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The Ocean Grove historic preservation commission [HPC] met last night to hear six applications, mostly related to porch repair.

Ocean Grove, which is part of Neptune Township, is a designated historic district under township ordinances. The HPC enforces the historic preservation provisions in township ordinances which apply only to Ocean Grove. The remainder of Neptune is not subject to HPC jurisdiction.

The ordinances require HPC approval for various types of construction, alternations and repairs to structures and property in Ocean Grove. The following is a report of some of the action from the HPC meeting last night:

SIDEWALK REPLACEMENT

The first applicant, Michael Pellegrino, a resident of Ocean Pathway, came before the board because he replaced his slate sidewalks with concrete, apparently not realizing he should have sought HPC permission first.

“It should have occurred to me in hindsight that this might be something that had to come before the board,” Pellegrino said.

Pellegrino’s sidewalk originally consisted of six original slate slabs. Slate is the type of sidewalk the Camp Meeting Association first installed in Ocean Grove, HPC member Leonard Steen III said.

Three of the slate slabs were damaged, so Pellegrino removed all six of the slabs and replaced them with concrete. Many of his neighbors on Ocean Pathway have concrete sidewalks, he said.

The neighbors’ sidewalks may have been installed before the HPC existed, commissioner Jenny Shaffer said. Pellegrino’s home is modern-looking, “and it’s almost like the last thing that was left was the original walk, so it seems kind of sad to have a late 20th-century house with a [concrete sidewalk],” she said.

If Pellegrino had come to the board before re-doing his sidewalks, the board would have likely required him to keep the non-damaged slate in place, chairperson Deborah Osepchuk said.

“I honestly don’t think mix-and-match looks better,” Pellegrino said. “From a historical standpoint, I guess it is the more slate the better … If the board said, ‘Mike, we want you to replace three,’ I’d walk out of here thanking you for not making me replace six.”

The board voted to have Pellegrino remove three of the new concrete slabs and replace them with slate. The resolution stated the removal of slate in part was justified due to its condition but removal of the three remaining was not justified because the slate appeared to be in good condition and was historically appropriate, according to HPC attorney Wesley M. Kain.

HPC members Kenneth Buckley and Stephanie Carr voted against the application, while the other six members voted in favor of it.

PORCH REPAIR

Eric McNerney, a contractor representing the owner of a home on Mt. Tabor Way, appeared before the HPC to discuss plans for porch repairs at the property.

He first told the board he would be using pressure-treated lumber on the porch to replace the existing pine, which rotted after only about 10 years.

McNerney wanted to use pressure-treated lumber because “it’s the only thing healthy that expands 20 feet, all the way across the whole front,” he said. “You can’t get a 20-foot length of mahogany or I would have used it. I might be able to get cypress.”

But pressure-treated lumber “warps and is hard to paint,” Osepchuk said.

“This is a pretty wonderful example of a stick-style structure that has some incredible details and I would really hate to see you, especially on the front-facing façade, use a piece of pressure-treated lumber,” she added.

The board unanimously approved a resolution allowing McNerney to complete the proposed repairs with cypress instead of pressure-treated lumber.

AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT

The owner of a house on Olin Street was unable to attend the meeting, but the HPC approved his application to place an air-conditioning unit in the rear of his house.

“Everyone needs to be aware that if we’re going to give an approval to a wall-mounted unit,” it cannot be visible from the street, Osepchuk said.

“Not visible from the street is a no-brainer,” Steen said.

The HPC unanimously approved the application.

The HPC also approved three more applications for front porch repairs, with minimal or no changes to homeowners’ or contractors’ plans.

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