The Historical and Architectural Review Board granted a certificate of appropriateness to Jean Therman for a proposed pergola at 132 E. Market St. during the Aug. 2 hearing at city hall. The eight-foot high privacy screen/arbor for the back yard of the home she shares with husband Terry had recently been rejected by the zoning office as being too tall. This exceeded a six-foot height limit for fencing, they had been told. “This is not a fence,” said chairman Fred Bonsall, advising Therman to refer to it as an “ancillary structure” in her appeal to the zoning department. The HARB unanimously voted to approve the wood landscaping structure as being appropriate in scale and style to the Therman’s house.

At vice chairman Philip Roeder’s request, David Bayer, owner of 438 Center St. and contractor Jon Billiard of UBS Associates came before the board to discuss a project already in progress at 438 Center St. As a city building inspector, Roeder noticed that along with “like for like” siding replacement at the property, which does not need to be reviewed by HARB, a new window had been installed. Since the window replacement had not gone before the board, Bayer and Billiard attended the meeting as walk-ins.

After apologizing for the oversight, they reassured the group that the recently installed Magellan wood replacement window was definitely appropriate for the older home. Although it did not match the windows on the rest of the house, it did resemble the second floor window located above it. After a short deliberation, the board gave the project unanimous approval. Regarding the quality of the contractor’s work, Roeder remarked to Billiard, “You did a wonderful job.”

The Historical and Architectural Review Board 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.