can get a feel for uh what this means I can you say your name again for the record ah I'm sorry uh my name is har nran I'm still a professor at um thank you so I'll continue our presentation okay so um so here's what we are requesting um but before I make the request I want to give you a sense for the journey that we've had uh to get to this point as I told you we bought this house in 2017 and right at that moment we identified uh what we needed to do at the house we wanted to figure out what the right way to do it and then finally around September 2020 we got around to presenting a proposal to the city at the time the city permitted us to actually uh simultaneously track a proposal that goes to for zoning and the boa that was permitted at the time so our original proposal actually did have the garage so one of the things that we had told Faruk our architect is let's keep as much as possible and then try and work around it right but we had some requirements so one of the things that we wanted to do was to be able to use the space that the garage has if not as a garage then as a habitable space the only way we could do that was to actually impact the north side of the garage and the north side of the garage is the one that has the Staircase to Nowhere so it made sense to knock down the staircase and impact that garage because the house the way it lines up the garage is somewhat behind the main structure it is not completely separate so if you were to draw a line you would actually have to impact the garage there's just no way around it so we went back and forth over several iterations by that time Coral Gables had actually the city had switched systems so we were asked to support a brand know present a brand new plan so we went to the boa first um and in early 2023 over five six rounds of boa review including a review from the gentleman here uh who is all very supportive and very very helpful in the process I mean they gave us some brilliant ideas um so yeah you are so um you know over many many iterations it became very clear to us that the garage structure actually wasn't serving its functional purpose one of the things that you'll see later on in this presentation is that the garage is set 75 ft into the property so that's a driving test that we have to take every morning if you actually park the car there and come try to come back all the way onto the road right uh my wife might pass the test but I might not so that's the reason why we think this is quite hazardous um so you know after that plan finally in June 2023 after several rounds of iterations what the board of Architects said was look any way you're going to impact this garage uh there's no way around it so the best thing to do is actually to demolish the garage move it further up to address all of the purpose and integrate it better into the building uh they they also loved the um you know the styling of the house the architectural style I'm maybe not using the right terminology here but you know what I mean and and they what they try to do was help us align the new addition in a manner that was respectful and paid homage to the original structure as best as possible right so that's how we came up with this plan and so we thought this is great this is wonderful we can finally get to build uh our son is 11 years old if we start building now there's a good chance we'll finish it before he actually goes to college not necessarily not necessar okay all not the encouraging note I was looking for but I'll take it um so so I think what happened um is you know after so we went directly to uh zoning started applying for all of the permits so we got pretty far in the permits you know so we have I can show you a list of permits that we already have approved at this point uh in the second round of review at the city uh in April 2024 you know nearly four years after the process started is when we were told hey by the way you know your house could be historic so therefore if you demolish something it triggers historical determination then you have to go get that and then get it approved blah blah blah and so I mean we were at the finish line and we were told that we might potentially have to start all over again I mean this was uh you know heart attack type of news for us because uh I mean it is it would be cruel to have us go back all the way and start and go through all of this process all over again so um we were due to be here on uh in July uh we couldn't make it there was some flight cancellations I couldn't be here so that's why we asked for a defal I thank you guys for uh indulging Us in terms of having both the accelerated COA come up so that we can save a bit of time in terms of moving forward with our project so here's where we are with our approvals so on the left hand side you see the Miami date County approvals this is for our septic tank so the Derm Vasa Department of Health all of this stuff has already been approved if you look at it at the city of gorl cables basically all the various stages of me all of that stuff is uh has made we've made a lot of progress in getting this far and so All That Remains before us and our actual starting of the project you know we were actually want to sign on the dotted line with a contractor when we found this out right that's how close we were to starting this project so um the point that I want to make is that this has been an incredibly long and arduous Journey I want to point out that at various points of time we've dealt with you know the building department the board of Architects the historical reservation I've even talked to the city mayor about this everyone has been supportive and sympathetic as to where we are but nobody has actually offered a solution to the process yet but I hope that someone someday will in fact fix the process because this is a huge undue burden on any homeowner this is not how a process should look I teach operations at the University of Miami I teach process Design This is not the process anyone should come up with right this is just fundamentally flawed as process now on that note I'm going to hand over to our architect here so he can actually present the plans and I don't have to pretend to be one so thank you thank you um can I ask them to load his presentation yes can we change the presentation to the next thank you my name is Faruk rosi I'm the president of structural design in in Miami we have been in business since 1991 designed many houses industrial buildings so we were retained by our client to do an addition to the house I don't want to go he Harry went through most of the things that we wanted to talk about but I just want to add a couple points to that and that's it and we go from there I guess can somebody help him out with the remote yes thank you yeah they wanted to master through Su because the original building was lacking a master Mr resi can you speak into the microphone please or move the microphone over yeah they wanted the master suite which was missing in the original House Cabana bat because they already have a pool family room TV room minimal impact or no impact on the original structure we wanted to keep it exactly the way it is just just add to it I'm going to go to the next slide without going through all this because we had a problem with the setback because the existing garage has only a 5T setback and the city requires the 10t setback okay later on we found out that the board of uh you could approve that so anyways looking at the S plan which I have here you can see where the okay you can see where the garage was where the building was we wanted to line it up basically there about 3T difference between the side of the building and the side of the uh the garage all right this is what I want to talk about really the existing houses on the right hand side the garage on the left hand side intentionally I did a section through that so you can understand exactly what's going on there as you can see oops that's the finished floor that we have okay if you wanted to do any our original design wi to do a modification to the garage add a second story on it and turn it into a onear garage because they needed to space downstairs and upstairs to be added so we're going to line up the building basically go all the way down and use some space from the first ground floor and some space second floor if you look at here you'll see that the clear height of we would have ended up would be about 5T now the existing structure I just want to add a couple things Harry already showed you the pictures it's a wood Frank at the top they use 2x10 at 14 in on Center and then what they did from Center on they shaved it to a 2x6 in order to make the slope for the roof that they had there is an existing column that's the garage as you can see is from outside and this stairs the stairs are only about 23 in wide which is not to the code even if you wanted to keep it but we went through the other okay there is the garage as you can see it so on this side basically I keep going sorry about that I'm going the wrong way I know I found out takes a while for this okay as you can see on this side we have 2 by 10 on the other side we have 2 by six now look at this post that they have right now in the center it looks like a Shoring actually it's not even connected to the beam structurally unsafe because it's not connected to make a long story short we had to get rid of some of that Roofing in order to make our second floor we already talked about this the the existing structure how it looked like and we try to match it actually with a new design so I'm just going to go ahead uh we already went through a lot of those reasons why you have to demolish that the depth of the garage is only about 18 ft 8 in something like that the new code requires 20 ft clear so even if we wanted to make a real garage we didn't have room