Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Landmark Preservation Windows Stucco topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission delegates window decision, orders stucco mock-up at Audubon Place house
Summary
At 704 Marshall St., the commission denied the COA application as filed, issued a Certificate of Remediation for stucco work and delegated to staff the authority to inspect and decide whether original windows may be repaired or replaced.
The Houston Archaeological Historical Commission voted on Feb. 27 to deny a Certificate of Appropriateness as submitted for work at 704 Marshall St. (Audubon Place Historic District) and to issue a Certificate of Remediation for stucco repairs, while delegating to staff the on-site review and an authority to determine whether original windows should be repaired or replaced.
Terrence Jackson, staff presenting the application, described the property as a contributing, two-story circa-1915 wood-frame stucco house with 1,984 square feet on a roughly 6,000-square-foot lot and said the application proposed to remove and replace 21 existing wood windows and to repair and replace the stucco with a dash finish. Jackson said staff recommended denial of the COA and issuance of a Certificate of Remediation for the proposed stucco work and asked the commission to allow staff to inspect the windows in person before deciding on replacement of historically original windows. Jackson summarized: "Denial and issuance of a COR to complete the stucco dash finish mock up to be approved by staff prior to installation of the structure... we would like to ask the HHC to allow staff to review the original 21 windows and have staff make a determination as to if the windows can be replaced or repaired."
The homeowners' representatives, Bridal Falk and Ellen Bach, said the windows are badly deteriorated, that many are original and rotted, and that interior mildew and obvious water intrusion prompted an urgency to replace them for health and safety reasons. Falk told the commission they were "trying to replace them with the exact dimensions, the same style and the recessed design, the 1 by 1 double hung design of the window, and using the same materials, all wood." She said prior owners applied an inappropriate plaster that caused water intrusion and that some interior rooms have mildew.
Commission discussion and decision: Commissioners expressed concern about on-site condition assessments; staff representatives said they had attempted site visits but recent protective wrapping and fencing limited visual inspection. After public comment the commission voted to deny the COA as filed, issue a COR for the stucco with a mock-up to be approved by staff, and delegate to staff the authority to inspect the windows on-site and determine whether they may be repaired or, if non-original or beyond repair, replaced. The motion that incorporated staff's amended recommendation passed by voice vote.
Why it matters: The decision balances historic-preservation review with an emergency-repair urgency asserted by the homeowners. Delegating the window determination to staff was framed as a compromise to allow timely remediation before the next commission meeting; staff noted the commission would not next meet in March and the applicants face ongoing water intrusion.
Key technical details: The application listed 21 windows to be removed (20 identified by staff as original, 1 non-original). Staff recommended a dash finish stucco mock-up be approved by staff prior to full installation. The property was described in staff materials as a contributing structure in the Audubon Place Historic District; staff and applicants discussed prior approvals and earlier work at the site.
