Sign work in violation?

The owner of a business in downtown Portland has apparently violated the city’s guidelines for changes to the façades of buildings.
An advisor for the Portland Historic Preservation Commission announced Wednesday that work was done to a building at 212 N. Meridian St., without a Certificate of Appropriateness.
Joe Jarzen said wooden letters were recently added to the front of the building, which is the future location of Cute As A Button. Changes to the facades of buildings located in Downtown Portland’s Historic District must be issued a COA before work can begin.
Jarzen said the design guidelines do not specifically address wooden letters, but does outline requirements for signs.
Because the letters directly on the building is a violation, the commission could force Cute As A Button owner Christina Bishop, who had the letters added, to remove the wooden letters and put up a sign, he said.
He said Bishop plans to attend the Oct. 20 commission meeting. She told him she plans on doing some extensive façade work in the future.
Board members decided to wait until the next meeting to make a decision on the matter. They want to find out what changes Bishop plans to make to the building, along with her eventual plans for the business name on the exterior.
Also Wednesday, commission members were updated on the progress of three large projects being partially funded through grant money.
Commission members were updated on the progress of façade work at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, Inman Insurance and the Tire Center. All of these projects are partially being funded through the city’s downtown façade matching grant program.
Ron Ross of Martin Riley Architects told commission members that the design of the new balcony has been completed. He presented drawings of the balcony — which included the trim, the posts, the ceiling and the roof — to the commission.
He said bid letting for the project at 320 N. Meridian St. will be in two phases. One will be to restore the balcony to its original size, and the other will be to restore the balcony to its current size. When the structure was built, it served as the Merchants Hotel. At some point, the length of the original balcony was extended. Eagles officials will then decide which balcony they can afford.
Drawings for Inman Insurance, 305 N. Meridian St., also were presented to the commission.
Commission member Christy Corle said the new storefront windows will have green aluminum trim, and the doors and columns on either side of the door will be mahogany. The building’s front currently angles in toward the entrance and the renovations will bring the façade parallel to the sidewalk.
The commission also reviewed a slight tweak to the plans for The Tire Center, 421 N. Meridian St.
Originally, the area above the front door had an overhang, covered with shingles. The building owner thought the overhang was just covering the brick exterior of the business. When the overhang was removed, however, workers discovered that the building had two different rooflines.
The architect now plans to cover the exposed area with plywood and trim, and place signs on the plywood.[[In-content Ad]]