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Historic District Commission Regular Meeting

Town of Hillsborough · Historic District Commission
Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 6:30 pm

Regular meeting Historic preservationHousing and affordabilitySchools and education

Agenda document Full packet Minutes Meeting page Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

Four certificates of appropriateness, all approved, two of them with conditions. The commission cleared window replacements on S. Hillsborough Avenue, alterations at the Eno River Mill for the school that occupies it, an addition and garage on Calvin Street, and a new house with a basement on W. Orange Street.

Two members were recused or excused from individual applications, and one of them was sworn in to give public comment on the item he had stepped back from.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The mill application was the most carefully argued. The applicants want more natural light for the students and teachers at the school in the building, and proposed reopening bricked-in window openings, adding an exit enclosure and rooftop work. The architect said the enclosure replaces an existing exterior stairway on the top floor that is not suitable for small children, and that they had consulted the State Historic Preservation Office and tried to complement the mill's existing materials without creating a false impression that new features are historic. Staff noted the commission approved a similar reopening of bricked-in windows in 2024, and that the enclosure sits well out of public view and does not interfere with historic fabric, though they could not find a record of when the matching metal material was first approved. Approved 4-0.

On Calvin Street the applicants set out three objectives: a mudroom addition that creates a private bedroom for older parents and eventually the owners, a more durable and pest-proof storage building in place of an existing shed they had considered restoring, and screening between the spaces they use most and a new two-story addition next door. They will replace the steeply gabled roofs of the stoop and shed with flatter forms, which reduces visibility from the street, and use a tonal paint scheme to distinguish historic fabric from new work. They are considering thermally modified wood. Approved 5-0 with conditions.

The new house on W. Orange Street turned on grading and mass. The applicants said they would have built on a crawl space on a flatter site, and designed the roof form to limit the visual impact of the basement, with the grade difference running about five to six feet along the back of the property. Members noted the house is larger than some of its neighbours; the applicants confirmed how far the driveway would extend. Approved 5-0 with conditions.

The S. Hillsborough Avenue window replacement was amended after the public notice deadline, and the commission approved the amended application 4-0 with one member recused.

How the votes went

All four applications were approved, each preceded by a separate vote finding it in keeping with the district standards. The S. Hillsborough Avenue and Dimmocks Mill Road applications passed 4-0 with a member recused or excused from each; the Calvin Street and W. Orange Street applications passed 5-0 with conditions. The June minutes and a written decision from an earlier meeting also passed 5-0.

From the published minutes.

Who spoke

1 member of the public spoke.

  1. A commission member excused from the Dimmocks Mill Road application was sworn in and spoke on it as a member of the public.

Read from the records the government published after the meeting. Members of the public are private residents and are not named or indexed.

Speaking at this meeting

Town of Hillsborough's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (5)

Public hearing · 4Minutes approval · 1
  1. 4 Minutes review and approval
    Minutes approval
    Approval of minutes from the June 24, 2026 regular meeting.
  2. 6.A COA Application: 104 S. Hillsborough Ave. - replace wood windows with aluminum-clad wood windows
    Public hearing Historic preservation
    Certificate of Appropriateness application to replace wood windows with aluminum-clad wood windows at 104 S. Hillsborough Avenue.
    • 104 S Hillsborough Ave · no matching parcel on file
  3. 6.B COA Application: 437 Dimmocks Mill Rd. - add new windows, exit enclosure, and rooftop monitor
    Public hearing Historic preservationSchools and education
    Certificate of Appropriateness application to add new windows, an exit enclosure, and a rooftop monitor at 437 Dimmocks Mill Road.
    • 437 Dimmocks Mill Rd · no matching parcel on file
  4. 6.C COA Application: 404 Calvin St. - mud room addition, garage, stone walk, porch, wood trellis, and fence
    Public hearing Historic preservationHousing and affordability
    Certificate of Appropriateness application for a mud room addition, garage, stone walk, porch, wood trellis, and fence at 404 Calvin Street.
    • 404 Calvin St · no matching parcel on file
  5. 6.D COA Application: W. Orange St. - new construction house with basement
    Public hearing Historic preservationHousing and affordability
    Certificate of Appropriateness application for new construction of a house with a basement on W. Orange Street.

Agenda changes

What moved between published versions of this agenda. Item numbers shift constantly as things are inserted, so only genuine additions and removals are listed.

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