OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Frederick Historic Preservation Commission Meeting - August 28, 2025

Historic Preservation CommissionThursday, August 28, 2025
BodyFrederick, Maryland
SessionHistoric Preservation Commission
DateThursday, August 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:21:57

Transcript — Verbatim
0:16

Good evening.

0:17

Welcome to the excuse me.

0:20

August 28th, 2025, Frederick City Historic Preservation Commission hearing and workshop.

0:28

The technical qualifications of the Commission and the staff are on file with the City of Frederick and are made a part of each and every case before the Commission.

0:36

Frederick City Historic Preservation Commission uses the guidelines adopted by the mayor and city council and the Secretary of the Interior Standards or Rehabilitation, published by the U.S.

0:46

Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

0:49

And these guidelines are made a part of each and every case.

0:52

All cases were duly advertised in the Frederick News Post in accordance with Section 301 of the Land Management Code.

1:00

For introductions this evening, beginning on my left, the audience's right is the HPC administrative assistant, Tansi Creighton, and Commissioners Jonathan Levins.

1:11

I'm sorry, Commissioners Carroll Kelly.

1:13

Snuck in at the last minute.

1:15

Commissioner Jonathan Levins, Commissioner Eva Soller, Commissioner Paul Fitzgerald, myself, Commissioner Robert Van Rands, and then on my right, the audience's left, Commissioner Ann Hart and Commissioner Ed McMahon, and then Historic Preservation staff, manager for historic manager for historic preservation, Christina Martin Koskey, Historic Preservation Planners Sarah Hoffeditz and Daniel Lecky, who is celebrating his final evening with us this evening, and Assistant City Attorney Irissa Nann.

1:52

Everyone who wishes to speak on any cases this evening or otherwise be heard, please rise and be sworn in second.

2:07

Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the response is given and statements made in this hearing before the Historic Preservation Commission will be the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

2:15

If so, answer I do.

2:18

Thank you very much.

2:28

It is the purpose of the Historic Preservation Commission to safeguard the historical and cultural heritage of the City of Frederick by preserving sites, structures, or districts that reflect elements of cultural, social, economic, political, archaeological, or architectural history to stabilize and improve property values of such sites, structures or districts, to foster civic beauty, to strengthen the local economy, and to promote the preservation and appreciation of such site structures and districts for the education and welfare of the residents of the City of Frederick.

3:04

In order to be eligible to vote on an application, a commissioner must have made the required site visit and attended any and all meetings at which such an application was discussed.

3:16

In the event that a commissioner is absent from any such meeting, the commissioner may satisfy the attendance requirement by reviewing the record of that meeting.

3:25

It is presumed if a commissioner makes no statement at this time that they have done so and are prepared to vote on the agenda this evening.

3:32

Being said, are there any commissioners with statements of eligibility?

3:38

All right, hearing none.

3:40

Do we have any announcements this evening?

3:44

I only have one announcement that is uh concerning HPC 25-207 and HPC 25209 at 358.

3:55

West Patrick Street.

3:57

Um that applicant failed to meet public notice requirements, and so no action will be taken at tonight's meeting.

4:03

They are um scheduled for the next meeting.

4:07

All right.

4:12

Mr.

4:13

Chairman, I'd like to announce I'll recuse myself from hearing HBC business item number two, case HPC R 25-56 tonight.

4:27

All right, thank you.

4:30

Moving on to approval of minutes, the minutes from the August 14th, 2025 hearing and workshop.

4:38

Commissioners, any concerns regarding these minutes, anything you'd like to see added or corrected.

4:59

Mr.

5:00

Chairman, I move to approve the hearing minutes and the workshop minutes for the August 14th, 2025 preservation commission.

5:15

I'll second.

5:18

All right, thank you very much.

5:20

Any further commentary?

5:23

All in favor, please raise your hand.

5:30

All right, moving on to HPC business.

5:32

We'll give Commissioner Fitzgerald a moment to excuse himself.

5:54

All right.

5:55

The first item is HPCR-2556 slash HPC 21-179.

6:04

Request for extension at 155 West Patrick Street.

6:10

With just a little bit of background, I just want to note that per the land.

6:15

I just forgot an announcement.

6:18

So per the land management code, section um 423N, the historic preservation commission certificate is valid for three years.

