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CITY OF MUSKEGON
HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
MINUTES
November 6, 2018
Chairperson J. Hilt called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. and roll was taken.
MEMBERS PRESENT: J. Hilt, S. Radtke, L. Wood, K. Panozzo; D. Warren. A. Riegler
MEMBERS ABSENT: S. Kroes
STAFF PRESENT: J. Pesch, D. Renkenberger
OTHERS PRESENT: B. Playford, 427 W Muskegon Ave; K. Hunter, 1133 6th St.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The regular meeting minutes of October 2, 2018 will be presented for approval at the December
meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
J. Pesch requested that the board hear the cases out of order, with 2018-39 and 2018-40 being
presented first.
Case 2018-39 – 1641 Jefferson St – Fence. Applicant: Karen Panozzo. District: Jefferson. Current
Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. The applicant is seeking approval to
replace a 6-foot tall wood fence with a 4-foot tall aluminum fence on the south side of the property
and to install the same aluminum fence along the north side of the property.
K. Panozzo stated that they would keep the existing privacy fence at the rear of the property along the
alley and install the 4-foot black aluminum fence along the sides of the property.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to replace a 6-foot tall wood fence with a 4-foot tall
aluminum fence on the south side of the property and to install the same aluminum fence along the
north side of the property as long as the work meets all zoning requirements and the necessary
permits are obtained, was made by J. Hilt, supported by D. Warren and approved, with J. Hilt, S.
Radtke, L. Wood, D. Warren and A. Riegler voting aye. K. Panozzo abstained from voting, as she
was the applicant.
Case 2018-40 – 427 W. Muskegon Ave – Siding. Applicant: Brent Playford. District: Houston.
Current Function: Residential. The applicant is seeking approval to reside the southwest façade of
the structure using a treated engineered wood lap siding with a wood grain texture. B. Playford stated
that the weather had aged the exposed southwest façade of the building and he wished to replace the
siding before its condition worsened. S. Radtke stated that the board preferred a non-textured siding,
as the original wood would have been non-textured. B. Playford stated that he had suggested the
textured wood as it would more closely match the rest of the wood on the house, which had been in
place for decades and no longer had a smooth texture. K. Panozzo asked B. Playford if he planned to
replace the siding on the rest of the house. He stated that he planned to replace the remaining siding
HDC Minutes 11/06/18 1
with cedar boards as needed. On the exposed façade, he wanted a consistent look and the engineered
wood would provide that. Board members and Mr. Playford discussed textured vs smooth siding and
which would be a better match. S. Radtke asked if the reveal would match the rest of the house. B.
Playford stated that the overlap (reveal) would be the same. He also stated that the textured boards he
proposed still looked smoother than the original wood siding that was still on the house. S. Radtke
and A. Riegler stated that the standards disallowed a textured product; they realized it would not look
exactly like the current wood siding due to the age of it. B. Playford stated that he would do textured
or smooth, depending on what the board decided.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to reside the southwest façade of the structure using a
treated engineered wood lap siding with a smooth texture as long as the necessary permits are
obtained, was made by A. Riegler, supported by K. Panozzo and unanimously approved, with J. Hilt,
S. Radtke, L. Wood, K. Panozzo; D. Warren and A. Riegler voting aye.
Case 2018-38 – 1133 6th St – Rehabilitation. Applicant: Kirk Hunter. District: Clay-Western.
Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. The applicant is seeking approval
to undertake extensive renovations to the house, including the following: 1) replace the existing
windows with new wood windows of the same size and design, but with metal or vinyl clasps, 2)
replace the existing wood siding with matching concrete siding, 3) eliminate five windows and the
door on the southeast side of house adjacent to the alley, 4) remove two second floor windows and
install a total of four 18”x48” transom windows, 5) remove a tree and pave a parking pad on the north
side of the home in anticipation of a garage, 6) eliminate the second door opening on the north side of
the porch and move the original wood door to replace the existing steel door that faces 6th Street, 7)
eliminate a first floor window and enlarge an existing window opening for French doors on rear
façade, 8) install a 6-foot tall, wood stockade fence along the alley and rear property line, 9) addition
of a second story, double-hung window on the north façade, 10) installation of exterior accent lights
recessed in soffits, solar panels, and a small wind turbine. Extensive changes were made to this
house by a previous owner without HDC approval. None of the changes in progress were done by
the current owner.
