So, we really know what you're talking about. >> Test one, two. Oh, wait. Pull up Zoom. Pull up YouTube for a moment. Yeah. You see how it sounds on YouTube. That's a glass game. Test one, two. Test one, two.
There's a picture of the 16. One, two, three. >> I can go get it. Oh We're going to go ahead and start. >> Who's I mean, we've got a quorum. >> Let's see. >> Oh, yes.
>> We can wait a couple more minutes. I think that'll be okay. >> I did that. I know. I double check. >> We did not get an RSVP from Everything seems to be okay. >> Why are you here? >> I'm glad you are. >> Uh because I got a text message. Oh,
that's that's definitely on. >> Oh, I'm so sorry. >> And you had planned on going home. It doesn't seem like one that'll >> end. It's kind of a little Ladies and gentlemen, We're just a
little a little beyond four. We're waiting to see who else on the board is going to show up. Traffic's pretty heavy with the weather. So, we're just going to give it a couple of more minutes if you don't mind. I'm sorry for any inconvenience. Happy birthday. always
good. She loves crack. I'm telling you, she's not special. recording in progress. >> Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your patience. I'm sorry that we're a little late. We're just trying to accommodate a couple of board members
with the traffic and the weather. Uh we're going to call the meeting to order now. So, good afternoon. Welcome. and we're we're so pleased that you all are here. Welcome to the regularly scheduled meeting of the city of Coral Gables Historic Preservation Board. We are residents of Coral Gables and are
charged with the preservation and protection of historic or architecturally worthy building structures, sites, neighborhoods, and artifacts which impart a distinctive historical heritage to our city. The board is comprised of nine members, seven of whom are 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 Coral Gables ordinance number 2006-11 must
register with the city clerk prior to engaging in lobbying activities or presentations before city staff, boards, committees, and/or the city commission. Copy of the ordinance is available in the office of the city clerk. A failure to register and provide proof of registration shall prohibit your ability
to present to the historic preservation board on applications under consideration this afternoon. Lobbyist is defined as an individual, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity employed or retained whether paid or not by a principal 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 council or any action, decision or recommendation 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 council. Presentations made to this board are subject to the city's false claim
ordinance, chapter 39 of the city of Coral Gable city code. I now officially call the city of Coral Gable's Historic Preservation Board of March 12th to order. The time is um 4:13 p.m. Present today are
Miss Alvarez, Miss Spain, Mr. Garcia Ponds, myself and Mr. Silva. Uh, Miss uh Ever and Miss Da are excused and um, Miss Silva may join us. I mean, Miss
Shield may join us or >> Yes, Miss Rolando and Miss Shield should be arriving soon. Um, and Miss Eert and Miss um, Dun are excused. >> Thank you. All of you are distinguished persons and
so I'm going to recognize every one of you as welcome to here to our meeting today. Our next item on the agenda is approval of the minutes for the meeting held in February. Are there any changes or corrections board? >> None. >> Do I have a motion?
>> Motion to accept the minutes. >> Motion to accept the minutes by Mr. Garcia. Pon second. >> Second by Mr. Silva. All those in favor? I motion c minutes are accepted. Okay. 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 exparte communications. An exparte communication is defined as any contact communication, conversation, correspondence, memorandum, or other
written or verbal communication that takes place outside a public hearing between a member of the public and a member of the of a quasi judicial board regarding matters to be heard by the quasi 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 exparte 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 uh regarding the matter.
Deferrals. >> I have no deferrals at this time. Um the only change to the agenda that I'd like to request is hearing um case file LHD 20225011 and COA SP2025027 for 259 Indian Mountain Trail at toward the end of the meeting.
>> Okay. I'd like to move that item since it's going to be complex and will probably require a pretty lengthy discussion to the end if you don't mind. Is there anyone here from that to discuss that item? Please raise your hand. Okay. uh we'll if you'd like we'll take a you can take a break and come
back and um we'll do that. So since it is complex we're asking that those complex items be put toward the end so that we can deal with everything a little more expeditiously and then allow the parties on these particular types of items more time you know to explain and
go through what it is. So if that's acceptable to everyone else uh that will be the change. Okay. Uh board members, does anybody have any exparte communications as we get going? Please disclose those. Uh okay. Um
swearing in. If you would if any persons in the audience will be testifying today or making presentation, please rise to be sworn in. Thank you very much. Okay, Miss Shield has joined us. >> Yes. >> So, thank you.
Okay, we're going to move on to um the first item relocated is special certificates of appropriateness and we're going to start with case file COA SP 2025-
uh 023 an application for the existent for the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness for the property located at 2615 Alhambor Circle contribut ing resource within the Alhhamra Circle Historic District. Legally described as lots 2122, block
10, Coral Gable, section D, uh, Plat uh, page plat book 25, page 74, Miami Dade. Applicant requests design approval for additions and alterations to the site work. Presentation
Can you put that PowerPoint up, please? I'll start. Well, okay, there we go. It's the location map of the property in question. It's um on Alhhamra Circle just north of Sevilla Avenue. Uh it is a contributing structure within the
Alhamra Circle Historic District which was designated in 2008. It is a later uh era home built in 1951 that fit within the um period of significance for the district which is why it's contributing and it's had very few alterations. This is a photo from 1977 which is the
earliest photo that we have of the property. Um the application requests approval for um an approximately 390 foot addition to the northeast corner of the home. it's attached to um an already altered area of the house and so it will
have minimal impact on the existing historic structure. Um new impact windows and doors were also proposed full interior remodeling and some very limited site work. No variances were requested. Uh this was approved by the board of architects with conditions uh that maintain the chimney on the
exterior as per historic and to remove all the accordion shutters which I believe have all been accommodated. We have very minor um conditions that are on the last two pages of your report and I'll turn it over to the architect. >> Wonderful. Okay. Can we have a
presentation from the property owner or the representative? >> Good afternoon board Michael. >> Good afternoon. >> Um James Smith, JS Group Architects Planners here in Miami.
um this kind of nondescript home on >> you just pull it down a little closer, Mr. Smith. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> Um the minor addition in the back of the home is on the northeast corner. So the
anything that we're doing is on the on the rear. Um see what we've got. Um, one of the things that I I think that we strive to do is um the photo that you see I'm not really sure u what the specific
year was but um there are I'm sorry >> 1977 >> okay 77 and the home was constructed in 51 or two 52 so it's doubtful that the awning windows were original so one of of the things
you'll see in our our proposal is that we're going back to what we believe was more would have been more appropriate or more of the gender at the time which is um casement windows with horizontal um
mountains only applied on it's horizontally. So um these are context photos for um for the neighborhood. These are um this is the house to the north on the same side
across directly across the street and this is the to the southwest and northwest and this is um this is the home. Now one of the things that um came up at the
board of architects meeting is the the applied shutters that are there um are kind of disproportionately out of out of scale. They're way too they're a lot narrower than what was on the house originally. Um we had made a proposal at one time just
to get just to remove those, but they they've been retained. So again, another another view of the home from the front. nice 50s um mid-century classic look. And nothing on the outside
is going to change except a fresh up though. And um this is the rear of the home. There was a comment from staff um that we didn't see until yesterday about the u the awning canopy. We're not proposing that the awning be removed in the back.
All we're going to do is um put a different fabric cover on it. That's that's it. Uh the addition is going on the right side of the of the view here. Um which will convert that space to a
master bedroom suite. And we're going to replan just about everything you see on the steps in the exterior. Let's see again the awning. This is the area of work. Okay. So the um this is the addition area in the back
facing east and north. This is um the existing plan now with the um this addition that was done in the 60s is the subject of the major renovation
to the space and this and the kitchen at the interior. Again, this is the proposed floor plans. the um there are no pool ter pool no pool terrace changes um in in this area. That's all going to
be just um resurfaced. The the addition to the outside is um in these two areas here with a with a small terrace um right right at this location. These are um existing and proposed elevations.
Um, again, we've we've shown that the the window the shutters are going to be removed. The windows are going to be replaced with the casements. And I think it's a probably a more traditional look than um
>> than was originally proposed in the rear. Actually, I think that um well, I don't know if the house was I don't know what year the house was designated um cara 08. So, the the addition the the addition on the northeast and east
corner that was done at the time um certainly was not done with um any kind of overview from historic >> and that's about what we have. It's pretty straightforward. Michael, >> thank you very much.
Thank you very much. Uh board questions. I've got one. Uh Mr. Smith, um on the front elevation, you're replacing a window. Um it looks like it's probably a bathroom window. >> They're all sized for size.
>> Yeah, it's a B size. Uh is that going to have uh buttons in it or is it just going to be because I'm not seeing anything in the drawing on that. Looks like it's just a punch window. >> Let me see what
>> So, one of our conditions in in staff report was that the window mutton pattern should more closely align with the original windows that are were awning. And we've done that. They can be casement type windows, but they need to have like kind of a horizontal look to them. We've done that um elsewhere on the street on Alhhamra for this this
type and style of house. So we will work with them to adjust the mutton pattern around the property. >> Yeah. Okay. Well, thank you very much. That answers my question. >> Board, Miss Alvarez, Miss Spain, Mr. Garcia,
>> I think the only question is the staff had 11 um conditions. Are you fine with the 11 conditions? Just want to hear. >> We will. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay, >> Mr. Silva. >> No questions. Um, let the record show that Miss
Rolando has arrived. Uh, M. Rolando, do you have any questions about the uh about the presentation you just missed? >> I think it would be best if I did not cast a vote on this. >> I think that would be fine. We still have a quorum. Miss Shield, any
questions? >> All right. >> All right. Board, if there's nothing else, uh, any members of the community would like to speak. Is there anyone on Zoom or anyone in favor of this in the audience? >> Okay. If not, we'll close the public
hearing and bring it back here to the board. Mr. Smith, thank you very much. It's a nice clear presentation. >> My pleasure. Thank you. >> Board, what's your pleasure? >> Happy to make a motion. Motion
>> a motion to approve the application for the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness for the property at 2615 Alhamra Circle, a contributing resource within the Alhhamra Circle Historic District and design approval for the additions and alterations and site work
uh with the 11 conditions as provided in the staff report. >> Very good. Do we have a second? >> Second. >> All right, we have a second from Miss Spain. Would you please call the role? Miss Alvarez. Yes. Miss Shield.
>> Yes. M. Uh, excuse me. >> I know. Miss Bane. >> Mr. Garcia Puns. >> Yes. >> Three. And Mr. Silva. >> Yes. >> And I vote.
>> Excuse me. And I vote yes as well. >> I apologize, Chairperson Maxwell. >> Mr. Maxwell. >> I vote yes. Thank you. >> Mr. Smith, thank you. Motion passed. You're you're good to go with get your permit and have at it.
>> Thank you very much. Okay. The next item on the agenda is case file COA SP 2026- uh 14, an application for the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness for the property at 2017 Alhhamra Circle, a non-contributing
resource within the Alhhamra Circle Historic District, legally described as lot four less the south west um corner of minus 26.4 four and lot five block 14
Coral Gable section E platbook 8 page 13 Miami Dade Records application request design approval for additions and alterations in site work. >> Thank you. >> So just up the street from the last um
application is uh 20017 Alhhambor Circle. It's right on the curve just south of the Alhhamra water tower. Uh it is a non-contributing um uh structure within the district. It was constructed in the 1950s but in 2005 2006 uh it was
completely remodeled. Second floor added it was it's like a new construction. Um so it is considered non-contributing. Um it's a current photo of the property. They are requesting design approval for additions and alterations to the residence uh primarily to the rear of
the property. There is a one-story um about 160 square foot addition to the northwest front corner of the home and then as noted in the staff report it is labeled as a carport on the proposed plans but it will um zoning it's too it doesn't meet the dimensions for a carport. So it's it's will be relabeled
as a porch. It's just to provide an entry to the be um an entry landing space to the front of the house. Um the addition to the rear is a is a two-story auxiliary structure um labeled as a pool house. It's it's a uh connected to the
house with a one-story covered terrace. Um site work includes uh the existing swimming pool, new pool deck um and uh new uh CME wall and fence at the northwest corner of the home. The owner is here. I don't know if the arch is the
architect here. Okay. You >> got to tell me how to use this thing. >> Forward. >> Okay. >> So, hello. >> Hi. Please state your name. >> My wife and I have lived in the house for about 30 years. >> Please state your name for the record.
>> My name is Ronald Potter. >> Thank you. >> All right. So, my wife and I bought the house back in 1996 when we were young. Now, we're older. And um we built this one in 0 in 06 0506 as she said. So my neighbor just put up a 10,000 foot house
next door to mine where I had a nice little you know 2,000 foot house before. So my wife and I looked at each other and said, "Well, you know, we might as well do something." And so figured we'd entertain ourselves and uh came up with some ideas. We we've always wanted to have a separate pool house, like a gym
and just a place to kind of a man cave, whatever you want to call it. So, uh, we designed it. We're going to I wanted to put a little porch on the front because the original design as we've lived in it, it just felt too big over there and I wanted something architecturally to break up that long wall. So, we created
that little porch port. Then, as you move to the back of the house, these are your views. That's uh that's the pool house that's connected now to the main house and everything matches. The windows are the exact same size. Uh the French doors are the same. So you have a
twotory area there. We're redoing the entire pool to get away from the old, you know, swervy pool to a more contemporary squarish style pool. Um let's see here. You can see it here. Let's see. So,
architecturally, that's what it would look like from the front. There's your front view. And this is the rear view now, the new rear view. And then these are your side views from when you're in the backyard.
Uh, and uh that's if you're in the pool, that's what you would see when you're looking at the pool house as you're bathing in the pool. And there's a little barbecue area in there, etc. So, that's what we're looking to do and just match up what we currently have. Roof tiles will be the same.
uh you know the same uh S or just rounded barrel tow roofs I guess you guys call them and everything else just matches up. That's it. >> There you go. >> You're welcome. Thank you. U board any questions of the applicant at this time?
Miss Shield, Miss Rolando, Mr. Silva, Mr. Garcia. >> Um, it's either maybe it's a question for staff with regards to the proposed carport, which is a porch. Now, um,
the there's it looks like a carport and you can park car in it. Um the front arch is a arch for a car to fit. Uh is there any use problem with
somebody parking in their porch? Like if they build this thing and they call it a porch and they park on their porch, it's legal. Yes. I mean, yes, it's going to be labeled as a porch on the drawings because it doesn't meet the current uh required dimension,
but they they can use it as they wish. >> So, there's no there's no use issue. I can I can build a porch in my house and drive my car in it. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Okay. I'm I just want to hear I don't have to get in trouble parts cars
who now use the dining terraces. So, it's the use of it as long as it meets the CR, you know, meets the >> It's not a carport. It's a car porch. >> Okay. I just don't looking towards a future of potential use of that space.
