Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission Meeting – August 10, 2023

The Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission met on Thursday, August 10, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. to conduct evidentiary hearings on four Historic District-Residential (HD-R) applications. Members present: Chair Kathleen Egan, Vice-Chair Christopher Yermal, Stephen Sulkey, Ross Tomaselli, Ashley Wilson, and Ron Wilson. Member Alison Watts was absent. Staff present: Assistant City Attorney Melissa Huffman, Planning Director Linda Painter, Senior Historic Preservation Planner Jessica Baldwin, Associate Planner Megan Bacik, and Planning Coordinator Amy Bradshaw. The agenda lists the meeting at City Council Chambers, Skyline Center, 929 North Front Street, while the minutes list City Council Chambers, City Hall, 102 North 3rd Street; the transcript opening also says August 11, 2023. This summary uses the supplied official date of August 10, 2023.

Approval of Minutes

• The July 13, 2023 minutes were approved unanimously, 6-0, on a motion by Stephen Sulkey seconded by Ron Wilson.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public appeared to speak for or against any of the four requests. Each evidentiary hearing was opened and closed without public testimony.

Discussion Items

305 Church Street – Rear Addition (Approved 6-0)

• Staff reported the property is a contributing circa 1920 Colonial Revival dwelling. The applicant proposed a rear addition of approximately 98 square feet, measuring about 7 feet 2 inches wide by 13 feet 7 inches long, set back 2 feet 6 inches from the western property line and 2 feet 5 inches from the northern property line.
• The addition would use pressure-treated wood siding painted to match, a brick foundation, an asphalt shingle roof to match, and one reused door. It would not exceed the height of the existing dwelling or be visible from the public right of way.
• Applicant and owner Frances White said the addition is for a closet expansion, not a mudroom.
• Motion to conditionally approve carried 6-0. Conditions included: addition may not exceed the height of the existing dwelling; compliance with the Land Development Code, North Carolina Building Code, and permit requirements; and HPC or administrative bypass review for any project changes.

527 S Front Street – Window Replacement (Denied 5-1)

• Staff reported the property is a non-contributing dwelling built in 1987, the easternmost unit of a back-to-back duplex. The applicant proposed removing all existing windows and installing West Shore Homes V3000, Model 1650 vinyl double-hung windows with sculpted grilles between glass, in white, 6-over-6. Staff noted vinyl windows are not appropriate under the design standards. Staff also noted the north-facade square fixed window's replacement size was not specified.
• The staff description initially said 6-over-1 windows; commissioners observed the existing windows are 6-over-6.
• Applicant Connie Daidone said the existing windows are wood with aluminum storm windows and are single-paned. She stated a home inspection found the windows defective, that the recommendation was replacement rather than repair, that the new windows would fit existing openings with only trim removed, and that wood replacement windows would cost roughly two and a half times more.
• Vice-Chair Yermal said he was conflicted because the standards encourage wood windows but do not require them on non-contributing structures. Commissioner Sulkey noted that approving vinyl would likely lead the other three dwelling units to request the same. Commissioner Ashley Wilson raised precedent concerns about replacing wood with vinyl. Staff noted prior commission approvals of vinyl windows on non-contributing structures.
• A motion by Vice-Chair Yermal to approve with a 6-over-6 condition failed for lack of a second. A subsequent motion by Ron Wilson to deny the request, seconded by Ashley Wilson, carried 5-1; Vice-Chair Yermal voted no.

2 Church Street – Exterior Alterations (Approved 5-1)

• Staff reported the property is a contributing circa 1915 cross-gabled bungalow. The applicant proposed exterior alterations including a replacement window, a new door, and expansion and infill of the rear porch.
• The replacement window would be a Pella Reserve wood window with a 2-over-2 grille and casement/awning operation. The new door would be a Therma-Tru Benchmark Craftsman-style door, 1/3 vertical muntin glazing, in mahogany.
• The rear porch would expand from 147 square feet to approximately 262 square feet, measuring 28 feet 8 inches long by 9 feet 10 inches wide, with railing matching the front porch, a wood stair on the southern facade, lattice underpinning, and a hipped roof in Tamco Titan XL asphalt shingles, Black Walnut, to match the dwelling. The 9-foot-wide infill portion would be about 82 square feet, clad in 1x6 wood siding, with a tugboat window and a salvaged door.
• Applicant Jay Larson corrected directional errors in the staff report: the salvaged door/laundry entrance is on the eastern facade, while the tugboat window is on the western facade. He also explained a temporary door panel covering a former 1960s jalousie window and that he planned to restore that opening with a wooden 2-over-2 window.
• Commissioner Ron Wilson noted a circular window had been part of a previously unapproved application; Vice-Chair Yermal responded that the prior application as a whole was not approved, not the window specifically.
• Motion to conditionally approve carried 5-1, with Commissioner Wilson voting no. Conditions included: all windows wood; all glazing low-e, clear, no tint; exterior lighting and the salvaged door submitted through the bypass application; paint color and siding reveal submitted before certificate of appropriateness issuance; rear porch railing to match front porch in style, proportion, design, and color; construction compliance; and HPC or staff bypass review for changes.

111 S 5th Avenue – Roof Replacement / Change in Materials (Approved 6-0)

• Staff reported the property, the David Apartment House, is a contributing circa 1911 building. The front porch has an interlocking terracotta barrel-tile roof that was damaged around 2018; a contractor removed the tile and never completed the project. The roof is partially visible from Fifth Avenue.
• The applicant proposed replacing the front porch tile roof with a Unified Steel stone-covered metal barrel-vault tile roof in Barcelona color.
• Owner/applicant David Haslam said he could not find a contractor to replace the actual clay tile. He contacted five contractors, received only two quotes, and the contractor who started the work left it unfinished. He agreed to accept the commission's choice of color.
• Motion to conditionally approve carried 6-0. Conditions included: roofline not altered; no new vents or chimneys; no existing vents or chimneys removed; construction compliance; and HPC or staff bypass review for changes.

Items from the Commission

• Commissioner Sulkey asked a philosophical preservation question about 620 Chestnut Street, where extensive work had been approved. He questioned whether a historic home remains historic if most original materials — siding, windows, soffit, fascia, and interior fabric — are replaced, using a 'grandfather's hammer' analogy.
• Vice-Chair Yermal commented that the property likely would not be eligible for tax credits. Staff member Jessica Baldwin noted there are different preservation-theory views on materiality.

Items from Staff

• None.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the July 13, 2023 meeting minutes 6-0.
• Approved the 305 Church Street rear addition 6-0 with conditions.
• Denied the 527 S Front Street vinyl window replacement 5-1; an initial approval motion failed for lack of a second.
• Approved the 2 Church Street exterior alterations 5-1 with conditions.
• Approved the 111 S 5th Avenue front porch roof material change 6-0 with conditions.
• The meeting adjourned at 6:26 p.m.