6:27

A maximum uh six-month extension can be granted by the planning department, which was done in this case.

6:35

Further extensions may be granted by the historic preservation commission.

6:39

So that is where we're at now.

6:41

Uh they already received their first extension from staff, they need another one.

6:46

That can only come from the commission.

6:56

Is there is there uh I'm trying to think of how to how to parse this question.

7:07

Is there a compelling reason not to grant the extension?

7:11

Lily Management Co does not give um standards for consideration on these cases.

7:17

It's just more of an administrative function of the commission to offer an extension.

7:23

Um in this case, I do believe that uh COVID and some delayed sales were part of the um reason for the delay.

7:32

The project was reviewed and approved by the commission, and it seems like a reasonable request.

7:38

Okay, and that that tracks with my understanding, but I wanted to make sure that there wasn't something it wasn't something in the background that I was unaware of.

7:47

So thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████75%
Procedural███████████18%
Technology and Innovation██3%
Public Engagement██3%
Taxation1%
Summary of Proceedings

Frederick Historic Preservation Commission Meeting - August 28, 2025

The Frederick Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) held a public hearing and workshop on August 28, 2025, at 6:00 PM at City Hall, 101 North Court Street. The meeting covered routine approvals, several rehabilitation and demolition cases, and public comments. All votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted.

Consent Calendar

  • HPC-25-207 and HPC-25-209 (358 W. Patrick Street): No action taken; the applicant failed to meet public notice requirements. These items were deferred to the next meeting.
  • HPC-25-220 (40 S. Carroll Street): Pedestrian marker application approved unanimously.

Approval of Minutes

  • The August 14, 2025, hearing and workshop minutes were approved unanimously.

HPC Business

Item 2: HPCR-25-56 / HPC21-179 – Request for Extension, 155 W. Patrick Street

  • Commissioner Paul Fitzgerald recused himself. The Commission granted a six-month extension beyond the initial staff-level extension. The request was approved unanimously with Fitzgerald abstaining.

Item 3: HPC25-468DR – Demolition Review, 205 Lindberg Avenue

  • Staff determined the circa-1938 dwelling was not individually eligible for historic designation. Property owner Elizabeth Cowperthwaite spoke, requesting demolition of a side porch to enclose it for a two-level addition, reusing bricks. The Commission voted unanimously not to pursue a historic preservation overlay designation.

Cases to Be Heard

HPC-25-69 (111 S. Carroll Street) – Rehabilitation

  • Proposed replacement of roof, gable siding, and reinstatement of two dormers damaged by fire. Staff recommended approval with conditions: wood windows without cladding, true divided lights on street-facing windows, and clear drawings for dormer windows and roofing. Applicant Jessica Walter confirmed custom wood windows. Approved unanimously.

HPC-25-160 (401 N. Market Street) – Addition/Rehabilitation

  • Replacement plan for a previously approved demolition; raising height of rear garage/warehouse and expanding footprint. Staff recommended approval with conditions: updated product literature for garage door design and drawings identifying repointing work with hand tools and lime-based mortar. Approved unanimously.

HPC-25-212 (500 N. Market Street) – Partial Demolition

  • Request to demolish walls facing North Market and East Fifth Streets due to structural conditions. Staff found the walls beyond repair and recommended approval conditional on a replacement plan. Applicant David Lopez (architect) spoke. Approved unanimously.

HPC-25-211 (500 N. Market Street) – Amendment/Replacement Plan

  • Replacement plan for the above demolition, including rebuilding walls, roof, and storefront. Conditions included: approval needed for any window replacements, wood elements non-pressure treated, smooth cement board siding, and previous conditions from original approval remain. Approved unanimously.

HPC-25-234 (108 W. 4th Street) – Rehabilitation

  • Applicant Jesse Stahr proposed removing second-story wooden shutters, citing maintenance concerns. Staff and commissioners noted 1976 photographic evidence of shutters and guidelines requiring retention/replacement. The Commission modified the application to approve rehabilitation of shutters; if beyond repair, replacement shutters matching historic size, scale, detail, thickness, and hardware required. Approved unanimously.

