Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission Meeting - January 10, 2019

The Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission met on Thursday, January 10, 2019, at 5:30 p.m. to consider four development and demolition requests, approve the FY2017-2018 Annual Report, and receive staff updates. Chairman Tara Murphy presided, with Vice-Chairman Rob Romero and Commissioners John Muzzey, Mary Ann Keiser, Daniel Hill, Joan Keston, Edward McCaleb, and Michael Smith present; Sherry Demas was absent. Witnesses were sworn in, and public comment periods were opened for each item; no members of the public spoke in favor or opposition. The agenda listed the meeting at the City Council Chambers, Skyline Center, 929 North Front Street, while the minutes state the meeting was held in the City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, 102 North 3rd Street.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the general public spoke during the public comment portions. Applicants and a New Hanover County representative addressed the commission as part of the staff presentations.

Discussion Items

612 Grace Street - COA Modification for New Residential Construction (door change)

• Staff summarized the request to modify the Certificate of Appropriateness to remove a side entrance door and replace it with a window on the east elevation, because the house is being built on a crawl space rather than a slab and the stairs needed for the door would block the driveway.
• Applicant Georgia Savas spoke in favor of the request, stating she regretted the loss of the door but felt it was unavoidable and that the substitute window improved the design.
• The commission approved the modification with the condition that all prior conditions from the original certificates remain in effect except as superseded. The minutes record an 8-0 vote; the agenda summary lists the vote as 7-0.

516 South 5th Avenue - Exterior Alterations and New Accessory Structure

• Staff described proposed exterior alterations to the 1900 Hewlett House, including an 18-foot-wide by 33-foot-7-inch-deep rear addition, window changes, removal of a non-historic brick chimney, reopening a diamond vent, and siding and trim work to match original materials. The applicant also requested a new 24-foot-wide by 30-foot-deep detached garage.
• Commission members noted that a required site plan, landscape plan, setbacks, and building location information were not submitted. Staff cited Land Development Code Section 18-96, which requires a drawn-to-scale site plan with the application.
• Applicant Lauren Nasser (identified as Laura Nasser in the transcript) said she was waiting for a survey, agreed to the recommended conditions, and described the shared driveway and a garage placed with the same five-foot offsets as the neighbor's garage.
• Chairman Murphy and other commissioners argued that approving without a site plan would set a bad precedent; Vice-Chairman Romero believed staff could review the site plan later.
• A motion to approve both the alterations and garage with a condition requiring later submission of a site plan failed 4-4. Commissioners Murphy, Smith, Hill, and McCaleb opposed.
• A subsequent motion to approve only the exterior alterations, with staff's recommended conditions #10-16, and to continue the garage request to the February 14, 2019 HPC meeting passed 8-0.

138 North 4th Street - Request to Reduce 365-Day Stay of Demolition

• Associate Planner Jeff Walton presented the request for the former New Hanover County Office of Juvenile Justice, a one-story stuccoed building constructed around 1970 and listed as non-contributing; staff recommended tree protection around significant trees.
• Kevin Caison, New Hanover County Facilities Project Manager, spoke for the county, explaining that the county manager's letter asked for the stay to be waived and that a reduction to eight months would keep the replacement juvenile justice facility on schedule for an August 2019 start and avoid continued use of an inadequate facility.
• Commissioner McCaleb recused himself because he works for New Hanover County; the recusal was accepted unanimously.
• The commission approved the request with the tree-protection condition. The approved motion as read in the transcript described reducing the 365-day stay of demolition to zero days, based on a finding that the structure has no special significance to the Historic District. The vote was 7-0, with McCaleb recused.

105 South 2nd Street - Exterior Modifications: New Windows and Door

• Staff summarized the request for the Arrive Hotel project at the former St. Thomas Convent building (built 1955, non-contributing) in the Central Business District Historic District Overlay: replacement of deteriorating metal windows with wood windows clad in aluminum, and installation of a new front door.
• Applicant Christopher Yermel of Old School Rebuilder & Company explained that the metal windows had failed seals, fogged glass, and unavailable replacement parts; the proposed three-panel solid wood door was intended to provide privacy and avoid inviting pedestrians to a door to nowhere, while echoing raised panels approved for the adjacent storefront.
• Staff noted precedent for wood/aluminum-clad windows in this overlay and that the building was constructed in 1955.
• The commission approved the request with the staff report's conditions, excluding condition #2 regarding clear glazing, because the approved door is a solid wood door without glazing. The vote was 8-0.

Annual Report (FY2017-2018)

• Staff highlighted that in the fiscal year covering July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018, the HPC processed 58 major work requests and staff processed 179 minor Certificate of Appropriateness applications; five structures were lost through demolition requests.
• Staff also reported that demolition by neglect remains prominent and that the city is losing an average of eight to ten houses per year in the National Register District.
• The commission voted 8-0 to accept the FY2017-2018 Annual Report, which will be submitted to City Council for approval.

Staff Updates

• Staff reminded the commission of the death of Ed Turberg and provided funeral service details for January 19 at St. James at 11:00 a.m.
• Staff reported that the upcoming budget is being reduced and asked commissioners to submit any new initiatives promptly; few new initiatives are expected.
• Final work on telecommunications design guidelines is moving forward, with public hearings anticipated on ATM and telecommunications facility regulations before the commission votes on the guidelines.
• Staff completed Wilmington's Certified Local Government annual report, covering October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018, and expected comments from the State Historic Preservation Office the following month.
• The next regular HPC meeting was scheduled for Thursday, February 14, 2019. The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.

Key Outcomes

• 612 Grace Street: Approved with condition, 8-0 per minutes (7-0 per agenda).
• 516 South 5th Avenue: Motion to approve both alterations and garage failed 4-4; motion to approve exterior alterations only and continue garage request to February 14, 2019 passed 8-0.
• 138 North 4th Street: Approved with tree-protection condition, 7-0; Commissioner McCaleb recused.
• 105 South 2nd Street: Approved with conditions excluding condition #2, 8-0.
• FY2017-2018 Annual Report: Accepted 8-0 and referred to City Council.
• Next HPC meeting: February 14, 2019.