>> Anything larger than a 911, it's not going to fit there. >> Um, okay. So, it's zoning legal and building legal and everything legal. Okay, that's my only question. >> I had the same questions. It seems like
it's neither. Sorry. >> It seems like not a porch, not a carport. Uh, and that it goes nowhere. There's no entrance there. So,
uh, I like what you're doing, but to me, that's the one thing that's somewhat bizarre. >> Okay. I guess my wife and I could put a couple lawn chairs and look at the water tower from there if we wanted to. >> No, it's just if you look at if you look
at the design, I mean, >> I don't know how I even didn't catch this back in ' 06, but that wall over there to the left looks horrendous. um it just looks pitiful and it has to be broken up with something that has some architectural concept and this was the
best thing after I don't know thinking through it a million times that we could come up with to make it look nice with the house to match everything and whether we even ever use it. I don't know if I'll even ever use it but I know it'll make the house look a lot better >> when I drive up to it
>> because what's there now is terrible. I even thought about putting a fountain there and other things. Just something has to go there. And that was after a lot of work. That's what we came up with. >> So you could have lawn chairs with wheels. >> Lawn chairs with wheels. >> There you go.
>> You're not even close to the kitchen and the adult beverage um refrigerator. >> I have to take my my rolling cooler out there with >> What's on the other side of that? because I'm not seeing that on the fly. >> That's my office on the on the other
side of that wall there. Right there. It's my office. I thought about busting that wall out. I can't do it. It's there's no way to do it because you're I'll be parking inside my house. You're talking about two feet much, you know, it's because if you see the whole house is elevated two feet higher. So, I said
I I wouldn't have cared to get rid of my office, but it was going to be a structural nightmare to try to convert that into a third garage or something of that nature. Don't think that didn't go through my mind. It did. >> Or put a door in there or something. I mean, I thought about putting a door, but the problem is that the AC literally, right, the only place I can
get in through the AC is there. And so now everything would have to be, you know, completely redone. >> Okay. >> Don't think that a lot of thought didn't go into this. You know, when you live in a place for 30 years, you know, you you see every little nook and cranny and some things drive you crazy. This is one
of the things. >> Miss Bane, any comments? Miss Alvarez? >> Oh, only unless I missed it on the report. Were there any BOA comments that um >> need to be addressed? >> Board of Architects. No, Board of Architects loved it.
>> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Did they notice the little cardboard in the front? >> They did. They they actually they they actually loved it. They they they were absolutely uh 100% on board. As a matter of fact, one of them said you can put a little uh what do you call
those things that everybody drives around in the Keys? a little uh golf cart in there if you wanted to. >> As you're moving around, Coral Gable was in your little deluxe golf cart. You could stop in there. >> Not that I'm ever going to have a golf cart in the front of my house at 2017.
>> I like to give it one more shot. Um >> and the the question is is we try not to promote garages and carports facing the front of the house. And here we are. We're adding not a carport to the front of the house, right? Um, if it's a porch, there there are usually
architectural ways to define a porch and having one big opening for a car is not that way. >> Okay. >> Um, would you consider >> as you have on the sides having a nice triarched area in the front that goes down and that way >> I thought about that as well. >> Yeah.
>> And adding it to the main house, but then in other words, if I was going to do what you're saying is to put three arches in the front, then I got to start busting through where the AC is. No, just where the arch is. Replace the arch with >> three little arches like you have on the side. >> And but then how am I getting into my
lovely little porch? I'm not going to jump through an arch, you know, >> walk in through the arch. >> You know, I' I'd really much rather not have to do that. Um quite honestly, I mean, if I did the three little arches, it would be to enclose the area and then I'd have to take square footage away from the because I'm I'm like at my max
on the back area and so that would mean I'd have to redesign that whole back area. Oh, you know, from scratch. You don't. It's just a matter of changing the way you enter your porch from a car driveway into a human size. >> I would hate to do that. Then then I've
got a million arches in the front of my house, too. I think the big arch actually breaks it up. I mean, you're going to have arches, arches, arches. That one actually matches my front arch to the front of the house. And that's kind of why we designed it that way is to match it up to my existing entrance,
the main entrance of the house. If you want to repeat the size and scale of your front door arch over there, that would work, too. >> Oh, that would look terrible. The wall's too big. I mean, look at the size of Look at the size of the coupula that's there. And then look at that size. It's double the size. It look terrible. >> It's something an architect can
definitely handle very deafly. You don't have to have a single arch. You can have side openings. There there are really thousands of ways to treat that front. >> I think I would having it as a car. I think I would just nyx the whole thing and just live with the ugly wall before I, you know, go to do that to be honest
with you. >> Okay, that was one more shot. So, thank you. >> I would nyx the whole front at least and just be done with it, you know, and not do it. >> Miss Rolando, >> uh, I don't have a problem with the arch.
Um, I think my issue is it doesn't read as a porch. Uh, and there's lots of porches, especially in the, uh, Mediterranean Revival homes in Coral Gables where
they're screened in front porches and people do use them. Uh, so I'm I would be fine with if there were a step up. Um, so it read as a porch rather than a
truncated carport. >> Okay. So, I I will remind you all that this is non-contributing in a district and our our as staff our primary um focus is to make sure there's no real negative
impact on the historic district. Um and it it in my opinion it this does not negatively affect the district. So, >> thank you Miss Shield. Any questions? >> No. >> Okay, Mr. Silva,
>> Miss Alvarez, >> no. >> Mrs. Spain, >> no. >> Mr. Garcia, >> okay, good. Well, thank you, sir. We're going to close this part of the meeting and we're going to see if there's anyone online in the for the public hearing.
Anyone online or in the audience that would wish to speak for or against this particular item? All right. So, we're going to close that. We're going to come back to the board and close that part of the meeting. Okay. Board, any discussion.
>> I do I do have one question. I'm sorry. >> Is that It's on now. All right. >> So, um I'd like to make a mo motion. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> Someone has a question. There was a comment about working with zoning. Um, could you just tell me what that was about?
>> What did she say? >> It said staff will continue to work with zoning on lowering new wall and gates, updating. >> There were some zoning uh comments that were provided that um pertain to the perimeter of the sidewall that they needed it to be lowered. And there's
they're they're not overall affecting the design of the additions. They were just minor comments on the plans that we'll work with them to address that as they move through permitting. Any other discussion board? >> Excuse me. Any other discussion board?
If not, Mr. Spain, I'd >> like to make a motion to approve the the design proposal for additions to the residence and site work on the property located at 2017 Alhhamra Circle, a non-contributing resource within the Alhambor Circle landmark.
uh in incorporating uh those um conditions that are in the staff report, five of them um and approve of those conditions and issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness. >> All right, we have a motion from Miss
Spain. Do I have a second? >> I'll second. >> Second from Mr. Silva. Please call the role. >> Miss Alvarez. Miss Shield. Yes, >> Mr. Garcia Pon.
>> No, >> Miss Rando. >> Reluctantly. No. >> Okay. Mr. Silva, >> yes. >> Miss Bane, >> yes. >> And Mr. Maxwell? >> Yes. >> Okay.
>> The motion carries. Okay. Okay, we're going to go to the next item, which is um case file COA SP 20260008, application for the issuance of a special certificate of appropriateness for the building currently located on the University of Miami campus referred
to as apartment building 35 Lor's house, located at 1233 Dickinson Drive, a local historic landmark. Lengthy legal description is on file according to the plat thereof in plat book 46 page 81
Miami date county records applicant requests design approval for additions alterations and site work presentation please >> thank you this is the location of the Loris house just south of the lake um this is the
property that was designated believe Oh, I'm sorry. It's not in here. Um, so this was a property that um is requesting approval for the replacement of the existing original steel frame windows, interior renovations, and the addition of an elevator tower with connecting walkways at the second and
third floors. A similar scope of work had previously been approved for building 34, the Pentland House under COA SP2021 002 in April 2021. Um, as part of the approval, staff is requesting that the muttons are
high-profile and that the windows at the Lorse building have clear glass, no tint, and no mirror finish. I will let the applicant come up and >> All right. Thank you, applicant. >> Let's see. >> Might not work, but
up and down. >> Okay. For all those speaking, please state your name clearly and and if you would please, these microphones are not that sensitive, so if you would lean in. Thank you. >> Sure. Um, hi. Good afternoon. My name is Daffhne Guri. I'm principal with Gur
Matut, the architectural firm preparing these plans. >> Yes, I'm Fabio Se, senior project manager at Gurat. And as the scope of the work has been already described, the reason why this project exists is to replace all of the building systems uh
to replace exterior windows and doors and most importantly provide ADA accessibility while at the same time preserving the integrity of the design of the building to as much as we possibly can. It's a project that's very near and dear
to me as I studied at the school of architecture and in 1985 graduated in 88. So, it's kind of interesting to be full circle here presenting this project. And as I was was already described, some of the most important architectural
features of the building that make it unique are the exterior stairways, the breezeways, cross ventilation, the windows, especially the railings and in general just an openness and very and I want to add one thing, the very
subtleness of the architectural design by Marian Manley. Historically the buildings were there were many buildings some of them have already been demolished. Uh we have here adjacent to the site the George Paris
architectural center designed by Leon Kreer, the Murphy Design Studio designed by Architectonica and some other notable nice beautiful buildings like the Miller Bill build lab and the theater arts building which was a renovation.
And then of course the penant building which already received some similar improvements. We took a lot of care in figuring out what the implication was of bringing in a new vertical element like the elevator
into this building because it has very strong horizontal lines. So in doing that we really literally walked around the building and tried to understand um what are the opportunities and constraints and how people walk through the site. And I just want to point out a
couple of key things. For example, in slide B, photograph B, that's the corner where you have the the FPL transformer vault. Um we looked at that corner. We also looked at, of course, um, spot
number slide A, photograph A. That's the site where we were looking at more intensely and where we ultimately chose to place the elevator. But we walked around the whole building to see where we could connect uh, provide that
vertical accessibility and not destroy the beauty of the existing building. We also looked at the site utilities and how students use the the site now. So the green line is is a heavily trafficated area for students traveling
between the buildings mostly the architecture students. Um but you also have the red line that's dashed shows where you have a service access that takes you to Centennial Village. And so one thing that was also important that we received feedback from the board of
architects was how we could in the selection of our of our site provide some kind of connectivity to the Murphy design studio and the Paris art architectural center as there is none at this time. This is just a photograph of
all the utilities. As we were looking for the site, we were under trying to understand what is the feasibility of what's buried under the road. What would be the impact of trying to put the the building elevator tower in different
parts of the building? And the circle that's has the red dash is the area that we deem to be the the one that had the least impact with the buried utilities. It does have some but they're electrical and they can be rerouted.
So this is where we had um have selected to put the new elevator tower. Of course we were very careful how we were going to articulate that with the existing open stair which is a primary architectural feature of these buildings. So the picture on the left
shows you the existing conditions and shows you what would be impacted. It's basically some parking spaces. But what we're going to be doing is really giving students an opportunity like by creating a small plaza in the corner that at least has a space that draws your
attention. This is kind of bringing you into the into the building and at the same time kind of solves the problem of providing connectivity between the buildings between the George Paris art architectural center using the sidewalks
and coming connecting it into the the building at the ground floor level between the existing stair and the elevator. We looked at how we were going to position the elevator. Um, in our previous design that we had presented to
the board of architects that we had the the elevator rotated 90° and was facing forward, which meant that we had actually had to do more architectural gestures to be able to provide protection to the elevator. So, we
received their comments and we flipped it 90° and it opens now to the existing stair. And by doing so, it it really compressed the footprint that we were going to be taking up and created this very intimate space that allows you to come into the elevator but does not
touch the existing stair. And that's something that we really wanted to achieve. And then the drawing up at the top is just basically the demo plan. As you can see, what's being removed is the some interior walls to be able to create studio spaces, but basically removing
all of the restrooms and redesigning the restrooms so that they can be um ADA accessibility. And then, of course, all of the building systems and the windows. The same applies in the upper two floors. The second and the third floor
are exactly the same with open open studios. And then a closer um um enlarged plan view of the what happens at the ground. So you can see here a little bit more
more closeup the how you approach the the studio space. This is really the corner where everybody comes into the building. And so then we wanted to again draw people to come into the building but at the same time not let the new
proposed architecture compete with the existing building. So it creates a the most efficient, smallest footprint possible to create an area of circulation that you can come into the studio space and at the same
time go to the stair. And we also wanted to preserve the existing railings at the stair. So what we did was do I have a pointer here? Is it this one? Oh, I don't think I can use the pointer. But above the label of the existing stair
right there where it says existing stair number four, we're we're showing you a 4 inch step and then there's a railing there that we are cutting >> point maybe. >> No, we have to be straight on.
>> I don't think it's gonna work. I'm gonna let you go. >> Okay. Thanks, You'll be able to see it now in some of our renderings. So, architecturally speaking, it this was uh one of our
biggest design challenges is how do you come up with a design that is slightly understated so that you're not competing and making a big gesture on a building that is so subtle. So the architectural design gives a nod to the existing
design by Mariam Manley but at the same time has to define itself as being new and different. So how we did that was uh express the horizontality of the the thin slabs and the thin uh roof line
which is similar to like what you see in the eyebrows and in the open balconies mimicking the the use of the transparent railings and then of course the colors and materiality were also important. So,
we wanted to go with a full white uh scheme to be able to blend in nicely with the building. But then what we did was we accented the by uh the use of the yellow on the glass to reference how the
yellow was used in the existing uh glass steel windows. And this is what it would look like at night. You can see the plaza there in the corner. And then the yellow light is just like a a very very uh thin trans um
translucent light that brings us attention to the corner but doesn't compete. And then the openness as you can see it's completely open and you can see where the existing building was with the existing stairs and then the new intervention.
Do you want to talk about the materials? So actually the just uh adding to what DN said the transparency is the main competent here. We want to make sure that you see the existing building >> as you see the exist the end of the existing stair is completely translucent. Please >> speak closer.
