Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board Meeting - July 16, 2026
Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board Meeting - July 16, 2026
The Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board met on the morning of July 16, 2026, at 12:25 UTC. Board members present included Trish, Robert Searing, Kyle Gregory, Jeff Romano, and Kate Oweter; Nicole Fragnito was excused. The board approved minutes from the June 25, 2026 meeting, conducted one public hearing for a certificate of appropriateness, and provided advisory comments on a minor site plan review and a special use permit.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes of June 25, 2026 were adopted by unanimous vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Certificate of Appropriateness CA-26-14 (812 North Salinas Street): Brother Jim Moore, superior of St. Francis Friary, presented a proposal to replace 20-25 year old vinyl windows with new white (interior) and bronze (exterior) vinyl windows, including fixed transoms and double-hung sashes, retaining one existing wood basement window for historic documentation. No members of the public spoke in favor or opposition.
Discussion Items
- Minor Site Plan Review 2026-45 (136 Walton Street, Armory Square Historic District): Diana Germillo, architect with King Studio, proposed a rooftop deck with a brick penthouse access, black powder-coated metal railings, and a shed roof. Board members requested reducing the profile of the stair access to minimize visibility from the street, suggesting mimicking the stair slope with the roof. No vote was taken; comments were provided to the applicant.
- Special Use Permit 2026-48 (108 Dell Street, Westcott-University Neighborhood Historic District): William Pitcher, architect with WJP Architecture, presented a conversion of an existing garage into a commercial space with a bronze aluminum storefront, fully glazed overhead door, man door, patio, landscaping, and a painted sign. Board members expressed strong positive support for the design, noting it retains existing materials and fits the neighborhood. No vote was taken; comments were to be relayed to the planning department.
Key Outcomes
- Approval with Condition: Certificate of Appropriateness CA-26-14 was approved by unanimous vote (moved, seconded) with the condition that the applicant retains one extant wood window sash on site as a historical artifact.
- Board Operations: The board discussed upcoming meeting quorum for August 6, 2026, and announced a search for an architect with preservation expertise to fill a vacant board seat (currently six members; quorum is four).
Meeting Transcript
All right, that's uh good morning everybody. This is the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board meeting of July the 16th, 2026. Present at today's meeting are our trish. Robert Searing, Kyle Gregory, Jeff Romano. And Kate Oweter. Thank you. Excuse absence for Nicole. Nicole. Nicole Fragnito. Thank you. May I have a motion to accept the minutes of June the 25th, 2026? I move to accept the minutes. Do I have any do I have a second to the motion? Second. Do I have any modifications? Hearing none. All in favor of the minutes as submitted. Aye. Opposed? Stay. Minutes are adopted. Thank you. The board will now conduct a public hearing on today's agenda. First, the applicant or the applicant's representative will be invited to describe the proposed scope of work and present any material and documentation regarding the proposal to the board. Next persons we person wishing to speak in favor of the proposal will be given the opportunity to address the board. Then persons who wish to speak in opposition will be allowed to address the board. Finally, the applicant or their representative will be given the opportunity to make closing comments to the board. Following public comment, the board may vote to approve, approve the conditions, or deny the application as heard. The board may also decide to hold this decision until the next public hearing. If the hearing is closed, no additional information will be allowed into the record, except for information the board may request. Staff, can you introduce the first application, please? Sure. So the first uh first actually and only public hearing today is uh certificate of appropriateness CA-26-14. It's 812 North Salinas Street, uh St. Francis Friary. Um this is a local protected site. Um and uh brother Moore is here to tell us about the project. Good morning, and please introduce yourself for the record. Yes, my name is Brother Jim Moore. I'm a conventional Franciscan brother and the superior of St. Francis Friary uh here in Syracuse 812 North Salina Street, and uh we have been planning for about a year now to do a replacement windows for the whole front of the friary building. Uh they were done years ago, and right now excuse me. Right now, um we have they've warped some of the windows we can't open, some have cracked, some are fogged over. Uh some have uh warped so much that we've had to put tape or towels to keep the the window down, uh the wind out of the building. And so we have uh done a fundraiser for it. We have the funds available. I did three different uh bids on it and came up with the best bid that we thought would be appropriate for that building with comfort windows and doors, and uh all of that material I think has been sent to you all for your perusal images if you want you know uh they're in your packet as well, but yeah, so we have all the windows here, and they are uh vinyl replacement windows. They are okay, and the current windows are vinyl. The current windows except for the basement, except for the base, which are pictured here. I think it was like two out of the five basement windows if I'm two out of the five, I think, or three out of the five.
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