FINAL
Present for the Historical Commission and attending the meeting were: Jane Slater, Chair, Lenny Jason, Steve Flanders, Steve McGhee, Jim Malkin and Chuck Hodgkinson. Rodney Bunker, Jim Karabees, Reid Silva and Chuck Sullivan also attended. John Flender and Barbara Armstrong did not attend.
The meeting came to order at 4:02 PM.
Rodney Bunker: Mr. Bunker explained the chimney stack on the historic section of town hall needs replacing. He also plans to install a new pan and a stainless steel liner down the chimney section that is within the building. He added the mason will built the new chimney stack to look like the original design.
After brief discussion the Commission had no objections to the proposed work and asked Mr. Bunker to make the new stack look as close as possible to the original design.
Chuck Sullivan; 365 Middle Road; Map 26 Lot 84: Mr. Sullivan thanked the Commission for its time and explained he would like to review the renovation and expansion plans for the “Turnbull house” as outlined in the Town’s Master Plan list of historic resources as: Town “Master Plan historic resource # 94: Frederick Mayhew-Dilley-Turnbull house, “Middle Mark,” c. 1880, Middle Road. House and barn part of Arthur U. Dilley estate so named by him.”
Mr. Sullivan reviewed elevation designs and simulated before and after photographs of his proposed window replacement on the historic house; the relocation of an attached bedroom to a new structure that will become a 198 sq. ft. detached bedroom and the addition of a 906 sq. ft. master bedroom and bath on the southwest side of the historic house. He added the Zoning Board of Appeals will review an application under zoning Article 6 Section 6.11B3d seeking a living area exemption for the 1,966 sq. ft. historic structure. He is seeking an endorsement of the proposed plans from the Historical Commission for consideration by the Board of Appeals.
The Commission commented on how an old house can grow and was glad to see the historic structure will not be torn down. They expressed concerns with the proposed detached bedroom and addition as they increase the “mass” of the development to a point that seems to dwarf the historic house. The Commission asked if the addition could be located on the northwest side of the historic structure rather than as proposed. The thought was it might be less intrusive. Mr. Karabees who is an abutter commented the proposal is adding 50% to the mass of the house.
The window designs were also discussed and the Commission preferred a 6 over 6 window which is more in keeping with the other historic structures in Town.
Mr. Silva added the contour of the lot is dictating the design to a degree as the property behind the house has a steep rise. If the addition was pushed north it would need to be dug into the hillside.
After discussion the Commission thanked Mr. Sullivan and suggested postponing his ZBA hearing to next month and returning to the Commission on April 18 for further review. This will provide time for Mr. Sullivan to meet with the owners and consider alternative solutions. Mr. Sullivan thanked the Commission and agreed.
Mid-20th century houses: The review of the Assessors list of houses built in the 1950’s and 1960’s was deferred to the next meeting.
Review notes from the Lucy Vincent Diaries: Ms. Slater summarized the origin of these notes and proposed reviewing them at the next meeting.
Administration: The February 21, 2017 meeting minutes were reviewed and approved as presented by consensus.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 18, 2017 @ 4:00 PM.
With no further business the meeting adjourned at 4:50 PM.
Respectfully submitted by Chuck Hodgkinson, CAS.
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