 |
Lincoln Historical Commission
Historic District Commission
Meeting Minutes
April 26, 2005, 7:30 p.m.
Board: Colin Smith, Chair, Eleanor Fitzgerald, Stefania Jha, Ken Hurd, David Ries and Mary Spindler
Town: Elaine Carroll
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, May 10, 2005, 7:30 p.m., Town Offices
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Demolition Delay By-Law:
300 South Great Road (demolish farm stand, house and garage):
Attorney Thomas Falwell spoke on behalf of James DiGiovanni, owner of the property. He stated that the farm stand, which had been in business for many years, was now unable to be rented out because of the difficulty for tenants to make ends meet with the restrictions put on it by the Town and the complaints of a neighbor. Barbara Peskin spoke about the history of the farm stand and gave her support for the demolition. Buck Creel stated that this would be a good way to get rid of the lawsuit. Mr. Falwell reminded him that they were appealing a ZBA decision and did not initiate the lawsuit. Mary Spindler asked the owner to contact the Housing Commission to see if the house and garage could be moved somewhere and used for affordable housing. Several people were concerned with what was to be
put up in place of the existing structures. Mr. Falwell stated that no future plans had been finalized. A motion was made to approve the request for demolition of the farm stand, house and garage and the motion was unanimously approved. Mr. DiGiovanni was reminded that he would need to get site plan approval from the Planning Board, a Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals and Conservation Commission approval before he can get a building permit to demolish the structures.
Historic District Review:
23 Bedford Road alteration (demolition and reconstruct dwelling):
The hearing started with a review from Ken Bassett of the Rural Land Foundation outlining the transaction which took place to purchase the approximately 18 acre parcel known as the Heck property. He stated the importance of preserving the character of the land and preventing the development of possibly six 2-acre lots with large houses built on them. Mr. Lammert s purchase of an approximate 6-acre parcel with the existing structures was essential to this transaction. Mr. Lammert spoke next saying that he moved to Lincoln 2 years ago with his wife and 4 children buying a house which wasn t ideal but continued to look for a suitable house for his family s needs and was happy to work with the RLF. He said that he explored working with an architect to renovate the structure in whole or in part but
could not find a way to accomplish this. He would work with the Commission on any new dwelling. William Morgan and Ralph Lieberman, Architectural Historians, spoke in support of the Lammerts. Andrus Burr and his wife, Ann McCallum, owners of the architectural firm Burr & McCallum spoke of the plans for a new dwelling and quoted from a report from Rene Mugnier Associates, Structural Engineers. Gary Hilderbrand, Landscape Architect, spoke of the beautiful rolling character of the site and how they would work to preserve this site. Mr. Lammert s attorney, Greg Biolecki, spoke on behalf of the Lammerts. Abutters, Bill Russell, 24 Bedford Road, Randall Thompson, 34 Bedford Road, Abigail Congdon, 19 Bedford Road, Ned Young, 41 Bedford Road, Ed Nardi, 37 Bedford Road, and Ginny Welles, 42 Bedford Road, spoke in favor of the Lammerts. Karen Crane, a granddaughter of Mr. Heck, said she felt that although they had many years of enjoyment in the
house, the Lammerts should be allowed to do what they wanted to do. Mr. Lammert said that he spoke with members of the Heck household, and they had no sentimental attachment to the house and the next owner could do whatever they wanted. Copies of letters and reports on file with the HDC.
Henry Hoover, Jr., son of the architect for the Heck house, stated that the house is over 50 years old and an important example of early post-World War II modernism. Dana Robbat gave a report on the history of the Heck house and modern architecture in general and their contribution to Lincoln s history. She said that the Gropius House and Heck house are the only examples of modern architecture that are fully visible. David Fixler, AIA, Pres., of DOCOMOMO-Us/New England said that the Heck house is not a conventional modern house but represents uniqueness and would like to see that every effort is made to make something out of the house. Gary Wolf, AIA, Gary Wolf Architects, spoke in favor of preserving the house. Henry Moss, AIA, BSA Historic Resources Committee, felt that Burr & McCallum
can do something to work with the structure in a renovation. Peter Sugar, Architect, was troubled by discussions that Heck house doesn t seem to fit. He thinks something should be able to be done to work with this house. He does not believe that renovations cannot be made and that the owners should try to keep some of what Hoover made. Henry Hoover, Jr. showed slides of modern houses, which had been torn down in favor of much larger homes. Lucretia Giese, daughter of Mr. Hoover, Sr., read some letters in favor of preserving the Heck house and spoke of her concerns to save the house, asking that something other than total destruction be examined. Joseph Robbat said that he admires what the RLF has done and the Lammerts role in it but opposes demolition of the house. He quoted the by-law saying that the Commissions role is to preserve and protect this building but nowhere does it say demolish, which could be a precedent setting case. Mr.
Heck wanted this house in the Historic District in 1981 and the Town accepted it into the District. Mr. Robbat felt that there is not enough here to show poor condition. There should be an outside preservation consultant called in to give a report. He feels that there is no way that the members can vote to demolish this structure and said that you cannot take a piece from the whole. He said that any fear of a lawsuit would only prevail because of procedures not being followed and not just because of validity of demolition. Full reports, additional information and letters in support of FoMA s position are in the HDC files. Because of the late hour, Colin Smith asked that the meeting be continued until May 10. Ken Hurd asked the Lammerts architects to bring in more details about what is proposed if demolition is granted.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Carroll
| |