Title
HPC11-16, Mill Street Park Condos, Mill St., Land Lot 416
Body
Item Summary:
The applicant Beazer Homes is requesting to remove chimneys that have become a safety factor.
Staff Report:
Background
The Mill Street Park condominium project was initially approved by the Historic Preservation Commission on January 10, 2001. Multiple minor applications were filed in 2001 and 2002 for modifications related to windows, materials and site design.
Proposal
The applicant's proposal is for the removal of the chimneys on all eight buildings located in the development. This proposal is the result of an inspection made by Fairbanks Engineering Company, LLC (FEC) in which FEC determined that the chimneys have tilted toward the inside of the upper units and recommended removal of the chimneys.
Zoning
The property is zoned H-R/H-R (Historic Roswell/Historic Roswell).
North: C-3c/H-R (Highway Commercial/Historic Roswell)
South: C-2/H-R (Neighborhood Commercial/Historic Roswell)
East: C-3c/H-R (Highway Commercial/Historic Roswell)
West: C-3c/C-2/H-R (Highway Commercial/Neighborhood Commercial/Historic Roswell)
Design Guidelines
Chimneys (Historic District Design Guidelines-Mill Village and South Atlanta Street, pg 38)
Chimneys should be maintained and preserved.
Chimneys are an important architectural feature of a house and should be maintained, even if they no longer serve their historic function. Repairs to chimneys should use materials which match the color of the original materials. Careful attention should be given to the type of mortar used for repair as some modern mortars can damage older bricks. Chimneys should not be removed.
The Design Guidelines reference chimneys in relation to rehabilitation for residential structures and focus on the importance of the chimney as an architectural feature which should not be removed.
The brick veneered chimneys on these structures are faux and are now failing because the rafters supporting the veneer are not sufficient. The report provided by FEC provides two recommendations to avoid major re-construction. A major reconstruction would require work on the interior of the unit and would displace the occupants while this work is completed. The applicant requests to proceed with the second of the two recommendations, to remove the brick veneer and the chimney framing entirely by re-configuring the roof with no chimney. The applicant proposes to continue the roof line to the peak of the gable. To best match materials, the applicant proposes to remove four roofing panels from the least visible building and use these for the repairs.
While the chimney is not functional, it does break up the long roof line of the building and the removal of sixteen total chimneys will significantly alter the appearance of the project.
Staff Recommendation
The staff recommends that the chimneys be retained if at all possible.
Materials
Letter of Intent
Report from Fairbanks Engineering Company
Rendering of building with chimney removal
Site Photos
Site Plan
Site Aerial
Presented by:
Cherith Marshall, Planner II