The Historic District Commission met June 16 with a bare quorum for its second consecutive meeting. Commissioner Tommie Zwernemann had an application before the commission, and her recusal would have left the commission without the four votes needed for approval.
Zwernemann’s application, for 14 Fairmount St., asked to add shutters and window boxes to the front of the house. She also asked to convert a single-bay garage door to French doors. Although the commissioners would not be able to vote on the application, they listened through a new procedure for the commission.
Staff member Kylee Hevrdejs gave a detailed report with recommendations. That report noted that although the house is more than 50 years old, it is non-contributing. Hevrdejs noted that the shutters and window boxes could easily be removed, although she suggested placing fasteners into mortar rather than brick, to minimize the long-term impact. She also noted that the garage-door change would have little visibility.
Zwernemann asked for and received administrative approval for the shutters and window boxes. Commissioners planned to arrange a virtual meeting to consider the change in doors, without requiring Zwernemann to wait until the next regular meeting.
Chair Dee Bright added an item to the agenda to discuss guideline revisions. Hevrdejs said the commission has grant money available to hire a consultant for the process. A previous Request for Proposals drew only two responses, however, and Hevrdejs received permission to issue another RFP.
On the topic of guidelines, Zwernemann asked about homeowners who only paint the front of a house. “When someone asks approval to paint a house, shouldn’t they have to paint the whole house?” she asked. She complained that tourists see a nice front face, while the neighbors may have an entirely different view.
Commissioner Randy Maddox said painting Victorian houses can be expensive and complicated, and some residents undertake repainting in stages. Zwernemann continued to suggest painting the entire house, and added, “As far as the expense goes, I’m sorry, they knew what they were buying.”
Commissioner Steve Holifield said if the paint on a house deteriorated too much, a complaint could be made to the building inspector. He noted that would be a city code issue, not a matter for the HDC.
Zwernemann also asked about murals. She said she understood that buildings historically had advertisements painted on them, “but I’m not sure about murals on retaining walls and sidewalks. How historic is that?”
The HDC will next meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7. Level III applications were due June 24, and other levels are due by June 30.