HPCA 26-00087 Crown Heights Addition

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names may be misheard.

• What: application for an addition to a historic house in Crown Heights (Ward 2), demolition of a detached garage, a new garage, paving, and infilling a side door and removing stairs.
• Where it stands: second review; on 2026-10-16 the commission continued all five items to the December 2 meeting. The applicant was not present.
• Next: staff wants a written report (applicant or structural engineer) justifying demolition.

Staff position

• The extra photos of the garage interior do not meet the guidelines' bar for demolishing a historic structure; the side-door infill and stair removal are also not supported on a historic dwelling.
• Staff has no real issue with the addition itself, but as drawn it cannot be built without moving the garage.
• The revised garage design has a shorter gable, fewer rear windows and a half-brick wainscot.

Commission comments

• A commissioner said the garage looks solid and the demolition seems driven by the addition; another noted the change from a hip to a gable roof and called the addition unresolved and disjointed where it meets the house.
• A neighbor said the setback to the property line causes massive flooding in her backyard and will return in December. The chair warned the voting membership may differ then.

Sources

• 2026-10-16 - Historic Preservation Commission Special Meeting (https://youtube.com/watch?v=jdYeRFKy6rI)

Discussion time

About 9 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Log

• 2026-10-16 - Historic Preservation Commission Special Meeting - Commission continued items 1 through 5 to the December 2 meeting at staff's recommendation; applicant absent.