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Board denies certificate for Wissacho Avenue renovation after unpermitted window and cladding work
Summary
The board voted to deny a certificate of appropriateness for a Wissacho Avenue property after staff found unpermitted removal of historic windows and replacement with nonconforming materials; owner told the board he began work to protect his investment and will work with staff on restoration steps.
The Historic Preservation Advisory and Technical Compliance Board denied a certificate of appropriateness on Feb. 20 for a property on Wissacho Avenue after staff found exterior work that did not meet preservation guidelines and had been done without the required permits.
Staff introduced the case and recommended denial, saying the applicant had removed or replaced several historic, street-facing wood windows with nonconforming products and proposed a new exterior cladding profile that did not match the existing historic character. Staff outlined required remedies: restore the front façade to match the historic profile, reinstall or locate the original wood windows removed from the front façade, and preserve or restore original soffits and trim.
The property representative, identified in the meeting as Clinton Poppen, said he purchased the house to rehabilitate it and described prior aluminum cladding and deterioration of several wood windows. He told the board he began interior work and replaced two windows to protect his investment; he acknowledged that some exterior work occurred without all necessary permits and that he had acted quickly after receiving the stop-work notice.
Staff said the certificate application was received Jan. 6; the stop-work order was issued Jan. 4 and city staff visited the site Jan. 7, and staff reported difficulty determining the full scope of unpermitted exterior work. Commissioners pressed the applicant about continuing work after a stop order and whether he had consulted the Monticello neighborhood association; the applicant said he had not contacted the neighborhood association before starting work but later spoke with the historic-preservation office and filed the certificate application.
Several commissioners said they were disappointed the owner had not consulted the neighborhood association and emphasized the board's role in preserving historic character. A motion to support staff's recommendation to deny the certificate passed on a roll-call vote (Debbie yes; García yes; Ricard yes; Speller yes; Pollerton yes; Vázquez yes; Sepúlveda yes). The board directed the owner to work with the city's historic-preservation staff to restore the facade and locate or reinstall the original windows.
