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Board approves revised addition at 185 Elmria with conditions after months of staff review
Summary
After months of revisions and staff meetings, the Historic Preservation Board approved a two‑story addition and ad valorem pre-construction review for 185 Elmria (El Cid historic district) with conditions that eliminate a front gable, remove decorative "coins" on new construction and limit certain ground‑floor changes.
The Historic Preservation Board approved a revised two-story addition and related ad valorem pre-construction review for 185 Elmria on March 24, finding the applicant's latest materials addressed earlier staff concerns about height and massing.
Gunster attorney Jack Rice and architect Daniel Kahan said the design shifts the majority of the second‑floor massing to a rear/side bay and lowers the building height from earlier submissions. "We've reduced the building height further from 22 feet to 21.7," Rice said, and Kahan described additional fenestration and efforts to keep the addition set back from public rights of way.
Jordan Hodge, case planner, said staff had worked with the applicant since November and that revisions post‑report had materially improved scale and fenestration balance; staff recommended conditions if the board chose to approve. Staff cited remaining conflicts with Secretary of the Interior standards 2 and 9 and asked for conditions to mitigate visual impacts.
Board discussion focused on massing, the front gable and detail choices. Several board members urged elimination of a front gable and removal of applied "coins" on the new construction; staff noted the applicant's willingness to work further and that approval could be conditioned on those changes.
The motion to approve included the staff's enumerated conditions and three additional board conditions: (1) coins on the new addition shall not be approved, (2) the front-facing gable shall be eliminated and the applicant shall work with staff on the roof condition, and (3) limit ground‑floor French‑door changes so two of the existing openings remain as windows. With those conditions the board voted to approve the COA and the ad valorem pre-construction review.
What happens next: the applicant must finalize revised drawings that incorporate the board's conditions and submit required permits; staff will review the revisions for consistency with the board action.
