Design Review Board approves exterior remodel, requires fabric awning for 606 Charles Street

The La Plata Design Review Board on Oct. 8 approved a renovation package for the C Street Tobacco storefront at 606 Charles Street that includes new cornice and trim, window shutters, a 26.5-square-foot wall sign, a new awning and additional security lighting.

The decision matters because the board approved changes intended to restore features consistent with the town’s community design guidelines after staff cited the business for previously removing a mansard roof without permits. Joel Dooley, the town’s planning director, told the board the applicant had removed the mansard roof on June 6, 2025, without consulting staff and was subsequently cited by code enforcement, and that the current application was presented to address and enhance the building in keeping with the guidelines.

Dooley described the package as an application for “4-2025” and listed the principal elements: a 1-inch-by-8-inch cornice, a 1-inch-by-4-inch wall trim, 15-by-48-inch red vinyl shutters for the front elevation (staff recommended shutters also for the visible west elevation), a Peter Gray metal awning sized about 56 inches wide by 24 inches high by 36 inches deep over the entrance, a 26.5-square-foot channel-letter wall sign on a raceway, and a downward-directed floodlight for parking-lot and building security. Dooley said the proposed sign meets the town’s sign ordinance and recommended approval subject to the packet’s conditions.

Reginald O'Kearney, a design review board member, raised concerns about existing string lights and front-facing LED fixtures on similar stores, asking whether the applicant would continue using such lighting. Dooley pointed to a condition in the staff packet that requires permanent removal of string lights prior to permit issuance and said, “I would anticipate, with the removal of the string lights in these conditions that that existing condition will no longer be an issue in the future.”

Applicant Hoshedalam Jisan, identified as the owner of Charge State Tobacco, said the metal awning was chosen because it was available at Home Depot and “is easy to install. That's why I choose this metal only,” and also indicated he had a fabric design ready if required. Board members debated whether a metal or fabric awning better fit the town’s modest colonial-revival character and nearby fabric awnings. Several members said a fabric awning would maintain consistency with existing storefronts across the street. Councilman Sampson (board member) said he favored consistency and supported a fabric awning to avoid setting a differing precedent.

To resolve the split, the board approved the project with the staff conditions in the packet and added a new condition (condition 12) requiring the applicant to replace the proposed metal awning with a fabric awning consistent with other fabric awnings used by neighborhood businesses and subject to the planning director’s final approval before permits are issued. Dooley told the applicant they could present the fabric design to him and that the applicant would not have to return to the board for that final awning approval if Dooley accepted the design.

The board motion to approve the project with the packet conditions plus the fabric-awning condition carried; the chair called for those in favor, members said “aye,” and the chair announced the project was approved with the conditions listed in the packet and the added condition 12. The transcript does not record roll-call vote counts or individual yes/no votes by name.

The applicant was advised to contact planning staff to proceed with next steps and building permits.