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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission Meeting, October 12, 2023

Historic Preservation Commission — Thursday, October 12, 2023

BodyWilmington, North Carolina

SessionHistoric Preservation Commission

DateThursday, October 12, 2023

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 23:01

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:03

Good evening.

0:04

My name is Christopher Yermel, Vice Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission for the City of Wilmington, and I think all we're doing tonight is just uh doing the uh annual report, but I would ask commissioners to introduce themselves that are here.

0:24

Ashley Wilson.

0:25

Ross Thomas Selly.

0:31

And we will go straight to the annual report by staff.

0:37

Can I get you to approve the minutes real quick?

0:39

Oh, I'm sorry.

0:41

A second.

0:44

My third.

0:45

Yay.

0:45

They're good.

0:48

Minutes or minutes or so approved from last month.

0:59

Sorry, I've started laughing, so now I can't stop.

1:03

Okay.

1:07

Okay.

1:14

I used to be real good at that in high school.

1:18

You got it.

1:19

During the 2023 fiscal year, which ran from I'm so sorry.

1:31

Sorry.

1:35

Okay.

1:36

During the 2023 fiscal year, which ran from July of 2022 to June of 2023, the commission reviewed 51 cases.

1:45

The majority were exterior alterations, including facade alterations related to window and door location changes and porch modifications.

1:53

And second came new construction, followed by changes in paint color and door and window replacements.

1:58

The lowest number of cases were for landscaping and roof replacements.

2:03

Also, five applications were withdrawn and nine were denied.

2:10

Jessica Baldwin and myself reviewed a total of 269 bypass applications, which is 62 more than the previous year.

2:20

The majority of bypass applications were for minor exterior alterations, which includes in-kind window and door replacements, followed by landscaping or site alterations.

2:31

Projects under the other category included requests such as a stage speaker system at the Greenfield Lake Historic Landmark.

2:43

Here you can see a quick glance at the 10-year historic trends of major and minor works COAs issued.

2:57

Commissioners will also notice that the bypass applications fluctuate, though overall they have slowly been trending upwards.

3:04

This year has seen a major increase compared to the previous.

4:26

Pictured here are seven of the nine locally designated landmarks.

4:30

Annual inspections occurs for three of the landmarks.

4:35

Those are the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church, Efred's Einstein's department store, and former fire station number five.

4:42

These landmarks have interior features that are part of their designation, which is why the annual inspection occurs.

5:00

The past fiscal year were able to designate two new local landmarks.

5:04

Both Dr.

5:05

Herbert Eaton's seniors residents and the Gilbin Lodge number two are exceptionally significant to the history of black Limitonians.

5:21

And that's the end of the report.

5:26

Any questions of staff?

5:29

Okay.

5:31

Thank you, Megan.

5:37

All right.

5:38

So you found on your desk, there is as you found on your in your packets there, their draft reports of the design standards update.

5:49

I just want to have a quick conversation with you guys and be able to kind of give you a form of the timeline, highlight some high points, and that's and let you know about like public commentary.

6:04

So you'll notice that in the draft there are some typo errors and some photo errors, some things like that.

6:13

We've already started to work with the consultants to get those things fixed.

6:16

I don't want you guys to waste time looking at commas.

6:20

Um I want to make sure you y'all are focused on the big stuff, so I just kind of wanted to give you a heads up on that.

6:27

Um you'll see in the first couple of sections that the style pages have been kind of modified to make them more user-friendly with the kind of images that highlight uh label and highlight architectural details and things of that nature.

6:43

Um, you'll also may notice that we've removed the antibellum style and given it the proper name.

6:49

Um, that's not common anti-bellum's not a common practice word within architectural historians.

6:56

Um, we've also added a style called folk Victorian, which is referred to a lot of vernacular Victorian era styles throughout with architectural historians as well.

7:08

That page will be added.

7:11

Um I myself and staff is currently working on a revised development history of the city of Wilmington.

7:17

That makes hopefully will be a little more clear and a little more inclusive as well.

7:23

Um, we are also providing uh currently the way it works is there's an overview, the styles are kind of stuck in the middle, and then there's like a wrap-up of the development history of the end that includes historic Wilmington.

7:37

So we have given Historic Wilmington a spread so that they can further identify how uh the city and the city's design standards are separate from and regulations are separate from the things that they do.

7:50

Um then you'll notice that there's a set there's some charts.

7:55

These charts are hopefully gonna be real cool.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████74%

Public Engagement████████████████26%

Summary of Proceedings

Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission Meeting, October 12, 2023

The Wilmington Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) met on Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. (Note: Agenda listed location as Skyline Center, 929 N. Front Street; minutes listed City Hall, 102 N. 3rd Street.) Vice-Chair Christopher Yermal presided with members Stephen Sulkey, Ross Tomaselli, and Ashley Wilson present. Staff included Assistant City Attorney Melissa Huffman, Senior Planner Jessica Baldwin, Associate Planner Megan Bacik, and Planning Coordinator Amy Bradshaw. The meeting featured the approval of prior minutes, the 2023 Annual Report, and a draft update of the Design Standards.

Consent Calendar

The minutes from the September 14, 2023 meeting were approved unanimously (4-0) without discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public spoke during the public hearing opened for the Design Standards Draft Presentation. The hearing was closed with no testimony.

