The Historical and Architectural Review Board voted to issue certificates of appropriateness to three properties at the March 6 regular meeting.

A COA was unanimously granted for two new storefront signs for Dear Santa at 458 Main St. Representing the proposal was business owner Tom Dubreuil who could easily pass for St. Nick.

The wall sign measures 36 inches by 144 inches with the “Dear Santa” logo and pinstripe in red and the shaped blade sign with similar graphics measures 28 inches by 36 inches and will hang on an existing bracket. Both have an off-white background.

Approval was contingent on the wall sign being sized properly to fit within the sign band area.

Set to open in mid-April, Dear Santa will be open throughout the year for story times, workshops and photos with Santa.

The building owner is listed as Constance LoBaido.

Adam Waldron from Waldron Painting scored a COA for his clients at 449 Linden St. Only wood or aluminum would be painted Sherwin-Williams Greenblack including all doors, windows, trim, siding and iron basement grates.

A rear door and several shutters are to be replaced with historically-appropriate wood ones and painted Greenblack.

Waldron reassured the HARB members the red brick walls will remain unpainted.

Voting was 4 to 1 with Chairperson Connie Postupack voting against. She had suggested there be a contrasting color added to highlight intricate details found in the woodwork.

David Lisk and Nicolai Lesko are the owners of the two-story residence built circa 1900.

Frank and Mary Filiciotto won approval for their landscaping proposal for their residence at 323 Center St. Heather Rossi of Bethlehem-based French Gardens landscaping outlined the project’s details while Frank Filiciotto worked the projector.

While the removal of diseased ornamental trees and other foliage from the yard was discussed, the focus was on the hardscaping part of the plan for the entire property which is at the corner of Center and Steinman streets.

Approved structures include a bluestone-capped red brick retaining wall along the south side of the house facing Steinman Street and at rear parallel to the driveway. The retaining wall supports a wooden privacy fence. Built in a shadowbox style, the cedar fence would be held up by 6 by 6 cedar posts with copper post caps.

A small section of the fence with a gate at rear would connect to the carriage house.

As the home is constructed on a hill, the wall and fence heights vary.

At present, the retaining wall’s timber is rotting. Plans call for the row of overgrown arborvitae above it to be cut down.

Chief Building Inspector Mike Simonson mentioned that there is a 6-foot limit on fence height in a residential area, but the proposed combined wall and fence height at the rear would reach 7.5 feet above the street level. He clarified that the 4-foot-high retaining wall at one end is not considered a fence, so the 3.5-foot high cedar fence atop it should pass code.

The retaining wall toward the front of the house would measure 2 feet high with a 5.5-foot-high cedar fence installed on top of it.

Passed unanimously, the COA stipulates the fence height needs to meet zoning regulations.

The brick for the wall is to match the red brick of the circa 1840 house.

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. Meetings can be viewed on YouTube.