HomeMy WebLinkAbout2. 715 Leland Avenue_AA 2023-0724HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH BEND AND ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
Phone: 574/235.9371 Fax: 574/235.9021 Email: hpcsbsjc@southbendin.gov
STAFF REPORT
CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR A
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
Date: August 10, 2023
Application Number: 2023-0724A
Property Location: 715 Leland Avenue
Architectural Style/Date/Architect or Builder: Empty Lot
Property Owner: ST PAUL BETHEL BAPTIST CH TRUSTEES
Landmark or District Designation: Chapin Park Local Historic
District, Ordinance # 9575-05
Rating: N/A
DESCRIPTION OF STRUCTURE/ SITE: Empty lot. Foursqaure-style house stood on lot, torn down sometime
in the first half of the 20th century.
ALTERATIONS: AA 2023-0724 allowed for the construction of the retaining wall, clearing of site debris, remov-
al of volunteer trees and brush.
APPLICATION ITEMS: “** see document attached”
DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROJECT: The applicant has requested approval to:
Build a 4’ black chain link fence enclosing the property, with entrance gates.
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES: See Standards and Guidelines:
Fencing and Retaining Walls — pages 10-11
SITE VISIT REPORT:
Historic Preservation Administrator Toering and Specialist Van Overberghe conducted a site visited the property
when conducting a site visit to 711 Leland on March 30, 2023. Site was overgrown and unused at that time.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff makes a favorable recommendation.
Prepared by Adam Toering, Historic Preservation Administrator
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH BEND AND ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
Phone: 574/235.9371 Fax: 574/235.9021 Email: hpcsbsjc@southbendin.gov
MAP OF THE AREA — Google Maps view of the subject area.
SATELLITE/SANBORN IMAGERY — Sanborn Maps:1960, imagery from 2021.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH BEND AND ST. JOSEPH COUNTY
Phone: 574/235.9371 Fax: 574/235.9021 Email: hpcsbsjc@southbendin.gov
IMAGERY — Front façade.
IMAGERY — Front façade, looking southwest from intersection.
**Description of Proposed Work
The proposed work for this site includes the removal of some trees and concrete
elements on the property,the construction of a retaining wall,and installation of a perimeter
fence and benches.Dead trees require removal and trees with dead or decaying limbs require
pruning to improve the health of the trees and reduce risk of any injuries due to falling trees or
limbs.Concrete elements around the property include a concrete ring,pad,and set of broken
stairs that will be excavated and removed to reduce any safety hazards they present as a
playground site for children.To remediate slope creep into the sidewalk,the area will be
excavated and a stone block retaining wall will be built to prevent further creep.Finally,a fence
will be installed along the property line as a safety precaution to prevent kids from running into
the road.Stone benches will be installed around the property to provide seating for parents to
supervise their children.
A more detailed description of all proposed work can be found in the project overview.
A Note about Communication
Please include the contractor,Kathy Schuth,in all communications regarding the COA.
While the St.Paul Bethel Missionary Baptist Church is the owner of the physical property,they
are not in on the day-to-day activities.The church has outsourced all work on the property to the
Near Northwest Neighborhood Association.
Existing Condition
The property currently has several dead and dying trees that need to be removed,as
identified in consultations with certified arborists Nick Simons and Tommy Erxleben.The slope
from the sidewalk up to the property is currently creeping into the sidewalk and requires
remediation to clear the sidewalk,as confirmed by Jim Boyles of Selge Construction.The
property is covered in brush,plants,and piles of dirt making the surface uneven and sloped,as
evaluated by CoSB’s Project Inspector Dan Jones.A set of old stairs on Leland Avenue lead up
to the property,but they are overgrown with plants and a tree stump has grown through them.
There are additional concrete elements such as a concrete ring and a concrete pad in the
ground.The previous chain link fence was removed so there is currently no fence on the
property.All playground equipment was also removed so there is no equipment on the property.
Overview of Project -Materials,scale,dimensions,construction methods
The project will consist of removing dead trees,remediating the slope and building a
retaining wall,installing a black chain link fence to protect the property,and installing stone
benches with further improvements to come later.
Tree Removal
A total of eight trees need to be removed from the property with some additional pruning
taking place for some of the other trees.A map of all the trees on the property is shown below in
Figure 1.The trees that need to be removed are shown below in yellow and remaining trees are
shown in brown.Table 1 shows a full summary of the work being done to each tree on the
property and why.
Figure 1.Aerial view of trees
Since the property is going to be used as a playground,the majority of work being done
on the trees pertains to the safety hazards of dead trees or limbs falling.Additionally,there are
some trees that require work because they are low-hanging and will interfere with the
functioning of and access to playground equipment and child safety.Finally,one tree (tree #8)
presents an environmental hazard.This tree was identified as a tree of heaven,an invasive
species that is also the main food for the spotted lanternfly,an invasive insect.Nick Simons,the
contractor for this project and a certified arborist warned us that this tree would present a threat
of attracting these insects in upcoming years as they are forecast to spread into northern
Indiana.
Table 1.Reasons for tree work
Tree stumps for two of the eight trees being removed will have stump grinding.These
stumps would be located on the inside of the fence and present a potential safety hazard to
children in the park.
All work will be done by Nick Simons,owner and operator of HartWood Tree Care.He is
an ISA Certified Arborist (Certification ID:IN-3678A),making him capable to deem the state of
tree health and find the best solution for tree care with minimum removal.
