Application Review To Demolish 2 Herndon Buildings Goes On Without Board Chair

HERNDON, VA — Wednesday night's work session of the Herndon Historic District Review Board started in an unexpected way.

Before the board even began to consider the first item on its agenda, Chairwoman Leslie P. Blaker-Glass told those assembled in the second floor meeting room at the municipal center that she had to make a personal comment.

"As a resident, my husband Paul and I of almost 40 years of the Historic Downtown Preservation area, it frankly saddens me greatly that I'm about to make the statement that I am," she said. "Second, we are a team with the HDRB. I feel with our diversity, our discussions, our working relationship and working well together is what makes us strong."

After apologizing to the other board members, Blaker-Glass read the following statement:

"Transaction under consideration: Application for demolition HDRB #23-001, to consider an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of two contributing structures, a two-story house and a single-story accessory structure at 725 Elden Street Herndon, Virginia, located west of the intersection of Elden Street and Lynn Street. ...

"I don't believe I have a personal interest in this transaction, pursuit to § 2.2-3115(F) of the Virginia Code, I do however elect to otherwise disqualify and recuse myself from this case involving the demolition of 725 Elden Street.

"A representative for the applicant has brought forward concern about my ability to be impartial due to comments I made to some town residents.

"I feel the need to defend my character and could further debate my ability to be neutral and evaluate this case based on the standards in the town code and the historic district guidelines after 10 years of service on the board. Even though I believe I could participate in this transaction fairly, objectively and in the public interest, I will instead take the high road as I wish to avoid any appearance of bias or impropriety and I will recuse and disqualify myself from the work session and the public hearing and not vote on this application."

After handing off the administration of the meeting to Vice Chair Eric Boll, Blaker-Glass exited the meeting room and left the board members to begin their discussion of the application.

Adams Herndon Holdings LLC originally filed its application with the town in January 2020 for a certificate of appropriateness to demolish the two buildings, which had been built by Charles Reed around 1888.

Related: Plan To Demolish 135-Year-Old Buildings In Herndon Faces Board Review

Wednesday night's meeting was an opportunity for HDRB members to listen to the staff report, hear from the applicant, and ask questions before the April 19 public hearing.

Tamsin Himes, the town's lead planner for development and design, presented the staff report and outlined the criteria board members were required to follow to approve or deny the application.

Town staff disagreed with the applicant's assertion that exterior changes that had been made over the years, such as removing the front porch or replacing the roof with asphalt shingles, had eliminated the historical nature of the structures. In addition, the loss of the two buildings would have a significant impact on the historic district due to their prominent location in the center of the preservation district.

"Staff believes that there is no substantial argument for the 725 Historic Structures to be considered non-contributing to the historic district," Himes said

The staff report also questioned the applicant's assertion that the buildings were not structurally sound for either residential or commercial use.

The engineering report submitted by the applicant failed to provide data or analysis for solutions on how to improve and strengthen the structure to accommodate heavier loads, according to Himes. This was something that could be accomplished through various means.

"The report fails to meet the requirements of both the zoning ordinance and the historic district overlay guidelines, which required the applicant to document the condition of the building to justify its removal and identify any existing hazards and that report should detail the onset conditions that support this demolition," Himes said.

For these and other reasons outlined in the staff report, town staff recommended that HDRB deny the application.

Attorney Michael O'Reilly spoke on behalf of the applicant, who also owns and operates the adjacent Adams-Green Funeral Home.

"The funeral home is the oldest continuing business in the Town of Herndon, having been established in 1885," he said. "It's got cramped quarters. Anyone who has been to a funeral there has seen how difficult it is to navigate your way through."

The owner wants to demolish the two buildings, so that it can expand its business space to meet the current needs of the funeral home.

"In order for this business to survive, it needs to have this space," O'Reilly said.

Board members asked the attorney why the site plan submitted with the application did not include any schematics or drawings to describe what would replace the two buildings.

"That's because it costs a heck of a lot of money to have a plan developed to meet the needs of what they have," he said. "They had enough trouble getting to where we are today. When they had to prepare a site plan and submit it and go through that approval process just to say that it's just going to be grass and dirt."

O'Reilly pointed out that the there was nothing in the zoning ordinance that required the applicant to include a detailed site plan for future use.

"It will be a requirement if they want to build something for that plan to come back before this board in order to be approved," he said. "But, in order to get a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition of the building, it's not a requirement that anything be shown what may happen to the property in the future."