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Planning commission recommends reversible covering of side/rear windows for proposed mini‑mart on Saint Helens Street
Summary
The commission recommended approval, with the proviso that window coverings be reversible and the original steel windows retained, after reviewing plans to convert a 1940s building into a mini‑mart and place coolers against interior window walls.
The St. Helens Planning Commission voted to recommend that staff permit the owner’s plan to cover several side and rear windows of a circa‑1940 commercial building slated to be converted to a mini‑mart, provided any coverings are reversible and preserve the underlying historic steel windows.
The project’s architect described the proposed work: coolers and shelving placed along three west‑side windows and several rear windows would render those windows inaccessible from the interior; the plan calls for fire‑treated framing and fiber‑cement sheathing over the existing openings so they are covered but not removed. The applicant’s architect said the coverings would allow later reopening and restoration of the windows should future owners choose to do so.
Commissioners and staff noted the distinction between “street facade” features and secondary (side/rear) elevations in the city’s architectural guidelines and the National Trust for Historic Preservation guidance submitted by staff. Several commissioners said the front facade — the street‑facing elevation — was not proposed to change and that the covered windows were on non‑primary elevations that face a parking area or neighboring back yards.
One commissioner moved that the commission recommend approval with the condition that coverings be reversible and not damage or remove the original windows; a second added that the record include photographic documentation of the existing windows for the local museum. The motion carried unanimously.
Staff advised that final compliance will be coordinated with building‑code review, especially on fire‑rating details for walls adjacent to property lines, and that the building code official’s decision may affect final construction details. Commissioners asked that the applicant document existing windows with photographs and that any covering system be removable so the original window fabric remains available for future restoration.
