A Subject Matter Summary for "Windows"

Windows can be important character-defining elements of a contributing building in a historic district or landmark. Like other architectural details, windows provide a sense of scale, craftsmanship, proportion and styling. They also usually comprise more than a third of the surface area of a building's principal façade. {1} Character-defining windows on contributing or landmarked structures are subject to close review under the D.C. Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act ("the Act").

To assist property owners navigate the regulations regarding window replacement on historic properties, the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) adopted regulations in 2011 (DCMR Title 10-C, Chapter 23). The HPRB also released an illustrated guidance document. {2} The Guidelines favor restoration of existing historic windows over replacement. {3} But when a window must be replaced, the replacement should replicate the appearance of the original. A permit is needed to replace windows in a contributing building in a historic district or in a landmark. {4} A property owner can obtain an "alteration" permit to replace windows on a protected historic building if issuance of the permit would be consistent with the purposes of the Act. {5} According to applicable regulations, when replacing windows that date from the construction of the building, the replacements "shall be approved if they reasonably match the historic windows in all respects—configuration, method of operation, profile, dimensions, material, and finish."{6}

In a recent case involving 3101 M Street NW, {7} the Mayor’s Agent found that replacement windows must match the historic windows, and not merely the windows to be replaced (which in many cases may not be original). In this case, the owners—before obtaining any permits—ordered windows that were substantially similar to the previous windows: wooden, double-hung, nine-over-nine pane and six-over-six pane windows. {8} When the owners did apply for a permit, a 1959 photograph showed the building with all two-over-two windows and arched top sashes on the windows on the M Street facade. {9} The applicants were told that their proposed nine-over-nine and six-over-six windows, while similar to the existing (non-original) windows, were nevertheless not historically appropriate and that two-over-two windows with arched top sashes should be used. {10} The Mayor’s Agent found that the 1959 photograph identified two-over-two windows as historically consistent, so approving other windows designs would not be consistent with the purposes of the Act.{11}

When character-defining windows are considered "historic" and "special" windows in a "major" contributing building, the review of window replacement is quite stringent. {12} The regulations define a "major" contributing building as one "individually distinguished by characteristics like symbolic value, visual prominence, substantial size, architectural elaboration, or historical association"—in other words, a building that in all likelihood would be eligible for landmark status on its own. {13} In World Mission Society, Inc. (Church of God), {14} the Mayor’s Agent denied a church’s request to remove the stained glass windows in its recently-purchased Romanesque Revival Capitol Hill church. The World Mission Society’s core beliefs held that its members cannot worship in spaces whose windows depict shapes in stained glass. {15} The Mayor’s Agent first ruled that keeping the windows would not be a substantial burden on religious exercise under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution or the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). {16} Then he concluded that the windows were an important exterior feature whose removal would not be consistent with the Act and that the church should have engaged in a bare minimum of due diligence before buying such an obviously contributing property in the Capitol Hill historic district.{17}

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{1} 10-C DCMR §2300.1.

{2} D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board, Window Repair and Replacement: Preservation and Design Guidelines (2011), available at http://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/HPO%20Window%20Guidelines.%2010%202011.pdf

{3} 10-C DCMR §2300.2(b).

{4} 10-C DCMR §2305.2 (citing D.C. Construction Code at 12 DCMR § 107

{5} D.C. Code §§ 6-1105(f), 6-1102(10).

{6} 10-C DCMR § 2308.2.

{7} In the Matter of: 3101 M Street NW, HPA No. 13-373 (Feb. 21, 2014).

{8} Id. at 1.

{9} Id.

{10} Id.

{11} Id. at 2.

{12} In the Matter of: World Mission Society, Inc. (Church of God), HPA No. 12-263 (June 13, 2013) at 1.

{13} 10-C DCMR §2307.1.

{14} Id.

{15} Id. at 1.

{16} Id. at 5.

{17} Id. at 4.

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