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r , <br /> Though staff and the Commission have found additions to be appropriate to certain historic landmarks, <br /> staff finds this proposal inappropriate to the historic character of this farmhouse. <br /> It should be remembered that the Landmark Guidelines state "the Commission [HPC] has the authority to <br /> determine the architectural merits ... of any proposed treatment, renovation, or addition to a historic <br /> landmark (Page 3)." Upon consulting the local landmark preservation standards, staff has found the <br /> addition is inappropriate for the following reasons: <br /> A.) According to the local landmark standards, "a modification which involves the removal of a <br /> part of the landmark should be considered under demolition (page 3 section C.);" and <br /> "Historic landmarks shall not be demolished (page 4 section D)." The proposed addition plan <br /> calls for the demolition of the summer kitchen addition and the enclosed porch addition. <br /> These additions are contributing elements to the house and singular examples of a particular <br /> period in the home's evolution. [Refer to staff comments above.] <br /> B.) Also, the proposed addition design does not employ i.) the proportions of the existing building, <br /> ii.) the ratio of wall space to window opening, and iii.) the dimensions of the window opening <br /> used for the original building or either of the contributing additions. Instead, the proposal <br /> seeks dual double hung windows, square single light windows where elongated double hung <br /> windows currently allow much light to enter the house, and casement windows. The addition <br /> would have much more wall space without windows compared to the existing and original <br /> design of the house (See page 3 section C). <br /> C.) The addition design does not reference the existing structure's proportions, wall to window <br /> opening ratio, and historic character defining features (page 3 section C; page 4 section 2) <br /> D.) If a future owner were to remove the addition, restoration of the existing configuration, and <br /> exterior walls and window openings would be impossible. <br /> On a more practical note, though the present configuration of the rear portion of the house does present <br /> awkward rooflines and massings, it does provide as much ventilation and sunlight as possible to the <br /> rooms of the house. <br /> For the reasons above, staff recommends denial of this application: the demolition of the summer <br /> kitchen and enclosed porch addition, the removal of contributing window openings, and the <br /> construction of the proposed addition. <br />