The Wrightsville Beach Historic Landmark Commission voted to allow storm windows to be installed over the deteriorating windows of the historically designated property located at 121 Live Oak Drive.
The Jan. 29 decision came after a month of deliberation and research to determine a solution that would be affordable to the homeowners but preserve the historical character of the unique windows.
Property owners Bill Sisson and Joy Miller initially applied Jan. 5 to install new windows framed with vinyl rather than wood. The price of rebuilding the windows out of wood, they argued, would be astronomical.
Commission members were reluctant to approve the vinyl windows, however, because guidelines mandate any modifications to historic properties match the design, color and other visual qualities of the original elements. They decided to reconvene for a final decision when the property owners could provide a sample of the vinyl.
When the commission met again Jan. 29, it was to consider an amended application from Miller and Sisson to install storm windows rather than replace or rebuild the old windows.
While rebuilding the old windows is typically the best solution, town planner Zachary Steffey said, storm windows are more affordable and energy efficient and they still preserve the historic character of the house. The North Carolina State Preservation Office as well as the majority of municipal historic preservation commissions throughout North Carolina recommends the installation of storm windows, he added.
“I think this is a good sort of secondary solution if [rebuilding] is not feasible due to the cost or the extent of the project,” he said during a Jan. 30 phone interview. “The last thing I want to see is brand new windows go in there and void the historic nature of the structure.”
Every historic building possesses specific design features that make it unique, Steffey said, and the windows of the 121 Live Oak Drive are certainly distinctive.
“They matched Babies Hospital,” he said, “and I think they’re…on one of the churches in Wilmington, but there are only three of those style windows with the Spanish Mediterranean revival.”
Because storm windows are removable and barely noticeable, they do not typically require a Certificate for Appropriateness, but ambiguity in town ordinances make a certificate necessary in this case, Steffey said. In fact, the situation brought to light a lack of specificity in town ordinances relating to historic preservation, which Steffey said had to be addressed so the commission would not have to make any judgment calls and owners of historic properties would know what was expected of them.
“That’s one thing next year we’re going to work on to make sure from the beginning folks are aware of what they’re able to do to upkeep their houses so there’s no surprises further down the road,” he said. “If you look at the city of Wilmington…their guidelines are extensive, 120 pages of documents and ours come down to two or three pages.”
Owners of historical properties receive a tax break, Steffey said, to help them pay for preservation and maintenance of the historical features of their house, something he said is important to the town’s landscape.
“We see a lot of new development at Wrightsville Beach so I think anything we can do to preserve the houses that we have designated,” he said, “so future generations can get a glimpse of the past of Wrightsville Beach.”
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