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Historic review board approves handrail, conditions window replacements and asks for revised hardship submission
Summary
At its January meeting the City of Redding Historic Architecture Review Board approved a metal handrail at 630 Laurel Street, approved a door and hardware at 144 South 6th Street while tabling window replacements for missing measurements, and asked the owner of 833 Center Avenue to revise a financial‑hardship package rather than approve an asphalt roofing substitution.
The City of Redding Historic Architecture Review Board met in January 2025 and took action on multiple facade and repair applications across downtown historic districts. The board approved a metal handrail for 630 Laurel Street, approved replacement of one front door and associated hardware at 144 South 6th Street while tabling proposed new window units until the applicant provides detailed frame measurements, and asked the applicant for 833 Center Avenue to resubmit its financial‑hardship documentation rather than approve an alternate roofing material at this time.
The board opened the meeting by reviewing procedures and the Secretary of the Interior Standards, then heard staff presentations and applicant remarks for each property. Preservation staff described 630 Laurel Street as originally constructed in 1953 with a site quality rating of 90 and said the proposed handrail would be reinstalled in existing holes; the board approved the handrail and staff will send a confirmation letter. “This is 630 Laurel Street… the proposal for the installation of a metal handrail to be centrally located at the front entrance steps,” the preservation officer said during the presentation (Preservation Officer).
At 144 South 6th Street the contractor presented a plan to replace five original wood windows and three existing vinyl units with Pella Reserve aluminum‑clad wood windows and to replace the front door. Board members said the application lacked exact frame dimensions for the new units, which staff estimated would reduce visible glass by roughly three inches compared with existing sash. The board approved the door and hardware as submitted and tabled the window portion until the applicant provides frame and sash dimensions for review at the next meeting.
Members spent the most time on 833 Center Avenue, where the owner sought permission to replace a tower’s scalloped slate shingles with asphalt for economic reasons and requested a financial‑hardship finding. The contractor described high labor and material costs, and staff presented a hardship calculation based on contractor quotes and a composite index rating. One committee member said the submitted values produced a hardship ratio “well over” the threshold in the existing formula and recommended denial absent additional documentation; the board instead voted to ask the applicant to resubmit with clearer valuation or an appraisal and to consider folding the tower work into a larger roof project that may alter the calculation.
Across the applications the board emphasized mockups and preservation‑officer oversight: several approvals were conditioned on small sample mockups (repointing, masonry replacement, and final skin/texture checks) and on the preservation officer verifying color, profile and technique before the full work proceeds. For the project where work had already begun (307 South 6th Street), the owner said emergency work was necessary to stop water intrusion; the board accepted phased emergency repairs but required contractors to notify staff and to submit mockups and periodic site visits.
Policy and committee reports noted a planned multi‑month update to the board’s window and roof replacement guidance, including review of language related to financial partnerships and hardship calculations. The board adjourned after agreeing to follow up with applicants and staff correspondence.
Votes and formal actions at a glance: the board recorded approvals (handrail at 630 Laurel; door and hardware at 144 South 6th with windows tabled pending measurements; conditional approvals for 307 South 6th and 62 South 6th subject to mockups and preservation‑officer verification) and a motion to have the applicant for 833 Center Avenue return with revised hardship documentation rather than approving alternative roofing at this meeting. Exact roll‑call tallies were not recorded verbatim in the transcript; staff follow‑up letters will confirm final conditions and any formal findings.