Slope Remediation/Retaining Wall
As the edges of the property on Leland Avenue and Pierce Street are currently creeping
onto the sidewalk,the plan is to excavate the slope and build a retaining wall (very similar to
Figure 2 below)to prevent further slope creep.In this process,Jim Boyles of Selge Construction
will use an excavator claw to remove a foot of dirt back from the sidewalk to build the retaining
wall and insert backfill for drainage.The remaining slope above the wall will be excavated to
ensure that the dirt level does not exceed the height of the wall.
Our retaining wall will extend 50 feet across on Leland Avenue and 170 feet across on
Pierce Street (see Figure 3 below).In accordance with zoning regulations,the retaining wall will
be under 3 feet,at a height of 19.375 inches.The wall will be 2 blocks high with a cap block
attached to the top with landscaping block adhesive (see Figure 4).A total of 300 blocks and
150 caps will be used:116 stretching across the 170 foot Pierce Street side in one layer and 34
stretching across the 50 foot Leland Ave side in one layer.There will be infilled crushed
aggregate stones in each block as well the previously mentioned backfill.
Figure 2.Retaining Wall Example
Figure 3.Aerial View of Wall
Figure 4.Plan of Wall
Concrete Removal
There are several concrete elements spread around the park that interfere with the
playground capabilities of the property.As shown below in Figure 4,there is a concrete ring and
concrete pad that will both interfere with site work and present a safety hazard to children once
the park is completed.Therefore,these elements will be excavated in order to have a smooth,
level play surface with no obstructions or safety hazards.For more detail,images of these
elements are shown in Figures 5 and 6.
Figure 5.Aerial view of concrete elements
Figure 6.Concrete ring
Figure 7.Concrete pad
Additionally,a pair of old stairs on Leland Avenue leading up to the property are very old
and crooked with a tree and several plants growing through cracks that cannot be repaired.Due
to the aesthetic and property access issue,the old steps will be removed to be replaced later
during property development.Figure 8 shows the stairs and their level of disrepair.
Figure 8.Image of stairs
All of these elements will be excavated and removed by Jim Boyles,Vice President of
Selge Construction.
Fencing
A prior,decrepit chain link fence was in place around the site that was removed due to
disrepair,safety issues,and the threat it posed to the trees that had grown around the fence
(see Figure 9).In order to ensure playground safety for children,a 4 foot high,black chain-link
fence will be installed around the property (see Figure 10).In accordance with zoning
regulations,the fence will be 2 feet back from the slope in all areas.
There will be two entrances to the park.The west entrance will be an 8 foot wide double
gate and the north entrance will be a single 4 foot wide gate (see Figure 11).
Although an aluminum decorative fence is preferred for aesthetic reasons,this is not
within the project budget.The consensus after consultation and quotes from various fencing
companies was that aluminum fencing would be twice as expensive as chain link.A quote of
$11,400 for a black chain link fence just meets the fence budget of $12,000.Aluminum fencing
at twice this cost would exceed the budget for this expense.
Figure 9.Prior Fencing at Site
Figure 10.Proposed Black Chain-Link Fencing
Figure 11.Aerial View of Fence
Although some may argue that an aluminum fence looks nicer than a chain link fence,
for reasons other than price it was determined that the chain link fence would be a better option.
Chain link fencing has smaller openings between regions of the fence,making it less likely for
children to try to reach through the fence or get a hand or arm stuck trying to squeeze through
the fence and get out into the road.Other properties in South Bend have used this fencing for
playground areas,including the Madison School playground in the City of South Bend.As
shown below in Figure 12,the play area is enclosed with black chain link,the same proposed
fencing material for this property.
Figure 12.Madison School Play Area Fencing
Therefore,both for safety and budgetary reasons,a black chain link fence is planned to
be installed around the perimeter of the property.
Stone Benches
ZStone Creations has offered to provide up to four stone benches for the play area.An
example of what these benches may look like can be seen below in Figure 13.Each bench will
be approximately 4’L X 2’W X 2’H,demonstrated below in Figure 14.The benches will be
secured on-site by ZStone with cement under each supporting pillar.Three benches will be
located along the Pierce Street fence line and the fourth will be located opposite the other three
along the shared property line with 711 Leland Avenue,demonstrated in Figure 15.
Figure 13.Existing Similar Example of Bench from ZStone
Figure 14.Dimensions of Bench
Figure 15.Aerial view of bench locations,shown in gray
Photographs -Full front from street view,each side affected by project,close-up detail of
project areas
Photo 1.North side of property
Photo 2.East side of property
Photo 3.West side of property
Photo 4.Retaining wall region on north side
Photo 5.Retaining wall region on east side
Photo 6.Plan view of all work,fence in red,trees for removal in pink,slope in stripes with
retaining wall around border
Photo 7.Tree 2 for removal
Photo 8.Tree 6 for removal
Photo 9.Trees 7 (right)and 8 (left)for removal
Photo 10.Tree 11 for removal
Photo 11.Tree 15 for removal
Photo 12.Trees 16 (left)and 17 (right)for removal
Specification of material -Manufacture brochure or link to product
Chain Link Fence -
https://www.milestonefence.com/commercial-fences#ChainLink
Block Retaining Wall Material -
https://www.brickworkssupply.com/hardscapes/concrete-walls-and-accessories/allan-block/ab-c
ollection/
ZStone Creations -
https://zstonecreations.com/
Tree Removal Process -
https://www.hartwood.biz/