The Historical and Architectural Review Board at the virtual meeting held Feb. 3 awarded a certificate of appropriateness to Norman Roberts for replacement roofing.

Assisted by contractor Art Mattes, Roberts successfully proposed replacing rusting metal roofing atop a side porch toward the rear of his home at 228 E. Market St. Replacing the metal roofing over an adjacent bay window was also approved. The affected area is part of a circa 1907 brick addition located behind the original circa 1860s brick house.

While the copper gutters and downspouts are to be replaced with similar materials, the roofing would be of a standing seam design and a darker red than what is there currently.

Approval was given, pending the applicants providing a color sample and a cut sheet showing the height and width of the seams, as well as the pitch of the roofs to the historic officer, Joseph Phillips.

Sitting in on the meeting was newly-appointed member Chief Building Inspector Mike Simonson. He replaces Phil Roeder, who retired in December 2020. Simonson volunteered to check into city zoning regulations regarding pitch and approved materials.

The board tabled a window replacement proposal for 62 E. Market St. The property, owned by the University Club of Bethlehem, was represented by Vice President Lawanna Kendricks. She explained that there were broken sash ropes, failing glazing, and other issues with the existing five units of a second-floor box bay on the east side of the circa 1890 painted brick mansion.

Chairperson Beth Starbuck and Vice Chair Marsha Fritz argued that repairing existing windows, especially if they were original to the building, was preferable, and possibly less expensive than replacing them.

“We hold on to our historic windows as long as we can,’” said Fritz. Starbuck suggested triple-track storm windows be installed to protect the historic windows from the elements.

The applicant was instructed to check into the cost of repairing the windows before deciding to replace them.

The voting on both proposals was unanimous.

The Historical and Architectural Review Board regularly meets the first Wednesday of every month to review all exterior changes proposed to buildings in the Bethlehem Historic District north of the Lehigh River. When a proposed project receives a certificate of appropriateness from the board, applicants must wait for city council to vote on it before proceeding.