Historic Landmark Commission orders compliance at 2013 Wheeling Ave., gives six months to restore living ground cover

The El Paso City Historic Landmark Commission voted to require the parkway at 2013 Wheeling Avenue be brought into compliance with the Manhattan Heights design guidelines within six months and to withhold any permits until the entire property meets the commission’s standards.

The action followed a reconsideration of an after-the-fact paving and site-work permit for the contributing, 1920-era house in the Manhattan Heights Historic District. Preservation staff presented photos showing the front yard and parkway largely covered with paving and little remaining living ground cover; staff told commissioners the property does not meet the guidelines and cited city code requiring a certificate of appropriateness for exterior alterations in designated historic landmarks.

The preservation officer, identified in the meeting as Provi, told commissioners the guidelines require no more than 50% of a front yard or parkway section to be covered by impervious materials and that the two 50% tests apply separately (50% of the yard and 50% of each parkway section). “The living ground cover just means it has to be planted into the ground. So you can’t plant it into a planter and call it a 50% living space,…