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CITY OF MUSKEGON
HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
MINUTES
October 1, 2019
Chairperson J. Hilt called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. and roll was taken.
MEMBERS PRESENT: J. Hilt, K. George, A. Riegler, L. Wood, S. Radtke
MEMBERS ABSENT: K. Panozzo, excused; D. Warren, excused
STAFF PRESENT: J. Pesch, D. Renkenberger
OTHERS PRESENT: V. Lanting for 1575-79 Peck St; Jim, 1275 Ransom; S. Porter, City of
Muskegon Community & Neighborhood Services Dept.; T. Harvey,
City of Muskegon; D. Black, 511 W Clay; S. Dahlstrom, builder for
511 W Clay; F. Madrid, Home Depot
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion to approve the regular meeting minutes of August 6, 2019, was made by S. Radtke,
supported by J. Hilt and unanimously approved.
NEW BUSINESS
Case 2019-20 – 1575-79 Peck Street (Doors). Applicant: VEL Properties LLC (Vicki Lanting).
District: Clinton-Peck. Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. The
applicant is seeking approval to replace the two front doors with new front doors of a different style.
The work has already been completed.
V. Lanting stated that she hadn’t been aware that HDC approval was needed before she replaced the
doors. One door was done over a year ago and the other was recent. She stated that the old doors
were glass panes and she wanted something with more security.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to replace the two front doors with new front doors of a
different style (solid) as long as the work meets all zoning requirements and the necessary permits are
obtained was made by L. Wood and supported by J. Hilt. The motion failed, with L. Wood, J. Hilt,
and S. Radtke voting aye and A. Riegler voting nay. J. Pesch stated that he would look into the
procedure for appealing a board denial.
Case 2019-21 – 1275 Ransom Street (Porch). Applicant: City of Muskegon CNS (on behalf of Jim
Jim). District: McLaughlin. Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. The
applicant is seeking approval to remove the rear porch and install a new, 6’x12’ porch with stairs,
2”x6” hand rail, and 2”x2” spindles. The porch was heavily damaged in a storm in 2014, but the
HDC-approved rebuild/repair of the porch (to match the original) was never completed.
Jim stated that they did not have the funds to replace the porch sooner, but he had replaced some
spindles. A. Riegler asked if the spindles were original. Jim stated that he didn’t think they were the
HDC Minutes 10/01/19 1
originals. He planned to have the spindles on the back staircase match the ones in front of the house.
S. Porter stated that Jim was participating in the city’s senior repair program and they intended to
make the porch repairs with new wood that would look similar to the old spindles.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to remove and repair the rear porch, replicating the
existing design as long as the work meets all zoning requirements and the necessary permits are
obtained, was made by A. Riegler, supported by S. Radtke and unanimously approved, with J. Hilt,
K. George, A. Riegler, L. Wood, and S. Radtke voting aye.
Case 2019-22 – 1502 Peck Street (Balcony). Applicant: Koal Development, LLC. District: Clinton-
Peck. Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. The applicant is seeking
approval to add two jack posts wrapped with wood and painted to match the existing materials to
repair and secure the common area balcony on the east side (rear) of the structure, adjacent to the
parking lot. A. Riegler asked if the balcony was sagging. J. Pesch stated that it was, and they had
already undertaken some repairs. They wished to wrap the steel posts with rough-sawn cedar. A.
Riegler stated that smooth wood would be preferable over rough-sawn. Board members concurred.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to add two jack posts wrapped with smooth-faced wood
and painted to match the existing materials in order to repair and secure the common area balcony on
the east side (rear) of the structure, as long as the work meets all zoning requirements and the
necessary permits are obtained, was made by S. Radtke, supported by J. Hilt and unanimously
approved, with J. Hilt, K. George, A. Riegler, L. Wood, and S. Radtke voting aye.
Case 2019-23 – 1188 4th Street (New Construction/Garage). Applicant: City of Muskegon. District:
Houston. Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. The applicant is seeking
approval to construct a new 26’x24’ detached, two-stall garage at the rear of the house. The garage
doors will face the house. A rendering of the proposed garage was provided.
J. Pesch stated that the City was rehabbing this house and there was room for a garage at the rear of
the lot. An adjacent lot that previously held a small house had been combined with this property, and
the garage would be placed where that house previously stood. A. Riegler asked if the house was of
the Italianate style, and if there was still wood siding on the house. T. Harvey stated that it was
Italianate, but the house had vinyl siding. J. Pesch stated that it appeared that the vinyl siding was put
on sometime in the early 2000’s, and prior to that the exterior was asbestos shingled. T. Harvey
stated that the siding on the new garage would match the house. A. Riegler stated that a hip roof
would be preferable; she asked which elevation faced the street. T. Harvey stated that he could do a
hip roof, and the side with two windows would face the street as labeled in the Staff Report.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to construct a new 26’x24’ detached, two-stall garage
with a hip roof at the rear of the house as long as the work meets all zoning requirements and the
necessary permits are obtained, was made by J. Hilt, supported by L. Wood and unanimously
approved, with J. Hilt, K. George, A. Riegler, L. Wood, and S. Radtke voting aye.
