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Beaufort County Historic Preservation Commission approves most carriage‑house and house plans, tables one after missing details
Summary
At its June 11 meeting the Beaufort County Historic Preservation Commission approved multiple certificates of appropriateness with conditions — including projects on Bridge, Pritchard and Bruin streets — and tabled the Merriweather Court application after applicants asked for more time to resolve extensive design and tree‑protection concerns.
The Beaufort County Historic Preservation Commission on June 11 approved a slate of certificates of appropriateness for new and altered carriage houses and houses across the historic district, and voted to table one complex application so the applicant could revise plans and meet HPRC requirements.
During public comment, Laurie Guccio of 75 Bridge Street told the commission she and relatives only learned this week that a planned driveway for a new house at 71 Bridge Street appears to use a long, shared gravel drive adjacent to her property. "We literally just learned about it by looking it up online — no call, no courtesy," Guccio said, asking the applicant to use Bridge Street for construction access to reduce heavy traffic through the narrow private drive.
Kevin Eichert, the county’s director of growth management, told Guccio staff would research legal access and work with the applicant and neighbors to minimize construction impacts. "We will work with both the applicant and the Guccios," Eichert said, noting staff could require a construction entrance off Bridge Street if legal access through the shared drive is not available.
On project decisions: the commission approved a renovation at 82 Pritchard Street that converts an existing two‑car carriage house into a single‑car garage with living space, approving staff‑recommended conditions for window and door materials, railing details and a brick veneer to match the main house. Architect Pete Martelli said the team is specifying Elevate Marvin Fibrex double‑hung windows to match existing profiles.
The panel approved a detached carriage house at 32 Tabby Shell with conditions including relocation of the service yard away from stairs, updated window schedules, a tree‑removal permit and Tabby Roads HARB approval. Applicant Drew Vaughn said the flagged service‑yard condenser is a small mini‑split that will be moved and screened.
A proposed detached carriage house at 68 Pritchard Street and a breezeway/carport project at 41 Stock Farm Road were both approved with conditions requiring specific materials, bracket details and tree‑protection measures. Several commissioners urged applicants to submit more complete materials up front to avoid delaying staff review and to reduce strain on staff time.
BFL Builders’ application for 15 Merriweather Court drew extended discussion about window types, porch and beam details, and tree protection for an important live oak. After discussing many missing technical details, the applicant formally requested the item be tabled to revise plans and meet HPRC and staff requirements; the commission voted to table at the applicant’s request so the team can return with additional detail and, if needed, appear before HPRC for further review.
For a prominent, new house at 71 Bridge Street and its 1,200‑square‑foot carriage house, commissioners approved the COFA with multiple staff conditions: confirm legal access for a driveway, preferentially establish a construction entrance off Bridge Street where possible, remove a first‑floor transom to make an 8‑foot door, and reduce exposed foundation height by two feet to improve the building’s scale relative to neighboring homes.
Other approvals with conditions included 22 Bruin Road (which added a condition requiring the beam face to line up with the column per the UDO) and 42 Wharf Street (staff conditions on service yard, chimney details, permitted door operations and material clarifications). For a riverfront rebuild at 135 Bridge Street — the site of a recent fire — the commission approved determinations that allowed a low‑slope breezeway treatment, powder‑coated aluminum railings and historically appropriate composite shutters, and required operable window modifications and brick samples for final review.
The meeting concluded after a brief site‑feature update; staff noted a handful of small repairs and signage updates for county parks. The commission adjourned after approving the final motions and vote tallies.
Next procedural steps: applicants were directed to update their plans to reflect the commission’s conditions, resubmit revised drawings or return to HPRC as requested, and to coordinate with county staff on tree‑protection and stormwater/dust‑control measures during construction.
