Latest news with #HARB
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Owners of 6 Reading properties recognized for outstanding preservation
The owners of six Reading properties have been recognized for their outstanding work in preserving the city's architectural heritage. The city's annual preservation awards are given by City Council and the city's Historical Architectural Review Board to acknowledge excellence in historic preservation. City Preservation Specialist Amy Woldt Johnson and Suzanne Cody, chair of the board's outreach and education committee made the presentation Monday at council's regular meeting. The WCR Center for the Arts at 140 N. Fifth St. is a winner of the annual historic preservation awards given by Reading City Council. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) 'We would like to thank council members and the mayor for this opportunity to present several projects that are representative of our collective interest in promoting the preservation of historic resources in our city,' Cody said. 'The HARB recognizes projects that have successfully preserved, rehabilitated, restored or reconstructed those portions and features of the property which are significant to its historic, architectural and cultural values.' The following property owners were acknowledged: • Berks County investments LLC for work at 135 N. Sixth St. • WCR, Center for the Arts for work at 140 N. Fifth St. • Thomas C. Ryan and Henry M. Pruski for work at 439 N. Fifth St. • Finest Property Corporation for work at 534 and 536, Elm St. • Yahya Abdur Rahman, Mary Jean Flannery and Cecil Palmer III for work at 453 Douglass St. 'The recipients of the awards are to be commended for their sensitive treatment of character defining materials and unique architectural elements,' Cody said, 'both for its immediate improvement on the quality of our urban environment and for the architectural heritage that it upholds for the enrichment and enjoyment for future generations.' * The WCR Center for the Arts at 140 N. Fifth St. is a winner of the annual historic preservation awards given by Reading City Council. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) * The properties at 534 and 536 Elm St. are winners of the annual historic preservation awards given by Reading City Council. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) * The Community Medical Campus at 145 N. Sixth St. is a winner of the annual historic preservation awards given by Reading City Council. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) * The home at 453 Douglass St. is a winner of the annual historic preservation awards given by Reading City Council. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) * The home at 439 N. Fifith St. is a winner of the annual historic preservation awards given by Reading City Council. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) Show Caption 1 of 5 The WCR Center for the Arts at 140 N. Fifth St. is a winner of the annual historic preservation awards given by Reading City Council. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) Expand
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Scranton backs historical board's denial of digital billboards downtown
A rejected proposal for a pair of digital billboards in downtown Scranton ran counter to the example set by late Scranton native and urbanist guru Jane Jacobs, who advocated for maintaining neighborhoods, retail stores and walkability in cities, according to the city's Historical Architecture Review Board. The board in March rejected Kegerreis Outdoor Advertising's proposal to convert the two-faced 'static' billboard signs at 320 Mulberry St. into rotating LED digital signs. That rejection went to Scranton City Council on Tuesday, in the form of a resolution from the administration of Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, for council to uphold or reverse. Council backed HARB in a 5-0 vote — with council President Gerald Smurl, Bill King, Mark McAndrew, Jessica Rothchild and Tom Schuster in favor — to introduce a resolution accepting HARB's denial of a conversion of the static signs on the two-sided structure into digital signs, according to an Electric City Television simulcast and video of the council meeting posted on YouTube. The resolution likely would come back before council for a vote on adoption at its next meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The Kegerreis firm, which recently bought the sign structure that was erected in 2012 without zoning approval, sought HARB approval in February for the conversion of the two signs into rotating LED digital signs. At the February meeting, Scott Kegerreis said his company already had removed both static signs and installed one digital sign facing west, before the city issued a stop-work order. Kegerreis thought the prior owner received the appropriate permits from the city for the conversion of static signs to digital, but there was a 'giant miscommunication.' He said officials told him to go before HARB, and if it said yes, then the digital billboards would be permissible. HARB initially tabled the application in February for further review and then rejected it in March. During council's meeting Tuesday, King asked council Solicitor Tom Gilbride, 'So the issue would be, if we were to grant this (digital billboard, by reversing HARB), that would just open the door to … ,' without completing the thought. Gilbride replied, 'It