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PRESERVATION SPECIALIST REPORT: <br />STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES: <br />CHAPIN PARK <br />1. THE ENVIRONMENT <br />B. BUILDING SITE, LANDSCAPING & ACCESSORIES <br />This section focuses on individual properties and amenities. Building sites tend to be irregularly shaped, of varying topography <br />and with different setbacks with regard to plots. Alleys are generally behind houses. Landscape accessories like fences are unique <br />to each structure. Chapin Place presents a unique situation within the district. Applications from properties that have property <br />lines on Chapin Place will be considered on a case-by-case basis. <br />Required <br />Fencing, walkways, outbuildings, private yard lights, signs (i.e. house numbers) and benches (visible from the street) as well as <br />trees located in a yard or tree lawn which reflect the property's history and development shall be retained. A tree located in such <br />areas shall only be removed if the removal is required due to storm damage, disease, threatened damage to a structure or for such <br />other reason acceptable to the Historic Preservation Commission. Storm damaged or diseased trees should then be replaced with <br />an approved species at the same or approximate location wherever possible. Fencing visible from the street in front of the <br />structure shall be open (meaning spaces between the pickets) and consistent with the historic character of a structure enclosed. <br />Recommended <br />New site work should be based upon actual knowledge of the past appearance of the property_found in photographs, <br />drawings and newspapers. New site work should also be appropriate to existing surrounding site elements in scale, type <br />and appearance. Front yard areas should remain open. (See above for information regarding fences.) Trees in close proximity to <br />a building may cause structural damage. Owners are encouraged to remove these trees and replace (or replant) them at a more <br />appropriate location as soon as planting season permits and upon approval of a C of A. <br />Prohibited <br />No changes may be made to the appearance of the site by removing trees, fencing, walkways, outbuildings or other elements <br />before evaluating their importance to the property's history and development. Front yard areas shall not be transformed into <br />parking lots nor paved nor black -topped, nor enclosed by solid fences, chain link, nor industrial/commercial style fences. The <br />installation of unsightly large devices, such as television satellite dishes, skylights or solar panels, shall not be permitted in areas <br />where they detract from the architecture of a building, are intrusive to the public view of the building or are highly visible from a <br />public street, or ruled inappropriate after Commission review. Utility poles with high-intensity overhead lights should be <br />installed so that they cannot be seen from a street. The Commission will evaluate all installations as well as any potential <br />exceptions resulting from special circumstances, before granting a C of A. <br />II. EXISTING STRUCTURES <br />B. ROOFS AND ROOFING <br />Roof shapes in the district encompass all the various designs found in residential structures: hipped, gabled, gambrel, flat and <br />combinations of these. Roofs are covered with a variety of materials such as asphalt, asbestos, wood and slate shingles as well as <br />clay tiles. Residences in most cases have wood fascias with gutters and downspouts. The fascias of some vinyl- and aluminum - <br />sided houses are covered with the same materials. <br />Required <br />The existing shape and type of materials of the roof shall be retained. All architectural features, which give the roof its essential <br />character, shall be retained, including dormer windows, cupolas, cornices, brackets, chimneys, cresting and weather vanes. <br />Recommended <br />The original shape and materials of the roof should be restored. Particular effort should be made to retain materials such as slate, <br />tile and other unique materials not commonly found in new construction. Roof covering which is deteriorated beyond repair <br />should be replaced with new material that matches as closely as possible the original in composition, size, shape, color and <br />texture. Gutters and downspouts are often a necessary adjunct in order to prevent deterioration of the structure; they <br />should be maintained whenever possible or replaced with a style comparable and suitable to the architectural period. <br />Prohibited <br />Nothing shall be done to change the essential character of the roof as viewed from a street by adding architectural features or <br />large unsightly fixtures, or by using materials inappropriate to the style of the house. The roof shall not be stripped of <br />architectural features important to its character. <br />Not Recommended <br />Overhanging eaves, soffit, brackets and gables should not be covered or enclosed when adding siding to a building. <br />C. WINDOWS AND DOORS <br />Window and door frames are in most cases wood and vary depending upon the style of the home. Many are double hung <br />windows with wood trim and sills. Brick structures have stone sills and brick lintels. In some cases where aluminum siding has <br />been applied, the window and door trim has been covered. About half of the structures in the district have aluminum storm <br />windows; the other half have wood storms windows. <br />Required <br />Original windows and doors shall be retained including sashes, lintels, sills, shutters, decorative glass, pediments, hoods and <br />hardware. When deteriorated beyond repair, they shall be replaced with units and trim resembling the original. <br />Recommended <br />5 <br />