A Wake County Superior Court Judge ruled last month that the owners of a contemporary-style home under construction on Euclid Street may continue building. But today, across-the-street neighbor Gail Wiesner appealed Judge Elaine Bushfan’s finding that Wiesner did not have legal standing to challenge the home’s design.
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Judge Bushfan’s September 15 ruling reversed a decision by the City of Raleigh’s Board of Adjustment that invalidated a Certificate of Appropriateness for the home.
Owners Louis Cherry and Marsha Gordon were awarded the certificate by the Raleigh Historic District Commission last fall. They obtained a building permit from the City and had already started building by the time neighbor Wiesner’s appeal of the certificate passed the Board of Adjustments in a 3-2 decision last February.
Wiesner’s filing to the North Carolina Court of Appeals challenges Judge Bushfan’s decision not to allow Wiesner’s attorney to submit supplemental evidence on Wiesner’s behalf to the Court. After finding that Wiesner lacked standing, the decision affirmed the Raleigh Historic District Commission’s approval of Cherry and Gordon’s Certificate of Appropriateness.
The case has been handled in-house at no cost to taxpayers, save time spent by City attorneys.
The controversy has split Oakwood residents into camps of those who oppose the modern design on the grounds that it doesn’t fit in with the Victorian-era architectural styles of the neighborhood, and those who support the design who say Oakwood is an evolving neighborhood not frozen in time.
