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CITY OF MUSKEGON
HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
MINUTES
March 5, 2019
Chairperson J. Hilt called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. and roll was taken.
MEMBERS PRESENT: J. Hilt, S. Radtke, L. Wood, D. Warren, A. Riegler, K. Panozzo
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: J. Pesch, D. Renkenberger
OTHERS PRESENT: T. Harvey, City of Muskegon Special Projects Coordinator; A.
Bruneau, property manager for 1229 Peck St.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion to approve the regular meeting minutes of February 5, 2019 was made by J. Hilt, supported
by D. Warren and unanimously approved.
ELECTIONS
A motion to retain J. Hilt as Chairperson was made by A. Riegler, supported by D. Warren and
unanimously approved. S. Radtke stated that he was willing to remain as Vice Chair. K. Panozzo
supported S. Radtke as Vice Chair; a vote was taken and was unanimously approved.
NEW BUSINESS
Case 2019-02 – 1188 4th Street (Rehabilitation). Applicant: City of Muskegon. District: Houston.
Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. The applicant is seeking approval
to make several modifications to the home, including 1) remove the left-hand door on the 4th Street
porch, 2) remove the door and steps on the setback portion of the 4th Street façade, 3) replace all
remaining doors, 4) replace all windows on the house with aluminum-clad wood windows of the
same size, design, and configuration with the exception of items 5 and 6 as noted: 5) eliminate the
picture window and reconfigure two double hung windows on the setback portion of the 4th Street
façade, 6) eliminate the two double hung windows flanking the entry door on the Monroe Street
façade, 7) extend the roof over the Monroe Street entry door and add supporting columns, 8) remove
the basement door on the east façade (off of the driveway), 9) cover all existing concrete porches
with wood, 10) replace existing iron handrails with wood handrails, and 11) remove, strip, repaint,
and reinstall all original, decorative wood details. Staff approval has been granted for the replacement
of the existing vinyl siding and asphalt roofing.
A. Riegler had some concerns with the extent of the proposed changes. She stated that the entry
should resemble how it originally looked, and the sample photo provided in the staff report was too
ornate for the style of the house. D. Warren stated that HDC standards required that it must be clear
which work was new and which was original; it was not acceptable to install new features to mimic a
historic look. Staff and board members discussed the numerous entry doors on the house, and which
ones the applicant would like to remove. T. Harvey stated that he would like to eliminate some doors
and replace the remaining doors with four-panel doors. He also wanted to reconfigure the Monroe
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Avenue entry and build the porch out. If that was not allowed, he preferred to eliminate that entry.
A. Riegler stated that eliminating it would be more appropriate, as there did not appear to be a porch
there in the past. J. Pesch confirmed that all historic photos he could find showed the same building
footprint as what was currently there. T. Harvey stated that he no problem removing the door, as it
opened directly into a living room. He stated that he would remove the concrete steps and the door,
and side over it. A. Riegler asked why he wanted to remove the door going to the basement. T.
Harvey stated that the doorway took up a lot of room in the kitchen, and he preferred not to have an
exterior door going straight into the basement. S. Radtke stated that the front door and transom
window looked original. T. Harvey stated that it was a five-panel door and it was in rough shape. He
had been unable to find a similar five-panel door so he wanted to replace it with a four-panel. Board
members concurred that, since the door appeared to be original, they preferred that Mr. Harvey try to
salvage it. T. Harvey stated that he would try, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to save it due to its
poor condition. They did not have a problem with the other door being replaced, as it was in a less
visible location. A. Riegler asked if the proposed column on the 4th Street entry would be square or
round. T. Harvey stated that he was open to either shape as long as he could use a fiberglass column.
The porch rails would be wood. S. Radtke asked what type of windows were currently in the house.
T. Harvey stated that they were single pane, wood, double hung and they were terribly ineffective for
energy efficiency in such a large house. A. Riegler asked if the windows still had the weights. T.
Harvey stated that there were pockets for the weights but the weights themselves were gone. S.
Radtke stated that, because some windows were missing, there was no distinctive pattern to the glass,
and the weights were missing, he would not have a problem approving replacement windows. T.
Harvey stated that he would retain the wide wood trim around the windows.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to 1) remove the left-hand door on the 4th Street porch, 2)
remove the door and steps on the setback portion of the 4th Street façade, 3) replace all remaining
doors with the exception of the original wood front door, which is to be refurbished, 4) replace all
windows on the house with aluminum-clad wood windows of the same size, design, and
configuration with the exception of items 5 and 6 as noted: 5) eliminate the picture window and
reconfigure two double hung windows on the setback portion of the 4th Street façade, 6) eliminate the
entry door on the Monroe Street façade, 7) remove the basement door on the east façade (off of the
driveway), 9) cover all existing concrete porches with wood, 10) replace existing iron handrails with
wood handrails, and 11) remove, strip, repaint, and reinstall all original, decorative wood details as
long as the work meets all zoning requirements and the necessary permits are obtained, was made by
A. Riegler, supported by J. Hilt and unanimously approved, with J. Hilt, S. Radtke, L. Wood, D.
Warren, A. Riegler, and K. Panozzo voting aye.
Case 2019-03 – 1229 Peck Street (Windows). Applicant: Golden Hills Property Management.
District: McLaughlin. Current Function: Residential. J. Pesch presented the staff report. The
applicant is seeking approval to replace one damaged wood window on the first floor of the north
façade with a vinyl window of the same size and configuration. J. Pesch discussed other window
replacement work on a section of the north and east façades that had already been completed without
HDC approval by the previous owner.
S. Radtke asked about the siding around the replaced windows, as some was wider than the other
windows, and some was missing. Anthony stated that he would use blue siding to cover the exposed
wood around some of the windows, and he would narrow the white trim around the completed
windows so it would match the others. S. Radtke suggested using siding from the rear of the house to
fill in around the windows so it would match, then replacing the rear siding with new that looked as
similar as possible to the original. A. Riegler asked if the one window on the north façade was the
only one he was asking to replace. Anthony stated that was correct at this time, and the replacement
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would match what was currently there. Board members and the applicant discussed aluminum clad,
vinyl, and wood windows. Anthony mentioned that there was one other window that would need to
be replaced in the future, on the west side of the house. The current window would no longer seal
and there was an extreme draft. S. Radtke suggested that the board consider the second window
now, as it was the same size and style window as the other one being considered. Two motions were
made, to address the work that had already been done without HDC approval, and the other to
approve the replacement of the two windows.
A motion that the HDC approve the request to replace two damaged wood windows on the first floor
of the north and south façades with aluminum-clad windows of the same size and configuration as
long as the work meets all zoning requirements and the necessary permits are obtained, was made by
S. Radtke, supported by L. Wood and unanimously approved, with J. Hilt, S. Radtke, L. Wood, D.
Warren, A. Riegler, and K. Panozzo voting aye.
A motion that the HDC allow the existing windows that had been replaced by a previous owner to
remain, and to approve the replacement of damaged siding surrounding the new, replacement
windows on the front and side facades of the house using original siding to be removed from the rear
of the house, and to allow replacement of the removed siding on the rear of the house with new
siding, being as similar as possible to the original, was made by S. Radtke, supported by D. Warren
and unanimously approved, with J. Hilt, S. Radtke, L. Wood, D. Warren, A. Riegler, and K. Panozzo
voting aye.
OTHER
HDC Local Standards Review – Window, Door, and Exterior Woodwork, Fence – Since it was
already past 5:00, the standards review was postponed until the next meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
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