Download Guidelines - Gateway Planning

Guidelines:
Purpose: The purpose of design guidelines is to aid the property owner and
Historic Preservation Advisory Board in making sound decisions about the types
of alterations, renovations, and new additions to the properties found within the
McKinney Historic District. The guidelines serve as an instrument that
establishes the criteria that will be used to determine if changes made to the
exterior of the property are appropriate, and do the changes serve to maintain
and enhance the unique qualities of the Historic District.
Maintenance to the exterior such as painting and roofing using the same
materials and colors do not need approval by the Board. All other changes to the
exterior require an Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness before a
building permit can be issued.
What Guidelines Can and Cannot Do:
Guidelines can:
 Help to maintain the character of a historic area and protect its visual aspects.
 Improve quality of development
 Protect the value of property by discouraging construction of poorly designed
buildings
 Indicate which design approaches the community favors
 Provide an objective basis for decisions on design by the HPAB
 Serve as a tool for designers and clients in making preliminary decisions
 Increase public awareness of design issues and options
 Only deal with the exterior of the building
Guidelines Can’t:
 Limit growth or regulate where growth takes place
 Control how the space within the building is used
 Be laws
 Guarantee that all construction will be compatible with the historic setting
Architectural Heritage of McKinney: McKinney is the county seat of Collin
County. It has been an important agricultural, industrial, and commercial center
in north central Texas since its founding in 1849. The town is located
approximately 30 miles north of Dallas on some of the most fertile farmland in the
state. Collin County was among the state’s leading producers of cotton, wheat,
and corn. As a result of this intense production of these agricultural products
McKinney became an important milling and distribution center for these goods.
With the arrival of the Texas Central Railroad in 1872 agricultural products could
be easily exported. This stimulated the economy and the population of the city
grew. During the late 19th and early 20th century grain elevators, cotton gins, a
cotton oil mill, and a textile mill were built to further support the agricultural
production of the surrounding area and a new rail line. McKinney‘s industries,
new residences, commercial buildings, and churches were built in response to
this new growth.
McKinney has continued to grow over the decades surviving the
RESTORE OR REPLACE
“Who would want to keep that old thing anyhow?” It is a question asked over and
over again. It is a question that must be considered seriously in order to protect
and maintain the built environment with reason and not emotion. Being old
doesn’t make it valuable anymore than being old makes it obsolescent.
Fortunately preservation through proper application can intelligently preserve for
the future those structures worthy of being preserved. Preservation offers a wide
range of options to accomplish this goal. They include restoration, rehabilitation,
and adaptive use (recycling).
Restoration means returning a building or site to its original condition at some
particular date. The very nature of restoration implies a high degree of
authenticity. It is possible that restoration might involve reconstruction. This
should only be done when there is sufficient evidence to support reconstruction.
Rehabilitation can also be looked at as renovation or remodeling. These terms
describe measures that restore a building to good condition and improved
function. This can involve repair or replacement of worn out mechanical
systems, re-roofing, windows, exterior repair, and a variety of other cosmetic
improvements. Historical and architectural values may be maintained or
enhanced, but without the constraints of pure restoration.
Adaptive reuse, recycling, is when a building is converted to some other purpose
not originally intended. In the process of adaptive reuse the structure could be
either restored or rehabilitated depending on many factors involved with the
choices as to the future use.
Should We Restore?
Three criteria should be used to determine if restoration is to occur.
1. Architectural merit of the original. Is the building an outstanding
example of its period or of the architect? As an example, a pristine
Queen Anne Victorian home or a building by Louis Sullivan. It could
also be a rare example of a 1920’s Neo-classic Revival or a unique
method of construction using cast iron.
2. Importance of building or site to events, people, or a place. Did an
event of important historical significance take place here? Local
history counts. Does it provide a cultural link to the past? Is it a major
landmark?
3. Economic values which would flow from a restored facility. Will
restoration allow improved functioning at less cost than demolition and
new construction? Will it spur revitalization and promote further
development? Will it attract tourists to the community?