for that either the other things we pretty much went through it that's the demolition plan I want to go to the the second floor that's what we ended up as the exterior look up the building bringing the garage to the front having a second floor at the top and matching the building that we had that's the rear view that you're looking at the pool is here the pool is located here and this was the addition that we came up with actually keeping in mind that we went to the 10 ft setback so that we comply with the code uh that's the rear view I mean the left view of the garage as you can see where it is we reduce that distance that they have to back up at least so all right this is a new design as you can see we added here we added this portion here brought the garage to the front okay and that's the second floor I just want to show you that you can see we went to the board of Architects I think at least four times if not five times okay because we wanted to make sure the design was correct it matched the existing building that was the most important thing in our design that it matched the existing building we came up with this in fact it was their suggestion to add this down here over the garage so it matches the building they it was a good suggestion so we ended up with this that was our design now now I'm going to respond to the comments that the staff had in their observation that they went through it okay so so in terms of context for uh the staff comments right I think there's one comment which related to the garage itself whether it can be demolished or not and then there were other comments that related to the addition itself so uh I think what Faruk is going to address are the comments that are related to the Edition and then I'll talk about the garage itself if that's okay with thank you all right the front elevation is facade we had a comment that uh the Edition should be finished in a stco text texture different from the original building we did have a comment on as you can see it here on page 83 we match the existing structure because it does have that kind of stuckle which goes with the architectural so we did match it with that I don't think it should be different the common says that it should be different that the stuckle but you know it's not a big so so so if I may I mean so I think we've had conversations with the staff on all of these uh details I think one of the challenges so that the first two comments with relation to stco we'll stipulate by whatever they say there's another comment about um the addition being about 6 in taller than the existing I'm going to talk so I mean we can address that as well um it is within the margin of error for any roofer to do 6 in and 6 in is not going to overwhelm the structure especially given how far set it is on the site um so but that's something again we'll stipulate there are some other comments about Windows and so on where we need some Clarity because these were requirements that the boa had made off us so what we'd like is the opportunity and we spoke to staff about this early on to sit with the city architect and the staff and kind of go over this together because we don't want kind of competing or contradictory advice from one party with another that make it very difficult for us uh the main issue uh that the report had at least as we see it is the demolition of the garage right um you know I think I first made the point in my previous presentation that switch presentations yeah I think actually before we do that yeah so just for clarity are there any staff conditions that you are completely opposed to or you're willing to work with staff we're willing to work with staff and uh the city architect together so that we don't have to go if we if the board makes a recommendation we can state that as part of the condition so if that's if if you're willing to stipulate then we can go directly to we do what you would like to speak about yes thank you so um and we can come back to this if there are specific questions thank you well if there's any questions we'll come back thank you Mr resi yes so if um if you can just go back TV can we get the previous presentation please yes I'm going to switch out sorry I think we should have put it all in one presentation but uh okay is this this no yeah we have to go go a lot further down okay so this is where we were I showed you the approvals that we've already received um he talked about our addition so I won't belabor the point uh the first point that I want to make is you know when we spoke to Faruk first we looked at different possibilities right the only real place where you can build and build two floors because all of the bedrooms in our house are on the second floor right so the only place to build was in the second floor was here because only oops only this portion of the structure is twostory this part is a single story right so it didn't make sense to build anything on the north side of our lot at all the only viable place was the southwest corner so which is why we had to pick the spot and which is why the garage is being impacted right so I've already made the point about why that cons that structure does not have any architectural significance does not have any historical significance it's been uh modified uh beyond recognition from its original structure I made the point about how it is very difficult to actually use it as a garage anymore Faruk also made this point about how it is 18 ft and doesn't have the clearance that uh is required at this point Faruk already made about the points about these as well so I won't repeat it this is what I was talking about as the parapet this is our Staircase to Nowhere that takes you to this open Terrace 18 in and lower so it's a huge hassard that we are uh dealing with and I mean the structure as it's currently seen this is the view of our house as you stand in Aliano so I actually took three pictures one while seated in a car one while walking all of them will show you exactly the same thing which is that you cannot see that one story structure anymore from the alegriano side of our house um so what I want to say is we've already made the point about the demolition of the detached structure I don't want to belabor the point I want to go over the criteria for demolition right um I think we can make the argument quite clearly that there is no architectural historical significance in that structure so as such um that point is taken care of the second point is whether this is one of the last remaining examples um and the point here is that I mean we already saw two structures today that I've detached garages both of which have been designated as historic so I think there's plenty of opportunity for such study elsewhere and even if such study were to be conducted this is an extremely poor example of what the original datat structure should look like so clearly not the Exemplar that we want people to be studying um the uh the point that I want to make in in terms of the historical and Architectural Integrity is that in our minds and I hope you'll agree the value is really in the main dwelling and as the staff report tells you there's literally minimal to no uh impact on the main dwelling structure at all all we're doing is simply creating access for the new addition to be able to attach on to the existing structure outside of that there's no impact at all uh the staff themselves have noted that there are plenty of other opportunities to study these types of detached structures um so the architectural plans uh whether they were in fact um you know in character with the historic site and so on that was the point number five for criteria for demolition uh the boa approved this unconditionally we have a boa member here who can certify to that as well um I mean we went through extensive rounds of review where literally every uh every single window every single uh you know corner of this structure of the audition was uh looked at very carefully to make sure that it retained uh historic and Architectural integrity and so that's what we've tried to uh put this put together uh the staff makes the point that this structure is in good condition we've showed you ample evidence that the structure is not in good condition particularly when you consider that our goal is in fact to build a second story right so the housing that the current uh garage structure sits on will not permit us to actually put anything like concrete on uh on top that makes it very very challenging for us to uh work with um whether this presents an undue burden you be the judge after 4 years of uh you know paying Architects uh mechanical engineers electrical engineers plumbers and all of that stuff uh you know all of these people who've presented plans to us and going through that entire process it would be a huge blow if we are not able to and so this would be a hugely undue burden on the homeowner if uh we're not able to pursue this uh project as it's currently structured um you know we we have a lot of Neighbors in the area um and we've shared our plans with our neighbors I'm sure uh Miss perus will share with you their comments um I mean we all have small kids small kids who come home everybody is nervous about this garage structure um and we've also shared our plans they all believe that it's a tasteful addition that's in keeping with the U architectural style of the house and they're all fully supportive of uh the plans that we have made um I want to also share with you that there's recent uh precedence for this but before I go uh do that I want to present a little balance of Interest argument again U because I think historical preservation at least in my mind is based on this idea of you know it is is it balancing the interests of society at large of Coral Gables the city at large versus the individual homeowner I mean I think what the