Title
SUBMISSION OF A NOTICE OF APPEAL REQUESTING CITY COUNCIL OVERTURN THE DECISION OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION REGARDING AN APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS FOR REPLACEMENT OF WINDOWS FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 321 EAST DUFFY STREET.
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BACKGROUND: On July 1, 2013, City staff was notified of a replacement of original wood windows in a house at 321 E Duffy, a property located in the Miller Historic District. Staff verified that nine replacement windows had been installed without a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) and that the replacement windows were vinyl, a type not permitted by the Historic Preservation Guidelines.
Staff sent a letter to the property owner of record, Las Casas LLC, alerting the owner to the violation and proposing a path to compliance with the tenets of the Historic Preservation Ordinance. Upon receiving the letter, the property owner promptly contacted staff to discuss the matter and later submitted an application for a post facto COA to retain the replacement windows. Subsequently five additional windows were replaced at this property, bringing the total of vinyl replacement windows to 14. Muntins were also subsequently applied to the three replacement windows on the south elevation to simulate the windowpane pattern of the originals.
On August 5, 2013, the Historic District Commission (HDC) reviewed the property owners' COA application which requested to retain the newly installed vinyl windows. In the case of a post facto COA review, commissioners are instructed to regard an application as if the work had not already taken place, using the Historic Preservation Guidelines as a basis for review. Upon review, the HDC voted unanimously to deny window replacement at 321 E Duffy because vinyl replacement windows are disallowed for use according to the Historic Preservation Guidelines.
What Were the Findings of Fact in This Case?
During the August 5 meeting, Historic District Commissioners sta...
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