New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission.

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Roll call and meeting rules

Approval of minutes — August 12, 2026

Landmark nomination of 8133 Spruce Street

Consent agenda discussion and deferral

New business A — 3636 St. Charles Avenue

New business B — 1830 Fern Street (demolition to grade — Carrollton District)

New business C — 5615-17 Perrier Street (demolition to grade — Uptown)

New business D — 802 3rd Street & 2613 Annunciation Street (demolition to grade — Irish Channel/Uptown)

New business E — Elmira Avenue (338-340 Elmira Avenue) (withdrawn)

New business F — 1426-1428 Dauphine Street (attention of installation of inappropriate roof and a gate, Uptown)

New business G — 926 Joseph Street (retention of roof demolition; Uptown Partial)

HDLC reports and communications

HDLC Chair / Meeting Moderator

Roll call begins. Jenny Green, present. Jennifer West, corrected as Jenny West, present. Jason King, absent. Adara Lewis, present. Tim Lupin, absent. Ross Carson, present. Annie Clark, present. Annie Irvin, absent. Jim Ashby, absent. Greg Hackenberg, present. Shawanda Poray, absent. And Alan Hardin, present. We have seven members constituting a quorum. Wonderful. And I wanted to say welcome to Commissioner Hardin, representing the Garden District. We're very excited to have a new commissioner with us today. So thank you. Thank you for volunteering and for your service. OK, everyone, so welcome to the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission meeting of September 2, 2026. We would like to thank you for attending and appreciate your support and cooperation with the HDLC. The HDLC is located in City Hall on the seventh floor at the City's one-stop shop. Our mission is to safeguard the heritage of the city of New Orleans by preserving and regulating historic landmarks, districts, and elements which reflect our cultural, social, economic, political, and architectural history. The full HDLC mission statement can be found online. The HDLC has written guidelines that outline our policies and procedures, and they are available on the city's website. Please, we do ask that if you, prior to submitting, please determine if your property is in an HDLC district or if your property is an HDLC landmark before beginning any work or repairs on the property. If the work or repairs are visible from the public right-of-way, the work requires a certificate from the HDLC, which is known as a Certificate of Appropriateness or a C of A. You must get a C of A prior to beginning work. Once a C of A is issued, changes must be approved before work can commence on these changes. And if you have any questions about our policies or procedures, we have a highly qualified staff ready to assist you. Please pay attention to the following meeting rules. If you plan on speaking and are not the applicant, you must fill out a speaker's card and hand it to the staff before the meeting. All speakers must state their name and address for the record. Our meetings are televised and recorded. There is a two-minute speaking time limit. We ask that you turn all cell phones off or on vibrate and that you conduct phone conversations outside of this room. If your application is denied or there is a no-action vote, you have 10 calendar days from the date of this meeting to appeal to city council in writing, and the staff will furnish you with the details of that appeals process. Thank you. All right, so with that, moving forward, the minutes of Wednesday, August 12, 2026 meeting. Commissioners, do we have a motion to approve? Thank you, Commissioner Carson, seconded by Commissioner Green. All those in favor? All those opposed? The motion carries.

HDLC Chair

All right, so with that, the minutes of Wednesday, August 12, 2026 meeting. Commissioners, do we have a motion to approve? Thank you, Commissioner Carson, seconded by Commissioner Green. All those in favor? All those opposed? The motion carries.

HDLC Chair / Commissioners

The nomination of 8133 Spruce Street is presented. 8133 Spruce Street is a contributing rated structure in the Carrollton Local and National Register Historic District, located on Lots 10, 11, and 12 of Square 277 in Municipal District 7. The building faces Spruce Street, is backed by Panola Street, and is bound by Dublin Street and South Carrollton Avenue. There is a confirmed construction date of 1911 as per the original building permit and architect's records. The building appears to have had no major alterations and is largely intact and faithful to its original design. There are two other buildings that were designed by H. Jordan McKenzie... The staff finds that the building at 8133 Spruce Street would qualify under criteria four as it is representative of an architect whose individual ability has been recognized. As such, the staff recommend that the building be nominated for study as a landmark. Is there an applicant present for this nomination? Wonderful. Please step forward and state your name and address for the record. I am Peter Kernian, the head of school at Stewart Hall, and the address is 2032 South Carrollton Avenue. Wonderful. Thank you. Do you wish to comment on the application? Yes. We recently purchased this property with the full intent of incorporating it into our campus... We are currently looking to use historic tax credits to help us in the renovation... We are concerned about possible lengthy periods of time and hurdles that might prevent us from doing this work in a timely fashion. Jack Sawyer, Architect, adds comments; I think this is unnecessary and premature... Peyton Bowman, 1944 Dublin Street, testifies in support and notes the property's significance and willingness to cooperate with HDLC. Rochelle Julek urges landmarking as an additional layer of protection; Susan Johnson voiced support; Mary Nell Nolan-Wheatley of PRC provides a detailed description of architectural features and historical significance and urges moving the nomination forward. Is there any additional public comment? No. A staff explanation about how landmarking interacts with historic tax credit review is given. Commissioners discuss timing; a motion is made to nominate the building for study as a landmark. The motion is seconded. All those in favor? All those opposed? The motion carries unanimously.