>> Then the transparency is achieved by just having a corridor in between the two buildings. Yeah. The materiality again with bringing the yellow glass the the wall the doors are going to be blue as originally blue. the the new windows are going to be all windows all
metal windows with the transparent glass and and yes the the as you mentioned a we're planning to have white stockholders so it created a dialogue between the existing building and the new >> and there you can see the railing that is existing on the stair that we
basically are just cutting in the backside that from one in the foreground stays in place and this is a view in at night the view from the side and just a closeup on the windows
and that's it. Thank you. >> All right. Well, thank you very much. Appreciate that. >> Okay, board questions. Miss Alvarez, Miss Spain, >> uh, have you discussed with the university the, uh, not putting
reflective glass in the windows and >> Okay. >> Yes, we are very aware of that. >> Yes. And personally, as an architect, I I don't think that that's a good move either. So >> the very last thing I did, the last day that I worked for the city, >> I failed the inspection of the windows on the architecture school
>> and >> and then I left the inspection and I went to the city manager's office and told him and then I retired. >> Actually, we we are working very close with our mechanical engineer making sure that the >> the energy calculations is based on the
overall building and only on the windows. That way we're going to have more transparent glass. Yeah. Thank you, >> Mr. Garcia. Pause. Question. >> Um, a couple. The windows are what? What?
I didn't see a slide about the the windows specifically. Do you have information replacement windows of the whole building? >> Yeah, the new windows are going to be hope windows are going to be out of metal with with glass with a with a lum laminated glass similar to what was
implemented at Penland. and the building 48 and 47 which is the brand is hope >> right so similar to the ones that we that we've already used on the other building >> at penant yeah >> and the same color scheme as the school of architecture
>> the frame is going to be the same frame >> same profile >> penons are blue lagors are are yellow >> exactly >> yes they will match but no reflected glass >> without reflected glass okay the Second question. And um when I saw the application, I was
>> thinking about places to maybe put the elevator because it seems like it maybe was too prominent in my mind. >> Um and ideally I was thinking maybe tucking it in the back along the stair corner and the front along the stair corner. I can see why the roadway and I didn't see the utility line until you
showed me that's going on the back side. U so I understand why it's placed there. My question is, and I know that you've thought about it. Um, the the two touches of color, the yellow glass and then sort of the are they blue score
lines? What are the score lines? They're not colored. >> It's really hard when you're using Photoshop to make a score line. So, it's just a >> We just drew it on there, but it's not going to be black. >> It's just a score line. Yeah. >> It's just a score line. My question is
um can you go back to the straight on one which is really beautiful? >> Okay. Well, you'll find >> Sorry. Got to learn how to use this. This one. >> No, the um the one that's >> this one. >> The other side of this one.
>> Perspective. >> That one's good. No, no, do the go back. Sorry. >> This one >> more >> that one. So, >> okay. these guys. Um, the transparency is wonderful. I think the orientation of the elevator is much better. I think the
compactness of the approach is really efficient. >> Have you considered instead of number three being white stucco if it were just something else, >> clad, dark, >> something? Because then it would not look like it's an extension of the
existing building. >> Yes, we did. >> We looked at concrete. Um, I personally thought it was like a it was mismatched because I I like looking at the whole building. Um, we did look at Stowe as a
possible alternate material to Stuckco just so that it's a little bit different, but I wouldn't want to make it so different that it becomes too important or there's something so
nice about the subtleness of the stuckle and the whole design that I just I feel like I need to like give reverence to the building if that makes sense. You know, >> I again I understand the the thought
process and the result. Um metal tile panels. >> We looked at that too. >> Yeah, >> there's some really modern ways to do something which matches the aesthetic of the modern architecture that isn't repeating the white stucco because it could be interpreted as it was always
there because it's the same. >> Yeah, >> I I would entertain the idea of doing the sto. Yeah, the sto >> that's what we had when we presented to the board of architects. We told them either the stoco or the stow and they were okay with it. >> Yeah, because the sto will look like a very smooth finish. It's going to be,
you know, sanded at the end. It's going to look like a pre-cast piece but still synthetic. >> Exactly. >> Do you like that? >> I think it might be better. You have I don't know if everyone here knows what it looks like. So, if you have a slide, which I don't think you do because >> No, we don't have a >> going to be the same but smoother. Yeah,
>> very smooth. It's a It can have almost like a plaster feeling to it. >> Yeah. >> And we can definitely We would definitely agree to that. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah. No, thank you, >> Miss Alvarez. >> Oh. Um, thank you for the thorough presentation. I think it's a it's a
great strategy. I have a question that's um I guess not um perhaps not completely um relevant, but since I spend a lot of time on the building, um I noticed the hopes windows have some deterioration, the ones that were installed not long
ago. >> So, I don't know if that's been um addressed because I know that's a very pricey item and >> we we can review that item with the stall manufacturer fabricator. What happened with the previous windows? Maybe you reference to 4849 because the
penand just was renovated a year ago. >> The administration building in particular >> that I know has some >> I have not seen >> rusting. Yeah. >> Uh we'll definitely take a look at it and discuss that with the manufacturer. >> Yeah,
>> Mr. Silva. >> Thank you Daffany for your presentation. It's I think it's a really elegant solution. Um, in terms of of what Caesar was talking about, that that elevator tower finish, um, I'm I'm personally okay with a Stuckco. Uh, I think it does read
differently because these buildings are capped always by that stair tower, right, which has that grooved >> sort of finish, >> kind of like a brick. >> So, to me, to me it reads differently than than all the rest of them because all the rest of them have that that grooved thick wall. Um, but I I wouldn't
be opposed either to having kind of a different texture. Um the I appreciate your your effort on the on the railings. >> Um so a quick question on those. So so they >> the main elements of the railing you got two horizontals and and sort of some verticals that are mimicking the pattern
of the original, right? >> Yes. >> Um and then you have the cables to to really differentiate it. Um do you what do you anticipate? Have you thought about the detailing of those railings yet? Are they going to be round pipe just like those sort of welded with with the things um screwed through? And are
they going to be white or are they going to be metallic? What do you >> We We have it as gray right now. Again, this is a deferred maintenance project. We're going to have to bring the whole building to ADA compliance. The existing railings we're going to have to be we're going to integrate cables to the existing railings. That way you have the
4 in Xere I would prefer to keep them with the the round. Um but at at the same time if they have done already a certain reeling in other parts of the buildings >> I think just out of uniformity we need
to look at all of the >> options >> take take a look especially if you're going to retrofit ones then think about >> the pinland whatever was done on penland yeah >> which they connect lagor and pinland connect at one point yeah but >> great I love the project
>> thank you thank Miss Rolando, any questions? >> I don't have a problem with the stucco and I really like what you've done. >> Thank you. >> I think it's um really tasteful. >> Thank you. Thanks.
>> And very sympathetic to the original building. So if you do go with the stone, I think you have to be really careful. It can't be it can't give the impression of being monumental or important.
>> Agreed. >> And that's why I like what you've done with the stuckco. >> Thank you for the comments, >> Miss Shield. Any questions? >> No questions. I I like the keeping with the color scheme and the
>> I like the thin ceiling and dividers that mimic the eyebrow and it's a minimalistic. It make you made it look very easy. Um but yeah, I like it. >> Thank you.
>> It's a good solution. I think >> I think we all like it. And um >> yeah, I think that the the stucco is good, too. And um you know, we we've got the there's the brick pattern which goes on there. So, I mean, if it's if it's differentiated, it probably should pick
up something more like that. and it which it could do in the stucco as well just just to look a little slightly different but I don't have a problem with way it is I mean you've offset it nicely and it's >> it's a very good solution >> thank you >> yeah by the way the the original building is really good
>> it's so thank you for >> such good work >> thank you >> any other questions board okay then we're going to call this part of the meeting to conclusion and we're going to open it to the public is there anybody online or here in the audience that would like to speak for against this
particular issue. We have none. So, we're going to close that and thank you very much. We're going to go back to the board now. >> Board questions, discussion motion. Miss Rolando. >> Um,
let me pull up the report. Sorry. Okay. Um, let me just ask, did you have any um objections to the conditions uh noted by staff in the staff report?
Okay. Then um I would move to approve the design proposal for the additions uh to the residence and site work on the property located at
um 1233 Dickinson Drive, a local historic ma landmark. Um, and to approve with the conditions in the staff report an issuance of a
special certificate of appropriateness. Uh, for the reasons uh set forth in the staff report and as noted in the comments by the members of the board. >> Thank you, Miss Rondo. So, we have a
motion by Miss Rolando. Do I have a second from the board? I'll second it, >> Miss Spain. Thank you. >> It shouldn't say residence. There's a typo there. >> Wasn't going to bring it up. It's in the motion.
>> Should we say CLA classroom facility or um educational facility >> building >> building >> to the building? >> Okay, >> that would that's my amendment. My friend amendment to the motion. >> I accept the amendment. Okay. So, we
have a motion and amendment accepted by everybody. Would you call the role, please? >> Mr. Garcia Puns? >> Yes. >> Mr. Silva? >> Yes. >> Miss Shield? >> Yes. >> Miss Alber? >> Yes. >> Miss Rolando?
>> Yes. Miss Spain. >> Miss Spain? >> Yes. >> And Mr. Maxwell? >> Yes. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. And good job. All right,
>> we're going to go back to the relocated motion and we're going to deal with come up now with case file LDH 20225-011 and COASP 2025 uh 27 consideration of
local historic designation of the property at 259 Indian Mound Trail legally described as lot 3 block 3 Coral Gabriel section D uh recorded in plat book 25 page 74 Miami Dade. The applicant is also requesting to unify
two adjacent single family properties into one parcel and the issuance of an accelerated special certificate of appropriateness and design approval to join single family residences to create one single family residence and design approval for additions and alterations
to the residence and site work. Variance has been requested from article 2 section 2-101D6 for ground area coverage and article 2 section 21101D4 for the side and rear setback article six.
Do we have a presentation please? >> Yes, CGTV will be ready for the uh landmark designation and presentation please. >> And if we could have uh Miss Gwyn introduce herself too.
The property at 259 Indian Mound Trail is before you for consideration for designation as a local historic landmark. The application was submitted by the owner. Mediterranean transitional single family home was designed by William Mariam in
1935 as per article 8 section 8-103 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. 259 Indian Mound Trail 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 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. 259 Indian Mound Trail is located near
St. Teresa's Catholic School at the junction of Indian Mound in Ander Lucia Avenue in Coral Gable section D. The property approximately 6,230 square feet is an irregularly shaped lot
and has a single family residence with an attached garage. The home retains its integrity of its original style and character. Coral Gable's developmental history is divided into three major historical periods. George Merrick founded it in
the early 1920s based on his vision for a fully conceived Mediterraneanp inspired city. It is now considered one of the first modern planned communities in the United States. The architecture constructed during this initial period combined 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 this style. In the late 1920s, the dire downturn in the economy in the aftermath of the 1926
hurricane had a drastic impact on new construction. And despite valiant efforts, Merrick's grand plans for completing his Mediterraneanpired city ended. During the Coral Gable second developmental period, construction was sparse. During these 17 years, there
were fewer than 1,000 new CBS single family homes built in the city. It was a period where Merrick's vision for a cohesively designed community was still embraced and Mediterranean inspired architecture shifted to include new modern trends.
259 Indian Mount Trail was built during the second historical phase when few homes were built and Coral Gables began to embrace contemporary styles that followed national trends. In the six years from 1930 to 1935, there were fewer than 90 single family
homes built in Coral Gables. Over half of them were built in 1935 as relief expanded under New Deal administration. In the 1930s, as construction tried to regain its footing and shifted away from the elaborate and embellished
Mediterranean revival style of the 1920s towards simpler and more modern designs that reflected the new aesthetic and priorities of society. Home design began in a limited manner to employ aspects of contemporary styles that favored more streamlined
construction. In South Florida, art deco and art modan were largely in fashion. In Coral Gables, whose early identity was so strongly tied to the Mediterranean theme, most architects sought to acknowledge Coral Gable's
roots and Merrick's desire for a cohesively designed community. Rather than fully embracing the modernistic styles prevailing in other communities, Coral Gables moved to a style which blended elements of the Mediterranean Revival with them to
maintain an overall semblance of cohesion. 259 Indian Mount Trail was designed in April 1935 and is amongst the earliest homes in Coral Gables designed in this blended style. Two years later, in February 1937, the
city of Coral Gables codified this blended approach by passing zoning ordinance 471. In section 12A, it states, "All buildings shall be of Spanish, Phoenician, Italian, or other Mediterranean, or similar type architecture."
It allowed for exceptions. However, throughout most of the city, new homes were to maintain the character of Merrick's Mediterranean inspired vision. The direction many architects took was the hybrid that is now known as the Mediterranean transitional style.
The Mediterranean transitional style was a staple during Coral Gable's second developmental period. However, after the war, as construction ramped up again and new generation of homeowners entered the city, zoning ordinance 471 was hotly
debated. In 1945, the city held public meetings to hear the citizens wishes, and it was upheld. However, this was not the final word on the subject. A year later, the city commission called for a special meeting to discuss the matter of architectural styles and invited all
registered architects in the city to participate. As discussed in the designation report, there was a range of opinions and not a clear consensus. In the end, the commission upheld the zoning ordinance but left the final design approval to the board of architects who leaned
towards introducing new styles. Hence, the Mediterranean transitional architecture was only produced for a brief period before the new stylistic trends took over. Its primary characteristics are shown here and discussed further in the designation report.
The Mediterranean transitional style is pivotal link between the two historic building boom eras of the city and represents a final effort to harmonize with and honor Merrick's Mediterraneanpired founding vision. The historical period of the style further adds to its limited nature as these were
depression and wartime years which saw sparse new construction. There were only a few hundred homes purposely designed in this style and they are an important piece of the city's architectural history. 259 Indian mound trail was one of the first designed in this style in Coral
Gables. India Mound Trail located in section D was laid out in 1922 as a small winding road connecting Coral Way in Anastasia Avenue. On its southern end, two blocks were set aside for St. Joseph's Academy, which are now the grounds of the St.
Terresa Catholic School and the Church of the Little Flower. Along the winding northern section between Coral Way and Madrid streets, lots for approximately a dozen homes were planned. However, during the 1920s, only two Mediterranean Revival style
homes were built, one at each end, and the remainder of the street remained a treeline scenic cutthrough trail, as seen in the photo here. Indian Mount Trail was primarily developed in the late 1930s when building was scarce. Eight homes were
built along this windy stretch between 1935 and 1939, and it remains a small, dense collection of pivotal and transitional homes built at this time. 259 Indian Mound Trail along with 251
and 255 were the first of this collection. They were built in 1935. Situated along the winding Indian mound trail, the home at 259 was designed in the Mediterranean transitional style with strong influences from the modistic
art mod. It retains a sense of recessed and projecting bays of the Mediterranean revival style, but an overall simpler form with a focus on horizontality and geometric forms in the modernistic fashion. While the roof is clad and
barrel tile of the Mediterranean Revival style, the roofs are low pitched under a singular ridge, which is a distinct departure from the use of separate roofs of varying types and heights that was common in the Mediterranean revival. The smoother stucco of the art mod style
also accents the home's geometric emphasis and modernistic sculptural qualities. The front facade is balanced at its end by the geometric elements of the protruding square of the garage bay and the cylindrical salarium.
