Tuscaloosa HPC denies petition to remove parking bumpers at 904–908 16th Avenue

The Tuscaloosa Historic Preservation Commission voted to deny a petition to modify a previously approved certificate of appropriateness for 904 and 908 Sixteenth Avenue, rejecting a request to remove two heavy-duty vehicle stop bumpers that currently mark the edge between a driveway and a patio.

The petition by Daryl Knox asked the commission to allow removal of the two parking bumpers and to leave the poured concrete “as it is today.” City staff told the commission the patio had been approved earlier through an expedited review with a four-inch rise separating the patio from the driveway; the driveway expansion later came before the commission. At the meeting the applicant said the bumpers were installed to improve nighttime visibility and reduce a safety hazard but asked that they be removed because the area would be “a continued drive.”

Commissioners said the built condition did not match the plans the commission and staff had approved. Chair Kathy Pagani said the commission had approved a patio with a step that would visually and physically separate parking from the patio; that step is absent. "What we have right now in this neighborhood is a large expanse of concrete that I don't think I would have felt comfortable approving had it come to us initially like that," Pagani said. Multiple commissioners said the patio appears deeper than the drawing staff had approved via expedited review and that the absence of the four-inch riser removed a clear delineation between patio and parking.

Staff presentation and applicant testimony City staff reviewed the case history: an expedited staff approval allowed a ten-foot-wide driveway with a patio separated by a four-inch rise; when the petitioner later asked to widen the driveway the matter was referred to the commission. Staff displayed photographs showing the approved drawing, the installed condition with parking bumpers, and the current concrete pour. The applicant, Daryl Knox, said the bumpers were installed as a safety measure and that he intended the area to function as part of a continuous driveway rather than as a seating patio.

Public input and commission discussion Staff reported one written comment from the property owner received the day of the hearing assuring the commission that there would be no parking on the patio. During discussion commissioners questioned why the finished concrete exceeded the appearance of the drawings, emphasized the commission's reliance on plan dimensions and visual demarcation, and said the bumpers were inappropriate design elements in the historic district. Commissioners also noted that the original expedited review and subsequent driveway approval had not been followed in the built condition.

Vote and next steps A motion to approve the modification failed. The vote was recorded as: Commissioner Deason — No; Commissioner Matt McCool — No; Commissioner Jordan Morris — No; Commissioner Wayne Yarbrough — No; Chair Kathy Pagani — No. The commission denied the requested modification and advised the applicant to work with city staff on next steps; city staff will inspect final work for compliance with approvals when applicable.

Why it matters Commissioners framed the decision as one about context: in historic neighborhoods the relationship of porches, steps, and driveway edges is part of the district's character and the commission enforces those design guidelines. The commission cited the missing four-inch step and the extended patio as the primary reasons for denial.