Rockwall City historic panel approves siding replacement at 703 North Goliad Street

The Rockwall City Historic Preservation Board on Jan. 15 approved a certificate of appropriateness allowing replacement siding on a contributing historic property at 703 North Goliad Street.

At a public hearing on agenda item H2026-001, staff described the house as a 1915 minimal-traditional structure within Plan Development District 50 and said the district standard asks that materials and decorative elements be compatible with neighboring historic buildings. Staff said notices were mailed to 39 nearby property owners and one reply in favor was received.

The applicant, Billy Campo of Quint Pro Siding Windows, told the board his crew removed existing vinyl (and the underlying wood) before realizing the house was designated contributing. "First, apologies — we didn't know that it was historic," Campo said, and described lead remediation, repair of some rotted boards, added insulation and reinstallation of the original shutters. Campo said the replacement is an LP smart 8-inch lap engineered wood siding painted to match the original color.

Board members questioned whether a smaller reveal was available; Campo said a 6-inch product exists but is less common and harder to source and that the 8-inch lap matches neighboring properties. Several members said the new siding "looks better than the vinyl" and that the work fits "within the scope of the design of the times," while one member expressed concern about work being done before review in some cases.

Chair moved to approve the certificate of appropriateness "as requested," a second was recorded, and the Chair announced, "Motion passes." The transcript does not record a clear roll-call tally or the full breakdown of votes by name.

The Chair asked the historic preservation officer for any updates; the officer said there were none at this time. With no further business, the board adjourned.