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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/07/25 ARB Minutes/ Minutes Town of Pulaski Architectural Review Board April 7, 2025 Council Chambers Members Present: Braxton Cox, Cathy Stripling, Kevin Meyer, John White Members Absent: Janet Hanks Town Staff: Carla Hodge, Code Enforcement Officer, Austin Painter, Project Engineer, Olivia Hale, Clerk of Council Guests: Scot Rockafellow, Great Wilderness Brewing Call to Order Ms. Stripling called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. Roll Call The roll was taken by Ms. Hale and a quorum was determined with four members present. Adoption of Minutes March 6, 1014 Meeting Minutes Mr. White asked for a correction of the spelling of ‘thorough’ in the comments from Ms. Hanks under the adoption of minutes. The motion was made by Mr. Meyer and seconded by Mr. Cox to adopt the minutes with the amendment. Braxton Cox- Aye Kevin Meyer- Aye Cathy Stripling- Aye John White- Aye Janet Hanks- Absent Certificate of Appropriateness Application Great Wilderness Brewing Company Signage Application Mr. Rockafellow reported the signage for the building will be individuals letters held together by a bar, the bar will be black, not lit, and the letters will be red LEDs, when illuminated, and white when not illuminated, and it’ll be the same style as the theater marquee on Main Street and due to the condition of the building when construction started, it requires to have the letters mounted to the back piece, so it can be ran through the brick and bolt it on the inside of the building, because the brick is crumbling. Mr. Painter gave a brief summary of the owner of the property, the Town of Pulaski Housing Authority, and a partnership with DHCD, and Great Wilderness Brewing Company will be leasing the property. Mr. Meyer asked if the signage passes the town ordinance code for square footage, for the sign because of the individual letters, the 32 square feet. Ms. Stripling stated the overall dimensions would be 57.8 square feet, height by width. Mr. Meyer stated when we’ve had a sign that is individual letters, it’s been reviewed as the size, the height and width of the letter, of each letter added up, not the overall length and height, the height would be the same, but you have to take out the space in between the letters. Ms. Stripling recited the guidelines, the total area of all signs on the building should be limited to one square foot of sign per front of the building with a maximum of 25 square feet, the maximum height of 12 inches is recommended for letters and symbols. Mr. Rockafellow stated the sign is going on the side of the building because of the outdoor space is the entire lot. The front of the building faces the street, the intentions of that is to repaint it the way the McCarthy’s had it, where it had, across the top of the building, it had a chemical manufacturing plant that had ‘Pulaski’ down both sides, he plans on redoing that who part as well, without the chemical plant, where it say’s ‘office’ over the door, it’ll say ‘cheers’. The second floor of the building will have a mural of the town that starts on one side of the building and wraps around on the inside, it’ll start at Martin’s Tank and goes all the way back through the transition throughout the years of the town. He stated he is particular in his branding and trying to be respectful to the building. Ms. Stripling asked who owned the land between the Senior Center and the brewery. Mr. Rockafellow stated he does, he owns an acre that the outdoor area will be fenced-in for compliance of his alcohol license, a stage will be built, outdoor seating will be available, and yard games will be incorporated. Ms. Striping recited the guidelines for the placement of signs, besides the 25 square feet, signs should be placed in locations on buildings that are traditionally used for signs, and hang signs no higher than the bottom of the second story windowsills or 15 feet above the sidewalk, whichever is lower. Mr. Rockafellow stated that was his biggest request out of everything, with the consumer’s dining right there, having that signage is not appropriate underneath there, plus it would require some additional construction to be able to mount it in between the windows and stars that are part of the historic part of the building. Mr. Meyer stated he believes the guidelines were based on the main strip of Main Street, most of the storefronts had signage out front and those guidelines were kind of patterned after that, we’re suppose to encourage them to go back with signage that’s similar or in keeping with that historic signage, in this case, he’s trying to look at it from the standards prospective and from the realistic perspective, and he thinks the standards may be a little our of line for what the board is looking at, and considered taking a reconsideration of some of these standards that are in place, possibly changing some of those depending on the location and type of building use. Mr. Cox stated one of the guidelines says integrate signs into the building composition, with three words, Great Wilderness Brewery, you could break up each word into a section and have each word in a different bay. Mr. Rockafellow stated that would be separating his company name, the trademark across the board, and it falls out of the guidelines within his trademark. Mr. Painter commented that the location of the signage was not only to meet his trademark and specifications for his outdoor seating. Knowing the structural capacity and the internal composition of the building, that location was the best from a construction standpoint and it would be a significant overhaul to move, because of the amount of bracing that needs to happen with those bricks to move them in some areas and moving some out be impossible. Ms. Striping asked if there was a reason that signage is being placed towards the front of the building versus centering it over the main entrance. Mr. Rockafellow stated it’s for visibility purposes, the signage will be more visible to someone who is driving down First Street if it’s closer to the road, without having a free-standing sign out and if the sign is placed on the side facing the road, it will not be seen at all. Mr. Cox asked if the sign is fastened to the building at each of the three pilasters or is it fastened to the brick between the pilasters as well. Mr. Rockafellow stated there are two to three points of connection on the frame and they will figure out the best way to do it. Mr. Cox asked if there is difficulty attaching the sign to the building, does a monument sign make more sense. Mr. Rockafellow stated a monument sign would be difficult, if it’s lowers than the first floor, it will not be visible, the stage will block it in the main part of the field, if it’s placed in the front of the building, the front of the building is going away, which will be handicapped and combat veteran parking. Mr. White commented that this signage will give the downtown area the same flavor as Calfee Park’s sign, that there’s life in this community. The motion was made by Mr. White and seconded by Mr. Meyer to grant Great Wilderness Brewing Company a Certificate of Appropriateness for signage as outlined in the proposal. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Striping noted that due to the nature of this building and the open space around it, the board is making an exception for approving the Certificate of Appropriateness. Adjournment With no further business, Ms. Stripling adjourned the meeting at 4:32 p.m.