historical designation that you all unanimously approved does is it gives the city an incredibly beautiful looking structure which is the main dwelling and that is the only structure in our house that is worth preserving right the other part of it is just an old building and just the fact that it's old doesn't actually make it uh anything special at all it's not architecturally significant it's not suitable for either its intended use or its planned use I can't make it a habitable space neither can I use it as a garage very effectively uh and it does pose a safety hazard uh given in the way the structure is right now for us as a the homeowner what is the balance of Interest we get to preserve our beautiful home which was our goal all along and build an addition that actually makes sense for our living now and hopefully having gone through this for as long as we have um our process will ultimately come to a fruitful outcome that will help us move forward with our project right uh there are a couple of precedents but I'm sure you're all aware so I combed through um all your prior meetings and there is AE precedent where a detached structure uh at 117 Alo was uh permitted to be demolished the argument there was the one about habitable space so because the uh level of to which the floor had to be raised relative to the ceiling would allow for less than I think 7t 6 in is the code it was less than that so it was allowed in that case uh there's another case that came up uh in front of the board recently this was March 2024 in this case if you look at the structure their uh uh detached structure is actually right next to the uh main house it has two floors as well uh but the arguments in that case persuaded the board to actually um say as to demolition of the garage so given the precedent given the balance of interest uh I think it's reasonable for us to uh request the board to Grant a certificate of appropriateness for us May thank you does that conclude your presentation yes please wait wait just I just want to hear yes or no does that okay yes once she says please I can't say no so so now that that presentation is concluded yes does anybody from the board have any specific questions for either the homeowner the architect or staff and please be clear as to what your question is and who it's to yes Mr B no no please go ahead Mr Maxwell who wishes to go excellent thank you very well presented thank you thank you um my my question really is would you be open to a deferral to work with a deferral M to work with staff to work through some of these issues that the staff has let's say assuming the demolition of the garage yeah absolutely I mean I'm happy to stipulate that we'll work through to the satisfaction of Staff uh all the issues that they have uh raised and make sure that they are ultimately satisfied with it but the question is not is whether you our job today is to either approve or deny your application what Mr matchell is asking is would you like would you entertain a deferral so that we take no action today and you will go back to staff and then Rec back to the board for a decision so so here's the way I think about it uh if your answer is going to be well if he's not going to grant me deferral opportunity then the answer is no then yes I will accept the option but the way you know that is unknown at this time that is unknown at this time yes so I am at a bit of a disadvantage as I answer this question um the the I think the bigger point is um you know we we are happy to work with this so if you guys think that that is in fact the right approach to take then we would like to uh you know accept that um for us every single month that we spend not starting the project is painful is absolutely horrendously painful so we'd like to get started as quickly as possible but if the only way to do that is by a deferral then we would entertain that as well that was a question from one of our board members so before we do understand painfulness of this process sometimes you know but I but I'd also like you to understand that this process was actually started when the city started so it's been around for a long time and it's not it's not singular singularly pointed to you so very though M Spain I just have a a comment about your request because I think In fairness to the applicant we should and also to staff we should um I don't know whether we can vote on whether or not we consider the demolition of that garage as feasible because otherwise they're going to go off and and have this discussion let's give let's give him our mind wait wait so I mean I don't know we are a board that has the responsibility to have discussion on this day right so we can have discussion and then it would be clear I think from the discussion so before we make any motions right now we have questions for the homeowner the architect or staff okay I just have one other question Professor RI you taught me structures when I was when I was in school and I believe you were nice enough to come with me when I was uh debating whether to buy a home on Santa Maria Street my name then was Donna Luben and you were so kind you came over there and I think you crawled under in the call space to see whether it was structurally sound I don't know if you remember that but I just wanted to tell you how nice that thank you very much Professor RI crawls under every house M Mr BOS so just questions first of all don't ever allowed uh anybody to tell a a a un Professor that you're under repared okay and that and that comes from a proud gate okay we we'll see what happens in two weeks but anyway uh at any rate um just for your for just my my consideration this particular structure has a very interesting setback which actually allows you to go further and and this is something Mr Dan had had sort of whisper in my ear ER so just for the record why not utilize a full point to the end of what that that line is because then at that point in time you're actually using more of the property and you actually have more use of that even if let's assume that some are we may be predisposed to either through the feral process or through our own discussion here allow for either what you've proposed or a version of that okay wouldn't it be more advantageous to make full use of the property and go all the way to the end you get get more house well that we did consider that actually because you preserve we didn't want to change the front elevation drastically we wanted to keep the elevation we wanted to keep the elevation that we had and that garage setback sort of match what the original design was so that was the idea that we put the garage a little bit setback at that location cuz we didn't want to touch the you know the view from the street on that side yeah just two questions you said that answer my question okay question I just want to pull this back to what our requirements are so we have to follow section 8- 107d when we're considering whether or not um an area should be demolished so is it it's your position that um these particular criteria are in favor of demolishing yes uh but I kind of heard that maybe you were willing to work on some of these items no so what we stipulated say something yeah the garage structure is unsafe to start with okay if the next hurricane comes we don't know if that roof is going to hold or not it's not connected even to that column okay that's that's number one but isn't it possible to make it structurally safe without deing it could we we could yes of course we can always make it the structurally safe the second was that the modification done to the garage through the years exceeds 50% of the value of the garage and by code if you do any construction there adding a second floor or using part of the first floor they have to bring the everything back to code also keep in mind that the second floor was a wood frame structure not allowed anymore in the city of cor Gables we had to go with a masonry wall that means revising the roof framing revising the foundation for the existing for those reasons since the garage is not even usable right now as a garage okay actually she told me that the as it rains the water even gets in there okay so they haven't even used it since they bought it in 2017 so it just and the shape mainly I'm sorry interrupt you but then mainly your argument is that um you are demonstrating demonstrating that if you have have to retain the building it's creating an unreasonable or undue economic hardship is that really the Crux of your correct and the way it is it doesn't match the original design so intended by the AR I can interrupt um we were told at the beginning of the presentation that hardship was not part of this presentation and that nothing was provided to the city staff so we cannot utilize that I'm going to ask the attorney for clarification I believe that to be the case and I just miss Duna just wanted to um respond to some of your comments I I believe the correct section that they they have referenced as well is 8 107d those are the criteria for demolition the 1 2 3 4 5 678 which I believe he went through in his presentation and as to the stipulation my understanding of the record and please correct me if I'm wrong is that you stipulated to agreement to working with staff on the issues related to the windows the stucco differentiation the height of the building sort of the UN the non-garage related comments in the staff report so and I guess to Mr Maxwell's comments ear that the stipulation was they would be you know if the COA was so approved with those conditions to work with staff on those elements they would be more than willing to work with staff on on those elements but that the garage is sort of a threshold item to be determined thank you for making that distinction so let me go back to can we consider the information being presented on undue