Historic board allows composite door hardship and approves siding, windows at 79 Main Street

The Townsend Historic Preservation Commission voted to allow a composite front door as a certificate of hardship for 79 Main Street and issued a separate certificate of appropriateness for new siding and windows.

At a public hearing the applicant, Jake, presented proposed exterior work for the house across from the church, describing a plan to replace a rotted front door and to install new siding and windows. The board debated whether a true wood door would require an overhang to avoid rapid deterioration; the applicant said contractors told him they would not warranty a wood door without an overhang.

Board members focused on period accuracy. One member said the proposed portico and columns looked ‘‘kind of going into a Greek thing’’ rather than colonial and asked the applicant to ‘‘tone down the pillars’’ and consider a straight-across overhang so the transom and sidelights would be preserved. The applicant said he could alter the design and that some portions of the work were necessary because the existing door and trim were rotted.

The board split the decision: it voted first to accept a composite door as a certificate of hardship because, the chair said, a wooden door ‘‘would rot’’ without the recommended overhang and contractors would not provide a warranty. Later the board approved a certificate of appropriateness for Hardie clapboards and composite/vinyl windows with interior grids ‘‘to match the existing windows on the side’’ of the house.

The chair told the applicant the commission would issue two documents — a hardship certificate for the door and a certificate of appropriateness for the remaining work — and confirmed the approvals would be written and signed. The board did not require an immediate change to other design details beyond matching the approved siding and windows; members directed the applicant to refine the portico details to be more consistent with the house’s colonial character.

The decisions were presented as administrative approvals at the end of the public hearing; the chair conducted roll-call votes on both measures and confirmed they passed.