The Historic District Commission meeting on Feb. 19 began with two deferred applications, which had appeared on the previous agenda when no one attended to represent the projects.
The first of deferrals dealt with a property at 268 N. Main St. that has seen substantial remodeling in recent months, and owner John Ford asked to replace a window and two doors.
The small house was built as a demonstration for carpentry techniques and has never been occupied as a home. Ford had previously received approval to excavate into the bluff behind the house to add a bathroom. HDC approved the windows and doors, but deferred action on a request to add steps from the rear of the building to a parking area. Final details of the steps were not yet available, pending further excavation.
Commissioners also granted approval for Jodi Breedlove to remove two garage doors from an outbuilding. That garage will be converted to a single lodging unit, and siding will replace the two doors. One of the doors will be used in a carport which has been enclosed. The proposal also includes a side deck. After receiving approval, Breedlove asked commissioners about an adjacent property with decrepit buildings. She was referred to Building Inspector Bobby Ray.
Thumb ups and downs
- A tenant at 34 Ridgeway asked to add a section of chain-link fence in a back yard. A previous owner had removed an 80-ft. section of chain-link fence, although the fence remains around the rest of the property. Although the house dates to 1897, it is considered non-contributing. In response to a question from the table, City Historic Preservation Officer Glenna Booth explained that the house has had extensive remodeling.
Commissioner John Nuckolls said the house is in a historic neighborhood and guidelines prohibit chain-link fences. Commissioners rejected the application, suggesting a wooden fence instead.
- The HDC also rejected an application for Noelle Brannon at 21 Prospect Ave. The proposal called for four replacement windows, one facing Prospect, two facing Kansas St., and one facing the rear of the property. Chris Fischer spoke on behalf of Brannon and said the windows would be replaced with Andersen Fibrex windows. The material would be a composite made from wood fiber and a polymer.
Nuckolls read from the guidelines that replacement windows should have the same material, and noted those guidelines explicitly prohibit vinyl-clad wood windows. He said guidelines would extend to the wood fiber/polymer composite. Only two commissioners voted in favor.
- Lori and Vance Hunter purchased a house at 5 Prospect and asked to remove an existing garage and enclose a breezeway as part of the house. The building inspector noted substantial cracks from the foundation through the walls, “more serious than just average structure settling.” He also mentioned extensive rotten wood in an exterior wall and recommended demolition because of prohibitive repair cost.
The Hunters explained that a makeshift wooden floor currently connects the house and garage, and they received approval to enclose that breezeway area and demolish the garage. The house dates to 1945 but is considered non-contributing. It has been vacant for two years.
- At 119 Wall St., applicant Tom Cruse received approval to extend a porch by nine feet. The porch rail will move, and the new floor will have the same wood as the existing porch floor. The changes will not be visible from the street.
At the end of the meeting, commissioners approved some changes to guidelines. Chair Dee Bright described the changes as “some housekeeping that should have been done in years past,” and said the changes were “nothing earthshaking.” Those revisions were released to the public and media after the Feb. 5 meeting.
The HDC will next meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4. Level III applications were due Feb. 20, and other levels are due Feb. 27.