HPC-25-237 (210 E. Fifth Street) – Solar Panels

  • Applicant Henry Lupari proposed 19 roof-mounted solar panels on the flat roof, with electrical service on the side elevation. Staff found the proposal consistent with guidelines (not visible from street, no historic material damage). Approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Levi Trumble: Expressed concern about the city attorney’s office (Michael Fry) potentially destroying historical public records. He stated that after a lengthy public records request, the records were released, but Fry later filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Public Information Compliance Board. Trumble urged the Commission to prevent destruction of city records.
  • Sam Rosenblum: Spoke about Jewish contributions to American culture and Frederick’s preservation of Jewish heritage. He recited a prayer for the safety of Israeli soldiers and peace in Israel.

Key Outcomes

  • All case votes were unanimous. No commissioners dissented on any item.
  • The Commission approved all consent items, HPC business items, and cases as described, with conditions where noted.
  • The meeting adjourned after citizen comments.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Welcome to the excuse me. August 28th, 2025, Frederick City Historic Preservation Commission hearing and workshop. The technical qualifications of the Commission and the staff are on file with the City of Frederick and are made a part of each and every case before the Commission. Frederick City Historic Preservation Commission uses the guidelines adopted by the mayor and city council and the Secretary of the Interior Standards or Rehabilitation, published by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. And these guidelines are made a part of each and every case. All cases were duly advertised in the Frederick News Post in accordance with Section 301 of the Land Management Code. For introductions this evening, beginning on my left, the audience's right is the HPC administrative assistant, Tansi Creighton, and Commissioners Jonathan Levins. I'm sorry, Commissioners Carroll Kelly. Snuck in at the last minute. Commissioner Jonathan Levins, Commissioner Eva Soller, Commissioner Paul Fitzgerald, myself, Commissioner Robert Van Rands, and then on my right, the audience's left, Commissioner Ann Hart and Commissioner Ed McMahon, and then Historic Preservation staff, manager for historic manager for historic preservation, Christina Martin Koskey, Historic Preservation Planners Sarah Hoffeditz and Daniel Lecky, who is celebrating his final evening with us this evening, and Assistant City Attorney Irissa Nann. Everyone who wishes to speak on any cases this evening or otherwise be heard, please rise and be sworn in second. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the response is given and statements made in this hearing before the Historic Preservation Commission will be the whole truth and nothing but the truth? If so, answer I do. Thank you very much. It is the purpose of the Historic Preservation Commission to safeguard the historical and cultural heritage of the City of Frederick by preserving sites, structures, or districts that reflect elements of cultural, social, economic, political, archaeological, or architectural history to stabilize and improve property values of such sites, structures or districts, to foster civic beauty, to strengthen the local economy, and to promote the preservation and appreciation of such site structures and districts for the education and welfare of the residents of the City of Frederick. In order to be eligible to vote on an application, a commissioner must have made the required site visit and attended any and all meetings at which such an application was discussed. In the event that a commissioner is absent from any such meeting, the commissioner may satisfy the attendance requirement by reviewing the record of that meeting. It is presumed if a commissioner makes no statement at this time that they have done so and are prepared to vote on the agenda this evening. Being said, are there any commissioners with statements of eligibility? All right, hearing none. Do we have any announcements this evening? I only have one announcement that is uh concerning HPC 25-207 and HPC 25209 at 358. West Patrick Street. Um that applicant failed to meet public notice requirements, and so no action will be taken at tonight's meeting. They are um scheduled for the next meeting. All right. Mr. Chairman, I'd like to announce I'll recuse myself from hearing HBC business item number two, case HPC R 25-56 tonight. All right, thank you. Moving on to approval of minutes, the minutes from the August 14th, 2025 hearing and workshop. Commissioners, any concerns regarding these minutes, anything you'd like to see added or corrected. Mr. Chairman, I move to approve the hearing minutes and the workshop minutes for the August 14th, 2025 preservation commission. I'll second. All right, thank you very much. Any further commentary? All in favor, please raise your hand. All right, moving on to HPC business. We'll give Commissioner Fitzgerald a moment to excuse himself. All right. The first item is HPCR-2556 slash HPC 21-179. Request for extension at 155 West Patrick Street. With just a little bit of background, I just want to note that per the land. I just forgot an announcement. So per the land management code, section um 423N, the historic preservation commission certificate is valid for three years. A maximum uh six-month extension can be granted by the planning department, which was done in this case. Further extensions may be granted by the historic preservation commission. So that is where we're at now.

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