HomeMy WebLinkAboutHEPB Fact Sheet 09-05-06HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD
FACT SHEET
NAME Morningside Historic District
ADDRESS 714 NE 59th Street
PROJECT DESCRIPTION Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the installation of
hedges not in compliance with an approved Certificate of
Appropriateness.
ANALYSIS
RECOMMENDATION
The applicant is proposing to retain his hedges that are in excess of eight
(8) feet along the property lines. The applicant originally appeared before
the Board in November of 2000 for approval for the installation of a
hedge and in March of 2002 for an amendment to a Certificate of
Appropriateness, after -the -fact, to increase the height of a hedge from
five feet to eight feet (copies of the fact sheets are enclosed).
The residence is located on the southwest corner of NE 59th Street and
North Bayshore Drive, and features a historic 3-1/2' wall that encloses a
portion of the north and east side yards. The Board previously approved
the installation of the hedge as long as it would be maintained at 5' in
height. Because the hedge has been allowed to grow to more than eight
feet in height, the secondary facades of this historic residence are not
visible from the public right-of-way.
As the Board is aware, the guidelines for fences, walls, and hedges allow
exceptions if the proposal is historically appropriate or if unique
circumstances are present. The Board has previously approved similar
applications to enclose vacant lots adjacent to historic properties but it
has always and consistently restricted the height of fences, walls, and
hedges at five feet and no higher. The subject property, in fact, has often
been used as a precedent for approving such enclosures. The addition
of a 5' hedge behind this historic wall is consistent with the guidelines and
with the Board's previous decisions.
Staff finds that the height of these hedges is excessive, inappropriate to
the Morningside Historic District, and inappropriate to the City of Miami in
general. There is no compelling reason to retain hedges that are overly
high. Privacy can be achieved without the use of towering hedges but
with hedges that are much more within reason. It is also important for the
Board to keep in mind that the approval of these massive hedges will set
a precedent for designated properties. If the Board chooses to ignore the
hard-fought rules and approve this application, it must then approve the
installation of hedges that will obscure the view of secondary facades
which is not in keeping with standard preservation practice.
The Preservation Officer recommends that the application for a
Certificate of Appropriateness be denied because the work is inconsistent
with the historic and architectural character of the district in terms of size,
scale, design and materials and does not comply with the Secretary of
the Interior's "Standards for Rehabilitation."
Item #15
September 5, 2006