Lincoln Historical Commission
Historic District Commission
Meeting Minutes
October 3, 2006, 7:30 p.m.
Board: Colin Smith, Chair, Lucretia Giese, Kerry Glass, Ken Hurd, Ruth Wales
Alternates: Eric Harris, Jack MacLean
Town: Elaine Carroll
NEXT MEETING: November 7, 2006, 7:30 p.m., Town Offices
The minutes from the September 12, 2006 meeting were approved as written.
Certificate of Appropriateness:
Christopher Rogers, 16 Weston Road Jeremy Quick and Zack Bensley of Bensley & Co., contractors, came before the members on behalf of the owner to discuss changes to the exterior of the 1 and 1/2 story barn at 16 Weston Road. The owner, who is on a yearlong sabbatical in Switzerland, purchased the property a couple of years ago. There is also a smaller barn on the property, which was renovated a few years back. There will be no addition, the same roof line but adding 4 skylights. The barn has fallen into disrepair and the intent is to renovate instead of tearing down. It is being used basically as a garage and had sustained a fire a few years ago. The roofing material will match the existing 3-tab asphalt shingle roof and the siding would match the existing wood
shingles. There would be some additional windows and new doors. Changing triple windows to double. Part of the barn is painted and part weathered and they are not sure what way to go with the new shingles. The interior would be used as a garage, workshop, play area with wet bar, and 1 and 1/2 bathrooms. There would also be a sleeping area. It was brought up by the members that this may need Zoning Board of Appeals approval because it has the potential of becoming an accessory apartment. Although the HDC has no say in color, they do have jurisdiction over whether it is painted or natural finish and Ken Hurd said that he likes to see the cluster of white buildings from Trapelo Road and would prefer the barn be painted. The reason for changing the windows from triple to double windows was an architectural preference and the fact that a basketball hoop was on that wall. Ken Hurd felt that the triple windows made a better statement. After a brief discussion, Mr. Hurd made a motion to approve the request with the stipulation that the window configuration would remain the same on the south elevation, the shingles are to be painted instead of left natural and the architect will submit a revised plan to reflect these changes. Kerry Glass seconded the motion and the motion passed 5-0.
Informal Discussions:
Nancy Soulette, 1 Woods End Road This is a continuation of the fence discussion after a site visit by some of the members last month. Lucretia Giese wanted it noted in the minutes that she has been distressed by this whole matter and felt that Ms. Soulette should be held to the original plan, which she felt showed gaps in the fence. Colin said that, after discussions with Ms. Soulette, he felt that she had made a good faith effort to accommodate the neighborhood and the Commission but that she needed the gaps filled in to preserve her privacy. Ruth Wales felt that this part of the fence was not visible from either Woods End Road or Baker Bridge Road and she should be allowed to fill in the gaps. All the plantings have been done including the shrubs on the neighbor s side of the fence. After a brief discussion, a motion was made and seconded to approve Alternate #2 on a plan dated Sept. 22, 2006. The motion passed 5-0. A revised Certificate of Appropriateness will be sent to
Ms. Soulette and a letter and copy of the decision will be sent to the Goldsteins to inform them of the decision.
Paul Marsh, 61 Bedford Road The members discussed the Preservation Restriction Agreement, which Mr. Marsh has sent in to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for approval. The members felt that there were still some inaccuracies in the document and were concerned with the Town s liability especially where the date of the structure is concerned. Colin Smith has asked Town Counsel for an opinion but has not heard yet. After a brief discussion, it was felt that the Commission would wait to see what MHC has to say and Colin Smith will speak to Michael Steinitz of MHC regarding the Commission s concerns. Ken Hurd also felt that a disclaimer from the LHC stating that dates are approximate and that there may be some discrepancies with the age of the house would protect the Town. Jack
MacLean will e-mail his comments from the first submission to Colin and he will forward them on the Michael Steinitz. The members felt that the most important thing was to try to move forward with preserving the house and they would not want to sabotage this by arguing about the date.
Demolition Delay By-Law Changes The members went over changes to Section 3.3. Some members wanted “shall” changed back to “may” but others felt that it should remain. After some discussion, the word “shall” would remain. In Section 3.4 the corrected last sentence will now read “A non-transferable decision whether by vote or inaction by the LHC shall remain valid for a period of two (2) years from the date of the application”. There was also more discussion about having alternates serve on the LHC as well as the HDC. Colin will also ask Michael Steinitz about whether this is a local by-law or if we would need to go to the State to get it changed.
Additions to Historic Districts Jack MacLean will try to have documentation ready for the Nov. 7 meeting on houses from the 18th century, which number about 10 houses. Inventories have been done on these houses but they will need to be updated. After the inventory is completed, members will need to contact the owners to see if they would like to be included in the Historic District. Ruth Wales said that she has all of the National Register material and would like to put it in notebooks in the library where anyone could look at it.
Karen Clarke, 23 Bedford Road Colin Smith read changes to the agreement regarding 23 Bedford Road, which was presented by the Clarke s attorney and reviewed by Town Counsel, Joel Bard. Mr. Bard made some slight changes and the members reviewed the wording and approved by a vote of 5-0, the changes according to Joel Bard s wording. The Clarke s attorney will e-mail the amendments for the member s signatures.
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There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Carroll
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