Lincoln Historical Commission
Historic District Commission
Meeting Minutes
April 7, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
Board Members: Ruth Wales, HDC Chair, LHC/HDC; Lucretia Giese, LHC Chair, LHC/HDC; Kerry Glass, LHC/HDC; James Craig, HDC; Andrew Ory, LHC/HDC; Colin Smith, LHC/HDC
Secretary: Elaine Carroll
NEXT ANTICIPATED MEETING: May 5, 2009, 7:30 p.m., Town Offices
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. A motion was made by Kerry Glass to accept the minutes of the March 3, 2009 meeting with the additional words “Walden Pond Road is now Baker Bridge Road” added under the Historic Sign heading. The motion was seconded by Andy Ory and passed unanimously.
Historic District Commission Hearing:
Certificate of Appropriateness Hearing:
29 Lincoln Road – Cayley Torgeson sent in a request for approval of the replacement of 5 additional windows (1 on the left side and 4 on the right side rear) with Pella all wood replacement windows having insulated glass. The windows are of very high quality, true divided light Pella Architect Series Standard Luxury Edition All Wood, Double Hung, 30.5” x 52.5” with 6 over 6 grille pattern and a ½ screen. The window colors, openings, trim, etc will be unchanged. Mr. Torgeson said that the contractor would give him a good price on replacing all of the windows if done at the same time. At the March 3, 2009 meeting the Commission approved the replacement of 14 windows. After a brief discussion, Ruth Wales made a motion to approve the additional 5 replacement windows
to be done exactly as the 14 replacement windows previously approved. The motion was seconded by Andy Ory and unanimously approved.
Lincoln Historical Commission Hearing:
Demolition Plan Review:
69 Silver Hill Road – Paul Lazay and Katherine Hueber came before the members again along with their architect, Doug Dick, to present their Demolition Plan Review for 69 Silver Hill Road. Lucretia quoted the motion for the reason for denying the demolition request from the March 3, 2009 meeting. The motion read “the structure at 69 Silver Hill Road is architecturally significant in the context of its effective integration with its setting and sensitive location along a principal road bordered by open fields leading into Lincoln Center”. Mr. Dick went through the list of materials presented to the members and the difficulties in the present house, which even if all were addressed the house still would not fit the owner’s needs. Mr. Dick showed photos of the condition of
the existing house, which included standing water in the basement, water damage from the leaking roof, mold and mildew on the walls, etc. He said that water penetration was a big issue and that the existing grade comes up to the floor level. Mr. Dick then showed photos of the neighboring houses and pointed out that the owners picked this neighborhood because of its diversity in house styles. Other than the condition of the existing house, the layout of the house does not meet the needs of the owners, who have a combined family and want to make the house handicapped accessible for any future needs. The interior doorways and hallways are too narrow for this purpose. The proposed house would also be more energy efficient since the existing house has very little if any insulation and Mr. Lazay said that before turning off the gas heat he had a bill of $800 for the month of October. Mr. Dick then showed the members the proposed site plan and elevations
of the proposed house. He also showed drawings of the proposed house showing the existing trees and vegetation from the streets. Mr. Dick said that they will add approximately 2,500 – 3,000 sq. ft. of usable space by adding the second floor, making the new house approximately 7,360 sq. ft. The septic system will need to be replaced and the new location will be in the front of the house. A few trees will need to be removed to put in the new septic and the new house, some of which are not in good shape anyway. There is a bump out in the front of the house to accommodate a dining room table big enough for family gatherings. The new house would be white cedar shingles, asphalt roofing, painted trim and more traditional windows. The cupola is there to break up the roof line, to provide lighting to the upstairs hallway and possibly provide ventilation. Mr. Dick said that by adding a second floor, the footprint of the house will only be
550 sq. ft. larger. Mr. Lazay wants to add a workshop under the garage to keep it separate from the house. James Craig asked about lighting for the house and Mr. Dick said that there would be no flood lights but that there would be basic lights under covered areas and the terrace. Lucretia asked if they could do away with the cupola and use a skylight instead. Kathy Hueber felt that the cupola broke up the roof line. Susan Law, the broker for the house, said that she thinks that most skylights tend to leak whereas a cupola would not. Ruth Wales said that she would also like the simplicity of the roof line without the cupola. James Craig and Colin Smith were also in favor of removing the cupola and Colin was concerned that the cupola was a different material than the house. At this time Lucretia asked if any of the abutters had any comments. Renel Fredriksen said that they should look into a pervious pavement for their driveway
because of water problems, which they put in at 76 Trapelo Road. John Robinson also of 76 Trapelo Road talked about what they did for venting. Sheila Webber of 11 Minebrook Road thinks this house will make a lovely addition to the neighborhood. Mr. Byrnes of 126 Trapelo Road also liked the proposed house and the cupola but does not like skylights. Susan Law also said that this property was probably a land sale because of the problems with the existing structure. Andy Ory feels that it would be hard to turn down this request but is concerned that the Town is losing its diversity because of the demolition of smaller houses. Lucretia Giese made a motion that the Commission grant the permission to demolish the existing house with the understanding that the addition of a cupola be reconsidered. The motion was seconded by Andy Ory and unanimously approved.
Other Business:
At Risk Properties – Lucretia said that she and Renel Fredriksen of the Housing Commission are concerned about losing small houses and want to establish a sub-committee to discuss small at risk properties and other alternatives to demolition. Andy Ory suggested that the homeowners put a restriction on the size of any replacement house for which they might be able to get a tax credit.
CPC Funds – Lucretia said that the Commission will be receiving $8,250 from CPC funds, which was approved at the March Town Meeting. These funds will be used to inventory small houses in the 1900 -1930 range.
Battle Road Scenic Byway Committee – Lucretia said that she and Ruth received an e-mail from Mark Whitehead asking for a member of the Commission to join him on this new committee. The first meeting will be on April 14 at 3:00 p.m. in Lexington. Colin Smith said that he would be willing to join Mark on this committee.
Planning Board Meetings – James Craig said that there may be a problem for him and Ken Hurd, both members of the Planning Board because the board was thinking of moving a Planning Board meeting to Tuesday nights, which would conflict with the HDC meetings. It was suggested that the Planning Board make the Tuesday night meeting the second Tuesday of the month because the HDC/LHC meets on the first Tuesday of the month.
Historic District Signs – Lucretia, Kerry and Ken met with Chris Bibbo, DPW Director, to approve the locations for the proposed Historic District signs. Colin Smith said that he had a problem with the sign on Lincoln Road and felt that it should be closer to Tower Road in a more open space. Lucretia said that this appeared to be about as close as we could get it and the best place for the sign and suggested that other members check out the yellow posts showing the proposed locations.
Historic District Map – James Craig said that he attempted to record the map and deeds in the Registry last month but was missing certification of the 2 votes from the Town Meetings in 2001 and 2007. These have now been provided by the Town Clerk and he will again go into the Registry of Deeds in the next week or so.
First Parish Church – Ruth Wales attended the Planning Board meeting in which the First Parish came in for an informal discussion of the proposed addition. Ruth said that she had told them that they should go before the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals to discuss zoning concerns before coming to the HDC for approval of the new design.
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There being no further business, Kerry Glass made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by James Craig and unanimously approved. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Carroll
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