Geneva council overrules historic commission, allows house's new siding
A Geneva couple will get to replace siding and trim on their historic home, rather than being required to keep and repair original materials.
The city council voted, 7 to 3, to overturn the Historic Preservation Commission's denial of Matt and Michelle Demaray's request for their house at 113 Fulton St., which is at least 155 years old.
The house is known as the LeBaron-Turner House. It is identified as a "significant" property in the local Geneva Historic District. That is the highest local ranking. It is listed as "contributing" in the Central Geneva Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. That's the highest property ranking for the National Register.
The Demarays want to replace the siding and trim on the front and the west side of the original part of the house. Initially, they applied to replace it with fiber cement board, but later changed to cedar wood. The original siding is cedar.
The Historic Preservation Commission said the Demarays had not adequately proved why siding needed to be replaced, including not clearly identifying and quantifying the amount of "failed material" involved.
"It just seems we could not get a good apples to apples comparison" from the Demarays, HPC chairman Scott Roy said of bids for repair vs. replace. The cost estimates provided to the commission did not contain identical scopes of work, he said.
Aldermen Mike Bruno, Tara Burghart and Robert Swanson voted "no."
"I have voted in the past to uphold, I have voted in the past to overturn. I don't take it lightly," Alderman Don Cummings said of his vote to overturn the commission, after an audience member questioned whether the vote would set a precedent for people to deliberately postpone work on historic homes so siding would deteriorate to the point replacing was allowed.
The original section of the house was built in 1863, and enlarged in 1867, including the Italianate facade. A veranda was added in 1875, when Mayor Walter D. Turner lived in the home with his wife, Maria LeBaron Turner, the daughter of an early Geneva family.
The LeBaron-Turner family occupied the house until 1954.
It was enlarged again in 2005.
Bids for repairing and repainting the historic siding range from $97,000 to $102,270, the Demarays said. Replacing with wood was estimated at $41,327 to $70,706.
The house has not been painted since at least 2003, and then it was not done properly, according to a report from the city. The surface was not properly prepared, flashing was improperly installed, new wood trim was not properly attached, and caulks and sealants were not properly applied. The Demarays showed pictures of rot, cracks, alligatored paint and water damage.
The Demarays said they concentrated on the interior first, including replacing the plumbing and electrical wiring. They estimate they have spent about $600,000 renovating the house. It is not clear if that includes the addition.
The council adopted a siding policy in 2010. It calls for replacing siding, up to 100 square feet, with in-kind material, without a building permit or HPC review.
They bought the home for $755,000 in 2004, according to Geneva Township assessment records. The 4,545-square-foot building has six bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms.