Uh meeting of 2026 of the Central Business District Um Historic Um Landmark Commission.

Staff, could you do the roll call, please?

Hello.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

John Boyd present.

Absent.

Chamus wire absent.

Bradley Petrol present.

Matt Morgan, present.

Daryl Domestre, present.

Okay.

Everyone's received a copy of the minutes.

Were there any correct additions or corrections to the minute?

We have a motion to approve the minute.

That was from the December 3rd, 2025 meeting.

We have a motion, second.

Second.

We have a second.

All in favor.

Agenda number three.

Consent agenda.

716 Iberville Street.

Yeah.

Want to give us an idea?

Yeah.

With consent agenda, we typically just uh will ask for public comment and then the commission will vote.

I understand.

Anyone present that would like to comment on 716 Ivorville Street?

No.

We have a motion to approve um the consent of our agenda, excuse me.

Anna on a second.

All in favor.

Okay.

Any opposed new business uh retention application agenda number four, 412 Girard Street.

The applicant can state their name and address.

Okay.

Yes, could you step forward, please?

It's been a while since I've done this.

You're doing good.

Right here?

Hi, good morning.

Um, my name is Um Dr.

Vion.

I'm actually the owner of Vyon's restaurant, and I just want to start with thanking the committee for the opportunity to be here today to talk about um the lights that we have at the restaurant and to offer our apology because we had new idea of changing the light fixtures, but it was creating some deviation or violation, so we apologize for that.

We did the um change the light fixtures.

Just stand by, please, ma'am.

Sure.

One second.

Uh this is an application for attention of installation of inappropriate sign light fixtures at a contributing rated three-story commercial building and deviation of a C of A and full control warehouse district.

The HDLC guidelines note that the type and placement of exterior lighting play an important role in maintaining the authentic historic character of the building and its area.

The guidelines also note that existing ambient street and storefront lighting may adequately eliminate signage, which is preferred over the installation of additional light fixtures.

When sign lighting is proposed, fixtures should be unobtrusive and compatible with the character of the building, including their location, orientation, light output, and should be aimed only to eliminate the signed surface.

The guidelines also further distinguish between sign illumination and security lighting.

When installing new security lighting, there must be a balance between providing sufficient lighting to create a secure feeling and maintaining compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood.

Additionally, security lighting is intended to be located as discreetly as possible, preferably on non-street-facing elevations, with a limited number of fixtures and activated by motion sensors whenever possible.

Following this damage, the original fixtures are removed and replaced with the current floodlight style fixtures without HDLC approval.

These fixtures appear to be primarily oriented toward the sidewalk area below rather than toward the sign faces.

Staff has also advised the owner that additional general and security lighting may be explored separately through coordination with entergy and nearby street light poles.

Based on this, staff recommends denial with the request for attention and recommends that new fixtures similar to the previous directional bullet lights are installed to eliminate only the signed surfaces.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay, apologize for that.

I'm sorry.

Um I'm Vion, I'm the owner of Vyon's restaurant.

I I just want to say to the committee, um, these lights, the original fixtures, although they were designed to sustain certain wind um wind damage, it was over five times in the course of two years that those lights wrap around the sign, punch a hole into the panel, and we've had to change it at least five times at the cost of about almost $1,500 each time.

Um it provide it was really a safety issue for us.

Um we got a lot of complaints from the neighbors because the sign the damaged lights were hanging down, which we could not immediately change every time.

And also, we all call the front of the restaurant our blind spot because it's very dark out there.

Even though we have a dining area in the front, our restaurant goes to the back and then it goes upstairs.

We have a dark spot there, and we've had many criminal activities.

Um we've had um equipment stolen from us, we've had our manager truck stolen, we've had the nearby employees, they have brakes there, they put trash there.

We had a beautiful planter outside the restaurant, they damaged it significantly to the point where we couldn't even repair it.

And so when we what happened the fifth time with these damaged lights, we thought, well, let's just change the fixture to give us provide us more lighting in this blind spot, not realizing that it was causing any issues in terms of any deviation or or violation.

They've been up for about nine months.

The nearby neighbors have come to thank us because now they have a door next to our restaurant, which is the existing condos, which were part of the condo association, because now they feel safer because there's lighting when they're walking down that pathway.

Um they feel like people are not hanging out there, they're not laudering, they're not trashing it as much as they used to.

It's a safety issue for us now when we're in the dining area.

We can see in front of the restaurant now.

Before it was just like a dark spot.

Um, so that's one of the reasons why we changed it, but we just didn't know that it was would be a deviation.

So I'm asking the committee if there's a way that we can keep the existing lighting that we have now for a safety issue to keep us safe, to keep our employees safe to keep our neighbors safe, or if we have to go back to a fixture that's similar to what we had before, over five times it wrapped around those poles, it damaged the panel.

So we have to figure out something in between that can accommodate that we can't keep changing it because sometimes we don't change it for months, and it's just dangling there, and it's really a safety issue, or if there's some way we can keep the existing lights that we have now to keep us safe.

And I appreciate the opportunity to be here to discuss this with you.

Uh what color is the uh the light now?

Is it a soft white?

Is it it's a it's a soft light, yeah.

It's a soft white.

Yeah, it's a soft white, yes.

Got it.

Stephanie is that confirmed?

I'm sorry.

Is that confirmed the color of the light?

I I haven't seen it in the the evening, uh, so I can't confirm.

I may have to do it.

Look, it is a problem.

I live in that area and in there's a lot of dark spots, and I appreciate that.

The only thing I you know, if the light is a you know, daylight where it's just very offensive, you know.