The sculptural elements of the blocky and step chimney and the curved entry dominate its street presence. The fenistration of the home is deeply recessed, giving the impression of being carved out, but rather than the modern clear view windows. The original windows
were steel casements with raised muttons in keeping with the Mediterranean revival style. In the modernistic fashion, embellishment is minimal. It includes coved eaves, geometric pattern masonry ground vents, exposed rafter tails, and
it originally had round windows in the garage doors and fluo motif metal screen doors. 259 Indian Mount Trail is a modest two-bedroom home whose simplicity was a response to the economic hardships of the depression and the burgey modern
aesthetic of subtle ornamentation and streamlined homes. As was typical, it is one story with a low pitched roof, prominent exterior chimney, an efficient floor plan, and includes the then emerging trend of attached garages.
It is built of masonry block over a crawl space, and in the modernistic fashion is clad in a very lightly textured stucco. The plan is essentially C-shaped under low pitched tipped roofs and a semic-ircular solarium at the northwestern corner.
The original roof was a two-piece barrel tile, which was a character-defining feature of Merrick's Mediterranean style homes. The current S- tile barrel tile was installed in 1993. In the modernistic fashion, the windows are deeply recessed without sills, and
the home retains a fair number of its original steel casement windows. Alterations to the home are minimal and there are very few permits on file for this property. The only additions to the home occurred in 1941. They were small with little historical
impact on the original home. The first was a 8 foot 2in eastern extension of the rear wall to incorporate a bathroom at the location of the orange arrow. The second was a 3'6 in extension of the side screen porch shown at the red
arrow. This addition is clear by the change of floor tile and its roof extension as seen here. In the modernistic fashion, the street view of the home is distinctly horizontal with four major geometric and sculptural elements. The overall
impression is a streamlined and clean with few decorative touches. The low pitched roofs visually impart a horizontality to the home. In the eve is a cove molding feature. The softening of the wall to the roof connection is a detail often favored by Mariam to
support the sculptural quality of the design. While the roof is clad and barrel tile of the Mediterranean revival style along the front, it is low pitched under a single ridge. In the 1920s Mediterranean revival style homes, a protruding front porch bay was
a character-defining feature. In this home, there was a similar protruding bay, but it contains an attached garage. In Merrick's 1920s, the garages were detached and at the rear of the property. By the mid1 1930s, automobile ownership was more common than the early
1920s, and citing it as a protruding bay gave automobile ownership a higher pride of place. Additionally, moving the garage to be an integral part of the home, aligned with the trend of designing efficient small homes. The garage bay reads as a simple square
feature. As a protruding bay, it visually balances the large cylindrical carium featured at the other end of the facade. As seen here, the original carriage doors featured simple circular windows, further emphasizing its geometric
nature. The garage doors were replaced in 1968. Adjacent to the garage is the receding front entry feature. Walls curve back to meet the door, giving a sculptural impression that the walls were carved out to reveal the front door. The curves of this feature
reinforce the curve of the solarium. The curve of the entry features appears to flow organically into the large adjacent chimney. Prominent chimneys were character-defining features of the Mediterranean revival style and were usually evocative of Spanish belfry or
an Italian inspired tower. Miam chose to keep the chimney as a prominent feature in this Mediterranean transitional home, but designed it as a modernistic sculptural element. The semi-engaged chimney is large and blocky, again evoking geometry rather
than embellishment. The rectangular block rises through the roof a few feet with the modernistic art deco inspired shoulder chimney top. While the east side of the chimney is on the same plane of the front facade, the west side projects from the plane. This
side of the chimney stack steps down. Its projection gives the impression that the adjacent cylindrical form of salarium was carved back from the plane of the chimney. This depth element visually draws attention to the adjacent cylindrical solarium while
simultaneously providing a balance for it. The overall geometry, size, and solidity of the chimney visually grounds the home and aids the horizontal emphasis of the design. When first placed on the market, ads highlighted the curved salarium. It is a
hallmark feature of the home. Two character-defining features of a modernistic art modan are cylindrical forms and long horizontal window bands. Miam used these elements for a dominant solarium element. Currently, it is
largely obscured by vegetation. The 1968 historic photo here shows the full impact of this modernistic melment. The semic-ircular salarium feature protrudes from the western end of the front facade. Wrapping around the
feature is a continuous band of deeply inset windows providing another strong horizontal element to the facade. In the modernistic fashion, there is no sill and the large curved rectangular opening appears to be cut out from the half cylinder mass. These windows were
replaced at least twice. Based on historic photos, they were replaced between 1968 and 1991. The side facade behind the salarium remains largely intact to Marryiam's design. These windows, much like those
on other secondary facads, are recessed with no sills in the modernistic fashion. However, their size and proportion and placement are in line with Mediterranean Revival style homes. Likewise, the use of casements rather than clear view windows also aligns with
the Mediterranean revival style. The modernistic nod is the use of steel casements rather than wood. This facade retains its original steel casement windows. Due to the vegetation and lot restrictions, only a portion of the facade could be photographed. A current
elevation drawing is provided for reference. The footprint of the home is the east facing C plan. Tucked in the crook of the sea is a covered patio porch. Initial sales ads state that the porch was purposely placed on the east side
and configured to allow sunlight into all rooms. The efficient placement and banding of the openings align with modernistic principles. As stated, this porch was widened slightly in 1941. Simple curved rafter tales are found on
the porch eaves. The rafter tales are Mediterranean revival style element. The report remains in its 1941 screen configuration. The remainder of the facade reflects its 1935 design and retains its original
steel casement windows. As mentioned on the rear facade, there was a small bathroom added in 1941. It is in the center of the facade. Since the 1941 edition, alterations to this facade have been minimal and reversible.
On this facade is one of the remaining castmasonry vents. In keeping with modernistic aesthetic, the decorative touches are minimal. Its geometric design is one of the few ornamental elements of the home. In conclusion, constructed in 1935, the
single family residence at 259 Indian Mound Trail was amongst the first homes built during the New Deal era. Between 1930 and 1935, there were fewer than 90 homes permitted in Coral Gables. As construction tried to regain its footing in the 1930s, it shifted away from the
elaborate Mediterranean revival style of the 20s towards simpler and more modern designs that reflected the new aesthetic and priorities in society. In doing so, Coral Gables entered a new architectural era. The home at 259 Indian Mount Trail helped to launch this
new chapter in Coral Gable's architectural history. 259 India Mount Trail is one of the earliest representations of the Mediterranean transitional style in the city. It was one of three homes designed in this style by architect William Miam for the Pencellor Construction and
Development Company in the spring of 1935. In this Mediterranean transitional style home, Miriam thoughtfully acknowledges the city's Mediterranean Revival Foundation while embracing modernistic aesthetics in a manner that harmonizes
with Merrick's 1920s planned city. 259 Indian Mount Trail retains its historic integrity. It is part of a collection of quality residences that contributes to the historic fabric of the city and its sense of place over time. Staff recommends approval of the local
historic designation of the 259 Indian Mount Trail based on its historical, cultural, and architectural significance. presentation. >> Elizabeth, could you come up on the screen just to Well, it was to introduce
but to exit the landmarked report. >> Can you all hear me? >> Yes, we hear you. I can't get the audio to let me come up but um Elizabeth historic preservation coordinator and in this presentation was
a summary of the historic designation report found by spat >> thank you >> anything else okay >> yeah Mr. I just had a be before we start talking about this. I did have a a procedural
question. Um so this was a very thorough report. I'm very clear if we were we are designating this or we're looking at designation for this 259 property specifically, right? >> Um there's other items on the agenda
today um that are separate from this. Right? So procedurally, right, the the the applicant is requesting in a subsequent item, right, >> um to merge these two properties um and asking for a special certificate of appropriateness, assuming we we
designate this house, right? >> Um as far as I could tell, the neighboring house is not designated. Am I correct? >> No. >> Is not designated. So just procedurally a question, right? Um if we designate
this house and the parcels get united that that means the entire property is now designated. Correct. >> Yes. >> Is there is there um anything different about the way we are doing this? Because normally when we designate a property it's we're
looking at the entire property right and we are designating the entire property. In this case we're looking at half a property and then magically the designation extends. Right? I just questioned procedurally how that works. Is that okay? Is is that >> weird? >> I mean,
>> it's just a strange >> designation would apply to the entire site. So, within this application, you're you are designating the current site at 259, but you are also agreeing to expand that site into the into one site with the property next door.
>> We on the next vote >> on the on the next vote. It's just this. So that's why it's like in the same but it's it's the application is the local historic landmark. >> There's three votes >> and then you would approve or deny you know approve or deny the the designation
and then you'd move forward to the COA. >> Yes. You would need to designate it to review the COA. >> All right. I have a question. >> If not you wouldn't review a COA. >> How what what is the status of the other house? When was it built? around the
same time period along that's what was stated in um the report today there's a series of houses on 25 on Indian Montreal that were constructed around the same time >> so the other the second house which becomes half of the new house uh that's going to be a contributing resource or
is that also part of the designated >> okay so it so the designation will fall to that house as well right >> yes I'm going with >> the parcel But the vote today right now is that one house on that one site. >> Yes.
>> Everything else is later. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Mr. Chair, if I might, if uh here on behalf of the property owner, Mario Garcia, the office is at 600 BL Avenue representing Vivian Sanchez and Christine Mrage, both of which are with
me today, owners of the property through their trust. We have come forward with a proposed designation. We've also come forward with a proposed special certificate of appropriateness. As you can imagine, both items are of importance to us. So, while I know there would be a separate vote on each item, I would ask that the discussion uh be sort
of contemporaneous on the two items because for us, it's very important knowing what your thoughts are on the special certificate of appropriateness. So, I'm not sure if it's appropriate now perhaps for staff to make their presentation on the certificate of appropriateness and then we can combine our comments on both. No, we'll just go
ahead with the way we're doing it now, Mario, if that's okay. >> Sorry, >> we're gonna take just the historic designation vote. >> Yeah, typically the votes are separate. That's how we've done it in the past, >> right? But could there be discussion on
both items >> at the same time? >> It's up to us. >> I think they if they weren't going to move forward with the designation, there would be no reason to review the COA. So that's why we review it one at a time.
>> So if it's okay with you, we'll go ahead and, you know, we'll go ahead and >> maybe that's a board disc. >> If we could be afforded time though to speak on both items, we we'd appreciate it. >> Would you like to make any kind of uh presentation on that or anything? Is there some discussion that you'd like to have while you're here? >> We have a presentation. It really is more on the special certificate of
appropriateness and what we are proposing. Uh the historic designation of course is is something that we have put forward but we've put forward of course with our certain thoughts in mind as to what we can do with the property. >> All right. Well then let us deal with that and then we'll come to the other two the other items. Okay. Thank you.
>> Okay. >> All right. Please go ahead Miss Bane. >> So um at some point are we voting on joining the two properties? >> Yes. Within the accelerated COA application. Wouldn't that be the proper
vote to take first? Because once they're joined, then automatically the designation would apply to the two properties. I don't know. You'd have to designate maybe it would be a cleaner
take. I I think it it might be up to the board if they want to have the discussion for both items and then do separate votes still. That could be a way to review this. That way you're looking at the project as a whole. Um, but you would still have multiple votes. So
again, I'm going to leave it up to the board to make that decision. Typically, we would look at the designation of the site and then move forward to this accelerated COA. >> We don't have information on the other house, so I don't know. >> Right. We don't have a designation report for this. >> Just do it in the order as >> Okay.
>> Yeah. >> All right. Please, Miss Shield, >> through the chair, why didn't you look at 2515? Because the applicant brought a Can you tell me why? We I don't know anything about this other home, the architect or you know, why didn't we
look at that one as well? >> So, the what we're saying is that once you designate this one and attach it to the next house, well, if it's approved, it becomes part of the designated site. So, it will be part of our jurisdiction. >> I understand that. But that the other
home 2515, doesn't it merit any significance of of on its own? It it may we did not go into the designation report of it, but it does have this a similar time period and everything else. So we would feel that it's it's appropriate to maintain its historic
value by trying to do this addition in a way that because now we're talking about both applications. So I apologize but um maintaining the houses look of two separate houses by attaching them at the rear and still protecting them under our
purview. So it it's just I think a way of procedure that we kind of tackled this. This is not your typical application. So if this works this way, maybe it doesn't. But you know, we found it to be the route to go since it will still fall under our jurisdiction at the
end of the day if again both items are approved. >> Okay. So in the future, would the the second home that is not now designated, would there be a report filed on that as well? So it's on file and so that the two are noted as two distinct, you know,
homes at one time that are now joined. No. I don't think legally it would be nec >> it wouldn't be necessary >> necessary to do that because it would already already be an addition to a historic >> Okay. I don't think your mic's on, but that's okay. >> It is >> okay. >> Um uh that's why I thought maybe we're
doing it as backwards, but as long as we do it, I think it's fine. >> For the purpose of never been done before, >> we have joined uh two properties that are already designated as historic. There is one on um
>> Alhhamra uh but they were already designated and part and they were both contributing prop they were both contributing right >> one was not contributing >> one was a contributing one was landmark >> that's oh that's right >> they were they were both contributing
but one was individually then one was a landmark that's right >> so that's the only other time since >> I was around >> okay >> 97 Seven. >> Well, we did the other one here a couple years ago. Yeah, Miss Alvarez, you have a question.
>> Oh, I had the same question. It's only that one other example on Alhamra where they have been joined. >> Yes, >> just from city attorney the procedurally if we take it in the order as um we have said it is proper procedure.
>> It should be the designation criteria should be applied to the property being presented to you right now. What may or may not come before you for COA should not fall under consideration as part of the designation procedure. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay.
