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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-09-18-HC-min HISTORICAL COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES September 18th 2019 Call to Order: A public meeting of the Historical Commission was held in the Parker Room of Lexington Town Office Building located at 1625 Massachusetts Avenue. The meeting convened at 7:30PM. Historical Commission Members in Attendance: Marilyn Fenollosa Acting Chair, Wendall Kalsow, Samuel Doran, Katie Flynn AGENDA ITEM #1 (7:30 PM) Continued hearing on the partial building demo at 344 Lowell Street -Applicant has withdrawn and was not present at the meeting. AGENDA ITEM #2 (7:35PM) Public hearing on the partial building demo at 63 Bloomfield Street APPLICANT (S) PRESENT: Kevin Thibodeau, Homeowner ABUTTER(S) PRESENT: Marty Kavaal, 18 Highland Avenue Gerry Paul. 43 Highland Avenue DOCUMENT(S): Photos of existing house Proposed Plot Plan Plans dated 7/1/2019 SUMMARY: Mr. Thibodeau came to the Commission to discuss putting a small addition on 63 Bloomfield Street. Mr. Thibodeau would like to add a 180 square foot addition above the sunroom and add a deck below on the first floor. The deck will be 4 feet off the ground. HC COMMENTS: Mr. Kalsow feels the addition is appropriate in scale. Mr. Doran feels it's respectful to the original house. Ms. Flynn asked if the chimney would remain. Mr. Thibodeau said yes. Mr. Doran said given the feedback on the deck sticking out, maybe if it was lowered with steps it would lessen the impact from the view on the street. Ms. Fenollosa agreed with everything that had been said and that the Commission does not have design review but we have to be cognizant of the effect of the setting of the integrity of the historic homes on the street. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mr. Kavaal, 18 Highland Avenue expressed his concerns about the proposed deck. He feels it may interrupt the view given the size. Mr. Paul, 43 Highland Avenue also has concerns about the deck. MOTION: Moved by Mr. Kalsow to find 63 Bloomfield Street preferably preserved and to find the proposed second floor addition and deck appropriate based on the plans dated July 1"2019 with modifications approved by the applicant: Deck to be eight inches below first floor level, access to deck will be by swinging doors instead of sliders, removal of vinyl siding to expose original clapboards is permitted, and existing chimney will remain. Seconded by Mr. Doran. VOTE: 3-0 in favor of partial building demolition: Mr. Kalsow, Ms. Fenollosa and Mr. Doran with Ms. Flynn abstaining. AGENDA ITEM #3 (7:55 PM) Public hearing on the partial building demo at 42 Ward Street APPLICANT (S) PRESENT: Jim Chen, Architect Xiaojun Liu, Homeowner ABUTTER(S) PRESENT: None DOCUMENT(S): Photos of existing house Historical Information on the house Plans dated 5/20/2019 SUMMARY: Mr. Chen went over a brief history of the house. An addition was put on in the early 1990's and 2002 put another addition (porch). The owner is proposing to demolish the addition and rebuilt a new two car garage with an office space and an extension of a living space. One the second floor will be a master bedroom and bathroom. The new addition mimics what the original home is. The new windows will match the original home. HC COMMENTS: Mr. Kalsow asked if they plan to propose to align the front of the addition with the front of the historic house. Mr. Chen said yes. They looked into recessing back but it would be a problem on the second floor. The staircase would have to be modified. Ms. Flynn mentioned the hallway is four feet wide maybe you could get it a foot recessed. Ms. Flynn mentioned there could be a way to recess it, which would make the addition more appropriate. Mr. Kalsow said the addition is setback 6 feet 2 inches and may not need to be set back quite substantially increasing the mass of the addition, detracting significantly from the historic resource. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None MOTION: Moved by Mr. Kalsow to find 42 Ward Street preferably preserved and in light of modified application of the proposed addition being recessed back four feet from the front of the historic 1890 building, the addition is compatible with the historic resource. Seconded by Mr. Doran. VOTE: 4-0 in favor of partial building demolition: Ms. Fenollosa, Mr. Kalsow, Ms. Pursley and Mr. Doran. AGENDA ITEM #4 (8:23 PM) Public hearing on the partial building demo at 7 Butler Avenue APPLICANT (S) PRESENT: Marcello Rullo, Contractor Roberto Rullo, Contractor Donna Talbot, Homeowner ABUTTER(S) PRESENT: None DOCUMENT(S): Photos of existing house Plans dated 9/12/2019 SUMMARY: Mr. Marcello Rullo told the Commission that he and his brother are developers and this is their second property in Lexington which they hope to be able to fixup and improve. This is a single story home under 800 square feet on a small lot. They would like to make this a home for a small family to live in. The home has been altered over the years. The home is under 3,000 square feet, four bedroom, and three bathroom one car garage. Ms. Talbot is the current homeowner and said the homes in the neighborhood are huge compared to this one. Ms. Talbot said the home doesn't look the same as it did years ago and would love to see a family in the home since it's currently vacant. HC COMMENTS: Mr. Doran said he cannot see the original house looking at the plans. Mr. Roberto Rullo said the first floor plan is staying in tact and then hoping to add the garage beside the existing floor plan and open the first floor up. They plan to keep the foundation and basement. The right-side of the home on the first floor will stay intact. Ms. Flynn noted they will be taking the roof off and gutting the walls. Mr. Doran noted 7 Butler Avenue is on the list because it contributes to the vista of historical Lexington but when you see a plan presented like this you cannot physically distinguish the historic house that was added to the registry because of what its presence adds to the neighborhood,this home is currently a bungalow. Ms. Fenollosa said the Commission could consider whether this is a home that should be removed from the inventory. Mr. Kalsow suggested the Commission look at the neighborhood and the home before removing the home from the inventory at the meeting tonight. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None MOTION: No motion was made. The applicant will come back next month. A member of the Commission will go and see the home and the neighborhood and the applicant will come back with additional information. AGENDA ITEM #5 (8:25 PM) Vote to include 81 Pleasant Street to the Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey. -Motion moved by Ms. Fenollosa to place 81 Pleasant Street onto the Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey subject to any last minute tweaks/inconsistencies as a significant midcentury modern house as a Custom-Tech-Built house. Seconded by Mr. Doran. 4-0 In favor of adding 81 Pleasant Street to the inventory: Ms. Fenollosa, Mr. Doran, Mr. Kalsow and Ms. Flynn. Ms. Vinci will add 81 Pleasant Street to the Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey and will send the information to MHC for their records and post on the website. AGENDA ITEM #6 (8:35 PM) Updates -Ms. Fenollosa went over updated regarding the MHC Grant. There were a number of people that said the project is too extensive for the amount of money we are paying. Bids are due this Friday September 27h. -Voting on the minutes will be postponed until we have enough members to vote. AGENDA ITEM #7 (9:06 PM) Motion to adjourn made by Mr. Kalsow Seconded by Mr. Doran 4-0 favor to adjourn Mr. Kalsow, Ms. Fenollosa, Ms. Flynn and Mr. Doran Adjourn.