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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-03-HDC-min TOWN OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS HISTORIC DISTRICTS COMMISSION DRAFT MINUTES Thursday January 3, 2013 7:00 PM Selectmen’s Meeting Room Town Hall 1625 Massachusetts Avenue Joseph Welch opened the meeting at 7:00 PM in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room at the Town Hall Historic Districts Commission Members present: Joseph Welch, Chair, Marilyn Fenollosa, Lynn Hopkins, Daniel Griffin Jr., Paul Ross, Bob Warshawer and Scott Kyle Historic Districts Commission Members not present: Carl Oldenburg and Barbra Feldman Others Present: Theresa James, Historical Commissions Clerk, Town of Lexington, and Amy Casparius, Historic Districts Commission Clerk, Town of Lexington Formal Hearings 10 Bloomfield Street Mike Bedard, Home Depot representative, who is representing Eric and April Ziegler regarding Exterior Architectural Change (Windows) in the Munroe Tavern District Mr. Bedard would like to replace 26 windows at the above address for Mr. and Mrs. Ziegler. He explained that he would be using Fibrex-Woodrite windows to replace what is currently there. Mr. Bedard then showed the Commission pictures of the home located at the above addressed. He then pointed out which windows would be replaced. Associate Commissioner Marilyn Fenollosa stated that isn’t it required to have all wood windows in the Historic District? Chair Joseph Welch agreed. Associate Commissioner Lynn Hopkins questioned whether the pains will look smaller than they should. Mr. Bedard stated that they will not be smaller. 1 Commissioner Scott Kyle questioned whether these windows would have less glass in them. Mr. Bedard stated that there would be less glass, but he was not sure exactly how much less there would be. Chair Joseph Welch asked if Mr. Bedard had an all wood option available. He responded that he did not. Mr. Welch stated that he would rather see wood windows with storms. After further discussion between the Commission and Mr. Bedard, it was decided that this matter would be continued. Decision: This matter was continued to February 7, 2013. Tourism Committee Dawn McKenna, Chairman Tourism Committee, Signage, (Calendar signs at Visitors Center and Emery Park, storytelling sign on the Battle Green, parking signs throughout Center) in the Battle Green District Ms. Dawn McKenna asked the Commission if she could have the calendar signs that were located on Massachusetts Avenue in front of the Visitors Center, across from the Minuteman Statue and the one that is located at Emery Park, near Brookline Bank replaced. Ms. McKenna stated that the older signs were done before the signage program was put into place and that these signs were more like an events calendar for the town. She stated that the top of the sign is slightly different and that she will be using the burgundy that is currently being used in the town. Mr. Welch stated that her signs makes more sense and thinks that people will recognize these signs as something that has to do with Lexington. Ms. Mc Kenna stated that the pole is white and the rest in town are black. She stated that she would paint it black if needed. Mr. Welch stated that it would be nice to have the signs all the same color, so it would be best to paint the pole black. Ms. McKenna stated that the storytelling sign and the parking signs need to be continued until the next hearing. Decision: The Commission voted 5-0 in favor of approving the proposed signage for the Calendar Signs in front of the Visitors Center and Emery Park. The Certificate of Appropriateness number is #2013C-2. 2 Tower Park Dawn McKenna, Chairman Tourism Committee, Exterior Architectural Change (Design of Antony Park within Tower Park) in the Munroe Tavern District Ms. Dawn McKenna presented to the Commission, along with landscape architect Lynne Giesecke of Studio 2112, plans for the proposed Antony Park that is set to be located within Tower Park. This park is to take up a 60 foot wide by 100 foot deep space. Ms. McKenna presented pictures of the proposed park to the Commissioners. She also showed pictures of the Mayor of Antony in the proposed park area receiving a plaque. Ms. Giesecke stated that this park would not interfere with the Minutemen reenactments. Ms. Giesecke said that she would also be widening the asphalt pathway to make it comply with ADA regulations. Commissioner Scoot Kyle stated that he was glad to see that is was not as big as he thought it was. Mr. Welch stated that concrete being proposed for the paved area in the center of the park is not acceptable. The Commission questioned what would happen in the winter to this garden. Ms. Giesecke stated that the middle plants would die back, the surrounding trees will change, but because of the type of trees that they are, they will still look beautiful in the winter. The Commission also stated that it would like to see more materials. Mr. Welch stated that he was comfortable with the proposal. Mr. Griffin, Mr. Ross, Mr. Warshawer and Mr. Kyle also stated that they were ok with the design of the proposed park. Ms. Hopkins still worries about the integration of the French Garden into the natural surroundings. Ms. Fenollosa was also ok with the current proposal. After further discussion amongst the Commission, it was decided that construction documents would be presented to the Commission at the February 7, 2013 meeting for approval. 