Title
Consider/Discuss/Act on a Request by Owner Gregory Dawson for a Certificate of Appropriateness for Demolition of the House Located at 402 Barnes Street
Summary
COUNCIL GOAL: Enhance the Quality of Life in Downtown McKinney
MEETING DATE: July 3, 2025
DEPARTMENT: Development Services - Planning Department
CONTACT: Rayna Alam, Historic Preservation Planner
Cassie Bumgarner, Planning Manager
RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTION:
• Staff recommends approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition of the house located at 402 Barnes Street.
ITEM SUMMARY:
• The applicant requests approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of the house located at 402 Barnes Street.
• The applicant met with staff on May 13, 2025 where it was explained what happened to the house. As part of a foundation repair, the home was put on jacks. During the repair, the home rotated off the jack and fell about 3 feet to the south.
• The applicant has provided several photos of the damage to the structure caused by it rotating off the jacks during foundation repairs. Notably, some piers from the foundation have punched through the floor and the walls and framing have been twisted and warped from the fall.
• The applicant submitted an engineering report from Lingle Engineers which details the extent of the damage to the structure and a recommendation for demolition. The report explains that in professional engineer Brian Lingle’s opinion, “While it may be possible to rebuild the house, the structure and wall and roof connections have been compromised such that to rebuild properly, it will be too expensive and trying to move it back into position will most likely cause additional damage.”
• The home was surveyed in the McKinney Resource Historic Resources Survey of 2023 and built circa 1889. It is a Queen Anne Victorian house with a high priority rating.
• In Staff’s professional opinion, the home sustained enough damage that it would require extensive restoration to be returned to a usable condition. Much of the original materials of the home are rendered unusable in a restoration, such as the destroyed windows and wood siding. While the home was high priority, the extensive damage significantly affected the integrity of the home.
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 402 Barnes Street to be a high priority rating, built circa 1889.
• Definition of high priority: Contributes significantly to local history or broader historical patterns; is an outstanding or unique example of architecture, engineering or crafted design; retains a significant portion of its original character and contextual integrity; meets, in some cases, criteria for inclusion in the National Register of Historic places and/or is eligible for a Texas Historical Marker.