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ILPC approves 6-foot cedar fence at 219 South Albany, allows removal of older wire fence
Summary
The Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness for a six-foot cedar yard fence at 219 South Albany Street and determined that an existing wire fence of unknown age may be removed.
The Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission on May 20 approved a six-foot cedar wood fence for the double-lot property at 219 South Albany Street in the Henry Saint John Historic District and authorized removal of an older wire fence of unknown installation date.
Homeowner Andy Foster presented the application, explaining the property is a double lot and the family wants a taller fence on the yard side to keep a new dog from jumping gaps in an existing hedge and failing, older wire fencing. "We installed a fence on the north side about 20 years ago," Foster said, describing the planned cedar fence and that Whitmore would build it to match an existing style elsewhere on the property. He said the existing wire fence is failing in places and embedded in the hedge; the proposed new fence would be set inside the hedge to preserve its street-facing appearance.
The commission's resolution notes the property is a contributing element to the Henry Saint John Historic District (period of significance 1830–1932) and applied municipal standards, including standard number 10 that requires additions or related new construction be removable in the future without impairing the historic property. Commissioners discussed the wire fence's age and condition and whether it contributes to the property's historic character. Because the wire fence's installation date was not documented, the commission determined it was not a protected historic feature and approved its removal as part of the project.
The approval includes findings that the proposed wood fence "will not have a substantial adverse effect on the aesthetic, historical, or architectural significance of the Henry Saint John Historic District" and that the proposed work is compatible with the property's massing, scale and context. Commissioners noted the home's double-lot configuration and the set-back from the sidewalk behind the hedge as factors making the proposal less visually intrusive than a six-foot fence immediately adjacent to a single front yard.
The commission did not record a formal roll-call vote in the public transcript; a motion was made, seconded and the chair called for "all in favor." The resolution as read into the record includes an explicit determination that the wire fence may be removed due to lack of evidence of significance and unknown installation date.
