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The Portland City Council on Wednesday approved an appeal by TMT Development to remove conditions attached to the Design Commission‘s approval of a building rehabilitation.

Though the firm’s plans to renovate the Studio Building and Guild Theatre, at 901-919 S.W. Taylor St. in downtown Portland, were approved by the Design Commission, it added requirements tied to window replacements. But the City Council voted 4-1 to strike down those conditions.

鈥淭his has been before (the Design Commission) twice,鈥� Portland Commissioner Dan Saltzman said. 鈥淢y best judgment is there is a lot of effort on this and it makes me support removing the conditions.鈥�

The project team’s top concern, and a major factor in the council’s decision, was the added cost that the conditions would impose.

The Design Commission wanted developers to use a clearer glass, and add interior muntins and a spacer bar to the aluminum windows that were selected. Those changes would have increased the project cost by $105,000, according to TMT Development President Vanessa Sturgeon.

鈥淭here is virtually no discernible visual difference between what we proposed and what the commission wants us to do,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat is a budget buster.鈥�

The glass requested by the Design Commission has approximately 4 percent less tint and is brighter than the glass planned by the project team. The replacement of 192 windows is part of an $8 million restoration effort. Other changes requested by the commission that were not appealed added more than $70,000 to the cost, according to Sturgeon.

On top of economic arguments, the project team argued that changes to the spacers and muntins would not be seen from the outside. Therefore, it stated, the Design Commission lacked authority to make that requirement.

A big concern of councilors was adding cost to what they see as a relatively minor improvement.

鈥淭he building, though grand she is, is an old dump,鈥� Mayor Ted Wheeler said. 鈥淲e have someone that is willing to (rehabilitate) it and we are quibbling over 4 percent?鈥�

Originally, the Design Commission had urged the building’s owners to rehabilitate the building’s existing steel windows. Once it became clear that could not be accomplished and still meet energy code, the commission’s goal became to ensure that replacement windows resemble the original ones as closely as possible.

鈥淕enerally there is a lot of movement toward the clearest glass possible on historic buildings,鈥� Design Commissioner Julie Livingston said. 鈥淲e thought that the muntins and clear glass were OK with the owner. Had we known, we would have had more conversations.鈥�

Overall plans to renovate the building include replacing the windows, performing cosmetic improvements, making changes to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and installing new climate control systems.

Portland Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said she felt unqualified to overturn a Design Commission decision on an issue that would largely affect the essence of the structure.

鈥淚 don’t want us to become the default design review commission,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel I don’t have information to vote against the Design Commission.鈥�

One area of broad agreement was that projects like the Studio Building and Guild Theatre rehabilitation should go before the Historic Landmarks Commission instead of the Design Commission. The Studio Building and Guild Theatre are listed on Portland’s Historic Resource Inventory (HRI), but not on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently, a building listed on the HRI does not go before the Historic Landmarks Commission unless it has other historic designations.

鈥淏uildings on the HRI should be reviewed by Landmarks 鈥� I agree with that,鈥� Livingston said. 鈥淭his building should be looked at by Landmarks. They bring a level of authority that Design Commission may not.鈥