Northville Historic District Commission Talks About Site Renovations Versus Demolitions

The recent physical relocation of a barn and a home in the city’s historic district has made members of the Northville Historic District Commission question what constitutes a move versus a demolition.

The barn and home, located along Cady Street near the city’s cemetery on Randolph Street, are old structures that had several issues going into moving. However, commission members, who oversee matters related to historical buildings in the city, said they were shocked to see how much of the buildings had to be taken apart to be moved.

At issue is how much the commission knew about the nature of what would happen at the sites, said Commissioner Joseph Hoffman.

“I think if I had known what was going to happen, I’d have asked different questions,” he said.

Confusion regarding when a move actually becomes a demolition caused the commission to ask Planner Sally Elmiger to devise a form that would require applicants who seek to move buildings to provide a more detailed explanation of what will happen to a building during the move process.

Not knowing what is happening at the site is detrimental to the commission and the community, Hoffman said.

“It’s an embarrassment for the commission,” he said.

The dialogue regarding moves among the commissioners cycled from whether the commission is asking the right questions of petitioners to whether applicants provided detailed and accurate information before a determination is made.

Moving a building is like opening the proverbial box of chocolates; You never know what you’re going to get.

Both buildings that were recently moved are projects undertaken by Mike Miller, a Northville-based builder.

Walter Coponen, an architect who has presented the information for the Randolph Street project, said the details of what would happen to the relocated home – which included removal of its roof – was in the drawings submitted to the commission.

“Sometimes, you have to take something down to rebuild it," Coponen said.

He said that there were structural problems with the roof "because the house was in such bad shape. I think it’s hard for a lay person to read the drawings, but I believe things will better now that an architect [Commissioner John Argenta] is on board.”

Still, the process of moving the home was unclear to the commission and at least one member said she'd like to add new forms and possibly additional public hearings when a move is proposed and before Coponen appears before the commission in May.

“Is there any way we can have that in place?" Commissioner Jennifer Luikart asked Elmiger, referring to plans before Coponen returns before the committee. Elmiger said new forms and additional information requirements could be instituted, but that the process of doing so may not be complete before next meeting.

For his part, Miller said he believed adding more information may be a good idea.

“I’m all for that, as long as it’s within reason,” he said. “As long as there are not additional fees – they raised fees and it’s been a hard pill to swallow – and there’s not a lot of additional time.”

Coponen suggested in an e-mail to Mayor Christopher Johnson and City Manager Patrick Sullivan that a narrative, further explaining the expected process of a move to commissioners, would be helpful.

But moving a building, said Argenta, is a task that is fraught with unknowns, and unforseeable solutions are sometimes required for a good outcome.

“Sometimes, you’ll go into a building that’s 20 years old, and you’ll look at it and say, ‘what did they do in here?’” he said. Argenta did say the he would like to be notified if anything unsuspected happens during a move, however.

Johnson said the commission was overly concerned about the site, and not enough about the move, when the project was first brought before the commission. Other commissioners, however, said it’s incumbent on applicants to make commissioners understand what exactly will occur to a structure.

Coponen, whose firm designed the custom homes in Fox Hollow Estates and the Blue Heron condominium development, said he’s proud of his achievements in the city. He said he is uncomfortable with the commission implying he did not provide them with the information they needed to know to make an educated decision.

Coponen said the commission will like the end product, even if the process is difficult.

“What is going to be there is exactly what we submitted to the commission,” he said. “In six months, they are going to be very happy.”