Restoration's stucco removal breaks city rules
BY JASON HARDIN
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Plenty of houses in Charleston already look old. Who needs to make them look even older?
But that's what Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer did with a house he is renovating in downtown Charleston, neighborhood residents say, and the project has run afoul of city regulations.
Neighbors say workers chipped stucco off of the side of the historic house -- something not allowed under city rules -- in an effort to make it look older than it is.
"The house is 185 years old anyway," he said. "Why does he need to make it look older?"
It's not the first time Bauer, the nation's youngest lieutenant governor, has been accused of skirting rules. The city previously stopped work on a separate project that was under way without approval, and he made statewide headlines last year after a speeding incident in downtown Columbia ended with a police officer pulling a gun on him.
Stucco, over time, can crumble and fall away from buildings. A number of buildings around the city have the distinctive look of stucco over brick, but property owners are not supposed to take the process into their own hands.
City officials say the stucco on Bauer's house needs to be repaired and have issued two orders stopping work on that part of the house, in December and on Monday of this week. The second halt came after the wall was being painted, indicating that there was no intention of fixing the holes, said Eddie Bello, the city's preservation officer.
Bello said the stucco apparently was removed to achieve a "faux-old" look.
"It's 'Ye Olde Charleston.'" he said.
The city frowns on removing stucco, he said. Bauer now has the option of either fixing the wall or going before the Board of Architectural Review for approval, but Bello said approval is unlikely.
Bello said it is not uncommon for the city to stop work on a project.
Bauer on Thursday referred questions to the contractor working on the Coming Street house, which he purchased last year for $470,000.
The contractor, Andrew Hager, said the missing stucco was an accident. It fell off while the wall was being power-washed, he said.
He said he isn't sure whether the decision will be to fix the wall or attempt to get BAR approval.
Bello said that workers have been spotted messing with the stucco, and that it is clear that it has been chipped away.
This isn't the first time Bauer has bumped up against the city. The city halted an earlier project on Rutledge Avenue after work began without BAR approval, Bello said.
The stucco is not the only thing that has made neighbors unhappy.
For months, a trash bin was parked on the street, and a pile of construction debris recently was dumped in the street, neighbors say.
City officials told the contractor to clean up the mess, which he did, said city spokeswoman Barbara Vaughn.
Still, some are displeased with the string of events.
"This has been a joke the whole time. I don't know how he goes about doing things in Columbia, but he's cut every possible corner known to man," said Robert Ballard, who lives nearby.
Hager said the project is a benefit to the neighborhood.
"It's the biggest house on the block, and we're doing a complete restoration. We're preserving as much of the historical aspects of the house as we possibly can," he said. "It's been a great project, and I think it's going to add value to the community."
Lieutenant governors typically have a hard time getting noticed while in the low-key post. Bauer, however, has not been completely overlooked since being elected in 2002.
He drew attention last year after speeding through downtown Columbia, running red lights and ignoring a police officer who attempted to pull him over.
Bauer, who was late to gavel the state Senate to order, finally was halted by traffic congestion. The episode ended with an officer pointing a gun at Bauer after he ran toward the patrolman's vehicle "in what appeared to be an aggressive manner," according to the officer.
Bauer apologized and later pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the incident.
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