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HEMA No. 2024-03 – The St. Thomas-Hamilton House (1002 N. French Street) July 15, 2024 Page 3 4 3 8 8 enclosure; supported the addition of a new horizontal wood rails to match the existing wood rails; supported new wood spindles to match the existing wood spindles like-for- like; and supported the installation of a new, all-wood, balusters to match the existing wood balusters. However, the FPARC strongly opposed the proposed metal railings, and instead recommended replacement with wood railings. Following the original FPARC letter, the applicant met with members of the FPARC on two separate occasions to discuss the request for wood railings. In addition, the applicant hired the services of a registered architect, William Beaubeaux, NCARB, with BeauArchitecture, Inc., to provide an evaluation on the enclosed porch and railings. Mr. Beaubeaux provided the analysis to the Planning Division on May 25, 2023 (Exhibit 9). Subsequently, in March 2024, the applicant resubmitted plans and the neighborhood review to the Planning Division. The FPARC provided their second round of comments on March 17, 2024 (Exhibit 8). Similar to their original comments, the FPARC opposed the use of metal railing, and instead requested that the applicant use wood, citing that wood would be compatible and would reflect the building's architectural style. Moreover, the FPARC requested that the existing wood staircase railing leading to the rear second- story unit be retained for consistency purposes. To further address the FPARC concerns, the applicant hired Robert Imboden, AIA, with JANUS to provide a historic assessment of the proposed work and to provide further recommendations on how the project could best meet the French Park Design Guidelines (“Guidelines”) and the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitating Historic Properties (“SOIS”). Mr. Imboden holds undergraduate degrees in both Interior Design and Art History, as well as a Master’s Degree of Architecture from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. As a licensed architect, Mr. Imboden meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications (36CFR Part 61) in the areas of Architecture, Historic Architecture, History and Architectural History. The applicant elected to proceed with the requested HEMA after receiving the proposed memorandum, which asserts that the proposed scope of work was within the Guidelines and the SOIS (Exhibit 7). Project Description As part of the overall scope of work, the applicant proposes to retain and restore three (3) existing wood doors and mouldings, one along the south elevation and two along the east elevation, to period-correct style. These doors are identified as doors D1-D3 on Exhibit 6. As part of the work, the existing metal door screens will be removed. As noted in the historic assessment, the conditions of the existing doors have been assessed, and where possible, the existing historic fabric will be retained and repaired. In instances where deterioration is too severe for repair, the new elements will match the existing in material and design. Historic Resources Commission 140 7/15/2024