Heritage Commission Approves Requests For Deck, Back Fence

By MARK EVANS

mevans@stegenherald.com

It took less than 12 minutes for the Ste. Genevieve Heritage Commission to approve a pair of requests for certificates of appropriateness at its Dec. 20 meeting.

Steve Wallen requested permission to construct a 179-square foot deck on the rear of the structure at 118 N. Fifth Street. He was unable to attend, so David Bova, community development administrator, described the request and answered some questions from the commission.

The deck would be made of treated lumber. 

Bova noted that some previous work has been approved for the house.

“If you’ve driven by it and had driven by it a year ago, you could see a stark improvement,” he said.

Chair Casey Benner remarked that she can see the property from her back yard.

“I’ve been watching the roof go on,” she said. “I was amazed at how fast the roof went on.”

“I don’t really have an issue,” board member Mark Buchheit said. “It’s off the back. They’re doing it right.”

Frank Myers, the longest-tenured commission member, was skeptical.

“I’m not familiar with this structure and I really didn’t get a whole lot of information from this presentation,” he said. 

He added that, “There are a few things we just don’t know, that we normally do know in considering approval of a structure,”

Bova noted that it is just a deck, with no doors or windows.

Myers asked how it would be accessed. Bova said there would be stairs on the south side of the deck.

Bova agreed that “we could have more” information, but went over what Wallen had supplied with Myers.

“I have no objection to somebody doing something like this,” Myers said, but reiterated that the information given had been too scanty.

When  the motion was made to approve the request, it passed 4-1, with Myers voting against it.

Jason and Ashley Stackle then requested permission to construct a wooden fence in the rear yard at 502 N. Third Street. Stackle said it would run 42 feet from the corner of an existing fence,

It would be six feet tall of treated cedar.

Buchheit asked how the top of the fence would look. Stackle said it would be similar to neighbors’ fences.

The request was quickly passed, 5-0.