[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6165536,"mediaKeyId","5421771-1d7f8a554964253d9031a4e60a4ae645","parentId",5421771,"title","Owners and HPC debate blind windows, door move and siding options in concept review for 312 North Fifth Street","audioSeconds",227,"startMs",352145,"endMs",579495,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5421771-1d7f8a554964253d9031a4e60a4ae645&start=352&end=579","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5421771-1d7f8a554964253d9031a4e60a4ae645/thumbnail_352145.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6165536/Geneva-City/Kane-County/Illinois/Owners-and-HPC-debate-blind-windows-door-move-and-siding-options-in-concept-review-for-312-North-Fifth-Street","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6165536-95165b219410da7f4846c277ec9107cf/orig.mp4?Expires=1773602682&Signature=cq8N1O527XhoNetMAcn8Cemx13Z1BpUMDHEam9zfwBKz46lUDkuteyk2uMDVUvFGIPA3RLhkHZdYNWI0CXmmJFaqLnN6CSHsFj8Ji1KVjjeUwIhM2~aauYuyKNMUyURzGqQUHz8RboyP5uXkSn6z3nm39XMm4CIkph~qxm1EMJ4JsDrNvpBLjx-ZaCtCN6pfAJ4it4JujQ5M75SyH7MgpO8sOuQRhgpnO0N1DTFtjSBHvM2DYADlumsMQgK0SOcDvXa0rExslHXWn99Se6D4-JPU7hzfBU4RWtinCG0ZpNVLqy~Gs-5NfRarGDvaRR8h9TYh~bX-ezyGeBFK8zQc4w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Geneva, IL","date","2025-07-18T10:24:55.883Z","article","The Geneva Historic Preservation Commission held a concept review July 15 for a front-porch rehabilitation at 312 North Fifth Street. Staff emphasized this was a concept — not a permit application — and the commission and homeowners used the meeting to clarify design choices before a formal submission.
“This is a concept review. It's not a permit review, so no permit is being passed today,” Emily, staff member, told the commission.
Owners Anais and Danielle Bowering joined with family member Eileen Faulkner and explained they want to restore the porch to usable conditioned space. Their architect’s option 3 would shift the entry door slightly left, remove one window to accommodate the door move, add one or more “blind” (non‑operable) windows at corner bays to create interior wall space, replace the porch sash with Marvin windows, and reroof and re-skin the porch. The husband-and-wife household described years of deferred maintenance and said the work aims to preserve character while making the space livable.
Anais Bowering said they were “still pulling together all of the details, from the contractor to get pricing,” and asked for early feedback. On what a blind window would look like, the applicants and staff described multiple approaches: a fully furred and insulated wall with window-like trim; a back-painted spandrel glass panel to approximate glass without operability; or a solid Hardie panel trimmed to look like a traditional sash. “It is actually like a historically used device, which is to keep symmetry, by having something that looks like a window, but is in fact not,” Anais Bowering said.
Staff listed materials the applicants have proposed: Marvin replacement windows (two-over-two lights); James Hardie Artisan lap siding for areas below the porch floor line and v-groove Hardie skirting below the porch; and varied skirting profiles. Commissioners and staff flagged a technical detail for the architect: the v‑groove Hardie skirting product typically has a roughly 7‑inch exposure (reveal), which can look different from the 3.5‑inch exposure of the horizontal siding used on the rest of the house. “The hardy v groove plank comes with a 7 inch exposure,” a commissioner noted, and staff asked the applicants to confirm exposures on final drawings.
Commission discussion covered historical context and policy constraints. Emily summarized the house’s layered history: the earliest portion dates to the mid-19th century (worker’s cottage built about 1845), a Greek Revival section added about 1855 and later conjoined, a porch added between 1923 and 1930, and enclosure of the porch likely in the 1960s. Staff noted the commission’s siding policy requires removal of aluminum siding to determine whether original wood siding survives beneath it; if original siding remains, repair-in-kind is prioritized.