would take away your right to further limit any of these LEDs signs in the historic section.' Council then voted unanimously to accept HARB's recommendation against the digital signs at 320 Mulberry St. Efforts on Wednesday to reach Kegerreis were unsuccessful. HARB's decision, memorialized in a March 14 letter to Kegerreis from HARB Chairman Michael Muller, said, 'The introduction of LED display billboards is inconsistent with the historic aesthetic of the (downtown historic) district and could undermine its visual integrity.' HARB also denied previous applications for digital signs in the historic district, Muller said. Existing digital billboards along Mulberry Street, about one or two blocks east and west of 320 Mulberry St., fall outside of the district or were installed before HARB's expanded jurisdiction over the district, and thus were never reviewed or approved by HARB. The brightness of LED signs and their changing visuals also could distract motorists or pedestrians and pose safety concerns, Muller said. 'Billboards — particularly electronic billboards — are fundamentally designed for vehicles, not pedestrians. Unlike traditional signage that contributes to an inviting and engaging streetscape, large-scale digital advertisements prioritize the attention of drivers, reinforcing car-centric development patterns that diminish a city's walkability,' Muller said. Moreover, the digital signs' conversion proposed for 320 Mulberry St. also 'runs counter to the broader vision for Scranton's urban environment' and walkability initiatives, and would create 'visual noise that detracts from the architectural fabric of a district and the pedestrian experience,' Muller said. Muller cited Jacobs, a leading advocate for preserving dynamic, tightknit neighborhoods, and her landmark 1961 book, 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities,' which redefined views of urban life and led to revolutionary changes in how urban planning is taught and practiced. Jacobs 'championed the idea that cities thrive when streets are designed for people, not just cars,' Muller said. Jacobs 'argued that successful urban environments foster human-scale experiences, with visually engaging storefronts, active ground-level uses and pedestrian friendly streetscapes. Electronic billboards, by contrast, do not contribute to this kind of vitality.' Jane Jacobs (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO) Jacobs' vision of city and neighborhood communities was shaped in part by her Scranton roots. She was born Jane Butzner in 1916 in Scranton and her family moved from Green Ridge to neighboring Dunmore when she was 5. A graduate of the former Scranton Central High School, Butzner moved at 21 to New York City's Greenwich Village and later married and wrote her groundbreaking book.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fresh dispute over 13-year-old, two-sided billboard in downtown Scranton
SCRANTON — A fresh dispute centers on a 13-year-old, two-sided billboard downtown at 320 Mulberry St. The sign structure supported by one large pole has two angled billboard frames, with one billboard sign facing east and one facing west, and both readily visible to traffic on Mulberry Street. The sign structure was erected in 2012, apparently without city zoning approval, according to discussion during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting Thursday simulcast by Electric City Television and posted on its YouTube channel. A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) The signs facing in both directions on this billboard structure previously were 'static' vinyl-type banners. HARB, an advisory board within Scranton city government, heard an application Thursday by Kegerreis Outdoor Advertising of La Plume Twp. to replace the static signs with digital signs. 'We recently purchased the structure at 320 Mulberry St. with a lease interest and we were hoping to convert the static panels that are on that current billboard and change them to digital displays,' company representative Scott Kegerreis told HARB. The company already had removed both static signs and installed one digital sign facing west, before the city issued a stop-work order, Kegerreis told HARB. A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)One side facing west of a two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) The city at first thought Don Mammano, who owns the four-story apartment building right next to the billboard structure that's at issue, was doing the sign work and contacted him about it, he told HARB. Mammano in 2013 bought the building called 317 Linden that spans the block between Linden and Mulberry streets. But the billboard structure was separate and not owned by Mammano, he said. He also was surprised to learn that digital billboards were going up there, right next to the north-facing wall of 317 Linden that has a large painting advertising his rentals in that building. 'For me to find out on a Saturday that I got a call from the city that I'm putting a billboard up, which I wasn't, and then I found out that it was being done without a permit with a stop-work order on it,' Mammano told HARB. Don Mammano, owner of the 317 Linden building in downtown Scranton speaks about a billboard at 320 Mulberry St.., which is shown in the red circle at the rear of his 317 Linden building, during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) Mammano objected to the conversion of the billboard faces from static to digital on several grounds, including: the structure apparently never got zoning approval; its dimensions do not appear to match a prior permit that had been obtained from the city to erect the sign structure; his question of whether the sign structure could support the weight of digital signs; and aesthetics. 