Council sides with property owner, allows painting of downtown brick with specified masonry paint

Hopewell City Council on Feb. 24 approved an appeal by a downtown property owner to paint exterior brick at 206 North 7th Avenue, reversing a denial by the Architectural Review Board (ARB) after a lengthy exchange about preservation standards and masonry maintenance.

The council's motion, made by Vice Mayor Joyner and seconded by a council colleague, directed that the owner be permitted to use paint specifically designated as appropriate for brick; the motion passed on roll call after public hearing and council discussion.

The decision drew sharp contrast between the ARB's preservation rationale and property-owner arguments for consistency and economic revitalization. Philip Hughes, chair of the ARB, told council the board denied the application because the building is more than a century old and painting previously unpainted historic brick risks moisture-related damage and long-term maintenance problems: "We rely on guidance that discourages painting old brick that has not previously been painted; when you paint this old brick, you have moisture related issues," Hughes said.

The applicant (identified in council remarks as Mr. Randese) argued the ARB's standards had been applied inconsistently and pointed to other painted buildings downtown and to City Hall as precedent. He asked council to "reverse the ARB's denial" and approve painting in a Sherwin-Williams Classical White tone he supplied as a sample.

Public commenters were split. Some property owners urged the council to allow owners flexibility and reinvestment in downtown storefronts. Mark Burrows told council, "When I buy a piece of property, I expect to do what I want to do with it," while Ed Hauser argued modern paints and professional painters shift responsibility for durability to contractors.

Councilors focused their questions on two issues: whether the building should be considered a "contributing" historic structure subject to stricter standards and whether modern masonry paints reliably avoid the moisture problems ARB warned about. ARB members responded that their approach reflects training and long-term caution: "If we approve it, we may come back 10 years later and now the brick is damaged," Hughes said.

Vice Mayor Joyner, who moved approval, said he wanted to balance preservation with property reinvestment and therefore conditioned the approval on use of paint specified as appropriate for brick and consistent with materials recommended for masonry care.

The council recorded a roll-call vote after discussion; one councilor registered a recorded "No" while the motion carried. The city clerk recorded the motion as approved at the meeting.

Next steps: the applicant may proceed with the exterior work under the council condition that the paint product be masonry-appropriate; the ARB and staff retained authority to require compliance with any applied conditions and any building-code or permitting requirements.

(Reporting note: quotes and vote tallies come from council proceedings and the public hearing transcript.)