Here is a simplified version that might be useful from Floyd M Barringer,
MD Springfield, Illinois.
A structure should be preserved if,
 its structural condition is such as to make its preservation
possible and practical
 its architecture is of a certain classic style or is uniquely
individual
 there is historical significance attached to the structure, its
builder, or events that occurred there
 it is a record of a way of life and a nostalgic memory of the
past
 it has a continuing purpose or use, without which its
preservation becomes a futile exercise and expense.
Remember that buildings do not survive for several centuries or more by
remaining in the same state as when they were built. they are a product of the
accumulated measures that have been taken to maintain and adapt them
according to need or fashion.
Guidelines for Residential and Commercial Buildings:
General Considerations:
1. Do the plans maintain as much of the original building as possible?
2. Are exterior alterations, changes, kept to minimum?
3. Do the plans match the structure’s original design?
4. Do the plans relate favorably to the area?
5. Are the changes visible from the street sides, public right-of-way, of the
building kept to a minimum?
6. Are original, building materials maintained?
7. Are all materials appropriate to the building, the neighborhood?
8. Are original and distinctive architectural details kept?
Note: If you can answer “Yes” to all the questions, your plans will probably meet
with HPAB approval. If you answered “No”, these are weak areas in your plans
and you should consult with the HPO as to what possible solutions are available.
Apply these general questions to all the guidelines presented.
The following are general topic areas that should be taken into consideration
when you are formulating your plan for the preservation, restoration,
reconstruction, or rehabilitation of your historic property. If any modifications
you are proposing aren’t found in the following explanations you should contact
your HPO for information concerning your proposed changes to the exterior of
your property.
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES
Exterior Materials
Materials: Wood
The predominate building material used in the construction of most of the historic
homes in McKinney is wood siding. Wood was originally brought to McKinney by
ox cart from a mill in Jefferson. With the arrival of the railroad milled lumber and
other building supplies arrived in large quantities, and at lower prices.
Recommendations:
 Identify significant architectural features which define the style of the structure
such as siding, pediments, cornices, brackets, doorway pediments, window
architraves, etc as well as colors and finishes.
 Retain those significant architectural features by:
1. Repairing – Patch, piece, or consolidate in order to maintain the
original wood
2. Replacing – Replace in kind a feature too deteriorated to repair.
3. Reconstructing – This is to be done only when there is sufficient
documentation for accurate restoration.
 Protect and provide regular maintenance using historically appropriate,
compatible paint coating systems.
 Scraping and hand sanding to feather the edges is the best method for
preparing exterior wood surfaces. Electric heat guns and chemical stripping
are allowed, but need to be expertly managed and still pose hazards.
 Identify, evaluate, and treat the causes of wood deterioration. Water is the
primary problem for any exposed wood surface. Faulty flashiness, leaking
gutters or roofs, deteriorated caulking in joints and seams, plant material,
fungus, and insects are all potential problems.
Not Recommended:
 Removal or radical changes of wood features which define the architectural
style and character of the property.
 Radically changing the accent colors or paint schemes
 Stripping historically painted surfaces to bare wood in order to stain or apply
clear finish to create a “natural look”.
 Stripping, rotary sanding, torches, high-pressure washing, sandblasting, etc
are deleterious to the wood.
Materials: Masonry
Masonry takes on many types and shapes. The types can include brick, stone,
terra cotta, concrete, adobe, stucco, and mortar. Brick became a major building
material in McKinney at the turn of the century. Two major reasons stimulated
the use of brick as a building material: 1) availability brought about by an 1870’s
technological advancement in the manufacture of brick and, 2) its qualities as a
fire proof building material.
Recommended:
 Identify, retain, and preserve any masonry feature that is of historic
importance in defining the architecture of the property. This could include the
patterns created by the brick, cornices, columns, pediments, steps, etc.
 Protection can be accomplished by proper draining of water. This is
necessary in order to protect mortar joints from deteriorating.
 Clean using the gentlest methods possible detergent and soft bristle brushes.
 Repaint brick if necessary.
 Repair mortar joints using matching mortar in color, compound, and joint
profile.