Victorian Village commissioners continue Neil Avenue roof application after heated debate over slate vs. shingle replacement

The Victorian Village Commission continued an application from the owners of 710 Neil Avenue after more than an hour of debate over whether the historic slate roof must be replaced like-for-like or may be replaced with asphalt or alternative materials.

The applicant, Denise Bridget, told commissioners the house had “a lot of damage” from water infiltration after storms and that her insurance would cover replacement of roughly 744 slates but not the full roof. “We had a lot of damage last March,” Bridget said. “The roof is in disrepair, basically.” She said repeated repairs over 20 years have become unsustainable, scaffolding and specialized slate crews are costly, and the family wants to avoid repeated interior damage while they decide how to proceed.

Staff recommended approving repairs to the house’s box gutters and conditionally approving…