Architectural Board Chair Resigns in Protest

The chair of Fredericksburg's Architectural Review Board, Marilynn Mendell, has resigned in protest following the demolition of a Caroline Street house which dated to the 1790's.  Earlier today, Mendell submitted a scathing letter of resignation to city officials and regional media outlets blasting state and local policies which she says leave historic buildings open for demolition without adequate public review.

"I officially resign as the chair of the [Architectural] Review Board for the City of Fredericksburg after being told on Monday that the historically significant house at 1407 Caroline Street was torn down because one city official made the call on a Friday and over the weekend it disappeared – forever," Wrote Mendell before asking readers "Is historic preservation dying here?" Her full letter can be seen in a PDF attached to this article. Mendell had been with the ARB for about 2.5 years.

According to records on file with the Fredericksburg Department of Building and Development Services, a demolition permit for the structure was issued on June 10 to landowner John Janney of Stafford County. By June 11, demolition had commenced. The demolition permit was not subject to ARB approval because the structure had been deemed unsafe by Fredericksburg Building Maintenance Code Official John Walsh, according to Erik Nelson, senior planner with the city Planning and Community Development Office.

Mendell was critical of state laws which allow for demolition permits to bypass historic review boards if a structure is deemed unsafe.

"They can go around us by finding something in the code which shows that the building is unsound," said Mendell in an interview earlier today. "There are a number of things that can be done to prevent a building of that stature from begin removed.

"The building, in my opinion, met the definition of an unsafe structure," said Walsh in an interview. "Once that happens, according to the statewide unified building code, an owner is allowed to do three things; repair it completely, do an exterior renovation, or they can demolish - what the code calls raze-and-remove - the structure."

"We have no control over which option they choose," continued Walsh. 

Years ago, the building was damaged in a windstorm when one of the chimneys fell into the roof. More recently, the rear of the building had been damaged by a fire on November 9, 2010. Even more recently, in March, but did little additional damage. 

An inspection report issued on Feb. 9, 2011, declared the building unfit for human habitation after finding damage from the fire and deformities in the building's stone foundation. The inspection report is included in this article as a PDF.