Historic Preservation Commission Meeting, June 14, 2018
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Historic Preservation Commission Meeting, June 14, 2018
The Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission met on Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 102 North 3rd Street, Wilmington, NC. The commission considered seven agenda items, including one old business item continued from May and six new business items. All decisions were based on the Wilmington Design Guidelines and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards.
Old Business
- 209 South 5th Avenue (HD-R): Replace historic slate roof with asphalt shingles. The applicant, Lane Patterson, proposed asphalt shingles on the entire roof instead of synthetic slate due to cost (asphalt: $26,000; synthetic slate: $60,000-$75,000; partial synthetic: $36,000). The commission voted 5-1 to approve installation of CertainTeed Belmont asphalt shingles in Stonegate Grey, with the condition that existing slate on dormers remain. Commissioner Keiser expressed concern about three different roof materials, but the majority found the asphalt shingles acceptable and congruent with the district. The motion carried 5-1.
Discussion Items
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121 South Front Street (CBD-HDO): Construct new exterior walls and temporary enclosure. Staff recommended option 2 (wood lattice over plexiglass) but the commission favored option 1 (unobstructed plexiglass in wood frame) to maximize natural light for potential tenants. The applicant's architect, Mark Grenell, noted the owner prefers the plexiglass option. The commission voted 6-0 to approve with conditions, including an 18-month timeframe for a permanent design.
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113 South 5th Avenue (HD-R): Replace unpainted wood shingle siding with pre-painted wood shingles. Applicant Sherman McKinney sought approval for dipped wood shingles with a 50-year warranty, citing deterioration and mismatched replacements. Staff had concerns about losing the character-defining unpainted finish, but the commission approved 6-0, finding the proposal an overall improvement. Conditions required the new shingles to match the original in dimension and texture.
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104 South 6th Street (HD-R): After-the-fact storm door installation. Applicant Denise Wilson installed two half-light storm doors without a certificate of appropriateness. Staff interpreted guidelines as requiring full-light doors, but the commission approved the half-light doors 6-0 after finding they complement the existing half-light wooden doors and mimic the window pattern.
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615 North Front Street (Wilmington National Register District): Reduce 90-day stay of demolition. The request involved demolishing the non-contributing WWAY-TV3 building and the failing retaining wall along Nutt Street. Engineer E.B. Pannkuk presented evidence of structural hazards (spiderweb cracking, settlement, shear cracks) and cited City Engineer support for removal. The portion of retaining wall along Hanover Street would remain. Staff noted the Nutt Street wall is likely historic but failing. The commission voted 6-0 to reduce the stay to zero days, with a condition to salvage any historic or railroad-related material for donation to the Wilmington Railroad Museum or the City, subject to environmental regulations (the site is a Brownfield).
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505-A Dock Street (HD-R): After-the-fact fiber optics cabinet and vaults. AT&T project manager Rick Americas stated the installation was permitted by City Engineering but lacked a certificate of appropriateness. He confirmed future projects would apply for COAs. The commission approved 6-0 with conditions requiring the cabinet and vault lids to be painted green, and screening with shrubbery where feasible.
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200 Market Street (CBD-HDO): Modification of Certificate of Appropriateness for building materials. Applicant Ted Trzos requested changes to previously approved materials (e.g., aluminum coil for downspouts, fiberglass shutters, wood clad in aluminum coil) to reduce maintenance. The commission approved 6-0 with conditions, including that condition one be dated March 24, 2017 (the COA issuance date).
Consent Calendar
- Meeting minutes of March 8, 2018: Approved with a correction (changing 'Florida boards' to 'floor boards'). Minutes of April 12, 2018 were deferred to the next meeting.
Staff Reports
- Historic Preservation Planner Dawn Snotherly reported on the 2017 Certified Local Government (CLG) report response from the NC Historic Preservation Office, and reminded commissioners that two commissioners must attend training in New Bern in September to maintain CLG status.
