The Tuscaloosa Historic Preservation Commission met on August 12, 2026, at 5:00 PM at city hall, chaired by Kathy Pagani. The commission reviewed seven applications: two continuations, two items of unfinished business, and three new cases. Decisions included approval of a rear deck replacement, denial of a second-story addition, and approval of several other exterior alterations. The meeting also included approval of previous minutes and a report on ten expedited reviews.
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to this month's hearing of the Tuscaloosa Historic Preservation Commission. Here a lot of chatter as we settle into our hearing. My name is Kathy Pagani. I'm the chair of the commission. Today's date is August 12, 2026, and the time is 5 o'clock PM. I would like to invite my fellow commission members to introduce themselves to you, beginning on my right, please. Trisha Stone. Sorry, Deason. Carl Ellabash. Jordan Morris. David Diab. Wayne Yarbrough. Thank you very much. And joining us from city staff this evening, we have Mr. Hudson Cheshire, the Associate City Attorney, Mr. Zach Pons, Director of Planning, and Ms. Cynthia DeSantiago Planner. Before we hear our cases tonight, I'd like to go over the purpose of the Historic Preservation Commission and go over the procedure for tonight's hearing. The general purpose of the Historic Preservation Commission is that we serve to preserve and protect the buildings, sites, and structures of historic significance in Tuscaloosa's historic neighborhoods. We are governed by Chapter 20, Article 2 of the Code of Tuscaloosa, which includes design guidelines that are posted on the city's website. Our decisions are based on these design guidelines and do not consider such items as use or occupancy. We do consider such factors as architectural style, appropriateness of materials, and how the structure relates to other structures in the immediate neighborhood in determining the appropriateness of the application. Any approval of an application requires five affirmative votes. If the certificate is approved, please be aware that there will be a final inspection by city staff of these approved applications to ensure compliance with what the commission has approved this evening. This is a public hearing. Prior to this meeting, notice was sent to adjacent property owners, and the public has been notified of the applications to be presented tonight. This hearing is a chance for the applicant to present their case, for the public to make their views known about the project, and for the commission members to gather relevant facts about the application before making its decision. We will begin with city staff introducing the application. The applicant will then have a chance to make any comments. The commissioners will then have the opportunity to ask the applicant questions about the case. Then I will open the hearing to public comment. At the close of public comment, the commission will discuss the matter and vote on the application. A notarized designation of agent form should have been provided to city staff or any representatives of an application that are not the property owner or immediate family member of the owner prior to tonight's hearing. Immediate family members, and we define that as a spouse, a parent, or a child, do not have to provide such written authorization when speaking on behalf of another immediate family member. And we'd like to just let you know that you may remove and dispose of the signs that are on your yard as staff will not be around to pick those up. All right, commission members. As the Historic Preservation Commission has received synopses of the June 2026 and July 2026 hearings, I move that we dispense with the reading of the minutes of the same unless there are any deletions, additions, or corrections. Do I have a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes? So moved. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you. And we will vote on this, please. Begin on my left, Dr. Yarbrough. Uh yes. And Mr. Daiab. Yes. Mr.