Panel upholds denial of certificate of appropriateness for 945 Turner Street; case headed to full council

A city historic-review panel voted to uphold a denial of a certificate of appropriateness (COA) for work at 945 Turner Street and will forward the matter to the full City Council for consideration at its next meeting.

Contractor John Sakela, president of Blue Mountain Chimney Sweep Inc., told the panel that his crew found the furnace flue packed with brick dust and brick fragments and that exhaust had been returning into the house. "I pulled the stack off of the wall and it was filled with brick dust," Sakela said, saying crews removed roughly 50 gallons of brick and brick dust and installed a new liner.

Sakela said he and the homeowner, Dale Frichman, applied to the city for a COA after beginning repair work but that the Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) rejected stucco as an appropriate exterior repair. "I had no idea that stucco was not an appropriate repair for a chimney that was in disrepair in the historic district," Sakela said.

Dave Huber, vice chair of HARB, said staff and HARB members were concerned not with the need to repair but with the timeline and the apparent failure to secure approvals before exterior work began. "I was driving down Turner Street on a Sunday... he went down on Tuesday morning then and talked to John here and informed [the homeowner] in Historic District that he could not proceed, without consequences," Huber said, describing staff outreach and an email that explained the COA process. Huber urged more public education on the rules for the city’s historic districts.

Panel members and staff emphasized that permit and COA requirements exist to protect historic character and noted the inspections that revealed the safety risk. One committee member commended inspections staff, saying the process can be life-saving given the evidence of combustion products entering the home.

After public comment and discussion, a committee member moved to uphold the denial of the COA; another member seconded, and the motion passed. The panel recorded that the denial will be forwarded to the full City Council for review at the council’s next meeting.

The panel and HARB representatives said they will pursue outreach and education so homeowners and contractors better understand when a COA is required. HARB members asked to coordinate with staff on public-awareness efforts and suggested contractor outreach and lists of common exterior projects that require permits in the historic district.

The panel did not set fines at the meeting; the denial record will be considered by the full council, which will make the final determination.