This brave new world of historic preservation commission.

This is uh August 13, 2020.

Hearings before the historic preservation commission are quasi-judicial in nature.

This is a design review process to determine if the proposed project is congruous with the storic aspects and special character, the storic 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 Hysteric Secretary of Interiors 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 thirty days of the date of the commission's action.

Public comment is is heard during the public comment portion of the agenda item.

Those who want to address the commissioner sworn as it witnesses.

The chair recognizes those who want to address the commission during the public hearing.

Comments should be directed to the commission to ensure all comments are properly recorded, please come to the podium to address the commission, state your name and address, and speak clearly.

Um please turn off your phones if you don't mind.

Or put on silence mode.

And a reminder to commissioners, if you've been if you received or been made aware of any outside evidence related to any of the matters, please recuse yourselves.

Oh, she turned it off.

I'm assuming that you can hear me through the walls.

Um the applicant tonight proposes to remove an existing non-historic metal clad side door located on a porch along the North Sixth Street facade.

There's no evidence that a certificate of appropriateness was issued for the installation.

Um, and doors are character defining elements of a historic structure.

The applicant proposes to install a solid six-panel wooden door as seen in this picture as a replacement.

The applicant also proposes to oh, excuse me.

The other item on tonight's agenda is concerning the existing fencing as seen on the screen.

Uh wooden shadow box fencing measuring five feet nine inches exists along uh the north uh sixth street property line and rear property line.

Um, and there also is no evidence that a certificate of ropeness was issued.

The um existing fences were rebuilt following damage from Hurricane Florence.

Uh the applicant tonight proposes to change the existing fence and gate design on the side and rear yards from a pointed top finish, as you see in this photograph by installing a one by four by four trim board on top.

This is uh the courtyard of the house.

Um this is the fence along sixth street, and this is the look uh on the rear side of the property.

The Wilmington design standards recommend that fence design be compatible with the area of the building.

In the western side yard, the applicant proposes to install a six-foot-tall board on board wooden fence with an entry gate.

A one by four trim board is also added to the top.

Uh, keep in mind that the Wilmington design standards recommend that fences in the side yard be no taller than four feet in height.

If the HBC elects to issue a C wave for this request, we do have uh conditions listed in the case summary.

And I would also like to include the case summary and all attachments as exhibits in to the record for tonight for tonight's proceedings.

I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Jeff.

Are there any questions of staff?

Anybody?

So the fence is or they they never had a permit, correct, to build the existing fence.

That's correct.

Um, this area, I believe, was um zoned HDR back in uh 2000, 2005, and so a lot of the site changes that have occurred out there were mostly not issued COAs back then.

Jeff, is there a recommendation about the fence?

The height are you concerned about it?

The design standards would say that the fence height be no taller than six feet in the rear rear yard.

So we're talking uh the red line on the screen.

Um, the six-foot height is appropriate in that area, but uh the in between the buildings, the the standards recommend that the fence be no taller than four feet.

All right, thank you.

Any other questions, staff?

All right, thanks, Jeff.

This time you'd like to hear from the applicant if you don't mind coming up, speaking into that microphone for us.

Give us your name and address.

Good evening.

I live at 518 A Grace Street.

I am lucky enough tonight to actually have the owner and landlord here, who is Bardin Colbreth, and he has come down from the meeting from Rome.

Great.

Is there anything else you'd like to add to Jeff's report?

He did good.

We worked on it for a while.

And this has been almost a two-year process to take it from a uh dilapidated kind of eaten up house to what I think is a really asset in the neighborhood now.