Lincoln Historical Commission
Historic District Commission
Meeting Minutes
April 8, 2003, 7:30 p.m.
Board: Colin Smith, Chair, Eleanor Fitzgerald, Stefania Jha, Kenneth Hurd, David Ries and Mary Spindler
Town: Elaine Carroll
Guests: Jack MacLean, Historian
Henry B. Hoover, Jr., 154 Trapelo Road
Nancy Bergen, 8 Bedford Road
Joseph and Dana Robbat, 151 Old Concord Road
Margaret Brown, 79 Old Sudbury Road
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, May 6, 2003, 7:30 p.m., Employees Lounge, Town Offices
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Minutes of the March 4, 2003 meeting were approved with corrections, which will be made.
8 Bedford Road:
Nancy Bergen came before the Board to discuss the construction of a temporary shed to be used as a sugar shack to be placed on the north side of the house on 8 Bedford Road. Nancy Bergen explained that the reason they are referring to this as temporary is because it will be moved in a year or two to the Flint farm and will not be placed on a foundation but 4 cinder blocks. After a brief discussion, the Board voted unanimously to approve the sugar shack for a period of three years from the date of construction. If after three years, the shed has not been moved, the applicant can come before the Board for an extension.
Other Business:
Old Town Hall Exchange Signpost The members discussed the signpost at the Old Town Hall Exchange. Ken Hurd told the members that the Planning Board had requested that the post be painted green and that they reuse the post inside and change the outside sheathing. He also said that the color of the sign would be changed to its approved colors. Colin said that he would inform Lee Harrison that they have to come before the HDC for approval of the post only.
15 Sandy Pond Road House Number The members informally reviewed an architect s drawing of a proposed granite marker to hold numbers to be used for a house marker. Most of the members felt that the granite marker would be acceptable but did not approve of the porcelain marker showing the numbers. It was decided that Colin would call the architect and suggest that some other type of marker be used.
79 Old Sudbury Road (Pillar House) Margaret Brown requested a letter from the HDC approving their intention to move the Pillar House in Newton to their property on Old Sudbury Road which has almost 9 acres of land, some of which has a permanent conservation restriction on it. Mrs. Brown came in to discuss the project and to tell the members that the bid had been put in today. They were hoping to incorporate the Pillar House onto their existing house and would take the building apart in order to transport it to Lincoln. She will keep the members informed as to whether their bid was accepted.
Dana and Joseph Robbat came before the members to discuss putting preservation restrictions on land and to get any suggestions about setting up a charitable trust, which could be used to help homeowners defray the cost of preserving their property. The members suggested that they contact Shantia Anderheggen, Director of Stewardship for SPNEA and also get advise from a tax attorney regarding the tax benefits of preservation restrictions. The members also suggested that the Robbats contact the Land Trust, Housing Commission, Planning Board and Paul Marsh for some help with this project. They will get back to the members at a later date.
The members talked about Article 16 at the Town Meeting, which deals with changes to Library Lane to make it wider. Everything is being done at grade and discussions have been going on for 3 years. The lane is used by Bemis Hall and the First Parish for occasional parking and has already been widened once. Cars have been damaged because of the way people park especially in the winter. Diagonal parking was originally thought of as a good alternative but the idea was dropped. Colin has written 2 letters and spoken to the Trustees to discuss ways of making the improvements less intrusive.
Mary Spindler told the members that the Massachusetts Historical Commission is suggesting a delay of 12 months instead of the present 6-month delay for the Demolition Delay Bylaw.
Henry Hoover, Jr. spoke about trying to set up a data base program for the properties being considered for Historic Districts. He talked with Paul Marsh who suggested that he look at the system in the Assessor s Office. Mr. Hoover will check into this and see if it will be useful. Perhaps the proposed Land Planner will set something up on a data base program, which the whole Town could use.
Mary Spindler reported that she contacted Kerry Glass to see if the Lincoln Historical Society has any money available to help fund the gathering of information for all of the properties being considered for historic preservation. She was concerned that we did not receive funds from the Community Preservation Act this year and wanted to be sure that the members made their needs known for any future funds. Colin Smith wrote to the Codman Trust requesting consideration for funds. David Ries said that he would contact someone from the Stratford Foundation to see if any funds were available. The members felt that $10,000 would be needed to fund this project. Colin Smith also said that he had spoken with Nancy Nelson of the Minuteman National Park who said that they should get together and
maybe she would have some funds available for some project of mutual interest.
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There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Carroll
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