Town Council Votes Unanimously in Favor of Upholding BAR Decision Denying Proposed Asphalt-Shingle Roofing on House in Historic District

On Monday, October 23, at 7 p.m. in the Warren County Government Center, the Front Royal Town Council met to discuss and vote on several issues that have been developing in past work sessions.

Left to right, Simon, Francesca, Louisa, and Matthew Lloyd lead the gathering in the pledge of allegiance. Royal Examiner Photos Brenden McHugh

After coming out of a closed session in which the council deliberated upon EDA litigation as well as HEPTAD litigation, they conducted in regular meetings a public hearing and discussion of a case in which many feel that the integrity of the Front Royal Historic District is at stake. Following that public hearing council voted unanimously to uphold the decision by the Board of Architectural Review (BAR), which states that it is inappropriate for the applicant on the project at 207 Cloud Street, in Front Royal’s Historic District, to replace a metal roof with asphalt shingling.

The language of the summary read by Clerk of Council Tina Presley is as follows: “On April 27, 2023, staff issued a stop-work order for 207 Cloud Street. The metal roof and chimney had been removed without obtaining the appropriate permissions from the town and county. The property owner was informed of the violations and instructed to apply for a permit. At this time, the removal of the existing metal roof was completed, and the installation of plywood decking had started.”

On June 20, 2023, property owner Jim Weber submitted a Certificate of Appropriateness to carry on with his project as he initially planned. On August 8, 2023, the BAR denied the application. Through applicant Dawn Weber, a request to delay the appeal process as far out as November was presented to the council in early October; however, the council determined to expedite the process and bring it to a vote on October 23. This followed a previous request in late August to delay the appeal process into the month of October.

The council heard from Ellen Aders, who owns real estate in the Historic District, asking that the council deny the applicant’s appeal. “I do think there are times when exceptions can and should be made,” she said, adding however that, “Based on the owner’s admission that his appeal is not related to whether or not he can afford the roof, but rather his opinion regarding the relevance of the Historic District guidelines, I don’t believe this is one of those times. The BAR is making really great strides in preserving what’s left of Front Royal’s historic architecture, and I hope you guys will support the work that they’re doing and deny this appeal.”

Downtown businesswoman Ellen Aders addresses the council in favor of upholding the BAR’s decision to preserve the town’s Historic District building integrity. Below, David Silek took the opposite perspective, citing past council actions allowing similar exceptions to the one before them. Aders got the unanimous decision after it was noted that past mistakes don’t justify a continuation of those mistakes into the future.

The council then heard from David Silek, a lawyer in Front Royal, who urged the council to accept the applicant’s appeal. He pointed out that changes of this nature on a contributing structure that is even more pivotal to the Historic District were approved by the council in the past, and therefore, Weber’s project should be given equal consideration. “If you allow a more substantial, contributing structure within the Historical District to go to shingles, it necessarily follows that other similarly situated people or property owners should also be allowed to do the same for cost or whatever reason,” Silek told the council.

After Silek completed the public hearing comments, Councilwoman Melissa DeDomenico-Payne made a motion to uphold the BAR’s decision that was seconded by Councilman Duane “Skip” Rogers. Several councilmen then shared their perspectives.

Bruce Rappaport highlighted the fact that preserving historical integrity is a state-wide concern and that those purchasing homes in such districts should be aware of the standards pertaining to their real estate. Rogers, who lives in the Historic District himself, admitted that the council has not always had a good track record of handling these architectural decisions appropriately and then proceeded to underline how important it is to make decisions in favor of historical preservation going forward. Amber Morris echoed Rogers’ concern and said that even though an aerial view reveals that houses surrounding 207 Cloud Street have asphalt shingling, past mistakes do not justify future mistakes.

The council then voted unanimously to uphold the BAR’s decision. They considered and voted upon several other issues, including the vacation of the town’s right-of-way in a portion of North Royal Avenue and an alley adjacent to it, on which the council voted unanimously in favor of vacation and then adjourned at 9 p.m.