>> Any further questions on Miss Rolando? >> Mr. Silva. Okay. All right. All right. Do we have anybody that's uh online? Do did we receive any letters? Do we have anybody in the audience that would like to speak for or against this
particular designation? hearing. None. We'll close that to the public hearing and we'll come back to us and we'll look for a motion on this item. We're going to have three votes on this. >> Right now it's just
>> Yeah, I know. But for this one one vote. Okay. for the designation. >> I'm happy to make >> motion to approve the local historic designation of the property at 259 Indian Mound Trail
um based on its historical, cultural, and architectural significance as referenced in the staff report. Criteria number four or A4, criteria B1, and criteria uh B2. >> Very good. Okay, we have a motion. I'd
like to have a second, please. >> I'll second. >> All right, Mrs. Spain. Second. Would you please call the role? >> Miss Alvarez? >> Yes. >> Miss Shield? >> Yes. >> Miss Rolando?
>> Yes. Mr. Garcia Pon. >> Yes. >> Miss Spain. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Mr. Maxwell. >> Yes. >> And Mr. Silva? >> Yes. >> Motion passes unanimously. Property is
designated historic. Thank you. Okay. We'll move on now to the the next portion of this. >> First. >> Yes. Okay. Okay, we've been asked for just a quick break, bathroom break. So, we'll we'll grant that and then we'll come back.
>> Thank you. >> We'll be back at 10 till >> Okay, so we've got recording stopped. convene the meeting. If everybody's had a quick quick break, >> we're going to continue on. >> Recording in progress.
>> We're waiting for Anna, but uh >> but we'll go ahead and she'll be back in just a second. >> Mario, you're going to make a kind of an overall presentation. >> Correct. Both myself and Nelson Deon are
architect making a >> You're gonna sort of deal with everything as a as a totality. >> Correct. >> Okay. And then we're going to break it up into votes. >> That'll be fine. >> Okay. Anna, are we ready? Are we ready, Mr. Okay.
Okay. We're gonna We're ready for you now. Thank you. Let's go back. >> Okay, let's see. What have we got here? >> All right. Um, good afternoon. Just a quick um recap of the description of the
application. So, the application presented request approval to unify two adjacent single family properties into one parcel. Design approval to join two historic single family residents to create one single family residence. and design approval for additions and alterations to the residences and site
work. Variances have also been requested from article 2 section 2-101D6 for the ground area coverage and article 2 section 2101D4 for the minimum side and rear setback. >> I'm going to cut you off just for a
minute because we had a motion and a second and we need to take a quick vote on the uh on the last item. Okay. Which was the designation. No, we we voted. >> We did. >> Yes. >> Oh, okay. Well, then that's fine. It's
already >> Okay, >> that's okay. >> Um, so the proposed project to connect the two residences through a new rear edition that remains minimally visible from the public rideway is consistent with the Secretary of Interior standards for rehabilitation. The intervention
retains the historic character of the site while allowing for compatible, differentiated, and reversible connections between the two structures. The proposed rear edition does not alter or obscure character-defining front elevation roof lines or architectural features. And most importantly, both houses remain individually discernable
from the street, ensuring that the historic rhythm, scale, and massing of the neighborhood um is preserved. In addition to the modifications, the additions and the connection, the applicants are also requesting um three different variances. One variance is to
allow for ground area coverage of 5,310 square feet versus the required 35% which is 4,981 square ft. Um, it is the intention of the architect to create a cohesive design that would not overwhelm existing one-story residences by maintaining the new construction and the
connector at onetory and spreading out the footprint over the two lots. and staff um agreed with that proposal that intention and um is in favor of the variance. Um in addition, you have the grant to the variance to allow for an addition to the side setback of 5'3 in.
This is an existing condition at the 259 residence and to grant a variance to allow for an addition of a porch in a rear setback of five feet which is compatible with the historic neighborhood and um zoning allow zoning code allows historic board to allow over 5 foot rear setback for one-story
structures. As you know, this is not your typical application before you today. This is something that staff has been working on with the property owner and their representatives for nearly a year. over a year. Uh so strategy and how we
came before you today has been interesting for all of us to kind of figure out how the pieces come together. So I do understand that there are some questions about you know how this goes forward. Um with the proposal before you, there are modifications that are going to be made to the 259 Indian Mount
Trail property. Um the building is in we've all physically walked the structure. It is in um pretty bad disrepair. So, the owners are taking on a pretty big preservation project here. Um, and so a lot of the conditions that
you see today are also going to be impacted at I think during construction because there are going to there's going to be more stuckco repairs that I think we we believe needs now. But, um, as you get into the project, they'll be working with us and hand inand as they have been over the last year to make sure
everything is compatible within um, our recommendations and any other of their, you know, they'll have some comments. ments I think of the conditions before you today, but we're here to answer any questions you might have. Um, and then there are modifications to the adjacent house to make this connector and to make this project work. So, I'll allow um
Nelson and Mario to do their thing and then we can come back and answer any questions you might have. >> Thank you, Anna. Mr. Chair, members of the board, my name again, Mario Garcia Ser with offices at 600 Brookl Avenue here today representing Vivian Sanchez and Christine Mugra, the owners of the
properties at 259 and 2515 Indian Mount Trail. The project before you today, in my opinion, is a great example of how Carl Gable's residents still care about historic preservation and of also thinking in an innovative manner so as to be able to preserve buildings which
have historic value but which would be difficult to sell in this market due to the small size of particular buildings as is the case here and also as is the case here uh the very advanced state of disrepair in which 259 Indian Mound is
in. Christine and Vivian have been residing at 2515 Indian Mound Trail for many years. The former neighbor at 259 Indian Mound was a longtime owner and resident at that address. But as time passed and with limited resources, the
neighbor had challenges taking care of both herself and her home. Vivian and Chris assisted their neighbor as they could and ultimately their ma neighbor moved out to a care facility and passed away shortly thereafter. Uh the house was placed on the market, but as you
will see, it is in an advanced state of disrepair, making it difficult to sell. Uh at that point in time, Vivian and Chris made the decision to take on the task of uh purchasing the house and uh committing to restoring it and adding it to their home so that they could
essentially create a two building home connected by a gallery. And this enables them to maintain the existing scale next to them and to have more available living area which may also very well be utilized in their case for the care of aging parents so that they can move in.
Uh this is a unique proposal but we have worked with your staff extensively to have this project uh to maintain and protect the historical integrity of the 259 building. There are certain variances which we are requesting which we will discuss later in more detail,
but all three of the variances relate more to existing conditions and are supported by your staff. With that said, I'll ask Nelson now to walk you through the proposed plans. Thank you, Mario. Nelson DeLeon, Locust Architecture, 500 South Dixie Highway,
Sweet 307. Good afternoon, board members, staff. I'm going to walk you through this. I've prepared a lot of drawings because there's a lot to review. So, I'm going to show you this house from every angle, from above, from every angle, and from
ground level, from every angle that impacts the design. Just briefly, the um the two properties in question are the bottom center and bottom left image and a couple of uh typical images of the neighborhood. Mostly singlestory homes except for the
home to the bottom right, which is uh equal in footprint to the entirety of 259's uh property size. U I'm not going to spend a lot of time on images that you've already seen. Uh
but you haven't seen the inside. These are actually after the home was cleaned up. But everywhere in the home is spalling stucco, um cracked walls, broken windows. The other thing interesting about the home
is that Miam had designed this home with uh apparently several types of windows. among them clear view um steel putty casement windows, jealousy windows that are still in some of the bedrooms that you see in the in the bottom middle
image and then at some point some repairs that were made and you see an awning window in the top um center image. 259 is directly to the left of this home. So 2515. The only thing we're
going to be uh modifying on this home is to the immediate left, which is the garage, and in front where we're going to propose a property wall. A few images of 2515. The bottom left is the entrance in Keystone. A few keystone
details on this particular home and the current pool in the back and courtyard which will remain. The two homes side by side. currently a a large set of oras which will be removed.
So this is how the two homes exist side by side now in the neighborhood. Uh 259 just being slightly a skew to 2515. 259 being long and linear front to back and 2515 being horizontal to the street
facade. Highlighted in red are the three existing setback conditions that we're requesting a variance from. And then in a shaded in a diagonal is the areas that are either new construction or remodeled
construction. And then the cross-hatching is the new covered terraces that we're proposing. Currently, neither home has covered outdoor areas. And then at the top of the image, a new property wall that we'll show you in greater detail. and a
connecting uh drive-thru from one property to the other. And the reason for this is in essence because the only other parking is on the soil. Right now, both homes have a straight driveway in. And to mitigate that issue, we just felt
it's better to bring a small connecting driveway and get the cars off the swale and onto the property. briefly. Um, the home 2515 to the to the left of the image, the part we're uh restructuring here is the garage and
what we're going to do is raise the garage floor, raise the garage ceiling height, incorporate that into part of 2515. And then at 259, the shaded area to the middle is the area that had been modified with a covered outdoor um sort
of uh porch element rather narrow to use it as any any really functioning space. So our idea is to capture that in its entirety and add to that um our new uh expansion. So the connection to the two
homes is actually a very narrow gallery. Uh off that gallery is a new covered summer kitchen which is accessed from the new re-imagined living room at 2515 family room rather. So once we raise
that garage, we will incorporate that into a larger um family room space and at the same time at the top end, expand the kitchen, which is relatively small, and add a butler's pantry to it. On the right side, bottom, we'll add a new
master suite, and then part of the interior of the home gets reimagined with um a new cabana bath, and what was the kitchen now becomes a study element. And then to the right of that, the proposed new laundry and walk-in closet.
And then very important, and we'll we'll see this in other images, is between the garage of 259 and that new laundry room we're proposing is a green slot. In that slot, we're proposing a full height uh glass, clear glass window that
acts as the termination point to that connecting gallery. So, as you walk from one side of the house to the other, we'll we'll bring in natural light and visually open that up to a a small area that'll have tropical planting. And in the evening, we imagine
lighting that up. So, that creates a little bit of visual interest. The home on 259 overall is actually a very uh dark space. The windows are small both horizontally and vertically. So, part of the challenge here is to bring more
light into 259. the existing roofs. The areas that are shaded are the areas that we're either touching or modifying. And then our areas that are shown here in a darker shaded area are the areas
that are remodeled or new construction. The top two images are the front elevation. The very top image is how the two homes relate one to the other. There is a significant elevation difference between the two floors of 18 in. There's
also a significant slope from the extreme right-hand side to the extreme left-hand side along the property. So the second image down uh shows how we propose to connect 2515 to 259. And in essence, we're just going to walk work
with the stepdowns that already exist and create another step down at the gallery level. And then that steps down yet again when we touch to 259. Um that new gallery is back about 15 feet from the front of actually more
than that maybe more like 17 feet from the front of 259. So it's actually in a slot that you'll see in greater detail. The bottom two images are the rear elevations. Um the very bottom showing in the middle the new summer kitchen
with that raised garage that now becomes part of the family room with sliding doors that open up into that covered area. And then to the bottom right is the new master suite. The windows on 259, and this is something we worked a
lot with with staff, were were re um designed to be narrow and tall to give a nod to Mariam's window, whereas the windows at 2515, as you could see, are are square modules. These will maintain
the rectangular vertical module of 259's historic window grid. The top image is 259 viewed from uh the north side. And then we're taking the middle portion which is currently a
screen porch and then reimagining that with a new laundry room. To the right of that is that large picture window. And then to the left of the laundry is a bedroom with again small windows which we're proposing that flank with two
fixed windows adjacent to it. The bedroom does require emergency egress. So that middle window which is currently two panels will convert to a single panel but with a molding uh applied to the middle to uh represent that being
two casements. The bottom two images are viewed from the extreme side of 2515. So what you see on the left side is 2515 and then way back is 259. We have sections through the house that will more clearly
show 259. The upper image is the current side elevation of 12 259 that faces into 2515. So our plan here is um replace the windows in the sun room. Where the
current windows to the dining room are is our connection point with a gallery which as you can see is a very narrow element that touches 259. To the right of that is a door and double windows that were part of the original kitchen. So, we're going to
take the two edges of that and create in the new study uh four windows in the same width of the uh sun room windows. And then the next element that you see is a door that is currently a bathroom that will turn into the cabana bath. And
then the new wing which is the master bedroom wing again with small porch and and a lot of this is just to provide an outdoor seating area that where where none exists. Now the bottom image is taken through the new summer kitchen. We
propose to have exposed wood ceilings and add add height to that space. There's a slot between the summer kitchen and 259 so it's transparent. There'll be greenery there and we'll have some landscaping, some um thin palm elements.
The upper image is 2515 as it faces toward 259. So, the plan here is to raise that garage, level the floor with 2515, make that a much larger family room. And then the image below that is forward of
the facade with the new connector gallery and the summer kitchen to the left. This is a um elevations of another home on the street that was done by Marion but had similar elements. You could see
on the upper right the uh sun room with the same proportions. To the left of that is a screen enclosure. So, the screens were actually rather large and taking a queue from those large screens is what we took a queue from to create that large picture window that
terminates the axis of our gallery that connects one house to the other. We have multiple views of the proposed walls. The way I've designed the walls is because of the drop in the property is the walls fluctuate between 28 and 36
inch in height and they sort of cascade down as the property cascades down. So the image at the end is a wall that looks relatively uniform in height all the way through and we do that just with the step down design. There are no gates designed, so the entryways into the home
are just open between two slightly raised pillars at the end of the wall with a um light fixture on top, a peer light. This is another stylized view of how those walls uh relate to the home.
Several projects or rather several homes on the site already have low walls including one that I had done across the street um some years ago using 30inch high walls. So that contextually there's a few walls in the neighborhood already at this height.
