Lincoln Historical Commission
Historic District Commission
Meeting Minutes
October 2, 2007, 7:30 p.m.
Board Members: Ruth Wales, HDC Chair, LHC/HDC; Lucretia Giese, LHC Chair, LHC/HDC, Ephraim Flint, HDC; Kerry Glass, LHC/HDC; Andrew Ory, LHC/HDC; Colin Smith, LHC/HDC
Alternate: Jack MacLean, HDC
Secretary: Elaine Carroll
NEXT ANTICIPATED MEETING: November 6, 2007, 7:30 p.m., Town Offices
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. and the minutes of the Sept. 11 meeting were approved with one correction, which will be made.
Certificate of Appropriateness:
8 Bedford Road – Ephraim Flint came before the members with a request to remove and replace an old porch because of deterioration. The siding on the rear of the house will be removed, insulation added and the siding replaced. Windows affected by the work (5) will be replaced with thermal pane, double hung windows having a similar appearance. The porch will extend 3 feet because the foundation under porch is somewhat bad. There will be a railing added because of building codes, which were not in effect when the porch was originally built. Because of the nature of the repairs and the timing, no legal notice was put in the paper but abutters’ notices were sent out. After a brief discussion, a motion was made and seconded to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness for the
replacement of the rear porch, 5 windows and siding. The motion was passed unanimously. A Certificate of Appropriateness will be mailed after the ten days notice to abutters has passed, which will be on October 5.
At this point in the meeting, the Historic District Commission has completed its business and Ruth Wales turned the meeting over to Lucretia Giese, Chair of the Lincoln Historical Commission for the rest of the meeting.
9 Baker Farm Road – Jack MacLean gave the members an update regarding the progress of placing Jane Langton’s property under the protection of a Preservation Restriction Agreement (PRA). Ruth Wales said that Ms. Langton would not do anything without the full agreement of her sons. Jack said that he has been e-mailing back and forth with Ms. Langton and is hoping to get together with Ms. Langton and her son, David, who lives nearby, to go over what this would mean and give him some reassurance. Jack said that the carriage wing is something that seems to have been built in the 1940s and that although it is very attractive as it is, it could be potential space that a buyer may think of changing. He felt that if language is put in the PRA to that effect, it could inform potential
buyers that some outer buildings can be changed. Ephraim Flint said that if it is in writing then even if the Board members change, it would be spelled out in the PRA. Kerry Glass informed the members that she continues to canvas the owners of the other properties on Baker Farm Road to see who is interested in establishing a Historic District for the area. Kerry said that there are some owners who did not express an interest in being in a Historic District but others who have shown an interest. She has talked to a representative from the Thoreau Institute who said that they are interested. Ruth said that the members were interested in setting up a PRA for Ms. Langton’s property because a Historic District for the area looked doubtful but if a PRA is delayed, it would be good to go ahead with a Historic District to get some degree of protection for those houses. Lucretia wanted the Commission to examine its responsibilities concerning
monitoring of PRAs and possible legal action. She felt that this was an issue which needed to be brought up at a later meeting. Jack said that the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is a backup for the LHC but they cannot act in contrast to the LHC.
30 Tower Road – Lucretia Giese reported that she had heard from Tom Carley who responded that family matters are at present overwhelming. But the family is concerned about the house, had already been considering protective measures and will return to such considerations in future.
Other Business:
Inventory of Houses and Barns of Historic Interest – The members went over the list of houses that have been given a 1* and the appropriate way to prioritize these properties and the amount of work needed to inventory them. It was decided that Jack MacLean would go over the list and see if any others should be added and come back at the next meeting with an idea of what the priorities might be and the time frame for doing the work.
6 Woodcock Lane – The members were concerned that the Soukups had come back to the Planning Board with a house that was 8,000 sq. ft. They had proposed a smaller house when they came before the LHC members during their Demolition Plan Review. Ephraim Flint said that the Planning Board cannot regulate the size of a house but felt that boards need to establish a paper trail to other boards. He said that abutters’ problems with the size of the house were resolved by screening and modifications, which were made to the plans.
School Committee Meeting – Kerry Glass informed the members that there will be a meeting on Oct. 9 to discuss the construction of an exit road from the schools. Where they want to put the road would require the need to destroy a 200 year old stone wall.
Authorization for Bill Paying – After a brief discussion, Andrew Ory made a motion to give authority to either Lucretia Giese or Ruth Wales to sign for any bills to be paid with only one signature required. The motion was seconded by Kerry Glass and passed unanimously.
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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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