Commission approves COA for 1 Garfield's Way but conditions removal of large live oak on certified-arborist report

The Historic Preservation Commission voted March 4 to approve a certificate of appropriateness for a new two-story main house and attached carriage house at 1 Garfield's Way, subject to conditions including an updated certified-arborist evaluation for a large live oak and revised rear-elevation details to break up a long roof mass.

Staff described the lot as shallow, noted a prior variance request had been denied, and said the packet included an arborist letter indicating a codominant stem failure on a combined 24-in/15-in live oak. The packet did not, however, make clear whether the arborist who prepared the letter holds an ISA certification or whether photos documenting the tree condition accompanied the submission.

Ansley Emanuel, the project architect, and Maria Drowdy, the project's landscape architect, were present to answer questions. Drowdy said she planned mitigation to achieve 75% canopy coverage across the street while avoiding conflicts with permeable pavers and a rain garden. Emanuel said cost and layout influenced design choices but that the applicant was willing to revise window and shed-roof details. The owner, Sam Kapotic, attended and did not dispute the revisions requested by the commission.

Town staff/legal (Mr. Gibson) explained the UDO’s tree-permit standards: to qualify a tree removal as hazardous or diseased without a permit requires a letter from an ISA-certified arborist, an ISA-certified tree-risk assessor, or an ISA board-certified master arborist; the assessor must be independent from the contractor that will remove the tree. Commissioners repeatedly asked for an updated, dated arborist letter and photographs to support any hazardous-tree claim before the UDO administrator would authorize removal. "To be qualified as a diseased tree you need a letter from either an ISA-certified arborist, ISA certified tree risk assessor or ISA board certified master arborist," Mr. Gibson said.

Commissioners also asked the applicant to revise rear elevations so the long rear roof is broken up (for example by a rear-facing shed) and to raise or enlarge second-floor windows so they read at a more typical header height; the applicant agreed to submit revised drawings to HPRC for final review. The commission approved the COA with three additional conditions: (1) the applicant must submit a certified-arborist letter dated on or after March 4, 2026, with photographs supporting any hazardous-tree designation for the combined live oak; (2) revised rear-elevation drawings showing a shed/raised plate and larger second-floor windows must be submitted to HPRC for review; and (3) the side-elevation second-floor window must be moved to align more closely with the first-floor fenestration or otherwise adjusted per HPRC guidance.

The UDO administrator retains authority over issuing any tree permit and may require mitigation planting or a fee in lieu if on-site planting proves infeasible. The commission’s conditional approval lets the project proceed with the requirement that the certified-arborist documentation and revised elevations be submitted for staff or HPRC review before tree removal or final sign-off.