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Gretchen Erickson and Edward H. Hinchcliffe, Ph.D. 1623 E. Wayne St. South Bend, IN 46615 (219) 288 — 8113 Home (219) 631 -8033 Office /Laboratory Hinchcliffe.3(und.edu vretchenerickson (aearthlink.net Historic Preservation Committee of South Bend and St. Joseph County 227 W. Jefferson Blvd. South Bend, Indiana 46601 (219) 235 -9554 Dear Committee Members, April 5, 2002 I am writing to you to respectfully request a Certificate of Appropriateness, to allow us to build a 5- foot high cedar picket fence on our property located at 1623 E. Wayne St. in South Bend. In explaining this request, there are several points I would like to make: a. Approval of our request will not be injurious to the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community. This request is to build a fence that will enclose the backyard and part of the side yard (facing east onto Esther Ave.) of our primary residence. The purpose of enclosing our yard is to prevent our —19 month -old twins from being able to wander onto Esther St. This fence will allow them to play safely in our yard, under the supervision of only one adult. Currently, there must be two adults present to shepherd the two toddlers, who are getting quite fast at running. As we cannot always have two adults present (Edward/Daddy is an Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Notre Dame, where his teaching and cancer research program keep him plenty busy), the lack of a fence severely restricts the opportunities for the twins to play outside. Gretchen/Mommy is at home with the twins all day long, and it is of great benefit (mental and physical) for her to let the children play outdoors without fear of them going near the street. The fence will be of picket style, with three inch spacing between the pickets. This will allow drivers and pedestrians the ability to "see- through" the fence. Photographs and a scale diagram of the property are included in the application. b. Approval of our request will not adversely affect the use and value of the area adjacent to the property in any substantial manner. The fence in question will be hand - assembled by Mr. Jeff Martin - a reputable South Bend craftsman — out of virgin red cedar pickets. These will have 5' high pickets with French Gothic board tops (see photograph below). Pickets will be 3" wide, and have 3" spacing between each board. The picket will be mounted to 2" x 4" red cedar cross rails, supported by 4" x 4" red cedar posts spaced eight feet apart. This material will closely match that used in the construction of the existing fence surrounding the yard of our neighbors to the west (see photograph).