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Board approves siding replacement at 1295 Westwood Avenue with consistency condition
Summary
The City of Grandview Heights Board of Zoning Appeals approved BZA Case 1220261295 to replace deteriorated stone and stucco on the front façade of 1295 Westwood Avenue with LP SmartSide siding, but required that exterior materials/colors be consistent across the house.
The City of Grandview Heights Board of Zoning Appeals on July 8 approved an aesthetic-review application to replace damaged stone and stucco on the front façade of 1295 Westwood Avenue with LP SmartSide (engineered) siding, imposing a condition that the front facade and sides be matching or consistent in materials and color.
The proposal, submitted by contractor Josh Matzinger of CJE Restoration on behalf of homeowners Scott and Susan Miller, would remove the existing stone veneer and stucco on the front elevation and install LP SmartSide shiplap siding, repaint the garage and trim, and alter a small adjacent concrete pad and walkway. Matzinger told the board the work is intended to address ongoing deterioration of the stone veneer and to maintain a unified appearance at the front entry.
City planning staff presented photographs and context for the R-S-2 residential property and urged disapproval. A staff report said the project replaces natural materials with an engineered product and does not preserve any original natural materials on the front of the house, which the staff identified as a factor under Grandview Heights planning and zoning code section 11 55.07 aesthetic-review criteria. "The proposal of the front facade is entirely replacing natural materials with this engineered product, and there is no preservation of any natural materials on the front of the home," staff said, recommending the board encourage retention of some original features if possible.
Homeowner Susie Miller told the board she and her husband have owned the house about 11 years and described repeated problems with the stone veneer, including visible deterioration and likely water damage. "Once you get up close, as you can see here, it's awful. There's probably water damage behind it," she said, explaining previous contractors either declined to work on stucco or quoted expensive replacement that would not match the original stone.
Board members questioned whether the stone and stucco are original to the mid-1950s house and discussed whether the design-guidelines analysis should focus on the home's original era or on the surrounding block. Staff said the guidelines direct reviewers to consider the architectural era and significant original materials, while acknowledging Grandview Heights contains an eclectic mix of historic and newer homes.
A board member asked whether the siding would be applied over existing stucco or after removal; the applicant said the siding installation would involve removing stucco where necessary and applying the engineered siding to the front elevation while leaving the sides and rear primarily as stucco painted to match. That approach and the appearance trade-offs were discussed at several points.
Vice Chair Kamau moved to approve the application with a condition that the front facade and sides be matching or consistent in color; another board member seconded the motion. After confirming the condition language, the board voted and the presiding officer declared Case 1220261295 approved with the stated condition. The transcript records the case as approved; explicit roll-call tallies were not recorded in full in the transcript.
