The rendering by Andrew Circle Architects pictured above shows the design for the Clock Tower building at 101 S. Chillicothe St. in Plain City. Council recently upheld a decision by the Design Review Board that will allow the property owners to paint the brick building Billiard Green and install rolling garage doors.
(Graphic submitted)
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Developers will be able to move forward with renovations to the Clock Tower building in Plain City after a split vote by council upheld the Design Review Board’s approval to paint the building.
Resident opinions were also mixed, as some denounced DRB and council’s ruling – going so far as to say people would hate them for it – while others praised the decisions.
“You sold your soul tonight,” Resident Eric Medici told council.
Resident Tyler Lane, though, called Medici’s comments “an exaggeration,” adding that he has become more proud of the community as new businesses have moved into the Uptown.
“This isn’t the 1800s,” Lane said. “You have to adapt.”
The owners of the Clock Tower at 101 S. Chillicothe St., Rayce Robinson and Andy Warnock, applied for a Certificate of Appropriateness on March 13 that would allow them to paint the building and install rolling garage doors.
The proposed paint color, Sherwin Williams Billiard Green, is a historic paint color from the company.
In an email to DRB members, Warnock wrote that the tenant, Troy-based A. M. Scott Distillery, “is considering withdrawing from the project unless our application requests are accommodated.”
Warnock added that he and Robinson have worked with a number of architects and design firms, including Revival Design Collective, to ensure their proposal is “within the guardrails of historic preservation.”
At its April 26 meeting, DRB voted 3-2 to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness. Two members were absent.
On Monday, council considered an appeal of DRB’s decision filed by Resident Stephanie Syfert on April 28. In her appeal, Syfert claimed the board decision violated multiple sections of Chapter 1327, the village ordinances that govern that Uptown Plain City Historic District.
She said the three members who voted in favor of the applicant, Jim Cron, Ronald Price and Council member Jim Eudaily, showed a “complete disregard for our laws.”
“As the rules are written today, they should be followed,” Syfert said.
She noted that the building features white butter-joint bricks. In her appeal, Syfert said paint would destroy the integrity of the bricks and prevent current and future residents from seeing the building as the original builder intended.
Syfert also argued against the addition of garage style doors to the building, noting that “rolling doors are a want, not a necessity.”
Ultimately, she said village codes should trump any business’ “brand standard.”
Alicia Zambelli, attorney for the property owners, noted that the painting of bricks is not prohibited by Plain City’s code.
In response to a question from Council member Frank Reed, Zambelli said the code cannot include guidelines for every possible revision to a building. So, “when the code is silent,” it falls to the interpretation of the Design Review Board.
Based on DRB’s approval, she said board members seem to agree with the property owners that their proposed plan will maintain the general architecture and “historic charm” of the building, while adding approved updates.
The appeal was heard as a quasi-judicial process, similar to the way judges function in an actual appeal court, so only the appellant and applicant were permitted to speak. Law Director Paul Lafayette noted that no new evidence could be presented.
After private deliberations of council, members voted 3-2 to reject the appeal.
Council members Frank Reed and Kerri Ferguson voted in favor of the appeal. Eudaily abstained from deliberations and the vote, as he also serves on DRB.
Although residents could not speak during the appeal hearing, a number of them shared their opinions after the decision was rendered.
Resident Patty Flowers told council that she feels the green color of the paint and the garage doors will not stand the test of time the way the building has thus far.
“It’s kind of like in the 60s, we had shag rugs,” she said. “This is going to fade just like everything else.”
She told council that the decision hurt her heart, and she feels many other community members feel the same way.
“I would say 50% of the people are going to hate you right now,” Flowers said.
Those in opposition, including Flowers, urged council to reconsider who is appointed to serve on DRB.
“You guys need to clean house,” Eric Medici said.
Similarly, Ina Medici asked, “What’s the point of the Historic District and what’s the point of the DRB?”
Robinson, who noted that he is “Plain City born and raised,” said he understands that “change is hard.”
He said he feels that history is written over and over, and hopes renovations to his properties will encourage people to come into the village and experience the buildings and reflect on the history of the community.
Lane said he feels changes to the Uptown have done exactly that.
He emphasized that he sees a strong distinction between tearing down older buildings and proposed changes like painting them.
New businesses will continue to draw people to spend money in Plain City, Lane said, and improve the perception of the village.
He said Plain City has shifted from a town he used to feel “embarrassed” of, to a town that his friends are eager to visit or even considering moving to.
“At this point, if you don’t like it, move, because I have a list of 10 friends who would move into that house right now,” Lane said.