Ithaca Landmarks Commission tables retroactive approval for vinyl windows at 523 East State Street

The Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission on Oct. 20 heard a retroactive application seeking approval for vinyl window replacements at 523 East State Street in the East Hill Historic District and voted to table the case for further work with the building division.

The applicant, represented in the hearing by the owner’s husband, Jim Beargrief, said the windows were replaced over a period beginning around 2012–2014 to address cold air infiltration, failing sashes and high energy bills. “Ignorance of existing bylaws is the reason for noncompliance,” Beargrief told the commission, and he said inspectors had issued multiple certificate-of-compliance approvals for the property over the years. He also said storm-window frames and interior coverings made the newer windows harder to detect from the street.

Commissioners and staff questioned which elevations had been altered, whether the replacement units fit original openings and whether permits or inspections in past years should have flagged the change. Staff said the underlying violation was first recorded around 2014 under a previous preservation planner and was only brought to the commission’s attention following a more recent building-permit inspection.

The commission discussed four procedural options: approve the windows as installed; deny and require restoration (which staff said may be impractical if original materials are gone); deny and refer the matter to the city attorney to negotiate mitigation; or take no vote and allow the application to become approved automatically if the commission does not issue a decision within 45 days after the close of the hearing. Commissioner Caitlin Olson, after arriving for the meeting, said the commission should consider whether it would have approved the insert units if they had been proposed originally: “I definitely would not approve inserting a window that is the wrong size into an opening,” she said.

After deliberation the commission voted to table the application. Staff said they will coordinate with the building division handling the flagged building permit so necessary permit-related work can continue while the legal and compliance issues are resolved.

The commission did not adopt specific mitigation conditions or a timeline at the meeting; staff and the building division will follow up and report back if further action or negotiation is required.