The City of Plant City Historic Resources Board met Tuesday, June 23 at City Hall to discuss the home built at 507 W. Tever St. in the historic district.
Originally, the board approved plans for the home in July 2014. However, the home features external amenities, designs and other cosmetic features that the Historic Resources Board never approved. The board states that these changes make the home incompatible with the rest of the homes in the historic district.
The home, which is owned by Maria Fuentes and Jaime Rucoba, has minor differences between the blueprint and the home that was built. The home has thicker window encasings, as well as designs on the door and porch column. There is also a stoop over a side door on the house that was not previously approved, and flood lights were also installed on the exterior of the home.
According to Julie Ham, who works for the planning and zoning board, the portion of Tever St. where the home was located was adopted into the historic district in 1998.
The home does not violate any regulations enforced by the building department, who checks on the home during construction.
Homeowner Maria Fuentes claims that she submitted the window casing to be approved, and that she also came in front of the board regarding the measurements of the windows. The board countered and said that they only approved the plan.
Julian and Bea Cunningham, of 504 W. Tever St., see no issue with the way that the home was built. Julian Cunningham is a longtime resident of the historic district, and both he and his wife feel that the newest construction matches the feel of the older homes.
City Attorney Ken Buchman was unable to attend the meeting. The situation was one that the Historic Resources Board has not dealt with previously and the board did not know the legal ramifications since the home has already been built. A meeting and decision will follow next week.
More updates will be made to this story as decisions are made.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com