Commissioners generally supported the concept while asking the applicants to develop final drawings that address a handful of issues: the exact composition and finish of blind-window panels, the skirting reveal and how it will visually relate to horizontal siding, stair and step materials (commissioners expressed a preference for natural cedar over composite decking for front-porch steps), exact window profiles, and whether spandrel glass or painted panels will be used. One commissioner summarized: “I actually like the solution that's presented, and I think it keeps the character of the porch.”
No formal action was taken because this was a concept review; staff and the applicants agreed the architect will provide revised drawings addressing the skirting exposure, window profiles and the blind-window treatment prior to a permit application.
Key clarifying details discussed at the concept review will be incorporated into the applicants’ permit submission: the intended number of active windows and the position of the relocated door; choice of Marvin windows; proposed James Hardie siding and v-groove skirting; and the need to inspect behind aluminum cladding to determine if original siding exists.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Historic Preservation Commission Meeting July 15, 2025.","oneSentenceSummary","The Geneva Historic Preservation Commission held a concept review July 15 for a front-porch rehabilitation at 312 North Fifth Street; commissioners and the homeowners discussed blind windows, a slight door relocation, Marvin replacement windows, and Hardie siding versus original cedar.","taxTitle","Geneva City, Kane County, Illinois","taxId",56193,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6165541,"Historic commission approves stair decking and railing replacement at 216 James Street",214,78940,292965,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5421771-1d7f8a554964253d9031a4e60a4ae645&start=78&end=292","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5421771-1d7f8a554964253d9031a4e60a4ae645/thumbnail_78940.jpg","/articles/6165541/Geneva-City/Kane-County/Illinois/Historic-commission-approves-stair-decking-and-railing-replacement-at-216-James-Street","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6165541-118997da4b5ee0d06ae4b56c532fab31/orig.mp4?Expires=1773602682&Signature=Z1SFr~z9gZw4zM7uvnKF-Gln4AA2kjwB8uHeGmEGYRfbPQ2mwuDH3pfynoPxr3ndo~3~Ag5vfyP9WidRSB~zQFDJeyEO-SMKxClbauD4TQ4QM9lCNAxdlYTOApUVFM5VAhAGNSr1vAZn9dRl0oxd1uJB8KBX8ewHhDgrjHgnPawera6ShZz~fZdZMZi1a6HpqLLjBczC40Mf36VvZcU5O-02PHmOH4wydBWbxPsFVI6SPOJ~knjl0HWUAR73X4CD7eVKE7dFcpCO1JMGo8Dt~60jLDE8I~k1OSXYv0s7Dfy3UsZRBIf086kZ5ydV2Gu5Om65O2PQ7D9Xc5XWrrNvkw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Geneva Historic Preservation Commission on July 15 approved a building-permit application for 216 James Street to replace the exterior fire-stair decking and railing, without changing the stair footprint.
Commission staff member Emily described the application as consistent with previous work at the property and said the new materials would match the front porch material that received commission approval in 2024.
Property owners Roxanne and Chuck Osborne told the commission the project is limited to a material change. “Just the material,” Roxanne Osborne said when asked whether the stair footprint or location would change.
The commission adopted a motion “to approve as presented for 216 James Street.” The motion was seconded and passed on a roll call; members recorded as voting yes included Zellmer, Tobler, Phillips and Sullivan. The approval allows the owners to proceed with permit pickup once administrative processing is complete.
The staff presentation summarized the property’s permitting history: original construction in the 1860s (relocated to its present site under permit in February 2007), a 2007 relocation permit that included emergency egress and ADA work, and more recent permits for interior remodels (1990), siding and patio work (2019), reroofing and exterior repairs, and a 2024 front-porch remodel. Emily said the new stair decking and railing will be “consistent with existing” and match the previously approved porch materials.
Emily told the owners she would email the HPC approval and that the permit office would contact them when the permit was ready to pick up.
