Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Variance Awning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Preservation board overturns director's denial, grants variance for Blue City Deli awning
Summary
The Preservation Board overturned a director's denial and granted a variance to allow a 4-foot canvas canopy that spans six openings at 2438 McNair (Blue City Deli), with a condition that Cultural Resources Office staff approve final design and installation details to limit masonry damage.
The Preservation Board voted to overturn a director's denial and grant a variance to allow a continuous canvas awning on the south façade of Blue City Deli at 2438 McNair, after hearing staff, neighborhood and applicant testimony and debating precedent in the Benton Park Local Historic District.
Jan Cameron of the Cultural Resources Office presented staff's case, entering the application, a staff PowerPoint and a June 10, 2026 letter from the Benton Park Neighborhood Association into the record. Jan said the Benton Park standards require awnings to be based on a model example and to match the shape and size of the openings they cover; staff recommended denial because the proposed awning would cover six openings and deviates from that rule.
Appellant representative David Lazinsky of Colleen Studios said the continuous 4-foot fabric canopy is designed to protect customers who queue on the sidewalk and to keep them out of the street. Lazinsky said the awning would be mounted permanently but could be removed later without permanently altering the building, and that the applicant seeks a variance because strict compliance would not provide the needed continuous shelter.
Commissioners debated precedent and building attachment details. Some members raised concern that allowing a continuous awning could create a precedent for more extensive awnings across the district; others emphasized supporting a long-standing neighborhood business and mitigating weather-related sidewalk hazards. Commissioner Ruth Kinoy moved to overturn the director's denial and grant the variance; Stan Fowler seconded. The motion included the condition that Cultural Resources Office staff approve final design and installation details, including attachment methods that minimize damage to masonry.
Roll call recorded affirmative votes from Ruth Kinoy, Stan Fowler, Anthony Robinson, Catherine Hammaker and Richard Keller; the motion passed. The board recorded on the public record that attachments should be evaluated to favor mortar-joint mounting where structurally feasible, and that neighborhood support (the Benton Park Neighborhood Association letter) was entered into the record.
The variance allows the awning to be installed as approved with the CRO conditions; the board did not require the awning to be temporary but noted it should be removable without permanent building damage.
