Monday night’s Historic Zoning Commission meeting brought a bit of the unexpected when a highly anticipated vote on the expansion of the Historic District was postponed to next month’s meeting, along with a vote on a request for certificate of appropriateness by city staff for a stage in the Covered Bridge Park.
Chair Sarah Baker said she decided to delay the vote on the expansion of the historic district because she felt other items on the agenda would make the meeting would run too long.
The hearing on the Covered Bridge Park stage was also rescheduled after Elizabethton resident Tom Cowan raised concerns. He said a requirement that all applications for requests must be filed 21 days before being heard was not met, noting the application for the request was filed July 17 – only four days before the hearing.
After hearing Cowan’s comments, City Attorney Roger Day recommended the matter of the stage should be postponed.
“Based on what Mr. Cowan has provided us with, I think we as a city must follow all of the rules and regulations like anybody else,” he said. “If it has not been filed 21 days prior to the meeting, then it should set off until next month.”
A request for a certificate of appropriateness by Helen Wilson to replace a wrap-around porch was passed by the commission. Wilson, who is a member of the commission, abstained from voting on the matter.
The Commission’s next meeting will be held on Aug. 18 at City Hall.