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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a Pearl District Neighborhood Association appeal for a change to the design of a planned stair enclosure on the roof of the Janey II apartments.

The staircase, which provides access to a rooftop terrace, was added late in the design process to meet fire safety requirements, Marcus Lima of GBD Architects told the commission. GBD designers decided to angle the roof of the stair covering to avoid interfering with the facade of the eight-story, 62-unit apartment building on the corner of Northwest Everett Street and 11th Avenue, he said.

“The idea of angling it was to keep it as far away from the facade as possible,” Lima said. “The pop-up is essentially hidden from most views near the building.”

The angled form, however, lacks consistency with the rest of the building’s design, said Patricia Gardner, Pearl District Neighborhood Association board president. It also would be clearly visible to neighbors living in taller buildings, she said.

“We’re fine with the stair; there are not issues,” Gardner said. “We just want it squared off with the rest of the building. These buildings have to work from bottom to top because everyone experiences them in the neighborhood.”

Design Commissioner Tad Savinar agreed and suggested that GBD Architects could square the stair enclosure and keep it away from the facade.

“It just seems to me that a box is easier to look at,” he said. “Can you not continue this over and keep it two feet away from the facade?”

Lima said that could be done.

“I think we just solved the problem,” Commission Chairwoman Guenevere Millius said.

General contractor Lorentz Bruun Construction started construction on the Janey II in October 2013. Columbia Investments Ltd. is the developer.