Historic preservation board moves to approve patio cover for accessory structure at Russ Street property

The Historic Preservation Board considered a request (H2026-008) to expand an existing accessory structure on a property listed on the meeting agenda as 206 Russ Street and moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project.

Staff told the board the single-family home on the parcel is classified as a "medium contributing" resource in the 2017 survey and that the accessory structure itself is listed as non-contributing. According to staff, the applicant seeks approval to add a 17-by-19-foot patio cover attached to the existing accessory structure, which staff described as about 540 square feet; staff also said 31 notices were mailed to property owners within 200 feet. "According to the applicant's request, an AI generated photo [was] shown on the slide," staff said, and staff described the proposed addition as having limited visibility from adjacent properties. The agenda listed the parcel as Block 42 of the BF Boydston Addition in the Old Town Rockwall Historic District. The staff slide referenced a street label of "602 East Rusk," and the transcript records both addresses; the article notes the discrepancy rather than substituting one for the other.

A presenter who identified himself to the board as Eric Whimbey answered questions about the project, saying the existing shed would be extended rather than raised and that the addition would be open on three sides. "We thought he had already built it, and Bethany and I had to had to call mister Wimpy and and ask him, hey, you you didn't build this already, did you?" Whimbey said during his remarks. During board discussion, a member asked for a motion; the board made and seconded a motion to approve the certificate of appropriateness for the addition as described, and the board proceeded to advance the item. The transcript does not record a clear numeric vote tally for this motion in the record of this item.