Location: 2100 Randolph Road, Charlotte, NC
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Present:
Matthew Benson, Committee Chairman
Richard Mattson, Committee Vice-Chairman
Richard Alsop, III, HLC Chairman
Yolanda Johnson, HLC
Gray Newman, HLC
Lynn Weis, HLC
Dan Morrill, HLC Consulting Director
Stewart Gray, HLC Preservation Planner
Mary Lynn Morrill, HLC Recording Consultant
Mary Dominick, HLC Consultant
Absent:
Len Norman
John Shurley
Visitors:
Patrick Frye III
Neal Broome
Gwen Cook
James Alsop
Luke Vollmar
Larry Bjerson
Melissa Vrona
David Craft
Dotty Honey
Tony Zeiss
Bob Gwisnkamp
Blaine Gregory
Darcy Sosko
Mary Vickers-Koch
Mitchell Hagler
Eric. M. Jensen
Kathleen Collado
Amanda Capobianchi
Daniel Spinnici
Rich Rosenthal
Richard Zellinger
Joyce King
Darrel Williams
Doug Hardaway
Stacey Harris
Monique Taylor
Danielle Dosunmu
Melanie Sizemore
Shane Jeter
Gene Ritter
Marcia Conston
David Rhew
AGENDA
Item #1 - Chairman’s Report: Mr. Benson
Mr. Benson welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Item #2 - Director’s Report: Dr. Morrill
Dr. Morrill explained that the sole responsibility of the
Committee was to determine whether the proposed parking deck met the
standards for new and related construction set forth in the Secretary of the
Interior's Guidelines.
Item #3 - Consideration of an Application For A Certificate Of
Appropriateness For A Parking Deck To Be Erected Adjacent To American Legion
Memorial Stadium, located between Sam Ryburn Walk and East
Seventh St. on Charlottetowne Avenue in Charlotte, North
Carolina.
.
Dr. Morrill reported that the HLC staff had determined that
the size and scale of the proposed parking deck were problematic and that
consequently every reasonable effort should be made to mitigate the size and
scale of the building. Specifically, staff recommended that the
pyramidal roofs atop the stairwells on the parking deck not be built and
that flat roofs be erected instead.
Rich Rosenthal of CPCC then reviewed the plans for the
proposed deck. He contended that the design of the proposed parking
deck did meet the Secretary of the Interior's Guidelines and therefore
should be approved. Dr. Tony Zeiss, President of CPCC, supported the
same contention.
Other members of the audience addressed the issue.
Matt Benson stated that he supported the staff
recommendation. He also spoke to two other issues related to the
parking deck. One was the issue of design compatibility. In his
view, the proposed parking deck could employ more of the Art Deco vocabulary
that one sees in the American Legion Memorial Stadium. The other issue
he addressed was the functionality of the proposed Amory Drive entrance to
the stadium and especially the area immediately surrounding the historic
ticket booth. Mr. Benson suggested that a traffic arrangement should
be explored that removed vehicular traffic from Armory Drive. Adding
to the appropriateness of such an arrangement was the prospect that a
pedestrian connector between the Sugar Creek Greenway and Independence Park
might one day traverse Armory Drive.
The other members of the Committee spoke in favor of Mr.
Benson's suggestions.
MR. BENSON PRESENTED A MOTION, SECONDED BY DR. MATTSON, THAT
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMEND TO THE HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION THAT THE
MEMBERS OF THE DESIGN REVIEW PRESENT AT THIS MEETING (BENSON, MATTSON, ALSOP)
AND STAFF NEGOTIATE WITH THE APPLICANT AND BE AUTHORIZED TO APPROVE A DESIGN
FOR THE PROPOSED PARKING DECK AND SITE THAT PLACES FLAT ROOFS ATOP THE
STAIRWELLS, THAT INCORPORATES DESIGN ELEMENTS, INCLUDING POSSIBLY A PARAPET
WALL, THAT ARE SYMPATHETIC TO THE ART DECO FEATURES OF THE AMERICAN
LEGION MEMORIAL STADIUM, AND THAT ESTABLISHES A PLAN FOR VEHICULAR INGRESS
AND EGRESS THAT REMOVES TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE VEHICULAR TRAFFIC
FROM ARMORY DRIVE AND THAT ASSURES SAFE PEDESTRIAN PASSAGE BETWEEN THE
PROPOSED PARKING DECK AND AMERICAN LEGION MEMORIAL STADIUM. THE
COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THE MOTION.
There being no further business the committee adjourned at
6:30 p.m.