Task Force Update by Renee Manes
February Certificate of Appropriateness (CA) applications:
- 4700 Sycamore - dormer windows
- 4638 Junius - new gate, 70% open, back corner of house
- 4607 Gaston - new vinyl siding (stop work action)
- New crepe myrtle trees in parkway at: Junius-4403,4311,4313,4508,4303 and at 4533 Sycamore
I am chomping on my chapeau, consuming crow, and well, eating my words. Last month, I went on about how wonderful it was that EVERYONE now was aware that we live in a historic district. Not so, MacDuff. A recent applicant said he purchased his house not long ago and was never told he lived in a historic district, and obviously, was unaware of any constraints. A nice fellow he was and he could not understand why real estate agents are not required to state the existence of this historic overlay to prospective buyers. Seems like it would be considered part of full disclosure required by law, would it not? The task force could not agree more heartily with him.
Nothing like four-season trees to line our streets. Crepe myrtles sprout in the Spring with glistening green leaves, bloom in the Summer with their delicate "crepe-like" (fabric, not pancakes a la francais) flowers, enchant us in the Fall with stunning autumnal color and strip naked in the Winter exposing their distinguished multi-toned bark and sculptural stance. Poetry aside, Oncor suggests mature tree height of no more than 25 feet under their wires. The great majority of crepe myrtles are in the 8-20 range. So begone ye butchers of Mother Nature's year-round guardians of our neighborhood! Renee has now descended from her Dallas County Master Gardener soap box.