So I'm going to show you now several views, several angles, aerial views. This this is how both homes currently relate one to the other. And then this is the connection between the two. In the middle you see a very thin connector
which is our gallery connecting from 2515 to 259. The homes as they exist today and then as proposed with this low wall in the front. The wall will be set back from the sidewalk uh 8 to 12 inches and we'll have a
little bit of uh greenery in front of that wall. And then this is a view standing back looking at the two properties together with the addition the slightly raised garage and the property walls. Purposefully I've left the landscaping
off to focus on the architecture so you could see exactly what's happening with between the two homes, how they relate to each other and how the roofs step down one to the other. This is the same thing from the aerial view now that we're looking at from 259.
and the connection to between the two homes and the addition to the back. And then the same thing from the rear, the two homes as they exist now. And then the connections at the rear showing the two porches, the uh new
master wing at the bottom. At the bottom right uh is the master bath with a tub al cove that pops out and gives a little detail to the rear of that facade. a view of the current pool courtyard
condition minus any of the landscaping and then our proposed connection between the two showing the new two covered areas and that transition from one to the other. You're going to get tired of seeing 3Ds,
but I figured I'd cover all the angles for you. Is this your slide? >> That's really that's really more to uh talk about some of the conditions of approval. I think what we'll talk about now we are requesting some variances and maybe Nelson go back to the image that
showed the red arrows where the variances were proposed. The variances for setback are variances on sides of the property where the existing setback is already at at five feet either in the rear or on the side. So, as you can see
there in red squares, uh that setback is pre-existing. Since we're doing work on each of those sides, we also need to request the variance uh because we are working on that side and in some cases coming close or matching that uh condition. But it's a condition that already exists as far as the the
setbacks are concerned on uh lot coverage. We do have the challenge of course that these were two primary homes. So they had a certain amount of lot coverage. We're now looking to to combine them. And the amount that we're going over in lot coverage is about 329
square f feet. Not a significant amount when you consider uh everything else. A pole area for example is 420ome uh square feet there. So it's just a combination of existing building and proposed buildings sort of coming about and creating that we are within the amount of floor area that is uh
permitted for this property. So that's our discussion on variances both all of which are being recommended for approval by your staff. And I think we wanted to talk a little bit Nelson about the conditions, right? I think the first five in particular and I think with Anna we could have a little interaction on that because on the the very first
condition of approval if you could read it there Nelson. >> Yeah I can go through the conditions. So the first one is window and door buttons to be high profile. Our request here is to go full view in the totality
of 259. And the reason for that is there was a number of window styles from the beginning. The sun room, which is a main architectural feature of the home, was always full view. Um, the adjacent home, 2515, is full view.
There was a combination always of steel and putty and jealousy and full view and screen. It is a very small home, two bedrooms with a very small footprint. The amount of windows that were original steel and
putty that would be reinccorporated if we had to go in that direction is probably five windows. So at the end of the day, I thought architecturally, aesthetically, it made more sense because all of those windows are um in
repurposed rooms to just go full view. the uh >> and on that topic in particular, I think Anna, the conversation we had earlier, historically the vast majority of windows as far as we can tell based on what we have for 259 did not include men, >> right? The ones at the salarium that
that front room would and the drawings for since the drawings weren't found for 259, we kind of referenced the ones for 251, which I believe is in the designation report and they also referenced them here today. Um it actually specifically says no muttons. So that that circular room didn't have
buttons to begin with, at least in the evidence that we have based off of the drawings for the building next door. Um, and like >> didn't have buttons. >> So the the the drawings that we're referencing are for a building that is next door adjacent um to this property
because this the drawings for this house were not found. Um, so the original drawings that I think Nelson, you had it. If you can put it back up. Um, there's actually a note on the drawing that says um, no muttons. I don't know if it's that one.
It's also within the designation report. Um, but the other house, the window, the other windows on the house do have mins, but as Nelson was saying that almost every other every single opening is either being modified or changed due to the situation of the new additions and
the proposed from the rear and the side. And then the windows on the left side of the um 259 back um is actually where there was an addition where that screened enclosure where the laundry room was is also all
new. So almost every opening is being altered. I think his intention the intentions there were to do windows in the same portion of a casement window but not have mins since none of these other areas are going to be visible from the public rideway and they're either
behind the connector piece or in a recessed area. >> Does that make sense? >> That makes sense. And you're not touching the windows in the >> other. >> No, the windows at 2515 are staying the
same. >> Okay. So, you're just talking about these few in this one, >> right? >> So, you're saying that you don't find any evidence that that the the windows in the curve had muttons on it and you're saying that the plans show that that that it's not
>> Yeah. So, in the designation report for 259 at the rear, we have the drawings for a property that was is similar in style and construction, which is the ones that Nelson had kind of put up, but it's not the same elevation drawing. There's
actually a note that says steel no muttons and it's within that circular room, >> but all the other front windows would did have muttons. >> Well, this house specifically doesn't have front windows.
>> Yeah. Yeah. The little house, right? Okay. the ones toward the rear in the back would have, but again, all of those openings are pretty much either being altered or changed due to the location of the additions that they're proposing. >> Thank you. >> And one thing that we do have is a
historic photo of 259 that at least shows that the circular solarium windows didn't have mountains. >> So, I think now we'll go on to discuss condition number two, which has to do with glazing. >> Yes, clear glass. So clear gas, clear
glass has become a real challenge these days because of energy conservation and energy calculations. But we did discuss this with uh staff and our plan is to submit glass samples for them to review uh prior to moving forward on ordering
windows. Item three is >> that one we would propose a bronze tint uh not not to have it clear. And I think if we can share the screen, we have an example of what is clear and what is bronze tint. And it's not really too
much of a difference. >> Let's don't get into that now. >> No need to. >> Okay, >> let's keep moving the direction. >> So, let's keep on going. >> Just about three more to discuss. >> So, >> which one do you want to discuss next? >> Yeah, let's go in order on
>> discuss all of them. >> No, I think we only need to go to number five. Go ahead. Number three. uh roof tile >> correct >> to be a true uh barrel tile. So we have noted on the plans uh the tile to be true barrel in further discussions with
uh the owners their current home has an S tile which I believe they I'll show you in a moment that they brought with them. They also brought a sample of a barrel tile that's in the same color range. Their uh desire would be to keep both homes with an S tile rather than
having an S tile at 2515 and a true barrel at 259. >> And how old is the roof at 2515? >> I thought they said it was 1991. 30 years. the the house 2515 is the next
door house. The house that you're talking about is 259. >> So the house we're connecting to, the roof is 12 to 14 years old. >> So at some point you're going to have to redo that roof >> and staff would recommend an S tile.
>> That's I'm sorry, not S tile. I apologize. A barrel tile which is what's in the conditions. I'm not. >> And the the last condition to discuss uh would be the front door >> would be what Mark
>> the front door of 259 which we are looking to somewhat dated right now. It has lost the screen that it had previously and we're looking to incorporate a door inspired by the original door but which incorporates some class. Do you have a photo >> on this on the slide that's up now on
the upper left is um a representation of the home prior to the screen door being removed and just below that is a screen door. It it's not uh as busy as that image. It would be a thin metal. The idea is going
back again to the home being so dark that the original home always had a screen door with a metal design on that door. So the door which is behind the screen door, the wood door was really um never visible until you came to visit the
house and you open the screen door and then they open the wood door. So from the street, the screen door was what was always visible. So, our proposal is to have a door that's a glass door with the proportions of the screen door with a metal design on front of that door to uh
give a nod to the original screen door >> design but allow us to get more light into that um living room space. >> Have a photograph of the door >> existing. >> This is a photograph of an idea of what you know the new door will be right
down. But do you have the a photograph of the existing door that they're saying you have to >> it's in the in the report but also at the beginning of the presentation there's photos I believe that I had added >> the COA report the COA report.
Yeah, I don't mind it be on once. >> Oh, there's a picture of the door. >> There's a historic photo with the U photo of the screen door, too. >> Go further. >> Go back
there. >> Hard to see, but That's the one. >> Any other photo? >> Uh, in the designation report, there was a few from 19 I think this the screen door was there up until recently, right? Or is it still on site? I can't remember.
There's a 90. Here we go. >> Pretty hard to see. >> You can see the screen door, but >> can't can't really see the other door. >> Well, that's what he's Yeah, they're not You're not debating that the original door was wood. You're You're trying to match the screen door. That's the prop.
You're trying to find us the screen door, a clear image of the screen door. >> Yeah, we're we're we're rather than replace the wood door with a new solid wood door, replace the wood door with a door that gives a nod to the screen door, but is an impact rated door with a metal design in front.
>> Right. >> And there would be no other front door. That would be the front door. >> That would be the front door. Correct. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. You can see that it's sort of a triangular something. >> Okay. I think I'll just have some
closing comments. >> And you agree to all the rest of the uh >> the other conditions of approval. We don't have any comments on >> we worked on them extensively with staff and these top five ones were were the ones we had discussion.
>> Uh so in conclusion it is harder and harder to preserve and adaptively reuse historic homes because of ever impreciating land values and buyer demands for bigger homes. And what we're proposing here today is uh is something which responds to that challenge and
responds sort of with some innovation. We feel that this proposal is in that spirit and provides the best opportunity to protect the history and scale of this property and make it truly livable for my clients. Thank you very much. We have the whole team here available for any
questions or comments. >> Thank you very much. Appreciate both of you. Okay, questions from the board. Questions of the board after the presentation. >> What an interesting thing. What an amazing interesting uh plan. And whoever
thought of purchasing that other house and and combining it, kudos to you because it's really a fascinating project. >> Mr. University of >> Hey, thank you. Um I had a lot of questions, but I now have two, which is
great. The first one is really a question to staff um with regards to one of the variances. The two five foot variances on the sides I think are they meet all the criteria.
I'm not sure if the first variance meets all the criteria specifically criteria number two which is that the special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant. I'm having a little bit of
trouble understanding how the >> I can answer that >> site >> you like >> and the other additions I asked staff >> I can >> I app I'll ask you in a second >> we'll see if we have the same answer >> um but no I I understand and I think
that's something that we had discussed because our intention of this project was finding a way to do this addition so that it didn't overwhelm the structure and by not going up you have to go out and um that was our our kind of way of making sure that they could still
preserve the structure within the existing footprints and still be able to create a connector piece that can make the two houses usable as one single family home. >> So I think that I think all the other criteria are perfect. It's yes to all of them. I still not sure if that answers
that question. Mr. Deleon, would you >> Okay, thank you. So 2515 has a non-conforming 5 foot3 setback at the moment at the rear corner. The addition we're proposing at the master bedroom suite has one corner of
it which is the porch which will be at 7 foot1. We're actually not coming to 5t. It'll be at 7 foot one. I think five feet was put as a sort of a fa safety factor because of the language that's in the code but at 7 foot one. If the porch would be removed, the main bedroom
itself would be at 10 feet. >> So, I'm I'm fine with the side setbacks. My question is with regard to the 35% lot coverage. >> Okay. The 35% lot coverage. >> And I was hoping that you'd have some math of the existing buildings on their
sites. That would give some rationale as to why you have to exceed 35% through no action or fault of your own. So we did on related to your question maintain the landscape requirement
without requiring a variance. Um as you know the the code has a bunch of things to juggle. The um addition of the covered porches, >> the summer kitchen in particular is what
takes us over the number. So, our thinking was neither home has an outdoor space at the moment that you could sit outside, enjoy that beautiful pool, courtyard view. So, we're requesting humbly that that variance get approved
so that there's covered seating area outside the home. >> So, again, I I understand the question. I understand the intent. It is still 329 feet over and it's because we're you're adding an addition like you are you're
making you're causing this overage. You can choose to make it 329 ft less and then it wouldn't be an issue. >> Can I interrupt? I'm sorry. >> Um, sure. >> No, no, just because it's going to help with that math. Um, so there's a new
text amendment that allows for what would have been detached porches to now be attached and still fall in the additional 10% calculation. Does that help you with the math? >> So that was >> Yes. When we apply right when we apply
the new code that disappears but in uh an abundance of safety because there are tweaks to the code and it's a brand new thing. We didn't know how long that was going to last. So we decided let's just go with a variance. If the code sticks with that change which I think just occurred.
>> Yeah. It's online >> relatively recently. >> Yeah. >> Uh then we're completely in compliance and then the variance becomes a non-issue. >> Right. So then we also have in the past um not wanted the applicant particularly if they're adding outdoor space where
there isn't any outdoor space to alter the historic home to get it. And so um although I guess technically it's that they're doing it it would it's because the nature of the historic home. So the hardship is that it's a historic home.
In the past when we've been working with just one property because it's historic you didn't want to alter it and so you would allow them to do the larger square footage and you also didn't want them to go up. So it was the historic nature of the property.
uh not so much the because you're allowed to do a so many square feet in a house and so if you don't want them to do a second floor addition then the only thing they can do is increase the lot coverage. So that's how we've looked at
it in the past. >> Okay, Mr. Silver, >> were you done? Mr. >> Are you is it the same item? >> Well, I was just going to I have I have other questions. It's actually and this is again clarity from staff is because
we were informed that if there is a no as part of any of these things then it's not acceptable which is why I was hoping that the applicant or the staff would talk about what um Miss Alvarez mentioned which this is out of an abundance of caution and that the
current laws would allow this to happen and I don't know if the applicant wants to confirm that um because it is in my opinion a no for number two unless it is covered otherwise.
>> Let me try to address that. So that that current change to the code is in process and would potentially provide the relief. But at the same time as Mrs. Spain was already >> is it in process or has it been approved? >> It's been approved. >> Oh, okay. >> That's for staff. Let me get that clarify from city staff.
>> Does it address? I'm not familiar with when it passed or if it passed on Tuesday or not. >> I have I personally have a project at the city where that depended on that code amendment and it's >> yeah the zoning review occurred. >> It was approved by the commission in the code. >> What I'm going to do is I'm going to I'm
going to put my question on hold and I would like for city to confirm whether it was passed and then >> that goes aside and we I'm sure we have many more other questions to talk about. >> Okay. Are you okay? But I think I mean I still want to argue and not it's not an argument but I would like to just
clarify that you know this is a project that you're working on that is not a vacant lot. So you're starting the hardship is already that you're starting with ground area coverage that exists. So to make any modifications to that site you have to allow for the preservation and allow for the preservation of the site you this is
where that variance allows to do both things and make them usable. So, our recommendation and and their intention was not to alter the building to a point that it would be um you know a an overwhelming mass on top of the building
and doing a second floor by going low and staying at that ground floor level and staff was supporting that and actually recommending that they move forward in that direction rather than come up to us with it. And that's not the question I have out of the eight, seven of them. I completely understand.
I have questions also looking at it as one. >> I'm looking at the question as asked. >> So if you can find out if it's passed, that would be super helpful. >> We'll work on it. >> But I do think that if we need to go forward with this variance because it it >> I don't want them to get into the zoning
department uh and and have to do that battle with zoning. I don't disagree. >> It's totally appropriate to do that on this property. I'm gonna All right. >> I'm gonna find and I'll give it to >> Mr. Garcia, you're finished. >> Yes. >> Okay. Mr. Silva.
