Town Council upheld the decision of the Historic District Review Board, denying the appeal of Paul and Sheryl Eulitt, owners of 102 Madison Avenue. The Eulitt’s wanted to renovate an existing front porch on the single-family dwelling, removing the stone structures along the sides of the stairs, removing the existing wood columns, railing, and decking, and replace these elements with AZEK/vinyl/composite materials.
The columns would also be replaced with a vinyl square column, and the railings would be replaced with vinyl railings.
Town Staff recommended approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for the proposed application, with the replacement of vinyl materials with wood.
The HDRB justified the denial based on the fact that the home is historic and contributing, and that since the original materials are wood, the replacement also needs to use the original material, wood.
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What a mess. I cannot predict the future for 102 Madison Ave. Cape Charles, but I sense the potential for quite the disaster. If the property is not in need of repair, and is simply requesting a renovation, then the problem is delayed. If the property is in need of repair and the HDRB has just caused the repair to exceed the financial abilities of the Eulitt’s, then it’s possible an unrealistic HDRB has cut off it’s own nose to spite it’s face.
Before I moved to The Shore I once owned a home in a historic district. I bought a home that 5 years or so later needed repairs to the front porch. I applied for a permit to make a repair that met town codes but my app was denied because the Historic Commission demanded it be done their way. My way cost $9,000 and in the opinion of most, maintained the historical appearance and attitude of the house, property and district. The Historical Comm. demanded that I spend $19,000. In the midst of what was going on, my money could not handle and meet their demands. I cancelled my project and withdrew my application. I shortly thereafter sent a certified letter to that commission. I restated in my letter what I had told them at the hearing and told them that in my opinion their decision defeated the purpose of preserving the district simply because I could not afford it. My lack of money meant that the front porch was going to continue to deteriorate and rot. That would cause the white round columns to collapse and roll into the bushes. Then the only way to hold up the roof would be to put emergency 4×4’s in place. I asked how that would help the Historic District maintain it’s appearance and value. That letter ended the discussion. In it I also asked for local Real Estate property CREDIT relief to help make up the difference in expense and be able to afford their design. Request denied.
They called me 60 days later and left a msg. asking for an update on the situation. 30 days after that I sent them a certified letter and told them the situation remained the same. Without tax CREDITS the repair could not be made their way due to lack of money. Without relief from their design, and w/o approval of my design the repair would not be made. I refused to fight City Hall. I did not hire a lawyer. I let them watch my paint peel. I did touch up but it looked terrible on the old wood. I relaxed, watched football on t.v. and mowed my lawn. A few months later they asked me to resubmit a new and updated application. I had a copy of the old one and used the exact same design and app. They approved it. I was not surprised.
When the porch was completed my wife and I were complimented over and over and over again by many that we owned one of the prettiest porches in town. Funny how tide turns sometimes……..