Commission approves COA for rear addition at 515 Queen Street

The New Bern Historic Preservation Commission voted to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for work at 515 Queen Street, a contributing property described in the National Register inventory as the Christiansen House.

Staff summarized the application and supporting materials, saying the project would remove a rear screened porch and construct a deeper sunroom with a new screened porch, a metal standing-seam roof, wood siding, wood windows with 3‑D grills to match a 6-over-6 pattern and a brick-masonry foundation to match existing piers. Staff told the commission a few items were missing from the submittal and recommended conditions: "a compliant section detail of the stair and landing handrails" and plans showing crawl-space vents and any exterior lighting, plus a condition that changes agreed at the hearing be submitted to staff for approval or return to the commission.

Sarah Afflebeck, the applicant's representative for Go Architectural Design (speaker 8), addressed commissioner questions about dimensions and materials and said, "But yes, it it'll be exactly dimension 3 inch," confirming spacing and finish choices for porch pickets and rails. Staff noted the proposed siding and windows: "the new siding will be wood siding," and emphasized consistency with the district's design principles.

Commissioner (speaker 6) moved to find the project not incongruous with the city code and district standards and to approve the COA with the conditions discussed; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The COA includes conditions to record and approve final details (handrails, vents, exterior lighting) with HPC staff prior to construction.

The commission's decision allows the applicant to proceed subject to the stated conditions; staff will confirm the revised drawings and details before issuing the full permit.