Presenter
Presenter
Christopher J. Looney, Director of Planning and Community Development
Contact Info
clooney@nbtexas.org
Subject Header
SUBJECT:
Title
Approval of the second and final reading of an ordinance designating approximately 0.29 acre, part of Lots 282 and 283, City Block 1035, addressed as 195 Jahn Street as a Local Historic Landmark to be known as the Brietzke Haus.
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BACKGROUND / RATIONALE:
Case No.: HLC-17-004
Council District: 6
Owner/Applicant: David A. & Sandra K. Huddleston
P.O. Box 310647
New Braunfels, TX 78131
(830) 625-7502
Staff Contact: Amy McWhorter, Historic Preservation Officer
(830) 221-4057
amcwhorter@nbtexas.org
City Council held a public hearing on March 27, 2017 and voted unanimously to approve the ordinance.
The subject property comprises 0.24 acres situated at the corner of South Castell Avenue and Jahn Street. The subject property is currently zoned “C-2” (Central Business District), but includes a single-family dwelling dating to 1902.
In 1902, Charles Brietzke purchased the property in the then recently platted Jahn Addition from Charles and Louise Alves. According to the original building permit, Brietzke received permission to construct the dwelling on November 26, 1902. This original building permit states that the subject structure was to be a 38-foot by 44-foot wooden frame dwelling with a metal roof.
Charles Brietzke is listed in the 1910 Comal County Census as a 50 year old head of a household located on Jahn Street. The household included his wife Agnes and children: Herbert, Etelka and Carlon. The document also lists his step-daughter Linda Rinnartz residing at the property. This document indicates that Charles, a German-speaker, immigrated to America in 1872 and was employed as an engineer at a local cotton gin. However; the 1920 census indicated that he did not immigrate until 1883 and was naturalized in 1918.
Census records further indicate that by 1920, his household had expanded to include a son named Norman and that he continued to work as an engineer at a cotton gin and continued to reside on Jahn Street. In 1930, the Census records depict that the widowed Agnes Brietzke resided with her daughter Etelka and son-in-law August Kronkosky on Sycamore Street between Lee and Stonewall Streets, but by 1940 was living in the family home on Jahn Street. Following Agnes’ death in 1957, Etelka and August Kronkosky purchased the subject property from her estate. The Kronkoskys and their descendants owned the property until 2013 when the current owners, David and Sandra Huddleston purchased the property.
The subject property includes the original 1902 Brietzke family home. The structure is a t-plan dwelling formed by a central hipped block with projecting wings with Queen Anne stylistic influences. The structure has a metal roof with narrow eave overhang with decorative milled brackets. The front-facing gable end has a cut-away bay window with decorative millwork in the cut away sections and fish scale shingles in the gable end. The secondary gable end (facing Castell Avenue) has a returned eave and shuttered window with a decorative wooden pediment above.
The exterior is clad in wooden lapped siding. The windows appear to be original 4/4 wooden units with functional wooden shutters and the primary entry is a single wooden, hinged door located in the primary ell. The structure also has a shed-roof porch in the primary ell, although it appears to have been modified more than once throughout the home’s history.
Character-defining features of the structure include the overall form of the structure, the cut away bay window, the original wooden windows and the decorative mill work that is characteristic of the Queen Anne style.
General Information:
Size: 0.24 of an acre
Surrounding Zoning and Land Use:
North - C-2 / Commercial - insurance office
East - C-2 Residential - single-family residence
South (across Castell Avenue) - M-1 / Residential - single-family residences
West - C-2 / Commercial - law office
Comprehensive Plan / Future Land Use Designation: Commercial
Floodplain: No portion of the property is within the 1% annual chance flood zone.
Improvement(s): 1902 wood house
Determination Factors:
In making a decision on zoning, the following factors are to be considered:
§ Whether the permitted uses will be appropriate in the immediate area, and their relationship to the area and to the City as a whole (The proposed historic landmark designation is a zoning overlay and therefore, would not change the base zoning of the property).
§ Whether the change is in accord with any existing or proposed public schools, streets, water supply, sanitary sewers, and other utilities to the area (The proposed historic landmark designation zoning overlay would not impact the aforementioned entities or infrastructure).
§ How other areas designated for similar development will be affected (There should be no negative effect on other properties in the vicinity.);
§ Any other factors that will substantially affect the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare (The historic landmark designation of the property should contribute retention of a historically significant structure, which provides a community benefit.); and
§ Whether the request is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan (Comprehensive Plan Goal 69 recommends that the City enhance the heritage image of the City by designating historic areas and structures that should be preserved, restored, and used for adaptive reuse.)
ADDRESSES A NEED/ISSUE IN A CITY PLAN OR COUNCIL PRIORITY:
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Yes |
City Plan/Council Priority: 2006 Comprehensive Plan Pros and Cons Based on Policies Plan |
Pros: Goal 69:Enhance the heritage image of the City by designating historic areas and structures that should be preserved, restored, and used for adaptive reuse. The designation of this property will enhance the heritage image of the City and encourage the preservation and adaptive reuse of the property. Cons: None |
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
Recommendation
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
The Historic Landmark Commission held a public hearing on February 14, 2017 and recommended approval of the designation (9-0-0)
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on March 7, 2017 and recommended approval of the designation (7-0-0, Commissioners Elrod and Nolte absent).
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the proposed Historic Landmark Designation as the structure meets three of the six criteria for designation as defined in Chapter 65 of the City’s Code of Ordinances which states a historic landmark or district may be designated if it meets at least one of the following criteria:
(1) Possesses significance in history, architecture, archeology, or culture. The structure is an excellent local example of a modest iteration of the Queen Anne style which owed its popularity to expansions in the railroad and manufacturing.
(2) Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local, regional, state, or national history. No such associations are known.
(3) Is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. No such associations are known.
(4) Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction. The subject structure is a distinctive example of late Queen Anne style architecture.
(5) Represents the work of a master designer, builder, or craftsman. No such representation is known.
(6) Represents an established and familiar visual feature of the neighborhood or city. The structure has been located at this site since 1902.
Notification:
Public hearing notices were sent to 24 property owners representing 24 tracts of land located within 200 feet of the subject site. The Planning and Community Development Department has received 6 responses in favor (#3, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17) and one in objection (#10).
Attachments:
1. Maps
2. Notification Map and responses
3. Photograph of Subject Property
4. Article III, Sec. 66-54
5. Article III, Sec. 66-56
6. Excerpt from the February 14, 2017 Historic Landmark Commission minutes
7. Excerpt from the March 7, 2017 Planning Commission minutes
8. Ordinance