I need to recuse myself from item five as that is the firm that I work for.

The applicant is proposing a rehabilitation of the building as part of a state and federal historic preservation tax credit project. The exterior alterations are focused on removing non-historic infill materials at the front which is the south elevation storefront bays which you can see here um currently on on the left uh photo here um covered by vertical wood siding and also with the north which is the rear elevation which is currently infilled with um CMU block that's non-historic.

With facade materials, again, the applicant was proposing to have an aggregate solution for paint removal. Um you can see some of the the paint on the elevation here in the in the rear that's covering brick. Um with that staff did condition that a different method be tested and used for that. The aggregate washes that are being proposed are generally not considered um appropriate for paint removal or paint cleaning on on brick especially when we're working with chasa cream brick which can be more um brittle due to the the high levels of silica contents in them.

Uh Vice Chair Masten, forgive me. I am not a commissioner, but I wanted to um just make a quick clarification and an error I noticed in the agenda and in the staff report. There is no historic variance associated with this application as stated um in the agenda in the staff report. It is just the certificate of appropriateness.

The design guidelines for this historic district indicate that vinyl siding is not considered an appropriate substitute material for a house that would have originally had wood siding. This is because it has a very different finish, texture, and appearance from wood.

At purchase of the property, I was unaware of the historical tag. Um which is why I'm here for a retroactive approval and I'm asking that the HBC approve uh items two and three while striking out number one uh to prevent me from having to invest in the replacement of siding two times.

Uh Vice Chair Mass and Commissioner Wallace, no. Economic hardship is not something the HPC considers under their purview up here.

As a property owner, I do think it is a property owner's um, it is part of their their due diligence as a property owner to make sure that they know all of the history of the building um, and what requirements it needs to meet.