HDLC Chair / Commissioners

Consent agenda items: Item G, related to the consent agenda, had a public comment card for 720 Henry Clay and other items. Commissioner Green proposed a special motion to remove item G from the consent agenda; Commissioner Clark seconded; all in favor. Then a motion to suspend the rules was made and seconded; motion carries. A motion to remove item G from the consent agenda is approved; a motion to reinstate the rules is approved; finally, a motion to approve the consent agenda is approved. The chair notes that if you are here for an item on consent, you may leave after approval. Public comment from Susan Johnson and others regarding the context of the consent items is acknowledged. Commissioner Carson notes that without quorum, item G would be deferred to the next meeting.

Nicole Weber (Applicant)

The applicant is addressing the commission with their architect and staff present. The enclosure around the corner area is necessary to make that space usable. The applicant explains usability concerns and that the project has been under ARC/staff review since January. They request option three with a four foot seven inch balcony depth to provide a usable space for furniture, arguing it is otherwise impractical to use the space.

Monique Boudreau (Applicant)

Applicant Monique Boudreau presents the demolition request to demolish the contributing building to grade. HDLC staff finds the building in good condition and not a good candidate for demolition; suggests partial demolition to remove non-historic portions and restore the building envelope. Mary Nell Nolan-Wheatley testifies on PRC support for nomination; Deborah Howell outlines community concerns and neighborhood association perspective; Leslie Raymond supports rehabilitation. Public comment cards from multiple neighbors echo preservation priorities. The applicant explains intent to salvage interior elements and use historic tax credits; the staff recommends denial of full demolition and partial restoration. The commissioners acknowledge and deny full demolition; discuss potential future options.

Clayton Hakes (Atomic Architecture)

Clayton Hakes presents Perrier Street demolition to grade, noting the camelback style, non-contributing status, location, set back from street. Staff explains non-contributing status and approves demolition to grade. The applicant confirms intention to build a new single-family residence and salvage certain elements. Public comment notes are absent. The commission votes to approve demolition to grade.

CA Galvez (Applicant) / Staff

CA Galvez presents the demolition to grade for 802 3rd Street & 2613 Annunciation Street. The building is non-contributing and outside the period of significance. Staff has no objection to demolition to grade, provided new construction permits are approved prior to issuing demolition permits. The applicant discusses possible future development; a motion to approve with the proviso that new construction plans be reviewed beforehand passes unanimously.

HDLC Staff

Item E338-340 Elmira Avenue has been withdrawn from the agenda. The staff notes that the applicant did not appear today, and no action was taken.

Z Hand (Applicant) / Staff

Installation details: The applicant explains the gate was added for security; staff discusses the prohibition on porch gates; discussion focuses on ridge tiles, ridge vents, and window details; the staff recommends reinstalling ridge tiles and removing continuous ridge vent; the applicant and staff discuss refinements. A motion to allow retention of the full demolition and to not levy a fine passes unanimously.

Doug Conkey (Owner) / Staff / Commission

This is an Uptown partial district case. The owner requests retention of the full demolition of the exterior wall framing along with minimal reframing of the roof structure and isolated areas. The staff recommends approval of the retention with a Tier 1 fine. The owner provides an emotional narrative about contractor guidance and acknowledges the oversight. The commission approves retention with a minimal fine.

HDLC Chair

The New Orleans HDLC is celebrating its 50th anniversary of existence. There is an exhibition at the New Orleans Public Library main branch of archival material from these past 50 years. The ceremony will be held on September 30; invitations will follow. Meeting adjourned.

New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission.

Summary

Summary of the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission meeting – Sept 2, 2026 — Date, time, attendance

Quorum: 7 members present; Absent: 5

Minutes

Item: Nomination of 8133 Spruce Street (Carrollton Local/National Register Historic District)

Applicants/speakers

Consent agenda (general notes)

Substantive items discussed under consent (actions noted) — Corner enclosure / balcony option (contextual discussion)

Demolition to grade / partial restoration (multiple properties)

Installation details (gate, ridge tiles, ridge vent, windows)

Uptown partial district case (exterior wall framing)

Anniversary and closing — HDLC’s 50th anniversary

Unresolved issues and notable points

Transcript