Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Building Design topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
BAR approves rooftop screening at 112 South Alfred over staff recommendation
Summary
After removing the item from the consent calendar for discussion, the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review granted a certificate of appropriateness allowing the applicant’s rooftop screening at 112 South Alfred Street, rejecting staff’s recommendation to omit the screening.
The Board of Architectural Review voted Monday to approve a certificate of appropriateness for rooftop screening at 112 South Alfred Street, allowing the applicant’s proposed enclosure despite a staff recommendation that screening not be used.
Board member Miss Del Nino moved to pull the application from the consent calendar for discussion, noting staff had recommended removal of a screen intended to conceal rooftop mechanical equipment. Miss Del Nino said she preferred the screening because “I personally thought the screening is going to look better than just an exposed guardrail and seeing the mechanical equipment.”
Alana Dils, project manager for Godley Architects, told the board the project team “did feel that the screen was a more aesthetically pleasing choice. This is as low as we can make it while still hiding the equipment.” Dils also acknowledged the guardrail requirement and confirmed access for mechanical maintenance.
After board discussion, a motion was made to approve the application as submitted by the applicant — including the rooftop screening — and the motion passed. The applicant asked for and received the certificate of appropriateness.
The board’s action reversed the staff preference in this instance; staff had argued the screening would be too prominent and recommended leaving the rooftop guardrail exposed rather than installing the applicant’s screen. The board’s decision allows the building owner to install the screening as shown in the submitted drawings.
