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BELLEFONTE -- Bellefonte Borough Council discussed the requirements for property owners within its historic district, after the Historic Architectural Review Board pointed out two homes that made renovations without the proper review.
The Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) was created in 1970 to protect the historic character of the borough. It is an advisory board that helps homeowners comply with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards to ensure alterations to homes in the district are keeping with historic preservation.
A significant portion of council's recent meeting was spent discussing two projects that were discovered to have not been reviewed by HARB in the historic district.
The first project was done on a home where a new roof had been put on a house, according to HARB. The house was built in an unknown year, and the owners did have previous HARB-approved projects.
It was noted in the HARB meeting minutes from Jan. 23 that the homeowner was told the contractor, Solar Shield, was getting the required permits for the project.
The second project was done on a home built in the mid-twentieth century.
HARB, after review, recommended the denial of these already-completed projects due to materials and style that did not meet the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Historic Rehabilitation.
Council President Kent Bernier asked, "Are homeowners aware of (the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Historic Rehabilitation) clearly beforehand?"
HARB Administrator Gina Thompson explained the original document is very lengthy and has language that can be complex and confusing for someone who does not have a background in preservation. The purpose of HARB is to make these points more clear for an individual.
"When you're in the historic district you have the obligation as the homeowner living in the historic district to come to HARB when you're (planning on) doing exterior renovations," said Thompson.
Though she could not speak to how HARB operated before she joined the board, Thompson noted she makes a point to have as much adequate information as possible on the HARB website for homeowners to make the process as easy as possible.
"Now, realtors who sell homes in the historic district are required, as part of their documents, to disclose to the buyer that it is a home in the historic district. With our updated historic guidelines... education will be a large piece to that," said Thompson.
The owners of the home where the windows had been replaced, Liza and Matt, were in attendance to discuss the changes they made. The couple took to the podium, and first began by apologizing to HARB and the borough council.
"By no means were my husband and I trying to be sneaky and avoid dealing with HARB for our most recent renovation project," said Liza.
Liza said when they moved into their home in 2007, they did numerous interior projects.
"Before I spoke with Gina, I didn't even realize that the particular project had been approved by HARB. This was something the contractor we used at the time must have applied for on his own, or recommended for me to do it and I truly did not remember," she continued.
She explained that life had been hectic at that time, as she had a 1-year-old at home and was pregnant with her second child.
Liza spoke about the deterioration of the interior of their home due to the failing seals on the windows.
"Over the past year we were noticing that mold was growing in the crevices of the window. I would clean it, and within a week it would be back," said Liza. "We have over $10,000 invested in this project and I do not have the means to remove or change anything at this point."
Following the discussion, it was decided the windows would remain in place, although they didn't follow HARB standards, with the caveat that future alterations be subject to HARB approval.
For more information about HARB, visit bellefonte.net/historic-preservation/harb