A downtown prescott restaurant received retroactive approval this morning for exterior changes that were built without going through the city’s historic preservation review process.
Doc’s barbecue and whiskey — located in the courthouse plaza historic district — came before the prescott preservation commission today seeking sign-off on improvements already in place, including a gabion wall — a rock-filled steel frame structure — along the patio perimeter, a concrete block retaining wall painted black, level outdoor patio surface to meet ada standards, and new standing-seam metal patio covers.
The gabion wall drew the most scrutiny. City planners told commissioners the structure failed one of two federal secretary of interior standards used to evaluate compatibility with the historic district. The restaurant’s owner told the commission the wall was a misunderstanding — saying he believed a photo included in a november planning packet constituted prior approval, and never sought clarification from the city.
The commission voted three-to-one to approve the application. The voice vote initially produced confusion, with community planner, tammy dewitt, calling for a show of hands to get a clean count. Committee chair, richard sprain, was the lone dissenting vote