hardship when it wasn't presented to staff so the code provides that if information is untimely provided to the this board and to the staff that staff or the other party May request this board a reasonable continuance to address that issue I do not believe that they've provided um the complete application for the undue hardship which is a separate process entirely but um to the extent that they they mean a hardship sort of generally rather than the specific undue financial hardship process in the code I I don't know if that's what they're addressing rather than the particular process that's laid forth in the code that that's right that's what we're addressing and we had responses to each of the criteria that we believe we satisfy for demolition under the code that har presented and that is specific to the garage because that's the Crux of the matter here and we're willing to work with the stuff on the other we did we did see that and again it's not the economic hardship they can claim design hardships and all the other kinds of hardships but not economic yeah just a question I'm sorry Mr are you you done yes okay Mr a question for the uh for the City attorney ultimately even if they didn't cross all the RT's and other or eyes in the particular request for for hardship ultimately we can as a board it's our discretion if we so desire to potentially override that procedural snafu and Grant or deny whatever the the procedure is correct so I I would need to look more closely at that specific undue economic hardship but to the extent that the criteria in 8107 d as to demolition of historic structures if you all find that those eight criteria have been met based on this presentation you can certainly do so that's you know that's well within your discretion to determine you to disagree with staff's findings on those eight particular criteria okay it's again it's not economic it's correct re I I just I I just wanted to figure out what can we do as of what we cannot do so that Mr danana um I mean this is more for us to kind of discuss but we're kind so no no let's do question bring to the for discussion does anybody have any questions for the architect the home owner or staff okay um thank you we're going to close and um open it up to public comment does anybody wish to speak in favor or opposition to this case thank you very much thank you thank you okay we're closing public comment bringing it oh back to the board miss penes you can you tell us oh yeah so we did receive um in addition to the public comment received from the July 17th meeting we did receive letters of support for the COA including the demolition from Yasmin Gonzales Enrique Teran and py Hadad moan and Nell Koka I'm sorry if I am pronouncing that incorrect uh Jazelle Alonso Amy Julian and Amber casso um we also received a letter in support of staff's recommendation of to deny the application by um Miss Coria carbonel on behalf of the the hpcg hbac thank you Miss Bas um okay so public comment is closed we're now back to the board Mr Jana it's open for discussion all right so I mean I think I think we might be all on the same page but I my suggestion is you know to me the the the free staning garage structure you know when the city issued a permit to demo the second floor to me I mean that kind of was a huge blow to to you know the the historic Integrity of that structure so to me I'm I'm totally okay with you know removing that garage structure and and proceeding with the plan assuming they are fine with with uh with staff's comments on the other items um I just you know that's just kind of my stance on the structural Integrity of of that structure and and its historical significance thank you Mr Dano anyone else yes please Mr BOS so I you know they they made a comment during the presentation that they said that they not they they thought that the garage was inconsistent with the design or not important or not part of my perspective is the design and the site and everything else in of itself it's all contributing to its historic significance it's not just the garage itself so I disagree with that point that they were trying to make having said that I think the practicalities of the structure what they have the condition of that particular garage today as it stands uh and just I I mean I do think that there is there is a a significant argument for if not General design hardship some other form of of you know of of them illustration that they are grieved by virtue of not allowing this structure to be um demolished certainly at least to my mind given the condition that he has you know the the the roof seems to be uh creating an attractive nuisance right so because you have a situation where you may have kids wanting to actually go up to that section SE session of the roof without any real protection uh they cannot really use it as a garage because of the structurally own sound they don't seem to be able to be able to build up on it because of the additional beans or whatever else they need to do to it the fact that it's not really being usable so so there's a lot of in my mind there's a lot of check marks that um that would lead me to believe that yes the Malayan is the proper course of action at least the more reasonable course of action especially if we have already designated it but what I would like to do is I would like to get the mind of maybe some of the EXP more experienced members of the board who have been here longer as to whether or not you've seen the situation come before how you have you know how we have addressed it how it has been uh you know looked at by staff and by you all on whether or not what they're asking is reasonable I mean I have some issues with the design and and the and the way the garage door looks and how it but those are just tangential because they can work with staff with those as to the actual U you know agreeing to their to their to their request for the Milian that's at least where my mind is with regards to those thank you I'm have it open up but I do want to um clarify again that precedents are interesting for people to take a look at and for us it's all on a Case by case basis so although we consider CW Gables and we have the rules that we must follow every project is completely different and is should be reviewed on a case-by casee basis I know we know that I just wanted to say it again uh for the record so Mr bers is throwing it out there anybody have any comments or thoughts they wish to share I think we're taking a sort of informal poll to how we feel about this thing Mr Rando uh I would say ordinarily I'm a no on uh or I approach it with the presumption of a no on demolishing the um auxiliary structures uh because they are so much a fabric of uh the coral Gable's historic uh code and the appearance and this streetcap so I um I agree with you Mr Don that when the city authorized the demolition of that second floor it just basically removed the major historic um attribute of that auxiliary structure and I I also don't want to have us be in a position where we um are encouraging homeowners not to preserve those auxiliary buildings um here you know I'm not persuaded by the structural argument because basically we know you can prop up practically anything uh so that's uh but uh nor am I overly moved by having to do 75 ft in re in reverse because there's lots of garages every house right yeah um but I am convinced by the appearance um of that of of how that building has been unsympathetically um modified over the period of time and it seems somewhat with the AC acquiescence of um the governing municipality so I'm um even though I'm a typical no on demolition I am um I'm somewhat persuaded by the um unsympathetic modifications uh I do think the staff's uh comments are appropriate but for the Demolition and they should be um Incorporated in modifications so I'm willing to approve a certificate of appropriateness and go with the Demolition provided the um applicant uh works with the city staff to um modify the plans to accommodate their recommendations thank you Mr Lando anybody else Mr will Mr Maxwell Peggy you really said that very well and um every one of these is unique and I think it's important to understand that a compelling argument has been made however you know I I'm going to say that the can't be restored argument is is never feasible because it can be and we've seen that many many times um I would agree with her I think that the plan that's been presented is is is well thought out it's tried to do the best that it could and I would agree with Mr Orlando's assertion that while it's I most of you know that I vote regularly for no demolition I would encourage the engineer to incorporate the walls of the existing buildings into the new structure and let them be shown also to work closely with staff to amarate their concerns about the design thank you Mr Maxwell um any other things so I have a couple of comments and I regardless of what my vote whether it's going to be yes or no for approval or denial um I think there's two issues one is the demolition of the garage which is substantive I also believe that staff's comments regarding the design are incredibly substantive so we've been sort of glossing over although the owner um has said that they would be happy to work with staff and stipulate um to coordinate these things um I would say that again I don't know where my votes going but one thing for sure is I I believe that any recommendation for approval um has to comply completely with staff recommendations because I think the recommendations are completely end point regardless of the situation of the park of the the garage um and um again I don't know if that's going to be enough but it's definitely a l a barrier to entry for me for my boat Mr chair motion I would like to make a motion for the feral okay to defer this item and then instruct