Owner seeks COA for restoration and ADA access at 210 3rd Ave N; staff supports materials sampling and reuse

Aaron Rogers of 906 Studio and property owner Sean Aiello presented plans to renovate 210 3rd Avenue North (a c.1890 contributing building) for a law office: remove asbestos siding to expose and repair historic lap siding, restore or replace windows in kind where necessary, revert the front porch roof to an earlier form, add a low-slope front ramp for ADA access, and demolish a circa‑1970 accessory structure to replace it with a more compatible new accessory building connected by a breezeway.

Staff recommended material samples for the COA submittal and noted the guidelines favor reusing historic siding where feasible and minimizing paved front yard area. Commissioners expressed strong preference to avoid placing an intrusive ramp across the front yard; they encouraged locating the ramp to the side or rear if possible, using landscape mitigation and a less visually dominant connector, and working to preserve as much original siding and window fabric as possible. The applicant said they will investigate alternate ramp locations, consider lattice or brick instead of heavy stone walls for connectors, and pursue federal historic tax credit coordination (they reported progressing through phase one with the National Park Service).

Next steps: applicant to return with ramp design options, material samples, refined breaze‑way/landscape treatments and documentation of which historic elements can be preserved for the COA application.