We, the undersigned residents of Historic Mount Pleasant are opposed to the plans for renovation of 1867 Park Rd. NW proposed by Trout Design and the Potomac Construction Group.

1) This proposal is not an historic restoration of the house that once existed, fifty years ago, at 1865 Park Rd. That house is gone and by today’s zoning standards could not be rebuilt. It was never classified as a historically significant structure and there are no accurate or detailed records to guide restoration; therefore it cannot be rebuilt by the standards of the National Park Service, Historic Properties Standards and Guidelines.

2) This proposed renovation creates an addition to the existing historic single family home at 1867 Park Rd. that was designated a contributing property to the historic character of the north side of the 1800 block of Park Rd. in 1978 by the National Park Service.

3) This proposal violates the Additions section from the NPS Historic Properties Standards and Guidelines in the following ways:

a. It does not create an addition that is compatible in mass/size/scale to the existing house: the addition is more than 3 times the size of the existing structure.

b. The proposal seeks to create a massive addition that dominates every elevation, rather than limiting the addition to non-character defining elevations. The proposed front and west elevation are half new construction; the rear and east side are 100% new construction.

c. The proposed addition attempts to imitate historic style (without evidence) and does not create a clear distinction between historic and new structures.

d. The proposed addition would dominate the view of all of the residents to the north of the property (on Monroe Street), as well as all the neighbors that choose to walk this alley to take in the historic granite walls, carriage houses and vistas, resulting in a diminution of the historic setting for 1867 Park Road and the surrounding homes.

e. This proposed addition is out of context with the surrounding pattern of single family homes with varied and large setbacks and side yards that defines the historic north side of 1800 Park.

f. The essential form and integrity of the historic structure could not be restored if the proposed addition were removed in the future.