the applicant and staff uh given that you perhaps have had an understanding of where the board may be thinking to sort of work on this uh application again and uh bring it back for for consideration uh and I think it may give everyone a better understanding of so those design implications that we have we may have a better uh way of presenting the motion for approval denial of the of the Demolition and I think it it would it would uh perhaps remove remove some of the the questions that may be in the board's mind presently so thank you Mr bu so we have a motion for a deferral um is there a second I'm going to ask one more time is there a second okay Mr BOS there's no second does anybody wish to make another motion I'll make another motion then so I'll make a motion to uh approve the certificate uh of appropriateness consistent with the comments that were made or in the basis consistent with the comments that were made by miss the raunda which I'll incorporate by reference uh uh but instructing and I need your help with this okay ER and instructing the applicant to work with staff uh in reference to all the designed uh um reservations that they have U Mr mon if I understand your motion it would be to approve the design proposal for the demolition of the original auxiliary structure additions and alterations to the residents and site work on the property located at 4722 alhur Circle um and to um approve the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness with the conditions that the applicant work with staff to address staff's suggestions and incorporate those into the final design as I understand that to be um that which include addressing the stucco the window configuration and the height of the building among others I don't think we want to say suggestions can we say comments okay I I that's fine it could be to to incorporate staff's comments into the final design I'll amend my motion to be consistent with how it was outlined by Miss rundo and by the city attorney's office so Madame peras is that clear direction for you or do you need more because I'm not sure if it is yeah so I have some of the items listed that would be considered conditions if approval does move forward so considering lowering the height of the addition study the door and window type style and locations to be more consistent with the style of the building um of the original house and consider regular spacing and type uh this is all for the new addition and then the glass would be our typical comment of glass to be clear non-reflective no tint uh roof tiles would be Barrel tile two piece again or regular comment the stucco should be differentiated on the addition and then um those were the ones included within the report if anyone wants to add to that because I know Mr Maxwell mentioned one item but I don't know if that was part of the motion Mr BOS made so so far it's not right now we have what you just said and that's why I'm asking if we have additional conditions I'd like to have an amendment to that to the extent feasible because it is structural and I understand and I understand that the walls are clay tile for the most part that to the extent feasible the exterior walls and at the garage or the part not you know and and the house be incorporated into the new structure and show the stucco as it as it is now and not new so that you can see so it can be clearly seen you know that these were Incorporated I'll amend my motion Mr so we have a motion um based on the information that staff has just put into the record based on their report corre Mr Maxwell is a friendly amendment to your motion you can accept or refuse it no so I I was about to say that I accept Mr Maxwell's uh friendly amendment to my motion I'll incorporate by reference uh to my to my motion Miss parner uh the criteria she outlined it okay so uh we have a motion um is there second to that motion just please no question um we're just suggesting that they that they look at the option of keeping the the original structure perimeter walls right on the garage is what your amendment is I understood the motion to be that the um to the extent feasible that they incorporate the old walls of the current um garage into the new addition to the extent feasible as determined by by staff yeah that would also include the house on for the high that goes out yes so um we have the to the extent feasible Mr R I have a similar comment I would imagine I just think it's like leaves it ambiguous and how they going to decide what if staff says yeah we want the old walls and they say well it doesn't work with our you know like we're just going to come back to get to us could I'm not an engineer could um I just add one thing if it's not feasible between you know from the condition of the building and what we've heard today would you be amenable to something that would kind of outline maybe within the stuckos some change that highlight the mass of the building I don't know if that would make a what you're trying to see but usually we want the addition to read differently I don't know if you want to see a the one portion of it to be are you thinking like kind of the ghost of the um old structure cuz it ends up the garage will end up being kind of in the middle of the addition well part of it going to be removed 5T of it is going to be removed okay but the but all but the I I can't but one wall you know that's 5 ft off of currently 5 ft on the side side not the backyard so the back lot has is is being reduced so the wall is being re reduced but on the side yard that wall is remaining right so that probably the would be the only wall that would be physically visible remain if possible okay and also where the hyphen is okay it's to that wall so it appears to me on the plan that at the back of the house exclusive of The Hyphen The Hyphen is coming off completely okay and a new hyphen is being you know and the new addition is being built into it so I think the addition is wider than the existing garage and we might need to go back to the plan for that I think the motion if it's feasible I think that that's the working situation if it's not feasible it's not but then we're not really agreeing to the um design Proposal with the additions and alterations we're not really agreeing because there's so many requirements and conditions and unknowns are we talking wait wait wait wait so the existing garage and the new project are in different locations so it's not as there will be fragments is I think what you're mentioning I would like to add maybe a potential friendly amendment to this friendly amendment is to the extent feasible as certified by a licensed structural engineer because I'm not qualified to say whether you can keep it and I would only trust a licensed structural engineer to certify that they can do it if they can great if they can't I'm out yeah I accept that friendly Amendment to the amendment yes and I accept there off okay so we have a motion by Mr BOS including everything that we just said is there a second second um does anybody wish to add any friendly amendments to the motion can I just say that I'm totally against doing that yeah we can I mean I I if we're going to allow them to demolish this structure then let them demolish the structure and and build something good other than trying to Patchwork uh an old uh I mean I I don't want to vote against it because I they're going to get something but here here's what I'll tell you I I think I I I take Mr Maxwell's intention it's totally good to to say let's preserve whatever we can of it I think after just the brief discussion we've had after his his might the feasibility of it might be un feasible okay so uh I think sort of answers his own question okay but if if um you know if if we will make a decision on your vote uh Miss uh Miss Spain you know I just think we're we're making we're making it worse so Mr buos we have a motion inclusive of that do you wish to amend it in any way let's let's make it this amend my motion to not accept the friendly amendment by Mr Maxwell if if uh if that's uh uh and I understand Mr Maxwell where they're coming from Miss Mr orando is that acceptable as a second to the motion or no I I can withdraw my second If It Moves the procedure along where we get to vote soon so so m m all you have to say yes I a second you accept the amendment or would you would you wish to resend your second yes which one accept the amendment to um accept uh ex withdraw the second then uh you can modify I have I have modified it so we have a new motion um as originally stated excluding the item of keeping any remnant of the existing garage so we now have a second another segment by Mr Rolando are we clear and I would like for staff or the City attorney to restate so so again my understanding of the motion is to approve the design proposal presented today and uh approve the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness with the conditions that the the items that Miss peris listed including the stucco differential the height the window window configuration glass roof tiles those that were mentioned previously um that's that the staff's recommendations be addressed or comments I believe comments be addressed um prior to um permitting okay is that clear that that is clear to me and accept Okay we have a motion in a second any further discussion on the item all right let's call the RO Mr dananana yes yes Miss Den yes Miss span yes okay Miss Rando yes Mr Banos yes Mr Maxwell yes Mr Garcia p no motion passes 6 to1 um we're going to take a five minute break at which time I'm going to leave the meeting and pass the Gabel to uh Vice chair Maxwell thank you 5 minutes recording stopped so we're back down to five e e e e e for e e e e [Music] e [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] e am I not on there you there we go I am now I just heard it