SALISBURY — Several residents appeared at the Feb. 8 Historic Preservation Commission meeting to voice their opinions on the construction of three single-family houses going in at vacant lots located at 904 North Main Street and 108 West Steele Street. 

City Planner Emily Vanek presented the plans to the commission with the developer, Linda Jeanniton, there to answer any questions. 

Though Vanek did not clearly state to the HPC that they should approve or deny the construction, she did recommend that the developer put in a wrapped porch “to add visual interest to the right-of-way-facing elevation,” confirm the windows “have interior and exterior simulated divided panes with divisions between the glass,” construct “granite curbs where missing,” and follow the city arborist’s landscaping plan that “introduces one tree per lot.” 

Once it came time to hold a public hearing, people spoke out about their dissatisfaction with the new construction. 

“It is incompatible. It’s out of context. It doesn’t meet the standards of historic preservation in Salisbury,” said Ed Clement, founder of the Historic Salisbury Foundation. 

The consensus was that the proposed homes were not compatible with the rest of the historic Salisbury district and that they did not meet the local historic design standards. Even though the developer previously made alterations to the driveway and has decreased the amount of homes from four to three, there were still numerous complaints regarding the designs. 

The key points involved how the bungalow-style houses are not suitable for the neighborhood. Everything from the vinyl-clad windows, lot and house size, roof shape, colors of the houses, to how many windows it will have were referenced. 

“I’m not against any new construction, but I have serious concerns about these architectural designs,” resident Linda Moser said. 

The HPC ultimately decided at the end of the meeting to table their final decision to move ahead with the development or not at a future date in order to give Jeanniton and her client time to make any necessary modifications to the designs. 

“We’re not just a developer who’s trying to build homes, that’s not who we are,” Jeanniton said. “We’re actually a friend, and I want to show you that I actually took all these notes, little notes while you all were talking. So I don’t want you to think what you said fell on deaf ears. We hear you, we want to partner with you.”

Jeanniton said her client is in “the process of making additional changes” and once those are completed, they will resubmit their application to the HPC. She also invited anyone who wishes to thoroughly go over the development to contact her directly. 

“My client is determined to design homes that beautifully echo the past and fit in with the North Main Street Historic District,” Jeanniton said. “This is a time-consuming creative endeavor that requires attention to detail. We don’t want to rush the process.”