The Historical and Architectural Review Board granted certificates of appropriateness to two projects, including the demolition of a garage built during the 1960s at the meeting held in Conference Room A100 at city hall Nov. 6.

Assisted by contractors Bill and Michelle Shafer, Jeremy Sestito and Erin Vavra received approval to raze the masonry four-bay garage at the rear of their home at 346 West St. The one-story “noncontributing” concrete block structure blocks access to the backyard where they are planning to build an addition. Shafer pointed out the flat roof on the garage is rotting and unsafe. Off-street parking is planned on the site where the garage now stands.

The COA also allows for the demolition of the rear addition of the circa 1890s brick residence. This consists of a back porch that previous owners enclosed with wood in the 1970s or ’80s.

Replacing this will be a walkout basement with two stories of living space above it and an attic at the very top of the new addition. One floor is a family room with the master bedroom located over it.

The foundation that creates the walkout basement is to be clad in a cultured stone product.

The directors broke protocol by authorizing vinyl siding for the upper portion of the addition. While uneasy about it, they noted that with the little-used back alley, known as Krause Lane, running parallel to a retaining wall for Route 378 makes for low visibility.

Shafer’s choice of Therma-Tru doors and Andersen double-hung windows were approved. The roofing for the new structure will be GAF Slateline shingles in Antique Slate. The applicants agreed to half-round gutters and round downspouts.

The family has lived in the historic house for one year.

Representing 131 E. Church St., architect Christine Ussler scored a COA for a proposal to enclose much of the property with a 5-foot-high brick wall. The elegant brick wall with black wrought iron gates was designed to complement the circa 1939 brick Georgian Revival residence that is set back around seven feet from the sidewalk on a slight rise. The brick is to match the bricks on the house and a wall in back that had been previously approved by HARB in 2019. The piers supporting the walls are 5-foot-8-inch capped with cast stone or limestone.

“His motivation is to really enhance this property,” said Ussler. The owner was inspired by historic properties he has seen during his travels according to Ussler.

The post mounted copper lamps for the front gateway were approved to be either gas or electric.

The property is owned by Llewellyn Company Ltd.

All voting 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. Meetings can be viewed on YouTube.