Pictures of the house showing its previous and current state, along with drawings of the proposed
changes were reviewed and discussed by board members, staff, and the applicant. A. Riegler stated
that the front façade was more important than the other sides of the house. S. Radtke stated that he
was not opposed to changes proposed to the front of the house. The board concurred that the front
window that would be replaced could be approved due to the awkward angle at which the roofline hit
the window. K. Hunter explained the reasoning behind the garage location proposal, stating that it
would be difficult to build it behind the house, as there was about a four-foot drop-off in the rear by
the alley, which would require extensive fill and a retaining wall. He preferred to place the garage
alongside the house facing Sixth St. The board moved on to discuss the 2nd floor windows and
attempted to determine which were original. J. Pesch stated that there appeared to be an offset area
of the siding where there may have been a double window there in the past. Another window looked
in on an indoor closet area. Board members then discussed the first floor row of windows on the
alley side of the house; they were not in favor of replacing those 8 windows with 3 as proposed. K.
Hunter stated that several of those windows looked in to a closet and were covered over inside the
house. S. Radtke stated that records did not show whether this area was an addition or original; it
could have been added on later. A. Riegler stated that she was opposed to the space between the new
windows as shown on the renderings provided. S. Radtke stated that he had been in the house in the
past and the windows were in poor condition. He preferred that the replacement windows not have
the gap in between either, as having the windows right next to each other better reflected the sunroom
design currently there.
HDC Minutes 11/06/18 2
A. Riegler and D. Warren left at 5:00 PM.
S. Radtke discussed the bump-out on the rear of the house and asked if that was going to be a sided
area without windows. K. Hunter stated that was correct. S. Radtke went back to the front features
of the house to confirm which changes the board members had agreed on. He stated that the boarded-
up window was architecturally awkward and the proposed changes to that would make it more
aesthetically pleasing. He asked if the new windows would have the same headers and trim. K.
Hunter stated that they would. S. Radtke asked if about the texture of the new siding. K. Hunter
stated that it would be smooth boards and the same width as what was currently there. Board
members continued discussing the proposed changes with the applicant and determined which
requests would be approved and which would be postponed until a later date.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to make the following changes to the house: 1) replace
the existing wood siding with matching concrete siding with a smooth finish retaining all
architectural embellishments (profiles, moldings, trim, brackets, headers, waterboards, etc), 2)
eliminate the second door opening on the north side of the front porch and move the original wood
door to replace the existing steel door that faces 6th Street, 3) eliminate the first-story rear door and
replace the 8 windows on the southeast side of house adjacent to the alley with four windows with no
spaces between the windows, 4) install a 6-foot tall wood stockade fence along the alley and rear
property line, 5) replace the existing first-story door and add a second-story double hung window on
the northwest façade, 6) replace existing windows with new wood windows of the same size and
design, with the exception of allowing changes to the openings as listed in items 7 – 12 as noted: 7)
eliminate the window partially under the porch roof on the front façade, 8) replace the second-story
double hung window on the front façade with a new wood window matching the original size, 9)
eliminate the setback second-story window facing 6th Street on the north side of the front façade, 10)
remove three second-story windows and install a total of four 18”x48” transom windows (two on the
southeast, one on the rear, and one on the northwest façade), 11) eliminate the first-story window on
the rear façade and, 12) enlarge the existing window opening for French doors on the rear façade as
long as the work meets all zoning requirements and the necessary permits are obtained, was made by
K. Panozzo, supported by J. Hilt and unanimously approved, with J. Hilt, S. Radtke, L. Wood, and K.
Panozzo voting aye. Board members and the applicant concurred that the requests to 1) remove a
tree, 2) pave a parking pad on the north side of the home, 3) install solar panels, 4) install a small
wind turbine, and 5) install exterior accent lights recessed in soffits would be suspended until a future
meeting.
Case 2018-41 – 1561 Peck St – Windows. Applicant: Kurtis Fowler. District: Clinton-Peck.
Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch stated that the applicant was seeking approval to replace 21
wood windows with vinyl windows of the same size and design. Three existing windows (currently
boarded-up) on the north and west façades are proposed to be eliminated. The work had already been
partially completed without HDC approval; a stop-work order had been placed on the house, as no
building permit had been obtained either.
Board members were unhappy that most of the work had been done without approval, and that most
of the windows had already been replaced. They concurred that they could not deny the request to
replace the windows since the original windows were already gone. They requested that staff look
into what action could be taken by the HDC and that fines be levied if possible. They agreed that
they would not approve the removal of the boarded-up windows.
HDC Minutes 11/06/18 3
A motion that the HDC approve the request to replace 21 wood windows with vinyl windows of the
same size and design as long as the necessary permits are obtained, and to deny the request to
eliminate three existing windows currently boarded-up on the north and west façades, was made by S.
Radtke, supported by J. Hilt and unanimously approved, with J. Hilt, S. Radtke, L. Wood, and K.
Panozzo voting aye.
OLD BUSINESS
None
OTHER
HDC Local Standards Review – Residing and Trim Cladding, Roofing – Commissioners agreed
that this would be postponed until a future meeting due to the late hour.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:53 p.m.
HDC Minutes 11/06/18 4
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