|
STAFF REPORT
<br />CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR A
<br />CERTIFIATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
<br />Application Number: 2002-0520
<br />Property Location: 514 West LaSalle Avenue, South Bend.
<br />Property Owner: Constance Ray Tooley & Thomas Tooley
<br />Designation: Local Landmark — Eby House
<br />Rating: Outstanding -13
<br />RECOMMENDATION
<br />There are eleven items on the original Application letter. Items 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8, I have already staff
<br />approved. Items 4, 9, 10, and 11 remain.
<br />Staff recommends approval of the request to repair existing gutters, and the installation of new
<br />gutters where rain is causing water damage. If the homeowners can show us an indication that hidden or built-
<br />in gutters were originally on this roof, we should then approve their restoration; otherwise, not. If our
<br />architectural historian, or another certified architect, renders a professional opinion that the "Rainhandler System"
<br />would provide equal or better protection to the house than gutters would, than Staff would recommend approval
<br />of that alternative.
<br />Staff recommends approval of the request to remove the stucco from the foundation, and tuck point
<br />the exposed brick. Staff notes that the foundation was probably covered with stucco to conceal the differences
<br />between the original brick, and that used in additions. However, now that the stucco itself is becoming worn, its
<br />cosmetic benefits are diminished.
<br />Staff recommends approval of the request to install windows in the enclosed back porch or landing
<br />area, provided that all window trim shall match that used throughout the rest of the house, in size, shape,
<br />material, and design.
<br />Regarding the request to install a fence along the East side of the property, please see the May 23 letter
<br />addressed to me regarding the halogen lights installed by the South Bend Housing Authority just East of the
<br />Tooleys' home.
<br />Any assistance that we can render the Tooley family regarding this situation would be appropriate. I went
<br />by their house in the middle of the night to see how bad it was. It is bad! Standing by their home in the middle of
<br />the night, I could read the fine print of a newspaper about as easily as in the daytime. The Housing Authority
<br />presents a blank, windowless wall facing the Tooleys, and an absolutely empty (at night) parking lot. This empty
<br />lot and blind wall are protected by a fence as high as my head, topped by spikes angled out towards the Tooley
<br />residence, looped with mean barbed wire. The dreary and vaguely threatening scene is lit by giant halogen lights,
<br />with about the poorest color rendering and color quality I have ever seen. One rather expects to see armed, jack-
<br />booted solders patrolling with snarling guard -dogs on short leashes.
<br />I cannot even conjecture what the fence, lights, or barbed wire are protecting, or from whom. Even with
<br />the barbed wire removed, the fence and the lights will still radiate a prison atmosphere. An attempt by the
<br />Tooleys to mitigate the situation by building their own fence should not be necessary, and would not be adequate.
<br />The solid stockade style fence existing around the South and West sides of the Tooleys' house was
<br />installed prior to the house becoming a landmark, and is neither appropriate to the house or the site, nor consistent
<br />with Historic Preservation standards. Staff could not recommend installing more of it under any circumstances.
<br />If the Tooleys, in spite of our efforts to help dim or eliminate the offending lights, still desire a
<br />wooden fence along the East side of their property, staff could recommend approval of either of two
<br />solutions: Either (a) the installation of a Queen Anne style (or compatible) fence along the East side, or else
<br />(b) the moving of the existing stockade privacy fence from either the South or the West side of the
<br />property, to the East side, and the installation of an appropriate Queen Anne or similar style fence in place
<br />of the fence that gets moved.
<br />
|