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Commission tables request to remove three chimneys at 2209 Rivermont; asks for structural-engineer assessment
Summary
An applicant sought permission to remove three deteriorated chimneys at 2209 Rivermont. Commissioners urged a structural-engineer review and tabled the application to allow the applicant to obtain additional assessments.
The Historic Preservation Commission voted to table a request to remove three chimneys at 2209 Rivermont after commissioners and consultants recommended further evaluation by a structural engineer.
Applicant Marty Jastrebski told the commission the house is 106 years old and the chimneys’ brick and mortar are “like sand,” and that the masonry contractor Black Goose (Ben Briscoe) advised that repairing or rebuilding could be structurally unsound. Jastrebski said a conservative cost estimate he’d been given to attempt replacement would be “north of $40,000.”
Commissioner comments noted that the commission’s guidelines discourage removing chimneys for routine maintenance alone and that, in some cases, repointing or rebuilding is possible. One commissioner recommended obtaining a structural-engineer assessment and a contractor experienced with historic chimneys before returning to the commission. Another commissioner noted that interior chimney masonry (protected from weather) may still be sound and suggested a targeted masonry assessment.
After discussion a motion to table the application for up to one month for the applicant to obtain additional professional assessments carried; the motion was seconded and the commission recorded the item as tabled.
Commission staff recommended the applicant pursue a structural-engineer report and bring further documentation (contractor estimates, engineer findings) back to the commission for reconsideration.
