Newton’s Upper Falls Historic District Commission met Wednesday to discuss multiple renovation proposals from homeowners, including the replacement of the windows of a Chestnut Street home and an Oak Street homeowner’s window remodeling application. 

John Prunier, vice president of Northeast Home and Energy, represented the Chestnut Street homeowner and their request for a Certificate of Appropriateness. The plan included 12 windows that would be remodeled to consist of differing styles and materials between the upstairs and downstairs floors. 

The commission debated whether the mixing of materials—the upstairs would be vinyl-styled windows, the downstairs aluminum-clad—was appropriate, given the neighborhood’s particular historical window style. 

“I’ve walked around the property, and the issue is that it’s a mishmash of different types of windows where nothing seems to match and is not the same,” said Jeff Riklin, the commission’s chair. 

Commissioner Paul Snyder raised the issue of cost and commented that the homeowner should be present before the commission to discuss possible changes, noting that Prunier was the contractor and cost was not his responsibility.

“I mean, the owner should—frankly—the owner should be here tonight to be able to respond to some of this,” Snyder said. 

The commission voted unanimously to approve the remodeling with specific conditions that all windows facing the street must be iron-clad with wooden interiors and feature a particular type of factory-installed grids, ensuring that the windows align with commission standards. 

The Oak Street case also involved window remodeling. Homeowner Charlie Walsh, who bought the 1909 home two years ago, sought permission to remodel two windows clearly visible from the outside. 

“I’ve been sitting, and it really kind of drives me crazy,” said Walsh, in reference to the first floor’s layout. 

Despite Walsh providing an artificial intelligence-generated model of the proposed change, the commission was not receptive and unanimously voted to reject the proposal, claiming that the windows did not match neighborhood standards. 

Commissioner Judy Neville took issue with the asymmetric nature of the proposal, stressing that any window renovations that are visible to the public must have a symmetrical design. 

“The fenestration with the teeny windows is just totally out of character,” Neville said. 

Despite universal disapproval, Commissioner David Boronkay mentioned a possible compromise based on a previous case on Linden Street, where a person also wanted to remodel their kitchen. Instead of removing the windows, the homeowner simply kept the exterior of the house intact while installing a painted panel on the backsplash. 

“It was a win-win,” Boronkay said.

Mirroring the Linden Street remodeling would result in no change to the exterior view while providing Walsh with a solution to his renovation problems, explained Boronkay.