Seacliff project approved in part; HDC defers windows and doors to next meeting after code concerns

The Historic District Commission heard a detailed restoration and alteration proposal for Seacliff (562 Bellevue Avenue) from Carbon View Limited LLC, represented by Peter Regan (speaker 2) and architect Pearson Booher (speaker 13). The applicants described in-kind slate roof replacement, new red-copper chimney caps, custom louvers, a cast-bronze safety railing at a bay window, and the construction of a screened tennis court that the team said would be carefully bermed and screened from Bellevue. Booher summarized the tennis-court approach: "The Tennis Fort as proposed would be a light tennis sport..." and emphasized screening and minimized visual impact.

The presentation also documented hazardous-materials testing: "All the perimeter seals have asbestos within them, and all of the painted finishes are lead based," the project team reported, noting abatement would be required for restoration work. Commissioners split the application after extensive discussion about windows: many of the building's windows date to the 1950s, 1980s and 1990s; staff and commissioners told the applicants they must coordinate with the building inspector on impact-resistant glazing requirements. The commission voted to bifurcate the application: it approved chimney cap replacement, louvers, the railing, demolition of the 1990s bay and the tennis court concept, but continued the windows and doors for a future meeting (Sept. 14) to allow the applicant to resolve code/impact-window issues with the building official and return with a consolidated approach.