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Historic Preservation Commission conditionally approves repairs and new paint booth at Bradford Auto Body, 2659 W. Main St.
Summary
The Littleton Historic Preservation Commission on an unconditional vote approved a certificate of appropriateness for exterior repairs and a new prefabricated paint booth at Bradford Auto Body, with conditions requiring accurate elevation drawings and painted rooftop equipment to reduce visual impact.
The Littleton Historical Preservation Commission on a 5-0 vote conditionally approved a certificate of appropriateness for exterior repairs and a new prefabricated paint booth at Bradford Auto Body, 2659 West Main Street.
The approval covers replacement of damaged siding and garage doors after a roof collapse, plus installation of a prefabricated automobile paint booth that raises a portion of the roof about 6 feet (to about 19 feet 9 inches) and shifts an exterior wall about 1.25 feet to the east. The staff presentation said the new height and some rooftop equipment are required to meet current building codes and federal regulations.
The commission’s staff recommended approval with two conditions: that the final plan set accurately depict the removed garage doors and show the proposed doors as in-kind replacements, and that mechanical equipment be painted a color to reduce its visual prominence. Commissioners and applicant representatives stressed that most of the added equipment is set back from Main Street and that the new booth is about 43 feet behind the front façade.
Resident Pam Chadbourne, who lives a block and a half from the site, urged the commission to make historic preservation an earlier priority in city planning and warned that “historic preservation in Littleton is in huge danger.” Charlie Jones, a contractor speaking for Bradford Auto Body, told the commission they had worked “diligently” to match existing materials and said the applicant hoped to “expedite this as quickly as possible to help them get back and running their business.”
Commission discussion focused on visual impacts and documentation: commissioners asked staff to confirm that garage doors would be shown with three-over-three fixed lights as the existing condition and to clarify how the 3-D renderings were prepared so members could evaluate street-level visibility. Staff said final plan-set review by city staff before issuance of permits would be the mechanism to ensure conditions are met.
Motion and vote: a motion to conditionally approve HPC Resolution 01-2025 passed unanimously, recorded as five votes in favor. The motion’s conditions—accurate depiction of the existing/proposed garage doors in the plan set and painting mechanical equipment to reduce its appearance—were read into the record and incorporated into the approval.
The commission closed the item and moved on to the next agenda item.
Ending: Staff will verify the final plan set and color specification for the rooftop equipment before permit sign-off, per the conditions included in the approval.
