Williamsville commission approves removable canopies, lighting and furniture at 5590 Main Street

The Williamsville Historic Preservation Commission on Jan. 28, 2025, approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for exterior changes at 5590 Main Street, including removable canopies (referred to in the packet as sails), string lighting, planter boxes and replacement outdoor tables and chairs, by a 6-0 vote.

The decision allows the applicant to install four overlapping canopy "sails" attached to existing posts and four hooks on the building, string lights hung along the canopy edges and new black planters with annual plantings. The commission’s motion included conditions on installation and appearance; commissioners later amended the motion to permit lights to remain year-round at the applicant’s discretion.

Applicant Joel described the proposal as removable and minimally invasive to the building. “I think this does all those things in a tasteful way, creating no impact to the building itself,” Joel said, explaining that the canopies would attach to existing posts and that only four hooks would be installed on the building to secure the sail corners. He said the sails would be removed at the end of each season or in high wind and that the planters would be refreshed with new plants annually.

Under the commission’s approval, the commission record specifies that sails and lights will be installed each year in May and removed no later than October; the commission then amended that condition to allow the applicant to leave the lights up year-round if the applicant clears it with staff. Additional conditions recorded in the motion require that the sails contain no logos, any replacement sails be solid color, the hooks attach to building structure, and the submitted tables and chairs replace those previously approved for the site.

Commissioners asked about tenant impacts and placement of tables relative to windows. Joel told the commission there is an office tenant in the front and an apartment in the rear, and that tenants had installed shades and reported no issues with the proposed changes. The applicant also noted the canopies’ lights would be strung using the same hooks as the canopies so no additional building penetrations would be required beyond the four hooks.

The motion as stated at the meeting read: “Approve the certificate of appropriateness as submitted and following clarifications that the sails and lights will be installed yearly during the month of May and removed no later than the month of October, that there will be no logos, and if the sails are replaced they will be solid color, that the hooks attached to the building will be attached to building structure, that the tables and chairs submitted will replace the previously approved tables and chairs.” The commission recorded the final outcome as approved, 6-0.

With the approval and conditions in place, the applicant may proceed with the exterior work consistent with the commission’s clarifications and the subsequently recorded amendment allowing year‑round lights as cleared by the applicant.