New Haven Independent

Tasteful Picket Fence Makes Good Neighbors

by Allan Appel | January 10, 2008 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

nhi-hdc%20004.JPG The great picket fence battle of City Point has ended with a $15,000 compromise.

John Izzo, the fence man of City Point, was back at the Historic District Commission Wednesday night in search of permission to keep a fence at his Oyster Point Marina. click here for previous story, about round one.

This time Izzo brought a lawyer, Timothy Lee (beside him at left in photo), to help respond to the commission’s strong encouragement last month that Izzo rethink the chain link black vinyl fence he’d hoisted up at the marina.

At issue was not only that chain link was not around 100 years ago or so and therefore inappropriate to the City Point Historic District. Izzo also had a white picket fence recessed at the front of the property; the two types struck commissioners as jarring and inappropriate.

Last month Izzo made his case for a fence to protect boats he stores on the lot at 82 Water St. between November and April. When the season ends, the fence would come down in deference to the neighbors.

Speaking for Izzo, Lee said that the white picket fence would be eliminated, and, most importantly, instead of the chain link, Izzo would substitute a hollow aluminum fence with an architectural picket design. “It’s going to be five feet tall,” Lee said, “so as not to impede the water views.” The fence would still be temporary, he added, being fitted inside sleeves that sit in concrete foundation.

nhi-hdc%20003.JPG Would this do the trick? Here’s a brief taste of some of the debate among the members of the commission, whose meeting was chaired for the first time by Eric O’Brien (center). He took over after nine years of leadership by the former chair, Robert Grzywacz:

Tina Learned (to O’Brien’s left): I support this solution because the applicant showed due respect to the standards, the district, the neighbors. The fence style is viable, and I very much like the removability, so that when no boats are being stored, there will be no fence — except the small stretch along the bulkhead for safety as he’s explained. That’s OK with me.

Mary Ann Mazan: Look, I support this too. We have to remember that the whole reason the City Point Historic District exists is because of its oystering heritage. The owner/applicant is the custodian of this space, the last remnant of oystering left, and that’s the raison d’etre for what we are doing here. It’s a good solution.

George Knight (pictured to O’Brien’s right): Well, while I appreciate Mr. Izzo’s effort, I find it unsatisfactory for the historic block. Might they consider not aluminum but something heavier? What about steel? I know it would be harder to move in and out of the sleeves, but frankly this hollow aluminum is going to get banged around and degraded due to the removability. After the first year it well could look shabby, and that’s not what we want.

Chairman Eric O’Brien: Last month I was very much against a fence at all, if you’ll recall, and, yes, George is right, aluminum is short of what it wants to be, and we would like to see steel. On the other hand, Mr. Izzo, if this kind of fence makes your business viable, I’m cognizant of what Mary Ann has said. Also the neighbors seem to be on the side of your solution, seem to like it.

All the commissioners voted for the aluminum architectural picket fence except George Knight. Although the commission doesn’t usually indicate a preferred color, it was understood from documents submitted, that it would be black.

nhi-hdc%20005.JPG Outside in the hall Izzo seemed to be relieved, as he showed a reporter a picture of the fence from the catalog from which it’s being ordered. The picture is blurry because of light conditions — although you might think Izzo’s hand was shaking a bit at the price: “I’m not sure what the final cost will be,” he said, “but they’ve estimated $45 per foot.” And how many feet did Izzo have to cover at the marina?

Three hundred fifty feet, making the compliance with the commission add up to more than $15,000. Still, he said, “It’s an acceptable compromise, a good outcome.”

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Comments

Posted by: Mystery Guest | January 10, 2008 12:12 PM

It's not freakin' disneyland, it's a working marina in a waterfront district that was formerly a working oystering neighborhood. Maybe chain link didn't exist 100 years ago, but if it did they would have used it. These folks would have preferred steel? Do they have any idea what they are talking about? The old fences were forged or wrought iron, not steel, and today would be ridiculously expensive. The modern hollow aluminum--which looks approximately the same--is expensive enough. Do these folks want to drive this small businessman from the neighborhood? It's hard enough to make a living in this city.

Posted by: Hartford Johnson | January 10, 2008 4:04 PM

Oystering heritage? I think the historic preservationists should clam up! Let that so-called heritage "live" in a museum.

Posted by: Esbe | January 10, 2008 4:32 PM

Do these folks want to drive this small businessman from the neighborhood?

Clearly not, since they approved the fence as proposed.

Posted by: Friend of the Neighborhood | January 11, 2008 11:09 AM

I am amazed at the ignorance of these people who want to let the busineses just do as they want. There are neighbors who follow the Historic commission rules (remember the neighbors?) as should Mr. Izzo. He knew that he owned property in a Historic District!

I would also like to bring up the fact that in the seven years that this neighborhood has been a Historic District, the property values have tripled, yes tripled. This is because it is a Historic District. People have been willing to pay these prices, because they know that these values will hold to at least what they paid for the property. Mr. Izzo's property values have also increased substantially, because of the Historic District.

If people do not want to live with the rules, then I suggest that they find a place where they can do whatever they please. There are lots of ghetto space available out there!

Posted by: Good With Numbers | January 11, 2008 1:17 PM

Dear Friend of the Neighborhood,

You cannot attribute the increase in property values entirely to the creation of the Historic District. Prices all across New Haven have tripled in that time period. According to the Warren Group, a commonly used real estate database, the median home price in New Haven in 2000 was $75,570; in 2007 it was $219,380, an increase of 290% (actually down slightly from the 2006 median price of $224,450.)

Also, if you read the original article about Mr. Izzo and his fence, you will see that he DID try to comply with the requirements, but was given vague information. This fence is costing him considerable time and expense because of the Historic District.

Posted by: The real story | January 12, 2008 12:31 AM

We will see how well those home values hold up across the rest of the city, like it will in the Historic Districts.

Also, If you believe what was written in the previous article and what Mr. Izzo said he did, but the reality is that he never took the fence down, not once or twice. He actually put it up without any consideration to the Historic District and never sought to comply with any requirements. If he had, the chain-link fence would not be up at this time. It was only after he was called before the Commission, that he made up his very convincing story, at least to "Good with numbers".

Mr. Izzo played with the public and the NH Independent and everyone bought his story. Again, if he or anyone else does not like the rules, then I welcome them to leave the District, no one is stopping them.

Posted by: True New Havener | January 12, 2008 11:33 AM

Friend of the Neighborhood is correct. The historic districts in New Haven have had the highest increase in property values in the city in the last 5 years. In addition each of these districts has retained greater value when there have been market downturns.

And these are not all (or even primarily) wealthy neighborhoods. They include the one listed above in the Hill, Wooster Square (which one could argue is wealthy at this point) and Fair Haven near the Quinnipiac (which one could not).

While the areas around these neighborhoods have been strained, for generations the older historic districts have maintained value. There tend to be more homeowners and business owners who know they are in a district and who do a better job of maintaining their properties because they understand that everyone's shared behavior is exactly what keeps values up. And because they all have their historic homes in common, neighbors tend to talk more and know each other better than a lot of other places in the city.

In this case, the marina benefits from the fact that its neighbors maintain their properties or no one would store their boats there. In turn, the neighborhood benefits from the historic nature of the water use. It's reciprocal.

And the people of the neighborhood, whether businesses or residential voted for this district status because they believed exactly these things.

Posted by: Kelly Fiedler | January 15, 2008 3:59 PM

Anchor Fence (established in 1891) was the first US company to manufacture chain link fencing by machines using equipment imported from Belgium.

Tasteful Picket Fence Makes Good Neighbors

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