Owner appeals COA denial for window replacements at 1425 E. Harvard; dispute centers on repair vs. wholesale replacement

An appeal hearing addressed Salt Lake City planning staff’s denial of a certificate-of-appropriateness application to replace multiple street-facing windows at 1425 East Harvard Avenue. The applicant, contractor Nathan Marsala acting for the homeowners, argued that several original steel-frame windows are warped, corroded and nonfunctional and therefore require replacement. City staff and neighborhood commenters said the application was incomplete because it requests wholesale replacement without per-window evidence showing that repair is infeasible. Hearing Officer Aaron McKnight took the matter under advisement and said he would issue a written decision within 10 days.

Marsala told the officer that some windows have warped sashes and gaps that admit drafts, pests and water; he said field measurements showed gaps on at least one window as wide as roughly 3/8 inch and interior temperature differences of about 20 degrees between rooms. Marsala submitted cut sheets for a proposed wood-clad window product (interior wood with an exterior metal cladding) and said the choice was intended to preserve the exterior appearance of the metal windows while providing a lasting, maintainable replacement. He cited guidance from the Steel Window Institute that, in some cases of corrosion and warping, replacement is recommended because restoration can be difficult or impossible.

City planning staff (Amman and Mikaela) said they approved 11 windows in the package after staff review but denied an additional 14 windows included in the applicant’s wholesale-replacement request. Staff said the city’s historic guidelines prioritize repair over replacement for character-defining features on primary facades; when replacement is necessary the code calls for like-for-like or visually matching materials. Staff noted that several properties the applicant cited as precedent either received approvals before the local historic district was established (July 19, 2016) or were noncontributing buildings; staff said those earlier examples are not directly comparable.

Staff also said the applicant’s submission lacked the per-window documentation needed to show that those 14 additional windows are deteriorated beyond repair. Staff and a local neighborhood organization (Key PL Crest) supplied public comments urging repair-first approaches and offered to help the applicant evaluate weatherization and maintenance options. City staff advised that an expert report documenting that individual windows are beyond repair, or a more narrowly drawn application identifying which windows require replacement and why, would be an appropriate next step.

Marsala said he can provide third-party assessments from experienced steel-window repair specialists or fabricators and that the applicants would revise the application if the city specifies what evidence it needs. No members of the public requested to speak during the public-comment portion of the hearing. The hearing officer closed the record, took the appeal under advisement and will notify the parties of a written ruling within 10 days.