No changes to Geneva historic home policy

A request to replace wood windows with aluminum windows in a building in its historic district spurred Geneva aldermen to talk again about whether the city should take more than authenticity into consideration in such decisions.

But in the end Monday night, the council decided the process in place is working fine.

The discussion was called for by Alderman Dorothy Flanagan last week, as the council reviewed a request from Shodeen Inc. to overrule a decision by the town's Historic Preservation Commission. The company wants to replace wood windows with aluminum windows on the circa-1900 part of its Geneva on the Dam complex on North River Lane. The windows would match windows being replaced on the part of the complex built in the 1980s.

Shodeen contends that wood windows put in the 1980s in both buildings have rotted more quickly due to excess moisture from being near the Fox River, and believes aluminum will hold up better. It also believes the aluminum windows will be more energy-efficient, and wants a consistent look throughout the complex. (The HPC OK'd the use of aluminum in the newer part.)

Flanagan worried that the appeal may have been the first in a flood to come after the city lost an appellate court decision this summer on another window replacement case.

The city's historic preservation planner, Karla Kaulfuss, said of 33 window requests in the last four years, only eight have been denied, and of those eight, three appealed to the city council.

"I thought maybe there should be a time we should revisit this and see if there is a way to put vinyl-clad windows into things and broaden our horizons. At the time I felt there was a need for opening up the discussion again, because I was getting concerned," Flanagan said.

"I didn't realize there weren't as many as I thought there were."

Any time a window is replaced in Geneva, a building permit is needed. If it is in the historic district, the preservation commission decides whether replacement is warranted or whether it could be repaired. It follows standards set by the federal Secretary of the Interior. Kaulfuss said Monday that deviating from those standards could put the city at risk of ineligibility for federal grants.

"A historic building is the whole building. If we change the window policy, what's next? Will we change the siding policy?" she asked.

She also argued that repairing old wood windows, which are often built of stronger, old-growth wood, can often be cheaper than installing new windows, and is a "green" choice because it doesn't use new resources. With storm windows over them, older windows can be energy-efficient, she said.

The council will vote on the Shodeen appeal Oct. 5.