>> So, so I have I have some some general comments, but but before I get into that, um, kind of piggybacking on what Caesar was saying was that just looking at this quickly, it seems as if you were pretty close to non-conforming to begin
with on one of those sites, right? So if you have that calculation somewhere Nelson as to the what the existing uh 35% rule was because to me just looking at it seems like you were over and then then the easement then the then the variance is very simple program right
it's an existing non-conformance we're allowing you to add so so I think that's where maybe you were you're asking right um so so so that that's one thing right um the second thing was in general um I think this is this is a a great
approach, right? I think it's it's it's a way for preservation to to function in a different way than what we're used to seeing, right? We're kind of all confused and and and and but but in reality, um you're respecting that house almost 100%, right? You're you're not touching that. Whereas
someone else could have bought that lot and done a two-story edition that was allowable by F, was allowable by code. We would have reviewed it. But but to me this this this concept of uniting these two lots from a historic preservation perspective it it offers kind of more
protection to to each house right that's one thing the the second the second thing and where it gets a little tricky is urbanistically how it works right um lot size right house size so how we connect this thing becomes really really
critical right um and I think you've done a really great job of the connection of the step down. Um, I think the connection occurs to the rear. So, I think that's very well done. The only comment that that I have on that connection was is the final little
piece, right? And and you can't and I may be nitpicking here because that connection happened sort of around the corner from the from the rounded volume, right? But there's one of your renderings in the package um which which which really these are
not numbered but it's the it's sort of the I don't know if you want to pull it up in your presentation it's the it's the it's the frontal rendering >> CGTV could you put the PowerPoint back up >> it's sort of a pencil rendering right um
where where you can see it almost almost in elevation but it's a perspective drawing right towards back. >> Are you referencing the section view through >> No, no, no. It's a It's like a rendered elevation. No, not >> it's it's um >> turn it around.
>> Yeah, it's it's this one, Nelson. The It's almost like a It's like a pencil rendered um >> Okay. >> Sort of to the back of >> Yeah, it's the the combined. >> Yeah. >> It's coming up.
>> Yeah. What's the next? It's one of the that I think it's >> the next one. >> Too far. >> Yes, we did. >> This family. It was >> not that one. >> No, it's not that one. It's not that
one. But in any case, the my point is is I would So, right now, the roofs are all sort of connecting right in in a in a you're you're doing like a telescoping kind of gable stepping down, right? Um I think that there's an opportunity in that last step down where it's only the
gallery, right? Where you're you're clear of the volume of the of the porch and all that in plan. It's probably an 8 foot long piece of gallery. >> There's an opportunity there to do a flat roof and glass on both sides >> so that that really reads as a
separation. Right. >> Right. And as you're walking down the street and that's why this rendering is is really where we see the best, right? Where you would see a distinct separation between the houses are still be joined. It's still air conditioned space, but that that thing allows you to separate.
>> Um, and it allows the roofs also to work independently of each other as well. So, >> whatever you do on one roof, you know, if you need to re-roof one of them in the future or something, you're not married to doing it all together, right? It's it's a clean separation and and I think it would help the two houses read
separately, right? It's a little change, but I think it would it would go a long way to >> Mr. Silva, can I >> can I add? >> So, I I I agree 100%. I think even just removing the pitch and making it a flat roof across would make sense. I think it might be tied into the porch roof in the
back that you're adding. So it quite frankly could all be flat and then that way that whole plane is flat and then you have the two houses have their own roof systems and then it's very clear that they're separate. And I know you
may haven't thought of it, but it's going to work. >> Well, I thought of it and I got uh my clients told me if I wanted to stay on the project, I better figure out something different. >> Okay. >> You're still employed for now. I'm sorry. Go ahead, Alex.
>> Um, so the and then so that's just general. I think general project is very good. It's very well thought out. Um, I guess we could we in terms of the variances, I think the again the side variances are a slam dunk. I I sort of fall in Donna's camp
on the interpretation of the other variants on the F. um in terms of of the uh of the way we analyze this and look at this I think it is merited in this case um if that zoning amendment has passed even better and if the existing
uh house if one of those existing houses is an existing non-conformance or very very close to it then that helps as well um but I would personally I would vote in favor of the variance um the the windows uh the mutton pattern on the
windows Um, so I think it's clear that the round piece doesn't doesn't get them. Um, and to me, we're doing so much work in terms of changing the openings and there's so few openings on that on that on the smaller home that I'd be okay with that.
Um, the two-piece barrel tile, um, I think that's something, again, I know we're supposed to look at a case by case basis, but that's that's kind of a a no-brainer, right? That it should be piece barrel. Um, now that being said,
this is a very strange situation. And if there was a break between the two roofs, >> that's, you know, I don't know. That's that's something that is that is open for discussion, right? It's two distinct volumes and and maybe that um that could be entertained because we don't really
have a lot of historic information on that 2515, right? Even though it's incorporated as as part of the parcel and that's something we were getting at before. having that discussion, but if there's a break between the two, then maybe that's something that we could uh that that I could consider. Um, and I
think that I think those are all those are the main issues you had, right? >> What about the front door? >> The front door. Um, >> I'm kind of on the fence, but but I think if if we're going to maintain that
integrity of the original house, I would I would I think I would be in favor of leaving it solid, >> leaving leaving the original one >> leaving the original one if it's in decent shape. But if it's not >> or replicate it as >> Okay, Mr. Silva, you're done. >> Yes.
>> Okay, Mr. Rondo, do you have any questions? I'm in the twopiece barrel tile. I'm not going with >> Okay. Miss Shield, do you have any questions you'd like to have the attorney, the architect? >> Just a comment that one historic home is
a project and and putting the two together. I think it's you've worked really hard to to do that and you're taking on that task and I appreciate that. >> All right, Miss Alvarez. Anything else? you you've got some notes in front of
you >> just quick. So, um I think we located the if you want we located the text amendment if you want to hear it. Um Anna has it >> highlighted. So there's a portion that
was added in September that was >> starting at one or twotory open air accessory structures may be attached to the principal building subject to the board of architects review and approval of the massing of the open air accessory structures as it relates to the building. Detached accessory buildings
or structures shall maintain a minimum separation of 5t from the principal building to encourage historic designation. The board of architects shall have authority to grant a 10% increase of ground area coverage to accommodate historically designated structures in accordance with the design standards of that board. >> Does it say detached?
>> No, you said attached. >> Yeah, they can be attached but counted in the detached number. >> I'm sorry, I just heard detached. >> I'm sorry. >> Could you read that again more slowly so we could hear >> and you've got to speak up a little bit
into the mic. It starts with a maximum of 35% of the building site shall be covered by the principal building and shall include canal levered portions of the building except balconies. Accessory buildings or structures including swimming pools may
occupy additional ground coverage but the total ground area coverage occupied by the principal building or structure and accessory structures shall not exceed 45% of the building site. One or twotory open air accessory structures
may be attached to the principal building subject to the board of architects review and approval of the massing of the open air accessory structure as it relates to the principal building. Detached accessory buildings or structures shall maintain a minimum separation of 5 ft from the principal
building. To encourage historic designation, the board of architects shall have authority to grant a 10% increase of ground area coverage to accommodate historically designated structures in accordance with the design standards of that board. >> Thank you.
>> So, I think that solves the problem. >> It does. >> Yep. >> Oh, if you don't mind come up, I Chris. Let's talk about uh everything. They're the end users of the property. So, we want to make sure that they're >> So, what you've heard so far, I think
you wanted to make a comment on the door, right? >> Hi, good afternoon. Thank you so much for g giving us the opportunity to be here and and for supporting the project. We've worked very closely with with staff and appreciate all the time and dedication that they've given to us to preserve the home. Um, first of all, I I
appreciate the comments and your willingness to help us with some of the conditions. I think the only one we would um want to discuss a little further may be that front door if you don't mind for 259. Um we had originally, as we had said, it's a very dark home. Um and we had
originally explored having a window there in the front, but we realized that that would eliminate the integrity of that of that structure and we wanted to maintain that at all cost, which is why we are putting a lot of cost into maintaining that property. And so we thought is to also maintain the
integrity. We could have replicate and mimic that French screen. And we could accomplish two things by doing that, right? First, the integrity of the home because when you actually look at it and you look at some of the other properties on the block, they do have that screen and that's really the only thing you
see. And so we did look at some samples and some models of what could be done, which would help us accomplish many things. One would be light into that space without having to ruin the front facade integrity. It would also allow us to actually have the visual look because if you actually look at that wood door,
it does eliminate sort of the the the carvings and the space that is so important for that architectural because that big white sort of block door does not allow for the flow in our perspective from what we saw. So it would help us accomplish that. The other thing that that door is actually
extremely deteriorated. Um it has mold. Um has been there for many years as you would imagine. Um, and it also doesn't allow us for hurricane safety. One of the main reasons that Mario alluded to is I have 92 year old parents and the goal of actually attaching these homes
is actually to move them in with us. And so again, I think um for safety and for integrity, we'd also like you to reconsider for for support. >> So, thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> I think that concludes our presentation. >> Thank you very much. >> Reserve time for rebuttal if necessary.
>> All right. We'll be sure to ask you any questions if we have them. Okay, we're going to close this portion and we're going to open it up to the public. Is there anybody here in this audience that would like to speak for or against this other than the people that have already spoken hearing? None. Is there anyone online?
There are none. So, we're going to close the public hearing. So, this is going to come back to the board. Okay. Board discussion. >> I should have done this previously. Can I can I see the image of the bronze tinted window? >> No. Uh I just want to see it because I I
would love >> we need to have >> I have to have it in I have I have another comment on that. >> I just want to see it because you mentioned it and I haven't seen it and that's it. I that's if you can share the screen with me that'll be great. >> We will show it as >> we don't have it. >> As soon as we get it on as soon as we
get online we'll be able to show it. >> I mean you can >> is it relevant? >> You can literally just show the screen to all of us here. >> Is it relevant? >> That's Caesar. >> It's part of the condition. So it is it should be discussed so that it's clear for staff on how to move forward because
our typical recommendation is to go with a clear glass. I understand you got to get a little closer. >> They want to go with a a glass that has a little bit of a tint so that it it falls in line with the rest of the property. So we >> we would look at it typically administratively, but if it's something
that you all want to look at they and they have an example, it's probably important to see. >> He wants to see it. CGTV, can we share screens? Oh, >> one of the >> Well, we had it up a second ago, so
we'll get it. It is a very minor difference. It's important to them also though for heat. >> The um >> because one of the houses has the tint already. >> 2515 does have a tint in the glass. Um
>> because guess if it's a pure energy calc um issue, you know, we've been able to work with MEP engineers adjusting the other systems to get it a clear glass to work. Do we have any other questions here or any discussion here on the board here as
we're contemplating further? >> Mr. Don't have a problem with them. >> Hang on, Miss Spain. I'm talking to Mr. Rondo. Mr. Londo, do you have com. >> All right. Thank you. >> Okay.
>> Presentation pretty quick, >> please. >> Um, Mr. Chair, we could we could probably take a we could probably take a vote on the variance if you want to do that. >> I'm sorry. >> We could we could probably take a vote on the variances as we look at the other things. Yeah, we don't have to uh do the
uh the first approval right now. Uh we can wait just a little bit. They don't have to be in order, do they, Mr. um attorney? No. Okay. >> So, we've got a motion to approve a variance to allow ground area coverage or we will have a motion to do that of
5,000 and 10. So, it will be the number the second approval. take a look at that board and see if we want to move that together first and then go to the um one that approves all the uh architecture as well.
>> You think that >> were there any other comments from the board members? because I feel like there wasn't >> I was just going to say on the front door issue uh uh if it's deteriorated uh I I appreciate the images of the uh screen door and I wouldn't have a
problem if they uh eliminated the original door and just had >> that screen. I think it would I think it'd be >> probably back to what it looked like originally more than than having that that door there. Miss Alvarez, do you have anything to
add? >> Oh, I was just gonna um mention the initial comments. I had I didn't get to share that. Um so, in general, I I struggle with two houses coming together, but I know this is done very skillfully and I understand all the
reasons um um that I guess brought the group to this decision and I I compliment um the team and the architect for the subtle um connection. I think the 30-inch walls are are nice and help with the layering of the house. I just
wanted to bring that up. Um I have found that on the S tile sometimes it doesn't go past 17 or 18 years. So at some point if you have to change it like we were saying it would be nice to bring it all uh to barrel. Um and I'm okay with the
three bearings. >> All right. Thank you board. Any other questions, discussion? All right, >> Mr. Mr. Chair, we do have the tint up on the screen now. >> I'm sorry. Here. Here we go. >> We have the tint up on the screen. >> It's a better image. >> So, that's clear. >> That's bronze.
>> Oh, excuse me. That's bronze. Okay. Do the clear first. >> That's clear. >> Okay. >> Bronze. >> Yeah. >> But if you do a different color, you can, you know, you start telling the difference. >> No, it just doesn't work on the screen. >> Thank you. Thank you very much, though.
Thank you very much. >> Um, so Mr. Chair, I'm happy to make a motion on the variances unless you want >> I've got a couple of comments. No, I'd like to to do on that. I you know, first of all, we have an opportunity here to to bring this house back and and I
understand, you know, the the property owner's discussion of darkness, but I also know how to put lights in a house and u you you've got an opportunity here to really mean to do something that's significant. And what we're seeing um on
the historic preservation board is an erosion of the character of homes. In the back of the home, it's fine, but in the front is our principal principal facades. And it's really very important to try to maintain these because as we let one go, then everybody else gets let
go. is if we begin to change and change our standards then then the standards get changed and we no longer have the preservation you know that we're seeking you know the proposal is excellent this is really very good Nelson and I applaud all of you for doing this rather than
building something up high and seeking to connect this the comments that this that the board has made are very good and I think that they add to this um the comments that the the staff has I think are exceptional and it gives us an
opportunity to do that. There's a lot, you know, that that could be done with this. And I think that what's going on and the proposals are good, but what the board is tasked with is trying to maintain standards. Two a barrel tile
roof, two pieces, you know, and they've given you a good solution to do that. Two different buildings, okay? And when the other building comes back, okay, it would have had barrel tile, two-piece barrel tile originally, too. So when that comes back, there'll be a match. You know, I would also be very keen to
say that there needs to be a ghost outline where the where the garage is being removed. And I would even consider larger windows if that's possible or something that's going to show that that was a void at some time because as you
move across, you know, it it's it begins to make it slightly massive in my opinion. Uh, I would also highly encourage a deep um landscaping where what I'm going to call the hyphen that connects
the buildings, you know, comes together. So, so that it reads from the street nicely. I walk by this all the time and I've always been distressed about, you know, the house is falling into continual disrepair, but I've always been very grateful that it's that it's
like it is intact. And so I think that's something that we should try to aspire to. We're all spending a lot everybody spends a lot of money doing these things. So, you know, let's try to do the right thing and the right thing for the future. Not just for us today, but
but into the future. I would also encourage you to begin to look at historic paint colors and things. You know, most of these houses were not really painted. That stucco was there particularly in the 20s and it was just raw. But the the windows
were all dark because they were wood and maybe in the 30s they were metal as well, but they were always painted a darker color, you know, to contrast from the house and so that there's some movement. So, it's something worth looking into. Um, but other than that, you I think that this is really an
excellent an excellent, you know, solution and I encourage you, you know, to continue on with it. So, thank you. >> Okay, those are my comments. Mr. >> Chair, can um Mr. could you confirm that one in recess where the garage door is because we couldn't read it on the plans
but I think it's there >> just for Mr. Maxwell because we couldn't read the words. >> Yes, it's there. >> Thank you. >> It's a slight offset >> in >> or just just >> one inch offset. >> It's a slight offset. Thank you very much. >> Okay board. Um
>> Mr. chair if if I could if you indulge just one quick point especially on the on the window to anything as >> Mario if we if I could just um ask CGTV to take down the top powerpoint since we're having discussion now. >> Yep. >> Thank you. >> In the in the spirit sort of cooperation what you said and trying to find a
compromise on the window tinting issue, would it be acceptable to use that bronze tint in the rear? I'm going to defer that to staff because uh you know that that's really a standardization, you know, of what staff tries to put forth, you know, and you're
working with staff on the windows already. If if you can in in my opinion, if you work that out with staff, that's fine with me. Okay. >> Okay, that helps. >> So, thank you very much. Okay, I'm going to call for a motion. >> Do we have to go public first? >> I'm sorry.
