Architectural Review Commission Meeting Update
Regular Meeting

February 5, 2006                            Monday                                 5:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL:      Commrs. Zeljka Howard, Jim Lopes, Anthony Palazzo, Greg Wilhelm, Steven Hopkins, Vice-Chair Allen Root, and Chairperson Michael Boudreau 

Commr. Howard had previously recused herself from participation in the meeting because her husband worked as a consultant for the firm which prepared the plans for the Chinatown Project. 

ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA:  

The order of the agenda was not modified. 

PUBLIC COMMENT:   

There was no public comment other than on regular agenda items. 

PUBLIC HEARINGS:

1.    955 Morro Street, 847, 861, 863 Palm Street, and 840, 842, 844, 848, 868, 870, and 886 Monterey Street .    ARC 69-05;   Applicant presentation and preliminary review of the Chinatown Mixed-Use Project in the Downtown Historic District;        C-D-H  zone; SLO Chinatown LLC, applicant. (Pam Ricci) 

Pam Ricci provided a brief overview of the project and an update on the status of the EIR process.  She pointed out that staff had not yet provided an evaluation or analysis of design issues in its cover memo and that the meeting was designed as an applicant presentation and overall introduction to the large and complex project.  She noted that it was premature to make any specific recommendations on the appropriateness of the proposed building demolitions, the proposed scale and architectural style of the new buildings in the context of the historical setting, or the height and scale of the overall project until having the benefit of the objective conclusions of the EIR.   

Mark Rawson, project architect, provided a detailed presentation of project plans by describing components and features like: topography, planned grading, proposed land uses, motivations for architectural styles and detailing, and pedestrian and vehicular circulation.  He responded to questions from the ARC during and after his presentation. 

The following comments were received from members of the public and the ARC members: 

PUBLIC COMMENT: 

Mary Israel questioned the overall building height and was concerned that the project appeared overly looming. 

Craig Smith expressed concern with maintaining light and visual access to the second floor windows of the adjacent Feliciano Building, which is located at the corner of Monterey and Morro Streets.  He suggested that the adjacent building on the project site be further set back to allow for this. 

Dr. David Brodie stressed the importance of pathways and other open spaces within the project having adequate sunlight provided to them or they would not be used much by people.  He noted that providing services, including trash, to both the commercial and residential components of the project would be important.  He believed that energy conservation features should be built in to the project and was an important consideration.  He expressed concern with the architectural design of the building located at the corner of Chorro and Monterey Streets and its relationship to The Mission.  He also questioned the use of mansard roofs.

Peter Danciart had concerns with the architectural style of some of the building forms and agreed that energy conservation within the project was important. 

Elizabeth Abrams was concerned with the loss of the historical buildings in the project. 

Jennifer Bellows mentioned that the project seems to clash with its surroundings. 

ARC COMMENTS: 

Commr. Wilhelm mentioned that he really appreciated the Ah Louis Project that the ARC had recently reviewed.  He suggested that the Chinatown Project incorporate more cues or elements that are in character with Chinese architecture.  He noted that the balcony detail on Palm Street was a starting point to address the thematic concern he was describing.  He brought up the idea of somehow incorporating the historic ovens contained within the Sauer bakery Building in some type of public art project. 

Vice Chairperson Root felt that the project was well-crafted at this preliminary stage.  He suggested that the addition on the roof of Muzio’s and the bridge features in the project needed to be better detailed and integrated with other elements of the project.  He recommended exploring the possibilities of incorporating the Chinese restaurant sign and Sauer Bakery ovens into the project somehow, He agreed with Craig Smith’s comments regarding maintaining light into the second floor windows of the Feliciano Building.  He noted that project models and shading plans would be important to understanding the impacts of the project.  He thought that the scale of the market raised issues with deliveries and other special needs. He felt that more Chinese architectural cues in the portion of the project closest to Palm Street would be desirable.  He suggested lowering the horizontal line of the building entry at the corner of Monterey and Chorro Streets and capitalizing on roof areas for open space use. 

Commr. Hopkins voiced his support for the hotel component at this location and the proposed mix of uses in general.  He agreed with previous speakers that solar access to public spaces would be especially important for the overall success of the project.  He suggested the possibility of retaining the façade of the building at the corner of Chorro and Monterey Streets.  He questioned the use of the mansard roofs in the project.  He thought that the project would benefit from a pedestrian connection to Chorro Street as well. 

Commr. Lopes liked some of the architectural elements of the earlier version of Chinatown and suggested incorporating Chinese themes, but cautioned against creating features that appeared trite or overdone.  He voiced his agreement with most of the CHC’s preliminary comments, and specifically mentioned his support for Items 7, 8 & 9 in the prepared memo.  He felt that the height and massings of the buildings within the project were somewhat overwhelming and suggested lowering the scale of buildings to generally 60 feet with allowance for some tower elements to exceed that height to add visual interest.  He recommended exploring the use of smaller-scale terraces rather than a large central courtyard as a means of providing open spaces areas to the residents.  He suggested accentuating the retail component along Palm Street and to look at lower cornice heights and more vertical articulation to achieve this. He also offered the ideas of more retail openings along the ground floor of the Chorro Street elevation and incorporating more Spanish and Spanish Revival architectural styles into the project. 

Commr. Palazzo thought that the overall architectural theme and character of the project would benefit from certain themes, like the mansards, translating down to the street level.  He noted that as the city continues to grow, this type of scale in the downtown should be anticipated. 

Chairperson Boudreau appreciated the evolution of the project design.  He thought that the project could further benefit from more of the larger masses being located away from the corners.  He suggested using a lighter design for the balconies to address scale concerns.  He emphasized the importance of keeping a pedestrian scale at the first level of buildings.  He did not think that the hotel building at the corner of Chorro and Monterey was necessarily too tall, but felt that the ground floor on Chorro needed more interest.  He believed that the final details of window trim will have a huge impact on the overall look of the project and complimented the architect on the variety of window styles currently proposed.  He also agreed that solar access to open spaces was very important. 

There was general support from the ARC for the use of fly-through, 3-D modeling to more accurately understand the project, especially interior spaces of the project such as the plazas and paseos. 

No formal action was taken on the project. 

COMMENT & DISCUSSION: 

2.  Staff: 

A.       Agenda Forecast - Pam Ricci provided an agenda forecast for the 2-20-07 meeting, noting that the meeting would be held on a Tuesday night because of the Monday holiday. 

B.       ARC Accomplishments 2006 - She provided the Commission with a memo listing some of the more prominent projects that they had reviewed and approved in 2006.  She suggested narrowing down the list to around 10 items, noting that she had starred the items that seemed to be the most significant standouts. She explained that this list would be forwarded to the City Clerk as the ARC’s annual accomplishments for the upcoming advisory body dinner on March 15^th.  The ARC generally agreed with staff’s recommendations and noted the changes that should be made before forwarding it on to the City Clerk. 

3.      Commission: 

A.    Minutes: January 22, 2007 - The minutes were approved as submitted. 

       B.   Recent Project Review – Lessons Learned 

The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. to a regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 20, 2007, at 5:00 p.m., in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street.