Historic District Commission Regular Meeting

Minutes HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Special meeting 6:30 p.m. July 16, 2025 Conference Room of Town Hall Annex, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Vice Chair Hannah Peele and members G. Miller, Sara Riek and Bill Warren Absent: Chair Will Senner and member Daniel Widis Staff: Planner Joseph Hoffheimer and Town Attorney Alan (Al) Andrews 1. Call to order, roll call, and confirmation of quorum Vice Chair Hannah Peele called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. She called the roll and confirmed the presence of a quorum. 2. Commission’s mission statement Peele read the statement. 3. Agenda changes There were no changes to the agenda. 4. Minutes review and approval Minutes from regular meeting on June 4, 2025. Motion: Member G. Miller moved to approve the minutes from the regular meeting on June 4, 2025, as submitted. Member Bill Warren seconded. Vote: 4-0. Planner Joseph Hoffheimer said the written decisions from the June regular meeting had been approved via email and signed by Chair Will Senner. 5. New business A. Certificate of Appropriateness Application: 320 B W. Orange St. New construction house on the rear parcel (PIN 9864882685). Alex Sayre was sworn in to speak on behalf of the application. Hoffheimer was sworn in. Peele opened the public hearing and asked whether there were any conflicts of interest or bias among the commissioners. None were disclosed. Hoffheimer introduced the application by presenting the staff report. He noted that the inventory information, application materials, and applicable design standards would be entered into the record as evidence. He provided the staff comments: 101 E. Orange St., PO Box 429, Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-732-1270 | www.hillsboroughnc.gov | @HillsboroughGov HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES | 1 of 4  HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES | 2 of 4 ● This application was scheduled to be heard at the June regular meeting. Due to a town error with the mailed notices, the application could not be heard in June. The applicant has since requested this special meeting. ● The parcel in question (PIN 9864882685) was recently subdivided from the front parcel and now has an address of 320 B W. Orange St. in Orange County GIS. ● Prior to the June regular meeting, the applicant submitted additional information in response to staff feedback. Staff still have the following comments about the application materials: ○ The electronic version of the front elevation is difficult to read, and staff advised the applicant to submit a higher-resolution version. ○ The side elevations were split from a combined elevation into two separate elevations, but the fenestration plans for the west elevation and open area on the east elevation still need to be clarified. ● Windows, light fixtures, and any other unspecified materials will need to be confirmed prior to construction. ● The plants in the landscaping plan do not require Historic District Commission approval. ● Staff are not aware of any similarly sited houses of this style in the historic district. Hoffheimer added that the parcel is a flag lot and would use a private driveway through the front parcel. He said the final staff comment about the siting was in relation to the building facing the street and having another building sited in front of it. Sayre introduced the application by saying the 2800 square-foot home would be set back 160 feet from West Orange Street, with access via a shared driveway. He explained that he tried to follow the design standards and keep with the character of Hillsborough. The commissioners reviewed the plot plan. Sayre said the lot is about 0.5 acres, and the lot in front of it is roughly the same size. He said the 40-inch oak tree is the only tree over 24 inches on the lot, and that tree protection fencing will be installed around it. He said the owners had already installed tree protection. He added that no greenery of significance would be removed from the front of the lot, and nothing on the other lot would be touched. The commissioners discussed the unusual nature of the lot and the lack of other flag lots in the district to compare it to. They noted the house will be facing the street and will be sited well back from the street. Sayre said the front of the house is about 70 feet from the front lot line, and then there is an additional half-acre from the lot line to the street. He said they had intentionally sited it as far back as possible to set the house back from the street and preserve the large oak tree. It was mentioned that the house is sited to the side of the house in front of it, so the line of houses along the street is preserved and one house does not overlap another visually. It was mentioned that the shape of the lot falls within a gray area with regards to the standards because they do not address this specific type of situation. It was observed that the house will be relatively difficult to see from the street and doesn’t seem to change the streetscape much. The commissioners reviewed the front elevation. Sayre noted that other examples of the wrap-around porch on three sides can be found in the district.  HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES | 3 of 4 Sayre said the windows will be white Marvin double-hung with simulated divided lites. He added that the house will also be white. The commissioners noted that these characteristics are similar to some houses in the district. The commissioners discussed the placement of the garage. It was observed that the garage will be facing the street, whereas other garages on houses of this style are hidden around the side or on the back of the house. Sayre explained that the applicants initially wanted to place the garage on the side of the house, but that it would require a bigger driveway area to turn in, and the driveway was getting too close to the roots of the tree, so they decided to put the garage on the front instead. It was also noted that there are examples of garage doors that face the street on new construction in the district, but that it would seem out of place on a house of a different style. The commissioners agreed the siting of the garage did not appear to be incongruent. The commissioners reviewed the rear, north elevation. The commissioners reviewed the west elevation. Sayre said a two-over-two window and a single door similar to the one on the north elevation will be installed along the west elevation. Sayre said the fenestration would be of a consistent style. It was agreed that a condition would be added to the approval that widows and doors must be reviewed by staff. Sayre said the roofing would be shingle of a weathered wood color. It was observed that the application indicates a metal roof in some places, but Sayre confirmed it will be all shingle. It was agreed that a condition would be added that the roof will be consistent with the design standards. The commissioners reviewed the east elevation. Sayre clarified that the blank space on the elevation was a remnant of a previous version of the design that had the garage in front, and that the space would have lap siding. He added that the bottom line on the elevation was also a remnant of the previous version, and that the brick foundation would continue in that spot. Sayre said the window material would be the Marvin Essential series and would be fiberglass. He said he would send the cut sheet for the windows to Hoffheimer. Sayre said the siding would be Nichiha or Hardie lap siding, ⅜-inch. Peele summarized the commissioners’ discussion: The commissioners found that the application is in keeping with the New Construction of Primary Residential Buildings design standards 1–11. The building faces the main road. Commissioners looked at the street landscape and determined that it resembles close neighbors. The garage on the front of the house is not incongruent given the style of the house. The tree will be protected during construction. The house is set back from the street, which will minimize the difference in height between the house in question and the house in front of it. Peele summarized the conditions that had been discussed. Peele closed the public hearing. Motion: Member Sara Riek moved to find as fact that the 320 B W. Orange St. application is in keeping with the overall character of the Historic District and complies with all relevant standards of evaluation based on the commission’s discussion of the application and the standards of evaluation in Section 3.12.3 of the Unified Development Ordinance because  HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION MINUTES | 4 of 4 the plans are consistent with the Historic District Design Standards: New Construction of Primary Residential Buildings. Warren seconded. Vote: 4-0. Motion: Miller moved to approve the application with conditions. Riek seconded. Vote: 4-0. Conditions: ● The amount and placement of windows and doors on the west elevation will be approved by staff as testified by the applicant during the review of the application. ● Windows will be approved by staff per the design standards compatibility matrix. 6. Adjournment Senner adjourned the meeting at 7:09 p.m. without a vote. Respectfully submitted, Joseph Hoffheimer Planner Staff support to the Historic District Commission Approved: August 6, 2025