- Snotherly announced a community meeting on June 21, 2018 regarding a proposed amendment to the Land Development Code affecting the HD zoning district, and encouraged commissioners to attend.
- She noted the updated African American Heritage Brochure is in production and will be distributed next week.
Key Outcomes
- 209 S 5th Ave: Approved 5-1 (conditions: asphalt shingles, slate dormers retained).
- 121 S Front St: Approved 6-0 (option 1 plexiglass, 18-month temporary period).
- 113 S 5th Ave: Approved 6-0 (pre-painted wood shingles matching original dimensions).
- 104 S 6th St: Approved 6-0 (half-light storm doors with baked enamel finish).
- 615 N Front St: Approved 6-0 (stay reduced to zero days, condition to salvage historic materials).
- 505-A Dock St: Approved 6-0 (cabinet and vaults painted green, screening as conditions allow).
- 200 Market St: Approved 6-0 (materials modified, condition date corrected).
- The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. I'd like to go ahead and call the Thursday, June 14th, 2018 meeting of the City of Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission to order. Thank you for coming, and we appreciate your interest. Hearings before the Historic Preservation Commission are quasi-judicial in nature. This is a design review process to determine if the proposed project is congruent with the historic aspects and special character of the historic district or landmark. Decisions of the commission are based on the record of these proceedings, the Wilmington Design Guidelines for Historic Districts and Landmarks, and the Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation. Evidence submitted to the Commission for review becomes part of the record. Appeals of commission decisions are to the Wilmington Board of Adjustment and then to Superior Court and are based on the record. Appeals must be filed within 30 days of the date of the commission's action. Public comment is heard during the public comment portion of the agenda item. Those who want to address the commission are sworn in as witnesses. The chair recognizes those who want to address the commission during the public hearing. Comments should be directed to the commission to ensure that all comments are properly recorded. Please come to the podium to address the commission, state your name and address, and speak clearly. This room is equipped with an assisted hearing system for people with hearing loss to use. Please switch on the T coil on your hearing aid or ask city staff for assistance. At this time, I'd like to request that all cell phones be either turned off or put on silence mode. A reminder to commissioners, if you have received or have been made aware of any outside evidence related to any of the matters, please recuse yourself. Introduce themselves at this time. Daniel, we'll start with you. Daniel Hill. Mary Ann Kaiser. John Muze. Rob Romero. Tara Murphy. Joan Keston. We are also joined this evening by the following city staff members. Don Snotherly, Historic Preservation Planner, Tamara Mercer, Planning Coordinator, Jeff Walton, Assistant Associate Planner, and Melissa Iverson Hales, Assistant City Attorney. At this time, if there is anyone in attendance wishing to speak on any agenda item and has not been sworn in to date, please stand to be sworn in by Miss Mercer. Do you affirm that oh sorry everyone? Do you affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Thank you. All right, we'll go ahead and get started. We have seven items on the agenda to discuss this evening. Ms. Notherly, would you please present us with our old business item number one, please? Um, Madam Chairman, members of the commission. If you recall, um, this is a request at 209 South Fifth Avenue. The request is to replace an historic slate roof with uh asphalt um shingles. There has been some additional information submitted by the applicant, which has been uh included in your folders. Um, and we'll go over that, and the applicant is here to kind of um explain that amendment to their application. This is the 1915 um colonial revival house with some elements of um craftsman style. Uh currently the the entire house except for the front porch does have historic slate. Uh there is also some decorative slate on the dormers, which um the applicant is not intending to replace. Before I forget, I'd like to enter the case summary into the recorded proceedings of this item and recall that this item was continued from last month's meeting on May 10th. Uh, this is the south elevation of the house as well as the front. I am standing on the sidewalk on South Fifth Avenue taking this picture. Um this is standing today in the uh right-away in the median of South Fifth Avenue. So again, you can see the front and south elevation uh very prominently. This is just another close-up of the slate on the south elevation.
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