Public Comment Item 5A - 936 Mapleton Ave - Kathryn Barth
1200 Pearl Street, Suite 70 I Boulder, CO 80302
April 1, 2018
Dear Landmarks Board,
At the December 6, 2017 Landmarks Board meeting Historic Boulder Inc. supported the Preservation Staff’s
recommendation that the application for a Landmark Alteration Certificate to construct a large flat-roofed addition on the
rear of 936 Mapleton be denied. The Staff found that the project was inconsistent with the Mapleton Hill Guidelines and
the General Design Guidelines. Staff recommended that the project be denied. The applicant withdrew the application.
HB agreed with Staff’s recommendation denial then. Although the project has been resubmitted, Historic Boulder feels
that the new proposal is very much the same as the December submittal. The significant issues that warranted the Staff’s
recommendation to deny the application persist. The project’s size has only been decreased by 40 square feet, and the
form, scale and massing have not changed. Thus the major objections to the project remain, including:
1. The addition as submitted is not reversible. The entire existing rear addition, a significant character defining
feature of this building, with its gambrel roof, dormer and porch as well as the entire historic rear wall of the
building at the first and second floors are being demolished. This will greatly impact the historic character of the
building.
2. The flat roofed addition bears no relationship to the proportions, massing, scale and design of the historic house.
It is not sympathetic or compatible, and in fact will detract from the historic forms and character of this important
building.
3. The flat roofed addition will have an adverse impact on the historic building, because it is not subservient to it; it
contrasts too much with the historic forms and draws too much attention to itself.
4. The proposed alterations to this significant intact 1894 building, located on one of the most important blocks in
the Mapleton Hill Historic District, will have a detrimental impact on the historic character of Mapleton Avenue
and the Historic District.
5. Not only is the proposed addition visible from Mapleton Avenue, it is also very visible all along the entire eastern
edge of the lot which is designated by a City of Boulder sign as an alley, thus a very open and busy public right of
way.
Historic Boulder urges the Landmarks Board to deny this application. Historic Boulder also requests the Landmarks
Board not to permit this project to return to the Design Review Committee. We feel that it is unlikely that the significant
issues of incompatibility and non-compliance will be able to be resolved at
the Design Review Committee, thus setting up a very difficult/impossible situation for DRC members and Staff. Also, we
are aware that once a proposal is at the Design Review Committee the opportunity for any public input or even the City
Council to call up this project will be lost.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Barth
Kathryn Howes Barth, AIA
Historic Boulder Preservation Committee Chair