The commission’s action was limited to the exterior stair decking and railing shown in the petition packet; no other work on the property was approved during the meeting.","The Geneva Historic Preservation Commission approved a building-permit application to replace exterior fire-stair decking and railing at 216 James Street, keeping the existing stair footprint and matching materials to a previously approved 2024 porch finish.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6165533,"Geneva HPC discusses window repair workshops, possible cost support and on-site visits with Preservation Partners",739,3671540,4411400,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5421771-1d7f8a554964253d9031a4e60a4ae645&start=3671&end=4411","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5421771-1d7f8a554964253d9031a4e60a4ae645/thumbnail_3671540.jpg","/articles/6165533/Geneva-City/Kane-County/Illinois/Geneva-HPC-discusses-window-repair-workshops-possible-cost-support-and-on-site-visits-with-Preservation-Partners","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6165533-800b91def6f682f239c41e1ab2417e79/orig.mp4?Expires=1773602682&Signature=g5GJzucKzgQwMv4HWDO9asO7ylaLBjc2fTbW~~0LUi~sR~IPND-YKefopRFdl4Jj682MmoEBseKE5eRxhx2nJJKm8yebVUXJ1L~exJEwpYuvTpjiq~0nUP5i2KkdsMBQAo3~X8fe~UXJOWZxDTQUG~RFtEerMkGMk0tXz8XVomyCMlGWDQp--K9NWyxBhNW7YPwkhtLqn3Vnf8S4H-FvFeCfB2wgqYDuWfIMvCZZcqaU156ZYaQsPU9N9E7IkK9Tu6FSnn0x6Y1NWCCKwgA2E~U5k7UcgR6qHGUgzpIy1kckC0l~6p-tOoa0At-w~ZUYLjOo7A3EV6jY29tHRZhI-w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","During the secretary’s report and new-business portion of the July 15 meeting, Geneva Historic Preservation Commission members and staff discussed expanded outreach and education on historic‑window repair and storm windows.
Staff said she would like to pursue hands‑on education following a recent preservation “camp” event and suggested a window workshop in partnership with Preservation Partners and other experts. “Maybe we could give people, you know, $4 or $5,000 to defray the cost of repairing their windows,” a commissioner said as a conceptual funding example for targeted support.
Commissioners and staff described potential partnerships with the National Window Alliance and local contractors to demonstrate common repairs (sash operation, rope replacement, weatherstripping) and to reduce homeowner costs through hands‑on training or group purchasing. Staff said arranging on‑site visits or house calls is possible but requires advance notice and appropriate open-meeting procedures when commissioners participate.
Preservation Partners representative Al Watts attended and added practical experience from earlier projects. He described work by a local contractor, Michael Miller, who supplied storm windows the group used: “They were between $8.50, dollars $9.50 each,” Watts said in the meeting record (quoted as spoken in the meeting). Watts said the contractor used a dense wood (reported in the meeting as “African Mahogany”) for durable storm sashes and that properly installed storm windows can significantly improve comfort and performance while extending the life of original windows.
Staff and commissioners discussed logistics for outreach: offering demonstrations at public events, conducting workshops where participants can disassemble and reassemble a window, and staging targeted site visits for projects where photographs leave uncertainty. Staff cautioned that organized site visits with multiple commissioners require public notice and planning.
No formal decision was made about funding; participants asked staff to explore potential partners and programming and to report back to the commission on options for workshops and demonstrations.","Commissioners and staff discussed outreach to promote window repair and storm‑window use, possible grant support or stipends for repairs, and collaboration with preservation organizations; Preservation Partners representative and a local contractor joined the discussion.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Owners and HPC debate blind windows, door move and siding options in concept review for 312 North Fifth Street

Historic commission approves stair decking and railing replacement at 216 James Street

Geneva HPC discusses window repair workshops, possible cost support and on-site visits with Preservation Partners