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Historic district council approves addition at 18 North 4th Street with preservation conditions
Summary
The Fernandina Beach Historic District Council approved a rear addition and exterior repairs at 18 North 4th Street, a 1928 contributing structure, requiring preservation‑minded conditions including preserving or sympathetically wrapping original porch columns.
The Fernandina Beach Historic District Council voted to approve a certificate of approval for work at 18 North 4th Street, allowing a rear primary‑suite addition and exterior repairs while requiring conditions intended to preserve historic character.
Ms. Sadler, the planning staff presenter, told the board the property is a contributing structure built in 1928 and recommended approval because the proposal complies with the Land Development Code, the comprehensive plan, the downtown historic design guidelines and the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for rehabilitation. "Staff recommends approval of HDC2026‑0002 based on compliance with the LDC, the comprehensive plan, the downtown district design guidelines, and the secretary of interior standards for rehabilitation," she said.
Architect James Pizzetta described the project as a primarily rear addition with preservation work on the existing fabric. "We're gonna take off those existing railings ... We'll keep the trim, the door trim, and we're gonna move a window from the side into that position ... we'll be using a historic window in that place," Pizzetta said, noting windows would be repaired where possible and that the new addition would read as distinct from the original structure.
Board discussion focused on preserving defining elements of the house, especially the chamfered porch columns. Several members pressed to retain original columns if structurally sound; the architect offered a compromise to wrap the existing columns with wood trim that preserves the chamfered appearance. One member urged preservation: "I would hope that we could figure out a way to keep the existing columns and keep the chamfer." The board accepted a condition that columns be preserved where feasible and otherwise wrapped with a chamfered wood detail so the historic character remains visible.
A motion to approve HDC2026‑0002 with the stated conditions passed on roll call.
Next steps: building permits and compliance with the conditions will be tracked by staff; any exterior work visible from the public right‑of‑way will be inspected for consistency with the approved drawings and the Secretary of the Interior standards.