'I just think there is no right or reason to have a double-sided digital billboard hanging over Mulberry Street,' Mammano told HARB. 'It just seems a little obnoxious to have a double-sided digital billboard that close to Mulberry Street.' Mammano also said he realized that there already are other digital billboards and signs in the area, but their circumstances might be different from the one in question at 320 Mulberry St. HARB member Katie Gilmartin said, 'I understand there are a lot of other digital signs in that vicinity. I tend to agree. I'm a little hesitant to move forward with adding another digital sign and yet I want to make sure we're being consistent with that as a board.' A digital billboard on a parking garage in the 500 block of Mulberry Street is shown in red circle on a slide shown during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE)A digital billboard at the intersection of the McDade Expressway and Mifflin Avenue in Scranton is shown in a red circle in an image shown during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) HARB showed images of other digital signs or billboards in the Mulberry corridor area, including one on a parking garage in the 500 block of Mulberry Street, and a two-sided sign structure mounted on a pole at the intersection of the McDade Expressway and Mifflin Avenue. Gilmartin also noted HARB previously had denied an application for a digital sign on Courthouse Square. Kegerreis said the zoning office told him that if HARB was on board with the digital conversion, 'then we were good to proceed forward.' HARB voted 3-0 — with Gilmartin and board members Conrad Bosley and William Lesniak all in favor — to table the Kegerreis application for further review with the zoning office. The board also will find out if the city's new zoning ordinance enacted in 2023 grandfathers in such a nonconforming use as allowable, according to the HARB discussion. Scranton's Historical Architecture Review Board on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, from left, Conrad Bosley, Katie Gilmartin and William Lesniak. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) Kegerreis said his company has been in business for 44 years and never encountered such a situation. 'I purchased the structure and the permits with a giant miscommunication between the two parties of saying 'you could do this project.' When I went to do it, unfortunately Don (Mammano) was caught in the middle of it, and rightfully so was upset about what was taking place,' Kegerreis told HARB. 'It was a bad situation that I personally feel bad about it, but we're trying to resolve it.' Scott Kegerreis of Kegerreis Outdoor Advertising speaks about a billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) HARB expects to revisit the application for a resolution at its next meeting March 13 at Scranton City Hall. 'We'll have to follow up with zoning. Sorry, we'll have to bring you back next month and hopefully in the interim we can get answers to all the questions the board has,' HARB solicitor John Finnerty said. Kegerreis replied, 'I realize it's a unique situation.' * A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * One side facing west of a two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) * A billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton in May of 2012. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / GOOGLE STREET VIEW) * A billboard with a Dunkin' ad at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton in April of 2023. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / GOOGLE STREET VIEW) * A billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton in May of 2012. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / GOOGLE STREET VIEW) * A billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton in Nov. of 2022. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / GOOGLE STREET VIEW) * Scott Kegerreis of Kegerreis Outdoor Advertising speaks about a billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) * Don Mammano, owner of the 317 Linden building in downtown Scranton speaks about a billboard at 320 Mulberry St.., which is red circled and at the rear of his 317 Linden building, during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) * A digital billboard on a parking garage in the 500 block of Mulberry Street across from historic 1888 Scranton City Hall, is shown in red circle on a slide shown during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) * A digital billboard along the McDade Expressway where it become Mulberry Street near the intersection of Mifflin Avenue in Scranton is shown in red circle on a slide shown during the city's Historical Architecture Review Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (IMAGE SCREEN GRAB / ELECTRIC CITY TELEVISION VIA YOUTUBE) Show Caption 1 of 11 A two-sided billboard at 320 Mulberry St. in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in front of the north wall of a four-story building along Oakford Court and that fronts on 317 Linden St. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO) Expand