Discussion Items

Historic Preservation Commission Annual Report (Fiscal Year 2023): Associate Planner Megan Bacik presented the annual report. During FY2023, the commission reviewed 51 cases, with the majority being exterior alterations (facade, window/door, porch modifications), followed by new construction, paint color changes, and door/window replacements. Five applications were withdrawn and nine were denied. Staff reviewed 269 bypass applications (62 more than the previous year), mostly for minor exterior alterations (in-kind window/door replacements) and landscaping. Over 10 years, bypass applications have trended upward, with a major increase this year. Two new local landmarks were designated: Dr. Herbert Eaton’s Senior Residence and Gilbin Lodge No. 2, both significant to Black Wilmington history. Seven of nine local landmarks are pictured; three (Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church, Efred’s Einstein’s Department Store, former Fire Station No. 5) undergo annual inspections due to protected interior features. No questions followed from the commission.
Design Standards Draft Presentation: Senior Planner Jessica Baldwin presented the updated draft Design Standards. Key changes include: removal of the term “antebellum” (not common among architectural historians) and addition of “Folk Victorian” style; modification of style pages with labeled images for user-friendliness; a revised development history with more inclusive language; a dedicated spread for Historic Wilmington Foundation explaining their role vs. the city’s regulatory side; new charts for Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) type needed and permitted/prohibited materials (commission feedback requested on chart format – e.g., check marks vs. X’s). Baldwin highlighted proposed removal of paint color regulation, noting it consumes staff time, is not regulated in overlay districts, and paint is temporary. Sections on fences, walls, windows, doors, additions, and new construction were clarified with visual examples from local neighborhoods. Chapters on additions and new construction are reorganized for readability, with added standards on lot sighting and building design. The timeline: online public comment (starting October 13 through November 6, 2023), commission vote in December 2023, and City Council adoption in January 2024.
- Discussion: Vice-Chair Yermal praised the clarity but worried that unaware residents remain a problem. Baldwin described ongoing community outreach (postcards, meetings, work with Cape Fear Realtors and Historic Wilmington Foundation). Staff noted a decline in after-the-fact applications due to faster permitting and outreach. Commissioner Wilson suggested stronger realtor education, such as pamphlets in listed homes; Baldwin noted that the responsibility ultimately lies with realtors, but they are increasing collaboration. Commissioner Sulkey asked about off-street parking and stormwater regulations; Baldwin confirmed those are governed by the Land Development Code, not the Design Standards. Vice-Chair Yermal inquired about expanding historic district boundaries; Baldwin stated that current city funding is only to survey existing properties in six of eight districts, with no expansion study underway. Feedback on the draft standards is due to staff by November 6, 2023.

Key Outcomes

The minutes of September 14, 2023 were approved 4-0.
The commission received the Annual Report and Design Standards Draft with no formal action; the draft will be revised based on public and commissioner comments (due Nov. 6, 2023). The HPC is scheduled to vote on the final draft at its December meeting, with City Council adoption anticipated in January 2024.
No other business was conducted. The meeting adjourned at 5:56 p.m. The next regular HPC meeting is November 9, 2023.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. My name is Christopher Yermel, Vice Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission for the City of Wilmington, and I think all we're doing tonight is just uh doing the uh annual report, but I would ask commissioners to introduce themselves that are here. Ashley Wilson. Ross Thomas Selly. And we will go straight to the annual report by staff. Can I get you to approve the minutes real quick? Oh, I'm sorry. A second. My third. Yay. They're good. Minutes or minutes or so approved from last month. Sorry, I've started laughing, so now I can't stop. Okay. Okay. I used to be real good at that in high school. You got it. During the 2023 fiscal year, which ran from I'm so sorry. Sorry. Okay. During the 2023 fiscal year, which ran from July of 2022 to June of 2023, the commission reviewed 51 cases. The majority were exterior alterations, including facade alterations related to window and door location changes and porch modifications. And second came new construction, followed by changes in paint color and door and window replacements. The lowest number of cases were for landscaping and roof replacements. Also, five applications were withdrawn and nine were denied. Jessica Baldwin and myself reviewed a total of 269 bypass applications, which is 62 more than the previous year. The majority of bypass applications were for minor exterior alterations, which includes in-kind window and door replacements, followed by landscaping or site alterations. Projects under the other category included requests such as a stage speaker system at the Greenfield Lake Historic Landmark. Here you can see a quick glance at the 10-year historic trends of major and minor works COAs issued. Commissioners will also notice that the bypass applications fluctuate, though overall they have slowly been trending upwards. This year has seen a major increase compared to the previous. Pictured here are seven of the nine locally designated landmarks. Annual inspections occurs for three of the landmarks. Those are the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church, Efred's Einstein's department store, and former fire station number five. These landmarks have interior features that are part of their designation, which is why the annual inspection occurs. The past fiscal year were able to designate two new local landmarks. Both Dr. Herbert Eaton's seniors residents and the Gilbin Lodge number two are exceptionally significant to the history of black Limitonians. And that's the end of the report. Any questions of staff? Okay. Thank you, Megan. All right. So you found on your desk, there is as you found on your in your packets there, their draft reports of the design standards update. I just want to have a quick conversation with you guys and be able to kind of give you a form of the timeline, highlight some high points, and that's and let you know about like public commentary. So you'll notice that in the draft there are some typo errors and some photo errors, some things like that. We've already started to work with the consultants to get those things fixed. I don't want you guys to waste time looking at commas. Um I want to make sure you y'all are focused on the big stuff, so I just kind of wanted to give you a heads up on that. Um you'll see in the first couple of sections that the style pages have been kind of modified to make them more user-friendly with the kind of images that highlight uh label and highlight architectural details and things of that nature.

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