Uh the soft light is is different, obviously, and it gives a you know a good soft white to the texture of the building, the sidewalk, etc.

So that's I guess that's one question I have.

Yeah, I can I can provide a nighttime picture.

Uh I don't have it here now, but it is a soft, it is a soft because we didn't want to make it so bright where it was coming to the dining area.

We just wanted some light in that front.

Some of the street lights are not a software.

The street nights are not doing, yeah.

And now, like I said, that was the main reason why, because we were afraid that if it keeps wrapping and dangling, it's gonna fall on somebody's head by the time we change it.

And we kept having to change the panel so many times because I don't know who engineered it and say that it can sustain winds, but we had winds like 35 miles per hour and it wrapped and broke that panel.

Is it is it the shape of the light we're concerned about?

Is it yeah, it's it's basically that the the shape of the light, the directionality, it it looks more intense than would be necessary to illuminate a sign.

Uh like as you can see in comparison to the bullet style fixture, which is just a smaller fixture directed right at the sign.

This is much more general elimination.

So can the light be adjusted more towards the sign?

Existing light or no?

We can adjust it.

It adjusts, yeah.

Yeah, because we just pop that into the existing fixture.

Yeah, I mean, it looks like it's for a parking lot.

That light was parking lot.

Initially, to the applicant, that if the directionality could be much more so towards the sign, so it's less directed at the sidewalk.

I mean, I appreciate you giving us light because it I understand where you're going.

The neighbors are very happy.

The 425 Notre Dame, we're part of the condo association, and they're very, very happy with this because when they come out that side door, it's completely dark for them.

They're blindsided by people walking.

Uh the employees because they're taking break in front of the restaurant because it's so dark, and so they're happy with it.

Ma'am, are the are the three uh decorative lights on the side of the building?

Is that gas lanterns or electric?

They are, but they uh they have or electric.

No, those are electric.

I'm I apologize.

So they have two light bulbs each that could be replaced with brighter light bulbs, correct?

Uh it it we we tried that and it just didn't give us it was still really dark.

Because they're they're small, they're lanterns and they have the the light bulbs are like this tiny.

So we tried very, very bright ones and it light up just right there.

Soft white.

Yeah.

Are they soft white in those um right now they're soft white.

We we put some bright bright ones in that think that would help, but it didn't help much.

Um because we try to put the lands for the original building, so they're like a um sort of a smoke lantern, so they don't illuminate much light from inside.

One of the things that we were just discussing, and it goes to put those decorative lights.

The guidelines would specify that the lighting for the signage should be located to illuminate the sign.

Security lighting is something that we also agree is extremely important, would could be taken care of with those wall-mounted fixtures.

It may be that those fixtures are not adequate to doing that work, but we shouldn't have the fixture that is anachronistic on the signage taking care of security as well.

That's not really the way the guidelines are written, and that's not the way that you know this would work out.

So this line is just for the sign, period.

It should be for the sign.

And it isn't that you shouldn't have lighting for security, but that's different.

And you have fixture locations that already present, but those fixtures may not be doing the job.

Got it.

And we can help with you know provide information about other fixtures, correct, you know, lamps to go in the fixtures to help with that problem.

Did somebody complain?

I'm sorry.

Go ahead.

No, somebody complain?

Is that uh the origin of this was actually an uh this property is related to several, including the uh apartment tower on this block.

So we did an inspection for that building and with a bunch of open permits, we inspected all the time.

Inspected it got it.

And it was noted that the lighting was different.

That's it's got it.

Thank you.

Question for staff.

If you could flip back to the the um three photographs on one shell.

So the first picture on the left was the original lighting, which was uh can that was approved.

Yes.

Okay.

All right, just want to make sure.

Um would this be something that we could recommend that um the owner meet with staff and see if this could be worked out?

Because I mean the wiring is already there, and my my recommendation would be exactly that that we can work with the applicant or the owner about appropriate fixtures for the signage that would accomplish that goal, and then also recommendations for the the either the existing sconces or other fixtures that might do a better job in the location.

Gotcha.

Do we control the lighting the the uh the temp of the lighting?

Yes, we do.

So that's in our guidelines.

Okay.

Commissioners, any other questions?

All right, do we have a motion on how to just deal with this?

You deny it.

Uh I I'll make a motion that uh we accept staff approval and deny the retention uh and have uh the applicant work with staff on a middle ground option that uh isn't a straight up safety light, but at the same time isn't putting the same thing that's failed multiple times in the past.

Do we have a second?

We have a motion and a second.

All in favor of the motion?

Any opposed?

Okay.

Staff, we're gonna refer it to you to work with um the applicant.

I have a question.

Can a can a light be attached to the end of the sign to illuminate the street?

Or no?

That wouldn't be ideal.

Got it.

And you know, particularly since the business is.

I understand her first.

I mean, it absolutely and it is you know, security is is also something that is one of our goals.

And this one is you're in a particularly good situation in that you already have locations wired for the the appropriate kind of lighting, so it's not like you have to add additional location so you can add turks.

It's just we can just either work on a different fixture or work on the on better lumens.

Got it, thank you.

Okay, agenda item number five, ratification of architectural review committee and staff action since Wednesday, December 3rd.

Any questions?

Do we have a motion to approve?

All right, second.

Um all in favor?

Any opposed?

Okay, that passes.

Um staff, do we have any uh number six agenda HDLC reports and communications?

None?

Okay.

We have a motion to adjourn.

Second, second.

All in favor.

All right.

Meeting is adjourned.

Thank you.