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Poughkeepsie preservation commission denies vinyl siding application for 62 Montgomery Street
Summary
The Poughkeepsie Historic Districts and Landmarks Preservation Commission denied an application to cover a landmarked house at 62 Montgomery Street with vinyl siding, saying preservation standards require in-kind replacement and that vinyl would materially change the building's appearance.
The Poughkeepsie Historic Districts and Landmarks Preservation Commission on the application for 62 Montgomery Street denied a request from the property owner to replace the house’s existing wood cladding with vinyl siding.
Preservation commissioners said the commission’s standards favor in-kind repair and replacement of wood siding on landmarked properties and that wrapping a building in vinyl would alter the house’s character.
Applicant Mehmet Asfar told the commission he wanted vinyl “to save the building,” saying wood siding at the property has rotted from weather and that switching to vinyl would reduce ongoing repairs: “we want to save the building…we would like to do the vinyl siding.” Commissioners acknowledged the property has areas of rot but said preservation practice is to replace like with like, and that vinyl or aluminum would “homogenize” surfaces and conceal existing fabric rather than repair it.
Commission members discussed the difficulty of assessing the full extent of decay from the submitted photos and encouraged the applicant to consider targeted spot repairs or in-kind replacement for the most deteriorated sections. Commissioners also suggested the applicant obtain a site inspection and cost estimates for in-kind repairs and to explore salvage or custom-reproduction options that could better match original materials.
The commission put a motion to deny the application as submitted; the motion was seconded and carried (motion text recorded in the meeting as a denial of the application as submitted). The transcript does not list a roll-call tally by name.
The applicant thanked the commission for hearing the matter and said he would look into alternatives and cost estimates.
Meeting context: commissioners began the session by approving minutes from the prior meeting by voice vote before moving to the applications. The denial for 62 Montgomery was taken during the applications portion of the agenda and followed the commission’s long-standing guidance on in-kind repairs for landmark properties.