someone from someone from above turn it on okay all right case File CP um issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness for the property at 1260 South Greenway Drive a contributing resource within the Country Club of Coral Gables historic district legally described as Lots one and two block five Coral Gables section e according to the plat thereof as recorded in plat book 8 at page 13 of the public records of Miami Dade County Florida the application requests approval for a variance from Article 2 section 2-101 D number 10 C for the proposed new driveway on South Greenway Drive good evening Mr a minute ma'am Mr Maxwell we we've heard this particular project in several Locas and I think M Mundo needs to go if do you think it's appropriate for us to sort of tabulate the board first figure out out where we may be on this and then and then may may take a quick motion and uh and save everybody a little time Mr BOS I think we need to establish a record for the this item though it has been heard multiple times it's a new hearing today I think we can be expeditious in our presentations but um we do need to create a record okay right thank you okay I will I will be as quick as please state your name Andress possible uh good evening Mr chairman members of the board for the record my name is Laura Russo with offices at 23 uh 34 ponon Boulevard I am here this evening representing Orlando Garo and Midel Santana his wife who are the owners of 1260 South Greenway Drive uh Mr gar Diego also used to live at 1021 North Greenway Drive he's very familiar with this neighborhood and he still has family that resides there I'm here with their architect Eddie Yano we were here back in May 15th when uh Mr Yano presented the certificate of appropriateness for some additions and modifications to the um and Renovations for the structures those were passed with some conditions which we have complied with or will be complying with and at that time we requested a deferral for the variance for the driveway so the request here is to ask for a semi-rectangular not circular might misquote somewhere along the line but a semi rectangular driveway um that would provide vehicular access on South Greenway um and I have a little PowerPoint that'll make it a little bit easier and I'll go as quickly as possible if we can start that's not it have to get it loaded yeah that's fine it's going that Al Circle property keeps coming to um the item for 1260 South Greenway had a very long Tada there we go and just for the record um as staff Anna Peres preservation officer staff had recommended approval for the special certificate of appropriateness for the driveway including the variants um per the uh staff report submitted on the record was I here for this h no you came after okay thank goodness I thought I was losing my mind right okay I'm going to be as quickly as possible let's see this is okay so the proposed driveway um is as I said a semi uh rectangular on uh South Greenway Drive this is a current photo of the house prior to the r renovation um it has a garage access and again this is the proposed this is the proposed site plan you know what I'm going to have to do that that computer is too small for me to look at that's why I brought this so I can I hate to say that but getting aging has its we understand Miss Russa we're all getting there so so what you what you have before you is the uh site plan with the proposed driveway access accessing um the next slide is to show you that while we are asking for some uh impervious uh driveway we do have plenty of sod on the particular site um the next one is to give you a list of uh Landscaping existing Landscaping that exists and part of the difficulty here is that there are some mature oak trees so if if there had been a desire um to try to get a driveway that would connect all the way to the garage change the garage have the front door of the garage on South Greenway maybe we could do it but we'd have to run over an oak tree to do it and have to ask for a side setback Instead This is the proposed Landscaping plan so that you can see it will be very nicely landscaped and then just running through a very similar situation directly across the street on North Greenway this house was built without a a driveway and it also has the same condition which is the Side Access here shows and here shows when they came before the board two times the first time it wasn't so nice second time it turned out to be quite a nice addition of that sort of motor Court this is another house with again similar situation it is located to the east of us of the subd property it has the same configuration this house we got copies of the plans it did not have an original driveway it does have a circular driveway and it does have also the access of the of a garage on the side street another house on South Greenway as well is the um this is to the west of us this is going toward Red Road this house did was originally designed with the driveway has the same access again on the driveway um I have a letter here from Mr Tim plumber many of you know that he is an expert in traffic and has been he's second generation he lives in the area but he um wrote this uh letter for us um with respect to the safety concerns so one of my main arguments for the driveway is If This Were maybe another Street in um Coral Gables it wouldn't matter but South Greenway for those of you who don't live anywhere near it and don't have to Traverse it is one of the the busiest not only vehicular access strollers children joggers Runners and the and the main issue and I was there last night is that the sidewalk is only a single sidewalk unlike Country Club pra where it's double the particular Swale the right of-way Swale portion the grass area is narrower than anywhere else and the road barely accommodates two-way traffic and all during the day and all during the night you have joggers strollers Runners scooters bikers going from sidewalk to Grass to driveway and as we know now with Amazon delivery and the post off delivery people of stopping in the middle of the road to not have some sort of vehicular access is just dangerous uh on South Greenway and so we make this plea that you uh please uh please Grant the request for the driveway just so you know we also have a letter from the neighbor who would be most affected which is the neighbor to the east so she would be the one that would be having the cars coming in and out they would probably still be parked on the sale but now at least they could have cars parked on private property um and this is what the driveway would look like with the materials as shown and it is my understanding but we can do it for the public portion comment that there is another neighbor who is willing to speak who is on the zoom and we are happy to answer any questions and once again I respectfully request your approval for our variance for the driveway thank you counselor sir would you like to make any comments at all only if you have and we have a sample of the material I know be a coral Stone driveway thank you very much are there any letters or of support or otherwise that have been received I think there's one person on Zoom who would like to speak I didn't receive anything in advance but um we may have public comment in the room or on on Zoom okay well thank you very much uh well now if there's not anything else and we'll open this up to um public comment at this time is there anyone that would like to speak in favor uh or against of this whether on locally or on Zoom yeah there's supposed to be someone on Zoom are do you know their name Lis Kera I think he was on originally and he was SW I'm gonna ask him to unmute and see if he uh is paying attention excuse meute yes I've unmuted okay there we go can you hear me yes yes hello my name is Luis consua I'm a neighbor at 1301 Asura I'm not gonna go over all the things that uh Miss Russo went through but say that I agree wholeheartedly with him uh not only is it uh a lot of pedestrian on South greenw as we know but on Madrid which is the side street there's a lot of pedestrians that walk through there to get to South Greenway so there's pedestrians everywhere now my house at 1301 if I sit in my back porch I'm looking towards the golf course and then to the east is Mr caso's uh property so I'm literally feet away from his property and I wanted to uh participate in this to let the uh the board know that I wholeheartedly uh support this uh this project of the uh well not circular driveway but the the driveway that's being proposed on South Greenway to uh his property if there are any questions I'm glad to uh to answer any that uh anyone may have thank you Mr kugara is there anyone else in the audience that would wish to speak for or against this item if not we're going to close the public hearing portion of this and this comes back to the board board members questions of the applicant I would like to make a motion yeah hearing none I'll be we'll close that I'd like to hear okay I'd like to make a motion to approve with the conditions noted above which I think the only condition Anna is uh the paver material and so are you okay with this material all right um the design proposal for a new driveway on the property located at 1260 South Greenway Drive a contributing resource within the Country Club of coral Gable's historic district legally described as Lots 1 and2 block five Coral Gable section e according to the plat thereof as recorded in plat book 8 page 13 of the public records of Miami day County and approve the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness and a motion to approve a variance to allow a new driveway on South Greenway Drive with no access to a garage carport or portare versus driveways and Associated curve Cuts shall only be permitted when providing access to a garage carport or portare