Planning Commission allows fiber cement siding for 231 North Husband Street, votes 5-0

The Planning Commission voted 5-0 May 6 to approve an alternative compliance request allowing fiber cement (cement fiber) siding for a multiunit project at 231 North Husband Street.

The ruling lets the developer use fiber cement board on gables and body elevations instead of the full-brick facades that had been shown in earlier approvals. Josh Brown, Development Coordinator, Development Services, City of Stillwater, described the item as “an alternative compliance request as you said,” and told commissioners the site sits in the city’s form-based code area.

The decision resolves a delay the applicant said was holding up construction. Steven Gose, principal, Gose and Associates, said the request responds to “billing material, labor shortages, time frames, trying to get something that's doable.” Dakota Reagan, representing the builder Black Pine, told the commission: “We have…been waiting on whatever facade material that we…decide to use or you guys allow us to use. So we're well past the point of…moving forward with the process. We're just waiting on your guys' decision tonight.”

Why it mattered: commissioners and staff discussed both practical and design considerations. The applicant argued fiber cement board is durable, easier to maintain than some alternatives and can be installed faster given the local shortage of masons. Commissioners also weighed neighborhood context: several nearby buildings use mixed materials, including brick, wood siding and EIFS/stucco. Josh Brown displayed site photos showing the property’s frontage on North Husband Street, secondary frontage on Hooke Street and proximity to Strickland Park, Exchange Bank and nearby hotels and restaurants.

Staff findings and code history: Development Services Director David Barth clarified that the wider 2019 form-based code update focused on public-realm improvements and was not solely a materials change. According to staff and the applicant’s presentation, the original form-based code adopted in February 2015 listed cement fiber board among allowed façade materials; the 2019 update no longer included cement fiber board but did not record a reason for its removal. Brown summarized staff findings: “Section 23 4 49 allows the planning commission to allow alternative materials.” The staff report noted cement fiber board is not listed as a prohibited material in the current code and that adjacent buildings include a variety of façade materials.

Alternatives presented to the commission were to approve fiber cement siding as presented, deny the request, or table it to a future meeting. Commissioner Shanahan asked whether the city should add cement fiber board back into the form-based code so future projects would not require separate reviews; David Barth suggested a broader review of the form-based code to determine whether prescriptive materials should remain in the code or be revised.

Vote and procedural notes: A commissioner moved and a second was recorded; the motion to approve the alternative compliance request passed 5-0. The commission subsequently approved the April 15 meeting summary with a stated correction and voted to adjourn.

What remains: The approval lets the applicant proceed with the façade material authorized by the commission. Staff and commissioners discussed whether the form-based code should be revised so similar materials would not require repeat exceptions, but no formal direction to draft a code amendment was recorded during the meeting.

Community context and construction timing: The applicant said local demand for masonry work—citing ongoing projects including a high school, a fire station, an airport project and other builds in Stillwater—has limited availability of masons. Gose said some local and out-of-area bricklayers are fully booked and that using fiber cement siding would “allow it to happen” sooner than waiting for masonry crews. Staff noted that cement fiber board is typically durable and that the material is not expressly prohibited by the city's current code.

Quotes used in this article are taken from the meeting transcript and are attributed to named meeting participants.