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Board overturns Quincy Design Review denial, allowing revised second‑story deck at 627 Main Street
Summary
After a de novo appeal, the Plumas County Board of Supervisors approved a revised deck design for 627 Main Street, finding the updated plan consistent with Quincy design guidelines despite objections about scale and precedent from some design‑review members and neighbors.
The Plumas County Board of Supervisors voted March 17 to approve an appeal by Benjamin Williamson and allow a revised design for an uncovered elevated deck, stairs and second‑story door at 627 Main Street in Quincy.
Planning staff presented three revised design options and recommended approval of the applicant’s ‘‘number 2’’ revision — white painted decorative spindles and trim intended to align with the local Western Gold Rush architectural character. The appeal followed a November denial by the Quincy Design Review Committee, which had concluded surrounding buildings did not display second‑story elevated decks on front facades and therefore found the project inconsistent with the design guideline that architectural style ‘‘shall be compatible with the architectural style of surrounding buildings.’'
Williamson told the board he had worked with planning staff and revised the design to respond to the committee’s concerns. He argued the denial had rested on subjective opinion rather than the written guidelines and said approval of corrected designs was necessary to maintain predictability for property owners.
Multiple public commenters and a design‑review member urged the board to uphold the committee’s decision and emphasized scale and massing concerns: several speakers said the existing built deck is dominant on the facade and could not be fixed simply by paint and trim. Planning staff and several community members countered that examples within one to four blocks include elevated porches and decks with similar decorative elements and that the revised design meets the appendix A characteristics for the Western Gold Rush style.
After testimony, the board took a motion to approve the appeal and allow the revised design to proceed; there were no recorded oppositions during the voice vote and the motion passed. Supervisors noted that while they do not want to set a precedent encouraging construction without permits, in this case the applicant worked with staff to revise the design and staff determined the updated design met the written guidelines.
Ending: The board approved the appeal, allowing the revised deck design to move forward under planning and building‑permit review; the decision included direction that future applicants should follow permit processes and design review procedures.
