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<br /> <br />Lexington Historical Commission <br />Meeting Minutes <br />January 3. 2024 <br /> Meeting Conducted by Remote Participation <br /> <br />Commissioners Present: Robert Rotberg, Chair, Marilyn Fenollosa, Wendall Kalsow, Susan Bennett, <br />Commissioner Absent: Diane Pursley, <br />Associate Commissioners Present: David Kelland. <br />Associate Commissioner Absent: <br /> <br />Chair Robert Rotberg called the January 3, 2024 Historical Commission meeting to order at 7:01 <br />pm. <br /> <br />AGENDA ITEM: Hosmer House <br />The Historical Commission reviewed the below letter during the meeting. It will be sent to ZBA as a <br />statement to oppose the request by the Carrolls to modify the original ZBA special permit pertaining to <br />the relocation of the Hosmer House. <br /> <br />“To the Zoning Board of Appeals: <br /> The Historical Commission, at its January 3 meeting, voted 5 to 0 to oppose the request by the <br />Carrolls to modify the original ZBA special permit pertaining to the relocation of the Hosmer <br />House. <br /> The ZBA, HDC, PB, and HC approval for the transfer of the historical Hosmer House from <br />Fletcher Park to an unusual site on Blossomcrest/Waltham St was conveyed with the explicit <br />understanding and assurances in writing that the Hosmer House’s fundamental character (at least <br />as of 2010) would be maintained, and an MHC-approved Preservation Restriction would be placed <br />on the Hosmer House. These conditions were also part of the original RFP that governed the sale <br />of the house from the Town to the Carrolls. <br /> None of the original requirements on which the move from Fletcher to Blossomcrest was <br />predicated have been fulfilled. In May, the HC asked the Town Manager and the Building <br />Commissioner to follow preservation architecturally sound principles before lifting a stop order <br />on construction. Without consulting the HC (as was explicitly requested) the Building <br />Commissioner, in receipt of a lawyer’s letter and building plans from the owners, on his own <br />(consulting no one) permitted the owners to complete construction on what we might now call the <br />ex-Hosmer House. <br /> The Town Manager and the Building Commissioner (as recently as Sept. 20) agreed that no <br />certificate of occupancy for the ex-Hosmer House could be delivered without the granting of a <br />Preservation Restriction approved by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. An exception <br />from the ZBA would violate these legal requirements. <br /> Historical Commission 1 <br /> <br /> <br />