Vote on Harmony house tabled
HARMONY — After hearing concerns on a proposed addition to a historic house, borough council decided Tuesday night to table a decision on the issue until next month.
An addition proposed at 139 Jackson St. was approved Monday night by a vote of 6-1 by the borough architectural review board and recommended to council.
The project would include tearing down the porch on the west wall of the house and extending the main floor, including adding a bathroom.
The property, owned by David Eberle, is for sale. The addition is proposed by Patricia Kipin, a prospective buyer of the house.
Kipin wants the addition to have a bathroom on the main floor. Currently the only bathroom is in the basement, which could be affected by a flood, she said Monday.
The bricks and roof of the addition would be picked to mimic the house’s historic style, she said.
Jodi Correll, the dissenter on the architectural board, attended the council meeting to voice her opinion.
“This is a Mennonite building that is pretty much unaltered, and it seems to me this town should be trying to save them,” she said. “The alterations that are being proposed are to the front, not to build back in toward the creek or on the property line.
“The alterations are going to go up the street, so the whole front of the building will be changed.”
Historic Harmony President Jim Ruch said although he has not reviewed the plans, he was “very concerned” about any work that would alter a historic structure.
Council members decided to table the decision at the suggestion of council President Jim Hulings until they can see more detailed plans of the proposal.
Kathy Luke, who works at the Harmony Museum and is on the review board, said Tuesday afternoon that she is OK with the addition because similar additions had been done in the past to other buildings and the side of the house that faces the road would be left intact.
“A lot of these houses have additions. If you want to actually have someone live there, you have to make accommodations sometimes,” she said Tuesday afternoon.
The role of the review board is not to impose rules on people, but to have a conversation with property owners to help them do renovations in keeping with the historical nature of the building, she said.
The house was built by the Mennonites around 1830, according to a historic sites survey done by Historic Harmony.
Since it is in the historic landmark district, the architectural review board must review the proposal and make a recommendation to council.
The project would also need a variance since it is fewer than 25 feet from the road, said Allen Bayer, codes and zoning enforcement officer.
