Title
Consider/Discuss/Act on a Request by Owner Robert and Kelly Sheriff to demolish the carriage house located at 612 W Virginia Street
Summary
COUNCIL GOAL: Enhance the Quality of Life in Downtown McKinney
MEETING DATE: August 7, 2025
DEPARTMENT: Development Services - Planning Department
CONTACT: Rayna Alam, Historic Preservation Planner
Cassie Bumgarner, Planning Manager
RECOMMENDED HPAB ACTION:
• Staff recommends approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition of the detached carriage house at 612 W Virginia Street.
ITEM SUMMARY:
• The applicant requests approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition of the detached carriage house located at 612 W Virginia Street.
• The applicant submitted several photographs documenting the deteriorated structural integrity.
• Both staff and applicant performed historic research on the property to determine a construction date of the shed; however, it was inconclusive. There are no accompanying photographs or documents to firmly date the structure. Sanborn Maps do not show this structure prior to 1965.
• The home was surveyed in the McKinney Historic Resource Survey of 2023 and built circa 1910. It is an Arts & Crafts style home with a medium-priority rating. Staff believes the removal of the detached carriage house will not change the priority rating of the residence.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
• The Zoning Ordinance states that owners shall not construct, reconstruct, alter, change, restore, expand, or demolish any exterior architectural feature of a building or structure that is visible from a public right-of-way located in the H - Historic Preservation Overlay district without first obtaining a certificate of appropriateness.
• The criteria for approval mandates that the following standards, guidelines, and criteria be used in a balanced evaluation of the project:
o Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings to assist in the consideration of all applications.
o Checklist of design elements to be reviewed and evaluated.
o Consideration of the preservation priority rating assigned to the property in question.
• The McKinney Historic Resource Survey of 2023 found the home at 612 W Virginia Street to be medium priority rating, built circa 1910.
Definition of medium priority: Contributes significantly to local history or broader historical patterns, but alterations have diminished the resource’s integrity; is a significant example of architecture, engineering or crafted design; is an outstanding example of a common local building form, architectural style or type; is a modern or recent landmark not old enough to be judged in a historical context.