3 Decision: The matter of the construction of Antony Park within Tower Park has been continued to the February 7, 2013 meeting. Informal Hearings Proposed Changing of Three Signs First, let it be known that Commissioner Paul Ross recused himself from this hearing due to a conflict of interest. Ms. Dawn McKenna presented the Commission a handout that included pictures of the proposed signs. Ms. McKenna stated that the first sign is a double sided sign that would be located between the benches in the front and rear of the Visitors Center. The sign is going to be a back to back sign. The sign is to be 36”X30” in size. The 1875 Massachusetts Avenue address would not be on the new sign. Ms. McKenna proposed to change to the “Old Belfry” sign to a new one that would say “The Belfry”. She referred to a handout that she gave the Commission showing what the sign would look like. Associate Commissioner Marilyn Fenollosa asked Ms. McKenna why the new sign says “The Belfry” and not “Old Belfry”. Ms. McKenna stated that after some research, the proper documentation of the area is “The Belfry”. Ms. McKenna also stated that by changing the sign to “The Belfry”, it would now be consistent with how they refer to it at the Visitors Center. Ms. McKenna proposed a new sign behind the Visitors center. This sign would advise people that this particular visitor’s center would be open year round. There is an existing town sign behind the Visitors Center that says “no skateboarding or rollerblading”. She would like to remove the metal pole that is there and replace it with a black pole that has a cap. They would move the “no skateboarding or rollerblading” sign to a stop sign that is located in the immediate vicinity. Mr. Welch asked if there was anyone present who wished to speak on these matters. Commission member Daniel Griffin, Jr. asked if there was a representative of the Lexington Historical Society present who would like to speak on the matter of the Old Belfry sign. Lexington Historical Society member Paul Ross stated that he was present. Mr. Ross is the Historic Districts Commission member who has recused himself from this hearing. Chair, Joseph Welch stated that Mr. Ross could not speak on this 4 matter. Mr. Griffin indicated that due to the fact Mr. Ross recused himself from the hearing as a member of the HDC he could speak as a representative of LHS if the chair decided to have him speak. Ms. McKenna agreed that Mr. Ross should not speak. Mr. Robert Warshawer asked if there should be an arrow on the sign pointing towards the Old Belfry. Ms. McKenna responded that since the Town of Lexington owns the land and not the Belfry Tower, they would not be putting an arrow on the sign pointing to the Belfry Tower. After further discussion between the Commission members, it was decided that Mr. Paul Ross could speak as a representative of the Lexington Historical Society. Mr. Ross stated that the Lexington Historical Society’s three house museums all have the same type of signage and that they oppose the taking down of the Old Belfry sign. The Commission discussed this issue and made their decision. Decision: The Commission voted 5-0 in favor of approving the proposed signage at the Visitors Center and Massachusetts Avenue. The Commission voted 3-2 with in favor of approving the proposed signage at The Belfry. The Commission voted 5-0 in favor of approving the proposed signage behind the Visitors Center. The Certificate of Appropriateness number is #2013C-1. Parklets/Economic Development Maryann McCall-Taylor, on behalf of Melisa Tintocalis, presented to the Commission an idea that the Economic Development is thinking of implementing. Ms. McCall-Taylor presented a pictorial handout that showed several parklets in different communities. She explained that these parklets, if put up, would be located on Massachusetts Avenue, near Waltham Street. The Commission expressed that they liked the idea. Minutes The Commission voted 5-0 to approve the minutes from the December 6, 2012 meeting. The Commission also voted 5-0 to approve the minutes from the joint HDC/HC meeting held on December 11, 2012. Adjourn The Commission vote 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 PM 5