OLD BUSINESS
Case 2019-18 – 511 W. Clay Avenue (Siding). Applicant: Katherine Jawor/Steve Dahlstrom.
District: National Register. Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. This
case was tabled at the August meeting. The applicant is seeking approval to replace areas of
deteriorated wood siding on the rear of the house with a treated engineered wood lap siding (Smart-
Side) of the same size, color, and spacing.
HDC Minutes 10/01/19 2
D. Black stated that he and K. Jawor owned the house. They planned to replace the wood siding on
all sides of the house that faced the alley, as the wood would no longer hold paint. They had the
entire house painted last year and it was already peeling. They did not request to replace any trim. S.
Dahlstrom was the contractor and he explained that the product to be used was an all-wood product
that matched the color and smooth finish of the current siding. S. Radtke stated that the concern
earlier was that if only portions of the facades were repaired then it may look patchy. However, since
the entire facades would be replaced and they faced the alley, he did not see any issues with the
request.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to replace areas of deteriorated wood siding on the rear
of the house with a treated engineered wood lap siding of the same size and spacing with a smooth
finish, as long as the work meets all zoning requirements and the necessary permits are obtained was
made by S. Radtke, supported by J. Hilt and unanimously approved, with J. Hilt, K. George, A.
Riegler, L. Wood, and S. Radtke voting aye.
OTHER
Since the applicant was not yet present for case 2019-19, a walk-on case was heard next.
Case 2019-24 – 1632 Peck Street (Windows). This case was a walk-on so no staff report was
available. SAFEbuilt, the City’s building inspection department, had previously inadvertently issued
the property owner building permits to replace several windows on the building without HDC
approval. The applicant would now like to replace eight (8) more windows on the second floor of the
rear of the house to match the others that had already been replaced. The windows to be replaced
were double hung casement windows. F. Madrid stated that the owners wanted windows that were
easier to maintain and that cost less to install. A. Riegler asked why divided casement windows
couldn’t be used. F. Madrid stated that the windows were on the back of the house, facing the
garage, but if the HDC required divided casement windows, he would inform the property owner of
that. J. Hilt asked if all of the front windows had already been replaced with double-hung. S. Radtke
stated that HDC standards required that replacement windows must be of the same style and
configuration as the old windows.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to replace eight (8) rear-facing casement windows with
new casement windows of the same size and configuration as long as all zoning requirements are met
and the necessary permits are obtained, was made by A. Riegler, supported by S. Radtke and
unanimously approved, with J. Hilt, K. George, A. Riegler, L. Wood, and S. Radtke voting aye.
OLD BUSINESS (continued)
Case 2019-19 – 1593 Jefferson Street (Rehabilitation/New Construction). Applicant: Frank Peterson
District: Jefferson. Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. The applicant
has revised his application (which was reviewed at the August meeting) to request to remove the
existing garage doors and install 72” sliding patio doors on the two outside openings rather than
adding walls/windows in these locations. The applicant still plans to reside the existing three-stall
garage with a treated engineered wood lap siding, and convert the space to a den. Renderings of what
was previously approved and what is now being requested were provided.
A. Riegler asked why the applicant wanted to change the center door, as the French doors looked
better than the proposed prairie-style single door with side lites shown in the revised drawings. S.
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Radtke stated that he preferred to see all three doors match with all having the same-sized openings.
A. Riegler stated that the scale was way off and asked how visible this area of the house would be, as
the house was a significant historical resource. J. Pesch stated that the area in question was in the
back yard, which would be surrounded by a 6-foot wooden privacy fence. A. Riegler stated that there
may be some leeway because this was not on a primary façade, but the original rendering was more
in scale with the building. J. Pesch spoke to the applicant, F. Peterson, by phone. F. Peterson stated
that he requested the change to sliding glass doors in order to allow screens and airflow in that room.
He changed the center door to a single door because there was not enough space for two doors with
side lites. F. Peterson stated that, with less structural changes to the façade in the newest version, it
would make it easier for a future owner to change the area back to a garage if desired. He stated that,
if he could not have the sliding doors, he would go back to the windows that were approved
previously. He also pointed out that nothing on that section of the house/garage was original due to a
previous fire.
F. Peterson came to the meeting to answer questions of the board. He asked what HDC standards
required versus what board members wanted to see. A. Riegler stated that the standards left room for
interpretation but in her opinion, the prairie-style divided doors did not match the style of the house.
Various door styles were discussed and board members came to an agreement on what would be
approved.
A motion that the HDC approve the revised requests to 1) remove the existing center garage door and
replace it with a single swing door with two side lites with window divisions to match those on the
house, and 2) replace the two existing garage doors on each side of the center door with sliding glass
doors without dividers was made by A. Riegler, supported by L. Wood and unanimously approved,
with J. Hilt, K. George, A. Riegler, L. Wood, and S. Radtke voting aye.
HDC Local Standards Draft – Staff and HDC members finalized changes made to the local standards
over past meetings and workshops. A motion to adopt the new, revised HDC standards was made by
S. Radtke, supported by A. Riegler and unanimously approved, with J. Hilt, K. George, A. Riegler, L.
Wood, and S. Radtke voting aye.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
HDC Minutes 10/01/19 4
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