as required by Article 2 Section 2-101 D1 C of the Coral Gable zoning code second Madame attorney do we need two motions I I think it's appropriate to incorporate them into one that's because if it fails there's only five people here well okay do I have a second Mr BOS okay we have a motion by Miss Spain seconded by Mr PES call the role Please Mr dananana yes okay Mr Rando yes okay Mr Banos yes Miss Bane yes and Mr Maxwell yes motion approved thank you very much thank you very much okay we have the next item we have case File CP 24-22 an application for the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness for the property located at 106 Madrid Street a local Historic Landmark legally described as lot 16 block 51 Coral Gables Granada section according to the plat thereof as recorded in plat book 8 at page 13 Miami Dade County Florida applic requests design approval for additions and alterations to the res to the residents in site work the application requests approval for a variance from article 8 section 8-23 B for ground area coverage thank you could we have the presentation please cgtv could we have the presentation please thank you um this property was officially granted the status of a Coral Gables Cottage in 2001 and the property was designated as a local Historic Landmark on July 20th 2022 um the one story Edition consists of a master bedroom suite and two additional bedrooms sharing a Jack and Gill bathroom the addition is primarily under a flat roof with a higher hip roof projection over the master bedroom at the southeast corner and reopening the original 2117 squ ft covered porch um a variance has also been requested of article 8 section 88- 203b of the corable zoning code for exceeding the maximum ground area cover coverage um as per the Z zoning code one of the incentives of the Coral Gables Cottage designation is Coral Gables Cottages shall be permitted to occupy up to 48% of the building site auxiliary buildings or structures whether freestanding or attached to the primary building including swimming pools May occupy additional site area provided however that total ground coverage area for all structures shall not exceed 58% of the site it is the intent of the cottage regulation to maintain and preserve the architectural quality and character of the coral Gable's traditional smallscale residential neighborhoods by encouraging the preservation of these existing Coral Gables cottage style houses staff finds that the restoration of the porch and reallocating the square footage to another location on the site would be in harmony with the general intent and purpose of the zoning code and maintains the ground coverage below 58% as permitted for other Coral gaes Cottages um staff recommends approval with the conditions listed of the special certificate of appropriateness and approval of the variance request are there any questions of Staff all right is there a presentation I had asked the professor to do it but he said it was running late so my name is Peter kigian I'm the architect of uh for the project I'm joined by the homeowners uh Giovani and Mna Ortiz uh we've been at this uh quite a long time cuz the we were we really worked in how you know trying to get their programmatic requirements into a part that made sense and was uh complimentary to the to the existing house uh can we get my PowerPoint I'm going to be very fast I know everybody's and I think it's a very a very easy I mean a very simple um um addition to understand the house of quintessential Northern Gables beautiful uh it's in need of many repairs and this addition will allow the entire property to be restored mrid North Gables you know again so um our biggest contribution I think with this is returning the porch to its original Glory which is open and I think that's quintessential cor Gables and I think it's very important for the streetcape so you can this is a rendering on the front the next few renderings are going to show how the front of the house really has not been changed so as you walk by the street or you drive by the street it's basically the same thing the additions are to the rear 75 ft away from the from the front and uh impact the streetcape and impact the existing house minimally that's a straight on view it's a beautiful plan M so we were able to exact we were able to uh create a um a sidey garden you know a sidey house by adding a simple bar at the rear of the property differentiate some of the spaces in in order to to uh break up the massing and try to alter the existing as as little as possible in in a in a pragmatic way for modern living as you heard from the previous uh um and here you can see how far back the the the addition is set so again these are all our side plans and diagrams it's very straightforward you can see it there in the floor plan it's a simple bar um amazed we were able to get so much program in such small space and uh and that's why we're asking for a very very slight 3% uh increase in in the lck coverage uh we met with zoning we were hoping that either the porch or the carport could be looked at as an auxiliary attached building they didn't agree so we still feel we're under the what Cottage is allowed to have be in cor with just 58% it's just how you interpret it so we have you know our microfilm how it is today and you can see we're bringing it back to uh as close as possible to the original we're separating the addition you know there's a natural break in the back there's going to be a a differentiation tuckle the windows are not getting the window sills or there very Nuance changes but the vocabulary is still corg you know they're cousins but they're not you know it's not a copy so that's that's really our approach to these kind of uh houses is you know how do you do something that's complimentary without copying the details that are in the existing house but maintain the language that doesn't look like a unicorn and that's I went fast so I'm here to answer any questions that you may have well thank you are there any questions by the board I have a question have you seen the um conditions that the staff has put into the uh I yeah I I think that um the conditions are typical of what I get in my projects is we're always rushing so it's I think it's rais muttons uh differentiation and St you have any issues with any of them I have no issues with any of them they even cut a couple of drafting errors that we fixed uh for the presentation and uh you know I'm very grateful for them and we wor we worked very closely with them this was almost a year process because you know originally the owners wanted to to do different things and I and I think that uh we came to a great uh conclusion here with everybody being happy hopefully you guys find it owners have indicated also for the record that they accept the conditions yes yes they do they do okay is there any other presentation that you'd wish to make I can go back to any one of the renderings or drawings if you need to but you guys are you guys are spent we're fine okay well great is there anyone in the audience or on Zoom who would like to uh comment about this positively or negatively in opposition or in favor is there any public comment that has been received okay hearing none we will close the public hearing portion of that and take this back to staff staff I mean board I would like to make a motion to approve okay motion to approve with the conditions outlining the staff reports a design and proposal for addition alterations to the residents and side side work on the property located at 10006 Madrid Street a local Historic Landmark legally described as lot 16 block 51 corable section according to the pla thereof as recorded in pla book 8 at page 113 of the of the public records of Miami day County Florida and approve with the conditions and noted above the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness and a motion to approve a variance to allow the Cora's Cottage residents to have a maximum ground area coverage for a principal building of approximately 2,684 Square ft uh 51.1% of the lot where the S Gables Cottage shall be permitted to occupy up to 40 8% of the of the building site 2520 ft for this site as required by the article 8 section 8- 203b of the corg soning code here we have a motion is there a second I'll second it we have a second by Mr Spain would you call the all please okay Mr dananana yes Miss Rando yes Mr Banos yes Miss Spain yes and Mr Maxwell yes motion passes thank you very much thank you very much and I and thank you for coming today excellent thank you for being here design okay the final item we have today is case File CP 202 24-21 an application for the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness for the property at 1148 Alhambra Circle a contributing resource within the alhamra circle historic district legally described as Lots 1 and two block 15 Coral Gable section c according to the plat thereof plat book 8 page 26 Miami Dade County the application requests design approval for additions and alterations to the residents and site work good after or evening um uh if we could get the power PowerPoint up thank you um so as mentioned this is a contributing structure within the alhamra circle historic district and it's also a designated Historic Landmark um the applicant is requesting design approval for a two-story addition of a living room primary bedroom covered Terrace balcony and interior remodeling the project also includes the removal of non- original features and the restoration of features the proposed two-story addition will be to the side east of the home it will be located behind the extent kitchen uh infilling an essentially asymmet iCal u-shaped portion of the home between the bedroom behind the garage to the South and the bedroom to the north uh while the roof of the new two-story Edition will be will be