Instead of ordering Mike Ghannoum, the owner of an art gallery in Pottsville, to pay a fine of $117.50, Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley on Thursday gave Ghannoum a second chance to comply with regulations laid out by the city's Historical Architectural Review Board.
"We don't think there's a problem but we'll work with them to try to correct the situation," said Claude A.L. Shields, an attorney from Pottsville who represented Ghannoum at a hearing at Reiley's office Thursday.
The judge continued the hearing on the citation for 30 days. Ghannoum said he plans to address HARB at its next meeting, slated for 6 p.m. May 1 in the second-floor conference room of City Hall.
Ghannoum owns Mike Ghannoum Art at 2-4 N. Centre St.
In June 2007, Ghannoum, Ashland, bought the property, the former Centre Square building, and turned it into an art gallery featuring his own work and paintings from other artists. A high-profile building in the city, it stands at Centre and Norwegian streets.
In 2011, HARB recommended Ghannoum install two steel-framed clear glass doors at the 2 N. Centre St. entrance. However, Ghannoum installed a single residential-style door with a leaded stained glass window there, according to David J. Petravich, city deputy code enforcement officer.
In November, Ghannoum removed a pane of glass from his building and, without consulting HARB first, restored an entry way at 4 N. Centre St., again using a residential-style door instead of a commercial-style door, Petravich said.
On Dec. 3, the city filed a Quality of Life ticket against Ghannoum for installing that new door. Since Ghannoum did not pay the $35 fine or appeal it, the city filed a citation against Ghannoum on Jan. 14.
"They're at wits end," Petravich said.
Ghannoum met with the HARB board at its Feb. 6 meeting.
HARB Chairman Michael Cardamone told him since it's a commercial building, it must have doors which are consistent with that style.
In response, Ghannoum said he cannot afford to put in new doors.
On Thursday, Shields and Ghannoum met with Petravich in the lobby of Reiley's office prior to the hearing to discuss the matter.
"What does the city want?" Shields asked.
"They want to see something there that doesn't look like a residential door," Petravich said.
Shields told Ghannoum he should have put in a HARB application before doing the work in November.
"You have to put in an application into HARB for whatever you're doing. And there's nothing else I can do until you do that," Shields said.
"That's a good point," Ghannoum said.
Ghannoum believes the doors he installed at 2 N. Centre St. and 4 N. Centre St. are historically accurate to the building and said he plans to find photographs to support his argument.
"At one time there were doors at both of those locations and they were ornate doors like all the doors were in this town 60 years ago," Shields said.
Shields asked Petravich if the city would be willing to continue the case for 30 days to allow Ghannoum another chance to work with HARB. Petravich said the city would.
Shields asked Reiley for permission to continue the case and Reiley granted it. However, Reiley did not have a tentative date set for the next hearing.
In a related matter, Ghannoum is planning to open a second business in his building, "Deja Vu Thrift Shop," at 4 N. Centre St., according to a sign in the window.
While the sign indicates "Deja Vu" will open in April, Petravich said Ghannoum must comply with the HARB regulation involving the door and other code enforcement issues discovered during a March 11 inspection.
Petravich handed Ghannoum a copy of the list Thursday at Reiley's office.
According to that list, they include: front door lacks required accessible hardware and is not HARB-complaint; front entry ramp is not trip-hazard free; rear egress door lacks approved hardware and an unobstructed path of travel; not all electrical equipment, wiring and appliances are maintained in a safe and approved manner; store area lacks fire extinguishers; store area and exit lack emergency lights; egress doors lack lighted exit signs; water heater requires a discharge pipe installed on a temperature/pressure relief valve; heating plant is non-functioning and must be operating prior to occupancy; chipping and peeling paint need to be addressed.