>> Public comment. Do we need to do that? >> We already did that. There's nobody here. Yeah. So, I'd like to for those of you to for the board to pull up at um the last page, please, where we have the the motions to approve. And I'd like to
start really with the second one, which is a motion to approve a variance to allow ground area coverage of 5,300 ft. >> Don't we need to join the lots? >> You can make one motion for all of the items. You don't need to make separate
motions for each one unless there's different recommendations for each one, >> right? >> The the one thing I would ask, excuse the interruption, the conditions, if anything has changed as a result of the discussion, let's maybe memorialize that to make sure we got it.
>> I can try to make a motion. >> All right, Miss B, give it a go. >> I'd like to make a motion to approve with the following conditions. The proposal to unify two adjacent single family properties into one parcel.
Approval to join two historic single family well two residences to create one single family residence and design approval for the additions and alterations to the residents at 259 Indian Mound Trail.
You don't mention the uh uh adjacent property. >> Yes. Thank you. Um now the conditions uh are there are 12 conditions uh listed in >> sorry
>> I feel like I'm in some kind of a >> the most important >> okay the uh uh there are 12 conditions uh noted in the staff report um number one is about the windows uh to be and and doors to be muttons to be high
profile Uh, I would eliminate that. Um, the window and door glass to be clear with no tint, no reflective, no low E. That needs to be worked out with staff. Uh, the roof tile is to be true two barrel tile. I would agree to that. It
should be a true true two barrel uh tile. Uh uh the rest of them uh other than number five which is a front door is original to the home. Uh
I'm comfortable having that be a this is my motion Mr. Max. I'm comfortable having that um be a glass door with trying to recreate the screen door and the rest of them uh would be according to the staff report.
>> You can work with staff. You can work with staff on that actually. >> And if I may on four, there's a reference to high-profile mountains. I think that should be dropped also too. >> Yes, I agree. Um, and a motion to approve a variance
to allow ground area coverage of 5,310 square ft uh versus the required minimum ground area coverage in a single family resident residential district not to exceed 35% of the building site or 4,981
square ft. pursuant to article 2 section 2-101D6 of the Coral Gable zoning code and a motion to approve a variance to allow the addition a side setback of 5' 3 in approximately versus the required
minimum size setback in single family residential districts of 15 ft pursuant to article 2 uh section 2-101D4 of the Coral Gable zoning code and a motion to approve a variance to allow the addition in porch area, a rear
setback of 5T versus a required minimum side setback in single family residential districts of 10 feet pursuant to article 2 section 2-101D4 of the Coral Gable Zoning Code. >> Do you okay with the rest of the
>> Okay. Can you clarify then uh your position and your motion? >> Please clarify uh condition number one. Are you eliminating it? Uh
>> I'm eliminating it. I think they can do the clear view uh the way they've mentioned. >> Can you agree with the rest of the terms? You agree with the rest of the conditions? There is a a typo on the uh last
variance. So I just want to just clarify. So it's a variance to allow the addition and porch rear side step rear setback at 5T versus the required minimum rear setback versus what it's written there is side. So apologize for that. Yeah.
>> Okay. Mrs. Spain, would you do me one favor please? Would you just state which which of the numbers you were proposing to eliminate so it's clear >> number number one and number four >> okay >> are to to be eliminated
>> number four >> two and five >> and and two and five uh are to work with staff I'm saying that it's okay to eliminate the original door >> I think it's a unique situation that they have a screen door in the
photographs that they can replicate. I would not say that if there was never a screen door there, but it looks as though that screen door was there for quite a while. That's my view. >> Everybody had screen doors. >> Okay. So, we have a motion. Okay. By
Miss Spain. Are there any amendments? Any >> Just would Miss Spain, would you consider a friendly amendment? >> Sure. to to study the connector to have a a flat portion. >> Oh, I would absolutely. I think that
that's actually a very good idea um and I to study and work with staff on on a on possibly doing a flat portion. >> Do we >> Okay, so we have an amendment to the motion. >> Do we want to be >> consider specific as to make it a flat
roof? I think it's >> I'm not planning on doing that. No. >> All right. Okay. Mr. Silva, would you like to clarify your amendment to make it a flat roof rather than to >> I'm happy I'm happy to study and that's what >> All right. Go ahead. >> All right. So, I understand the number
five was also to be studied as well. >> Is it is the motion is the condition to study or to mandate it? >> To study >> to study it. >> Study we will in good faith we'll study that >> good faith. I think it's a proposal with with staff.
>> I think I think you should give it >> look. They they've never looked at it before. So, >> in other words, go for it. >> Okay. So, we have that. We have an amendment. Okay. You want to call the question? >> No. >> Oh, I'm sorry. We need a second. >> Second yet. >> Yeah. >> Oh, I'll second. >> I'll second.
>> Okay. >> All right. So, we have a motion by Miss Spain and we have a second by Mr. Silva. >> Okay. Can we entertain board discussion for just a second? >> Yes, we may. >> So, I think it's an incredible project,
but I think that one nonflat roof, that telescoping roof is going to be enough to really impact the way that I see these houses communicating. I think Mr. Silva explained it really well as to what it
could do with the roof forms and um the the spacing between Mr. Maxwell about heavily landscaping the front of it so that it from the street looks like it's two different homes even though it is connected and it's great that it is connected. Um, I think that roof line
is, uh, in my opinion a very important, um, it's the most important thing that connects the two homes. And the way that it is currently designed, particularly with tiles, albeit
S tile or true barrel tile, I think that the the ch the the height of that connection is too um, it blurs the line. between the two separate houses too strongly. Even though it is further back, even though
it is lower, even though it does telescope, I think a flat roof, at least a parapit on the front would really make a difference. just wanted to say that as discussion >> and I I agree with that and I particularly if you're going to have two
different um tiles, you're going to have the barrel tile on the historically designated portion of this and then the S tile I guess will remain you because you can't require them to uh do more and
do an additional roof. So the joining of those two would be it would be helped by having that um flat roof but my motion is just to study it. >> Are we good board?
Okay. So it's it's a very serious study and so it's worth contemplation. Okay. Let's call the role. >> Miss Alvarez. >> Yes. >> Okay. Miss Shield. I think the study has to be
stronger. So no. >> Okay. Mr. Garcia Puns. >> Um for the purpose for the reasons mentioned before, the answer is no. >> Okay. No. Mr. Rando. Yes.
Miss Bane. >> Yes. >> Mr. Silva. >> Yes. >> And Mr. Maxwell. >> Yes. Uh, >> okay. Motion passes. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, members of the board. Hopefully, we didn't take
too much time. >> We'll look forward to see a flat roof hyphen and barrel tile. We will take a look at it >> and keep the front door. >> Thank you very much. Excellent project, Nelson, as always. Very good. >> Thank you.
>> I'm going to send you tonight the sketches I already have for flat roof. You can look at them. >> Just the last eight. >> I don't know. >> Okay. >> Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are here at uh five minutes after 7 o'clock. Um,
Miss Paris, thank you for moving this to the back and uh, which this will be our modus operandi in the future. Um, that way I think we we're able to see more more people. Um, board, is there any old
business of which you'd like to discuss? >> I know Mrs. uh, DA would, you know, wanted to continue to discuss things with Miss Throckmorton, but she's not here today and I know that they're they're in discussion with that. Um, and those related to our last meeting where
we were talking about procedures you know basically for that um would you like to was there any discussion that anybody like to have on that you know president to you know what Miss D and Miss Rockmorton come up with
Miss D showed Miss Rockmorton a number of other communities that had specific rules and regulations related to presentations shortness conciseness and those things I think of which we're all concerned with um you know at some time
most of the pres presenters are stay within a nice short period of time and we do try to ask them to do so so I think as the future goes on it would be really good to do it particularly as we have more complex you know projects I mean you'll see that this took us from
five o'clock until 7 o'clock >> right and so we had short presentations but it was the discussion that was long so it was very good. We asked the we asked the presenters, you know, to make it short and to the point. And so I think that that was very good. So
hopefully we'll be looking at this again and having a little further discussion later on. And if they come up with something, you know, we can make a recommendation to council, you know, to make these things change. Is there any new business, Miss Paris, that we have? >> I wanted to ask a question.
>> Of course. Um May is national uh historic preservation month, >> right? >> And I don't know if it's appropriate or it has been done before for the historic preservation board to make a uh presentation at the commission meeting.
Maybe just about the state of historic preservation and Coral Gables. >> That would be excellent. >> So in the past the city commission has done a proclamation for historic preservation month and we'll try to see make sure that that happens again. Usually I believe Corellio or I think
even the villagers have submitted for that. >> We we we did already. I was thinking more of a presentation from the board to the commission >> maybe and that's why I'm giving a heads up because I know it's it won't happen,
you know, quickly if we want to do it. But um any topic you want, but I was just kind of thinking uh how many when it's when the board began, when how many properties are designated, you know, just an overview of Coral Gable's
Historic Preservation, >> the difference between districts and you know, maybe individually. Um are would you like I mean it's up to the board to decide on who would make that presentation on behalf of the board if that's something that
>> I think it would be good if we had several people do it actually. I think it would be good with Miss Shield would like to obviously like would like to be there and I'd also like to expand that as well and work with the staff on a brief you know here's what we accomplished last year and I know that that's there but I'd like to read it
into the public record and I'd also like to discuss what it is that the threats that we're facing and the issues that we need to be discussing um you know as a city and and how we address historic preservation you know in a in a nice general way
>> and the benefits of historic preservation. There there's a lot of benefits that we're we're aware of, but maybe it would be nice to explain the benefits of historic preservation. It's one of the number one reasons why people like Coral Gables.
>> Yeah. >> So, if there's talking points that you all want to send to me so I can put them together and then present them to the board at the next meeting because you all will have to agree on what's being presented on behalf of the board. >> That would be fine. Miss, can you provide us
>> shield? Please send things in everybody. >> Yeah, I can. If somebody wants to send me whatever I can work on talking points, please send them to me. >> Can you >> Oh, yes. The the train the sunshine. >> Thank you. >> Can you send the board the do we do an annual report for the commission?
>> Yes, we have an annual report already that's already submitted to the >> Can you forward that to the board so that we can keep that as a basis? >> Thank you. >> Yeah. On the presentation board, I'd really like several of us to be there at least. at least three and if everybody can come I think that that would be even better. >> Yeah.
>> So if if you can get us a general schedule about >> Yeah. We usually ask for a time certain if it's a board item. So we could ask for that too. >> So it' be like the beginning of May or or the end of April. >> Believe there's only one April meeting. So it would likely be the May meeting.
>> So May >> I I'll look at the dates. There's two May meetings. >> Well, thank you Michelle. That's very good. Thank you very much. Okay, new business. >> Does the board have anything else for legal? I'm late to another meeting.
>> No, I think we're >> see you later. >> Okay, so that was a commission item as well. So, we've got that. We moved down the agenda. Any other new business, folks? Anybody want to talk about anything? >> Okay. I wanted to let everybody know that that I have sent to the city
commission a a proposal to buy a George Frink building and this is located at Salamanca and Gallaliano and it consists of it's two parcels but it's in one property. It's for sale for $2 million.
It's a four it's a one of them is a fourunit 1925 George Frink. It's probably the best apartment building remaining in the north and actually in one of the the best in the city and it's attached to a vacant lot which could be
a park. I provided a basic financing program, you know, could put the building on the national register, use park funds to buy the vacant lot. Okay. At a million dollars, if if you divide it that way, it's a million dollars for each piece of property. You can't buy a piece of property in Coral Gables for
under a million dollars. So, it's reasonably priced. Okay. The the I've talked to the mayor and several of the city commissioners about a property that we could use as Coral Gable's house, you know, to put up guests and things like, you know, people like that, entertain
people, put people over and or our staff, you know, our staff can't afford to live in our community. So to do these things and so if I would like all of you to kind of bring this up to our commissioners if you would and see what
we can do to move on. I've also proposed another property just right across the street from the Marriott and I encourage all of you to look at I want to say that's on Pisano and it's in the middle of the block and it's an 8-unit apartment that is stunning. From the outside, it's almost intact. And from
the inside, walk in. It's a gallered It's a galleried courtyard that's that's lengthy, goes back. Both of these properties also have parking. So, they're good. They're the two best that we have remaining in the city. And so, I think it would really be good to begin
to look at those and preserve them. Otherwise, we're going to lose them. We are losing these apartments very, very quickly. So, >> Mr. Maxwell, now that that's put into the public record, can he forward it to you guys and you forward it to us so that we can see the proposal?
>> Yeah. >> Yes. >> Yes, I can. >> Is that all right? >> Yes, sir. Absolutely. Could you please do that? >> Yes. I believe I have one of the proposals that you had submitted. I'll double check. I'll conf I'll work with you. >> Uh the commissioners received both
proposals, but the one proposal is is hot right now because the property's listed on the market. send both of them to staff and then they can send >> Yeah, happy to send >> I'll coordinate with you. >> I will send it to you. Thank you. >> Any discussion items? >> Anybody need to leave immediately? Let's
go. >> Do we have an emotion for adjournment? >> Done. >> Thank you all very much. A good meeting. >> You too. >> Yeah. Go see it. >> I This these are the two