visible from alhamra Circle it does not adversely impact the historic Integrity of the two-story home and staff is recommending approval with the conditions listed in the report thank you we still need the presentation up please oh there we go there hey it actually worked first time yep last one so hi good evening my name is Gan I'm architect and confounder of Arco architecture located at 2490 Coral Way site 301 Miami Florida 33145 I want to thank the board for taking the time to hear our presentation today the side is located at 1148 alhamra circle at the corner with Columbus Boulevard um the project consists of a 1500 foot total two-story addition to an existing two story historic two-story house historic house built in 1925 the project was previously approved by the board under a different architect and with a different scope as you will see uh this is what the house currently looks like from the primary and secondary front and what it looks like uh from the backyard where the addition takes place uh in that existing Nook I want to know that we work very closely with the historic Department staff to ensure we are proposing uh something that works with the character of the house uh here you can see the existing and proposed side plan side by side showing where the addition is taking place which is the same from the previous approved proposal in the next few slides I'll show you the existing versus original approved design first and then existing versus the new design for comparison on the left is the existing ground level plan and on the right is the original approved design apart from minor interior kitchen layout changes we cut back on the Terrace which now serves as a private as a private balcony for upstairs the original design was a one-story addition with an interior remodel of the existing second level uh but the client decid decided to modify the scope of work in order to add a true primary bedroom suite which now has a bigger balcony above the proposed Terrace uh for the elevations in the next slides the bottom elevation is always the existing uh this is the front facing alhamra and you can see how the second level addition complements the existing house mhm this is the secondary front and the original approved design there is a wall being added for privacy which we kept uh we believe the second level addition ties the front massing of the house to the rear one level portion uh the side elevation Facing East towards the backyard uh we created braks in the railings by adding posts matching uh and aligning to the columns that we're proposing and and you can see we added arches there to to go with the existing uh house and finally the rear which faces the neighbor to the South uh and the the new twostory edition of the top uh we emphasize the Gable and extension by bring it out 8 in as commented by the board of Architects and we also remove the small existing window uh that ended right at the addition wall which is uh here in this all to go uh here um uh this is the house uh will look this is what the house will look like from the Corno of alhamra and Columbus here's from the secondary front and here's a twostory Edition from the backyard uh finally as I mentioned in the beginning we work very closely with the historic Department staff to ensure the new design is cohesive with the existing historic house and with that I conclude my presentation and I can answer any questions thank you thank you any questions of the applicant or I should say the applicants architect from the board all right very well um is the owner um in agreement with all of the staff's recommendations yes okay and you're willing to do that correct okay very good okay thank you I appreciate that um is there anyone here that would wish to speak to or again against this in opposition to this is there anyone on Zoom that would wish to do that hearing none we will close the public portion all right board members are there any questions that you would like to raise all right motion as SP I'll make a motion um I'd like to make a motion to approve with conditions uh that are noted in the staff report the design proposal for the infill construction of a two-story edition of cover Terrace balconies and interior remodeling as well as the removal of non-original features and the restoration of features on the property located at 1148 Al hambur Circle a contributing resource within the alhamra circle historic district legally described as Lots 1 and two block 15 Coral Gable section c according to the plat thereof as recorded in plat book 8 at page 26 the public records of Miami day County Florida and approved the ISS of a special certificate of appropriateness with the conditions noted we have a motion by Miss Spain is there a second I'll second we have a second by Miss Rolando okay would you call the rooll please okay Mr danan yes Mr Banos yes Miss Rando yes Miss Spain yes and Mr Maxwell yes motion approved thank you thank you very much and thank you for your patience ladies and gentlemen um do we have any old business Miss peris we have any old business that we need to address other than the continuing Saga of the uh 1130 property on Sevilla oh now in its fourth or fifth year so we actually were out at that property yesterday with um the uh building department director and structural engineer and Cara and myself and the um code board I mean attorney um for that property so we are trying to figure out a process the prop it was formally um cited for demolition by neglect in April by the code enforcement board and it's already passed um um you know meeting any criteria for conditions yes um if you haven't already um ideally if I could get dates from you all for the orientation right now it's leaning towards September 17th from the ones that I have received if that's okay I will set it and just send out an email are there any objections to anyone here okay you can all attend I I don't the September something September 17th uh that's a Tuesday yes yes it's in the email okay that'suh you got the email Mr buner yes and that is it I will add um the item that the uh vice mayor had presented today to you all if you want an update from that I'm Happ bring that up right now okay okay one question on the 17th do you have a date time what time we were considering to try to do it after work so after 5 5:00 5:30 depending on what people about how long do you think it would about how long do you think it would run two hours I I yes probably maximum two hours so maybe we'll have some we'll plan presentation our stuff will you know we'll probably do try to keep it quick but and so we'll have sandwiches or something we'll find some dinner all right I know you'll do the best you can board I started feeding them and then they got hungry were I mean last for I'll welcome everybody after the thing to my house and you can all I'll I'll feed everybody okay think is there anything else nope that's it from me a thank you very much okay I have a new business item um and it's been given to you by the vice mayor I'd like everyone to I'm going to ask that this be put on the agenda for as a discussion item uh for our next meeting in O in in September yes and I'd like everyone to consider this first of all I'd like you to know that this does not require drastic action okay this is not a life or death situation the building is undergoing work this kind of thing happens all the time with buildings like this so take a look at this um the idea and the intent is that this board will become much more involved in the preservation planning and programming of this building over time and this is an important step to take and I encourage all of you to thoroughly read it to understand it and to ask any questions that you can okay and if if necessary we'll arrange to go downstairs and take a look at it so and feel free to do that if you wish you know the concrete I only read like a sentence of that I'm sorry in the like in the manager's office where the concrete was falling down on the assistant City manager's head yes when I was assistant city manager M there's a spalding on the building may I suggest that we have the tour of City you may and that would be a wonderful thing and we can arrange that at some time I if you wanted to you know after ours but you know I think most of us have seen the public spaces but we really haven't seen um the inerts maybe Donna the could miss R we we could certainly work on doing that in a way that complies with the Florida Sunshine Law which gets a little complicated or of course I'm sure you know subject to availability in time you could all do that individually but to do it as a whole we'll have to make sure that that meeting is appropriately sunshin just notice it and allowed everybody to come along it's okay you know like it's not just so that you know there is an agenda item for the commission that uh vice mayor had added to the um in kind of as a response to the work that needs to be done the additional structural repairs and all of that all right uh Miss City attorney uh would it be appropriate for us to invite the landmarks preservation board to this you could certainly request a joint meeting to discuss um a like I said a tour gets more complicated just for meeting minute purposes and and having it noticed to the public but if you want to have a joint meeting you could certainly request a joint meeting of that board um to a joint tour or a joint tour but again a joint meeting a joint meeting sounds better to me all right thank you ma' okay is everybody clear on that can I have a is there any other business is there any new business or commission items or discussion items hearing none and seeing that everybody's tablet is folded completely may I have a motion for dismissal please motion to adjourn except so moved thank you all very much hope we got recording stopped [Music]