READING, Pa. – Reading City Council voted Monday night to submit an application to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for a $25,000 grant to support contracting an expert to assist the city’s Historic Preservation Office implement recommendations from the State Historic Preservation Office.
The grant, if received, would require a city match of $2,500.
After all the members of the Historical Architectural Review Board resigned last February, the city had its historic preservation program evaluated by the state, which identified deficiencies with the city’s historic preservation ordinance.
In April, City Council authorized delaying appointments to the HARB to give the city time to reevaluate and consider the resources, capacity and management of historic preservation.
Reading’s preservation staff will continue to process certificates of appropriateness in the absence of a Historical Architectural Review Board.
At that time, council also authorized the historical preservation officer to issue certificates of appropriateness for construction, for demolition or alteration projects within the historic districts for a period of 180 days, to expire at the end of October.
Since that time, both the city’s community development director and the historic preservation officer left their positions.
Two weeks ago, council voted to continue to allow the preservation staff to process certificates of appropriateness for historic properties in the absence of the HARB for a period of six months.
Property owners in the Centre Park Historic District now fear that the city administration may not fill the position of historic preservation officer, which they believe would jeopardize preservation of historic architecture.
Several residents from that district attended the meeting Monday night to make their concerns heard during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Nigel Walker, who was one of the HARB members who resigned, said clear guardrails for historic preservation must be maintained.
“This involves adhering to design guidelines, utilizing appropriate materials during exterior renovations, and respecting the structural oversight of the historic architectural review board,” Walker said.
Michael E. Lauter, executive director of the Centre Park Historic District, said he has concerns about losing a certified preservation specialist.
“To consider the elimination of our city preservation office is to fundamentally misunderstand the irreplaceable value these roles bring to our community,” Lauter said. “Furthermore, the notion that these specialized duties could be absorbed by general community development personnel — who more than likely lack specific qualifications, knowledge and expertise — is not only impractical but irresponsible.”
“Do not abandon or ignore the city’s preservation movement just because of several deficiencies in the system or for financial reasons,” he added.
Andrew Boyd, also a resident in Centre Park, said he has done some research on the matter.
“Over the past few weeks, in light of the proposed budget that reduces the preservation office from three full-time employees to just one, research done by myself and many of my fellow neighbors has uncovered serious gaps in our city ordinance governing historic preservation,” Boyd said. “To fix this, I would encourage council and the administration to work together to implement the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission that would bring us back into compliance with the state’s Historic District Act.”
All six members of the Reading Historical Architectural Review Board have resigned, leaving the nine-seat board empty.
Managing Director Jack Gombach thanked the residents for the comments, telling them advocacy matters.
“I think we’re all on the same page of what we want,” Gombach said. “We understand the benefit; it’s just how we get there. I’m happy to meet and discuss and involve the historic preservation community in our decision-making as we go through this process.”
But Gombach explained all 600 job descriptions are going to be under review in city hall as part of the budget process.
“That is a priority for the administration, and then making sure that each job description, each position is up to par, and then making sure that all of our different boards and commissions have the support needed to operate and do city business, and that includes the HARB,” Gombach said.
Councilmember Jaime Baez Jr. said it was obvious how deeply the residents care about the neighborhood and preserving its character.
Baez also reminded them that the city had a full HARB board and every single member did resign.
“So we have a responsibility to keep the process moving, and that is what is on the agenda tonight,” Baez said.
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