Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission Meeting - July 8, 2021
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Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission Meeting - July 8, 2021
The Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission held a regular meeting on Thursday, July 8, 2021, at 5:33 p.m. at the Wilmington Convention Center (originally noticed for the Skyline Center). Vice-Chair Joan Keston presided in the absence of a chair after a tied election between Kathleen Egan and Christopher Yermal resulted in no chair being appointed; Keston served as interim chair. All seven present members were sworn in. The meeting adjourned at 9:16 p.m.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (May 13, 2021): Approved 7-0 without discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Dustin May (612 Grace Street): Asked about pergola rafter tails; the applicant preferred a plain design without tails.
- Travis Gilbert (Executive Director, Historic Wilmington Foundation): Expressed concern about the process for removing contributing status, noting the lack of data and the precedent it sets.
- David Lisle (Agent, 124 South Front Street): Spoke in support of the application, stating the building has structural issues and little remaining architectural significance.
Discussion Items
Election of Chair
- The commission attempted to elect a new chair. Kathleen Egan and Christopher Yermal each received three votes, with Yermal abstaining. The tie resulted in no chair, and Vice-Chair Keston continued to run the meeting.
Item 4: 117 South 2nd Street (demolition)
- Moved to the beginning of the agenda. Staff requested a continuance due to prior litigation. Commission voted 7-0 to continue to August 12, 2021.
Old Business: 512 Nun Street (new dwelling unit and garage)
- Continued from May 13, 2021. Applicant revised parking to a shared driveway with 514 Nun Street. Discussion centered on the pecan tree in the right-of-way. Commission conditionally approved the project 7-0, requiring an arborist review of the shared driveway and preservation of the tree. Conditions included foundation height ≤31 inches, pervious concrete driveway, and tree protection fencing.
New Business: 1812 Princess Street (fence installation)
- Proposal for a 4' aluminum fence in front and 6' wood fence in rear. Commissioner Wilson expressed concern about incongruity with the front-porch neighborhood. Commissioner Yermal argued it is consistent with the district. Motion to approve 7-0 (note: the agenda indicated 6-1; however, the minutes and transcript report 7-0). Conditions included finished side facing adjacent properties.
612 Grace Street (pergola and pool)
- Proposal for a 10'x14' wood pergola and 10'x16' fiberglass pool. Public comment asked about rafter tails; applicant preferred plain design. Approved 7-0 with standard conditions.
411 South Front Street (pergola and landscaping)
- Proposal for a 21'x25' pergola with shingle roof and five palm trees. Discussion on materials: columns to match existing porch posts, ceiling material debated (wood vs. PVC). Commission mandated wood tongue-and-groove ceiling and columns matching a photo in the packet. Approved 7-0.
1902 Market Street (ADU, fence, demolition)
- Waiver of 365-day stay for demolition of an accessory building. New ADU to be 583 sq ft. After-the-fact approval for a pool fence that was inadvertently installed without a COA. Applicant worked to preserve trees. Approved 7-0 with conditions including tree protection and salvage of materials.
514 Nun Street (driveway modification)
- Modification of previously approved COA to create a shared driveway with 512 Nun Street and change material to pervious concrete, plus revised garage setbacks. Approved 7-0 with conditions.
124 South Front Street (remove contributing status)
- Applicant sought removal of contributing status to allow full 50' building height (instead of ~32' penalty). Extensive discussion on scoring and lack of sufficient evidence. Public testimony raised concerns about precedent. Commission decided to continue the item to September 9, 2021, and to develop an internal process for such reviews. A special meeting may be scheduled.
505 Ann Street (enclose second-story porch)
- Enclosure of 95 sq ft rear porch with wood windows (conditioned to be all wood, not Fibrex composite). Approved 7-0.
Key Outcomes
- Election: No chair elected; interim chair continues.
- Approvals: Most items approved with conditions (7-0), except 1812 Princess Street recorded as 6-1 in agenda but 7-0 in minutes.
- Continuances: 117 South 2nd Street continued to August 12; 124 South Front Street continued to September 9.
- Process Development: Commission will hold a special meeting or subcommittee to develop an internal process for contributing status removal requests.
- Future Work: Commissioner Smith proposed a resolution to support state-level legislation for stay of demolition outside historic districts. Commissioner Sulkey raised boundary expansion study; staff suggested discussing during budget cycle.
Meeting Transcript
Recording stopped. Recording in progress. Michael Smith. Also present, we have staff Ivy Freitag, Melissa. Christine Hughes and Amy Bradshaw. Mike. Um, 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 special character of the historic district or landmark. Decisions of the commission are based on the record of these proceedings. 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 the Superior Court and are based on the record appeals on the record. Appeals must be filed within thirty days of the date of the commission's action. Evidence is received during the evidentiary hearing portion of an agenda item. Those who want to address the commission are sworn as witnesses to present material and substantial evidence to the commission. The chair recognizes those who want to submit such evidence during the evidentiary hearing. Evidence should be directed to the commission. To ensure that evidence is properly recorded, please come to the podium in the hall to address the commission, state your name and address and speak clearly. A brief reminder that members of the HPC are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the city council. Our charge is with respect to the protection and preservation of properties in the city's designated historic district. We are held to the standards of the Wimming Wilmington Design Standards for historic districts and landmarks and for applicable North Carolina state law to determine if exterior changes are congruent with the special character of the city's historic districts. It is important that we deliberate the merits of each request in a manner that provides a record as to the basis for our decisions. Please remember that our deliberation should be centered on how a project project meets the design standards and whether the proposed change is congruous or is not congruous. Commissioners, if you have received or been aware of any outside evidence related to any of the matters, please recuse yourself. At this time, I would like to request that all cell phones be either turned off or put on silent silence mode. Thank you. Um before we begin the evidentiary part of our meeting tonight, we will have the election for uh an interim chairman. Um I'm going to open that asking for nominations, and we'll get all nominations before we vote. I would like to start by nominating Kathing Egan to be our next chairman. Anyone second that? I'd like to second. I'd like to make a nomination. I was just gonna ask you to do that. Uh Chris Guremall. I'll second that. Okay. So uh I guess first we'll uh vote for Kathy. Everyone in favor of Kathy. That's three. And then for Chris, anyone in favor of Chris. That's Chris. Are you voting? No. So we have a tie. And they both fail. Both motions fail. So we have no interim chairman. No, we do not. That means you would run the meeting and we can address this later in the meeting or at the next scheduled meeting in August. Okay. Okay, so we'll now open the evidentiary part of the proceedings.
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