Historic Preservation Commission Workshop – June 27, 2022
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Historic Preservation Commission Workshop – June 27, 2022
The Historic Preservation Commission held a workshop on June 27, 2022, to review three applications for work on properties in the historic district. No consent calendar or public comments were presented. The commission provided guidance on each application and continued all cases to future meetings.
Parapet Metal Cap Application (HPC 22-XXX)
- Staff presented an application to add a nine-to-ten-inch-tall metal cap around the parapet roof of a building built in two phases (1952 and 1968). Staff noted that guidelines encourage retaining existing parapets and that the applicant had not sufficiently justified the height increase or provided evidence of ongoing leaks.
- Applicant Jarvis and engineer Boris explained that the metal cap would slope water away from the stone parapet, preventing water infiltration and reducing maintenance. They clarified that the actual height increase would be only about 1.5 to 2 inches (not 9–10 inches) because the cap would cover the existing stone, not raise it significantly.
- Commissioners expressed concerns about drilling into the stone to attach the cap and about a pipe railing extension that was not included in the original application. The applicant agreed to explore non-penetrating attachment methods and to submit full details on the railing.
- The commission continued the case to the June 23, 2022, meeting with a resubmission deadline of June 13, 2022 at 11 a.m.
Rear Addition Replacement (221 West Patrick Street) (HPC 22-447 and HPC 22-449)
- Staff reviewed a proposal to replace a demolished one-story frame addition and porch at the rear of a twin dwelling. The applicant, owner George Horman, seeks to replicate the historic structure with a similar design, including a kitchen addition and a porch with a concrete floor and a possible handicap ramp.
- Commissioners requested additional details: how the new structure will tie into existing brick walls without damaging historic fabric, drainage plans, a complete elevation drawing showing roof height and placement, and clarification that the porch ceiling and rafters will be finished with fascia and soffit.
- The applicant agreed to provide a written statement on construction methods and to submit updated drawings. The case was continued; the next meeting date was offered as June 23 or July 14, 2022.
Rear Porch Rehabilitation (215-217 West Patrick Street) (HPC 22-458)
- Staff presented an application to replace deteriorated rear porches (circa 1920) with wood tongue-and-groove flooring and wood railings per guidelines. The applicant, Ed Callan, requested approval to use composite decking and railings for durability, citing the porches’ distance from public view (332 feet) and past inappropriate interventions.
- Commissioners noted that guidelines generally do not approve composite materials unless specific conditions are demonstrated. They asked for a professional opinion on repairability of existing railings and documentation of dimensional changes required by code. A commissioner suggested researching alternative products like Extruded PVC (e.g., Eratus) that better mimic wood.
- The applicant indicated willingness to explore other materials and will coordinate with staff regarding the next meeting (June 23 or July 14, 2022) after further research.
Key Outcomes
- All three applications were continued to future meetings (June 23 or July 14, 2022, with specific resubmission deadlines).
- No formal votes were taken; the commission provided guidance to applicants on additional documentation and design changes needed for approval.
Meeting Transcript
All applicants and authorized agents and members of the public who wish to speak tonight must be sworn in. Please stand if you are able to solemnly swear or affirm that the responses given in statements made in this hearing before the Historic Preservation Commission will be the whole truth. If so, answer I do. If the applicant would please come forward and have a seat. And if you could state your name for the record, please, sir. Jarvis. And your colleague? Jim Boris, Clayton Engineering. Thank you, sir. Ms. Martin Koske, would you like to get us started? Yes, it is applicants requesting to add between nine to ten inches tall metal cap around the perimeter of the parapet roof, uh, which would be visible from street level. The new metal feature would be painted to match the existing concrete cap. So the guidelines define a parapet as a low protective wall that extends above the roof or sidewalls of the building. Parapets on the front facade of the building in the historic district are often ornamented with cornices. Cornices and on parapets are typically made of wood, brick, stone, terra to cotta, or decorative metal, such as pressed sheet metal. The guidelines provide the following parameters of review when considering alterations to parapets. Existing parapets should be retained and preserved. Only elements that are lost or deteriorated beyond uh repair should be replaced, mass matching any new element as closely as possible to the original. Entire replacement of a parapet is only permitted where the parapet is severely deteriorated. Replacement should match the original. So based on the application, material in a site visit staff has the following comments. According to Sanborne Fire Insurance map, the current structure was built in two parts. The rear portion of the building in 1952 and the front block in 1968. The building is over 50 years of age and was constructed during the uh historic district's period of significance. The period of significance refers to the inclusive time period of development or construction of resources that define the historic district. The period of significance for above ground resources or non-archaeological resources date from the mid-18th century to 50 years back from the current year. With this said, staff acknowledges that the resource, including the 1968 front block, is significantly newer than many of the buildings running the uh Patrick Street. Now the guidelines strongly encourage that parapet walls and their associated detailing be retained and preserved. The applicant has updated their packet to outline the reasons for the metal capping in that workshop, but the applicant should provide additional information on ongoing leaks or reoccurring damages to the electrical telephone equipment inside the building. The applicant should also provide information on why the height of the proposed parapet needs to be raised uh nine to ten uh nine to ten inches. Thanks. Thank you, Ms. Martin Koske. Um Mr. Jarvis, we invite you to present at this time. Well, thank you. The client has asked that uh we try to find a way that would both uh satisfy the historic uh guidelines and help with curbing the deterioration of the the parapet. Apparently uh there's water leaking uh through the bricks and uh as a result of the stagnation on the parapet, and they're looking for a way to slope it in such a way uh that uh water rolls off as opposed to uh rolls down the facade and and into the building. So uh I'm not sure if the commission has the documentation we submitted, or that only goes to staff. I I don't know the protocol. Anything that was submitted by the deadline the commission has, but if you have new information that you want to share as part of the workshop, you can just put it on uh the projector and that's clear as mud, isn't it? So this is being offered in uh further answer and justification for why they're proposing the addition of uh this coping cap. Um would I do I need to read each one or I don't want to bore people to the death? The commission should should have reviewed the staff report, so um, I think it might be a good chance just to have some questions from the commission about the reasonings, and if you want to expand upon any details, we can certainly go with that. Um yeah, I guess I would just uh ask Mr. Jarvis if if you could explain what is the driver behind elevating the parapet nine to ten inches. Uh we're we're not well we we are elevating it to put uh uh to put we're we're it's actually an inch and a half, so we could put on the on the parapet the stone parapet part. We would we would want to put a uh uh a piece of block, inch and a half tall blocking, and what that does is that that gets us that gets us the height where we can uh create this thing works. But like the block the blocking is just is just to use uh to secure the metal clips that secure the uh metal coping.
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