Architectural review board recommends denial of 216 Cherry Street COA without hardship documentation

At its Oct. 8 meeting, the Colonial Store Architectural Review Board voted to recommend denial of a certificate of appropriateness application for 216 Cherry Street unless the applicant provides documentation that demonstrates economic hardship. The application sought approval to replace rotted wooden porch balusters and rails with a vinyl (PVC-wrapped) product rather than matching the original wood.

The applicant’s representative, identified in the packet as Tony Hop, told the board the temple that owns the property has limited funds, that the original rail material was rotted beyond repair and that the vinyl replacement would match the existing dimensions and appearance while costing far less. Hop said he obtained an estimated materials cost for a wood replacement of roughly…