MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
Thursday, June 18, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Town Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room - 302 Main Street
CALL TO ORDER
Chair, Diane Aldi DePaola called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Members Present: Diane Aldi DePaola, William Childress, Alternate members Eugene Creighton seated for M. Kennedy and Donald Brigham seated for J. Meotti.
Members Absent: Rich Peters, Jeff Meotti, Mary Kennedy
Staff Present: Stella Beaudoin, Recording Clerk
Christine Nelson, Planning Director
MOTION: To amend the Agenda to place New Business first; MADE: E. Creighton; SECONDED: W. Childress; IN FAVOR: D. DePaola, E. Creighton, W. Childress, D. Brigham; OPPOSED: None; ABSTAINED: None; APPROVED: 4-0-0.
NEW BUSINESS
A. “Asa Kirtland” House (1805)
Certificate of Appropriateness – Alteration to Existing Structure (Roof Material)
100 North Cove Road (Map 32/Lot 65-4)
Applicant: John Maxwell, owner
ACTION: Open public hearing, continue or close; deliberate & act (NLT 8/4/2015).
J. Maxwell presented on behalf of this application. J. Maxwell stated there was a large hole in the roof of his home which needed to be repaired, and the roofing shingles were old and rotting which created a water leakage into the house. J. Maxwell replaced the wood roofing with architectural asphalt and he noted that he was not aware that a Certificate of Appropriateness was required to replace the existing roof. The applicants were in Florida at the time of the repair. J. Maxwell presented a sample of the roofing shingle.
Barbara Harms, 55 North Cove Road asked if the applicant considered replacement with a wood roof. J. Maxwell stated that the replacement cost for a wood roof ranged from $35-$40,000 and he stated that the insurance company informed him that a cedar roof was a liability and suggested the architectural asphalt.
B. Harms Barbara stated that there is a beautiful historic district in place that has been designated over a period of years and she noted that it is disheartening to allow colonial era homes to be allowed to re-roof with asphalt.
Tom Stevenson, Old Saybrook questioned the life span of the asphalt shingles. The applicant informed T. Stevenson that the asphalt shingles are predicted to last 35 years and they are 100% ice and water resistant.
W. Childress stated that sixteen homes have been identified as “contributing homes” within the historic district and he questioned if Mr. Maxwell was aware that his was a “contributing home” to the historic district. The Historic District Commission is particularly vigilant about losing historical features in those 16 homes which are of particular significance to the District.
D. DePaola indicated that the HDC regulations state that the materials utilized in repair or restoration of a home within the Historic District should replicate the original when considering replacement.
D. DePaola closed the Public Hearing.
W. Childress stated that this roof is in opposition to the criteria of maintaining original homes, utilizing their original materials in the interest of preserving the Historic District.
D. DePaola stated that the house is an historic home and is situated in a prominent location on the street.
E. Creighton had no comment.
D. Brigham had no comment.
MOTION: To deny “Asa Kirtland” House (1805) Certificate of Appropriateness – Alteration to Existing Structure, 100 North Cove Road, Map 32 Lot 65-4 based on the discussion this evening; MADE W. Childress; SECONDED: D. Brigham; IN FAVOR: D. DePaola, W. Childress, E. Creighton; OPPOSED: D. Brigham; ABSTAINED: None; APPROVED: 3-1-0.
C. Nelson stated that a Notice of Violation has been issued and the applicant will speak with the D. Lucas, Building Official as to how to proceed.
B. Certificate of Appropriateness – Alteration to Existing Structure (Roof Material)
60 North Cove Road (Map 31/Lot 16)
Applicant: Paul Connolly, owner
ACTION: Open public hearing, continue or close; deliberate & act (NLT 8/9/2015).
P. Connolly presented on behalf of this proposal. The house was built in 1965 and it presently has a wood roof which is leaking. P. Connolly will re-roof and he would like to construct with “CertainTeed, weathered wood” shingles, which he stated is designed to look like wood. There are houses in the neighborhood that have utilized this same roofing.
M. McFarlan asked if this home is situated in the Historic District and it was confirmed that this property is within the Historic District.
T. Stevenson asked for the life span of the shingle. P. Connolly stated that this shingle is warrantied for 30-years
W. Harms, 200 North Cove asked what is under the solar cells on the rear side of the home and it was confirmed that there are shingles under the solar panels.
B. Harms, 55 North Cove stated that she cannot see the solar panels.
B. Childress stated that there is a provision in CT General State Statutes that permit the installation of solar in the Historic District, providing that the panels do not offer a large, negative impact.
D. DePaola stated that this property is considered a non-contributing home because it was constructed in 1965.
W. Childress stated that he would prefer a wood roof, however a distinction should be made between contributing and non-contributing homes. W. Childress stated that he would vote in favor of the issuance of a COA based on that distinction.
D. DePaola stated her agreement to approve the issuance of a COA.
MOTION: To approve Certificate of Appropriateness – Alteration to Existing Structure, 60 North Cove Road, Map 31 Lot 16; MADE: E. Creighton; SECONDED: W. Childress; IN FAVOR: D. DePaola, W. Childress, E. Creighton, D. Brigham; OPPOSED: None; ABSTAINED: None; APPROVED: 4-0-0.
D. DePaola suggested that the enforcement officer propose to amend the HDC application which will detail the requirement of the replication of materials during a repair or renovation. It is not clearly stated in both the Historic District regulations and on the actual COE application, that there can be no change in appearance and materials. This item will be placed on the July 2015 agenda.
REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Minutes
The Commission reviewed the April 16, 2015 meeting Minutes and motioned to approve with the following amendments:
Page 1, last paragraph: “Wayne Harms”
Page 4, 3rd paragraph: “February 19, 2014 meeting”
MOTION: To approve the Minutes of April 16, 2015, 2015 as amended; MADE: E. Creighton; SECONDED: D. DePaola; IN FAVOR: D. DePaola, D. Brigham, E. Creighton, W. Childress; OPPOSED: None; ABSTAINED: None; APPROVED: 4-0-0.
The Commission previously spoke of amending the CT General Statutes to bring the timelines, in-line for processing COE’s with those for other land use applications, for development. W. Childress drafted a suggestion for the Commission to consider.
D. DePaola asked that the CGS draft amendment prepared by W. Childress be placed on the Agenda for the July 2015 meeting.
- Committee, Representative and Staff Reports
C. Nelson reported that the end of the fiscal year is upon us and a review of the Commission’s activities will be prepared for the Annual Report. C. Nelson noted that the Historic District Commission had many new undertakings in the past year.
OLD BUSINESS
A. Historic Structures Inventory
ACTION: Receive report of architectural historians; organize public outreach.
David Taylor presented. D. Taylor is a senior representative of Taylor & Taylor Associates, Inc., an historic preservation consulting firm, whose services encompass a portion of the United States from the mid-west to Connecticut.
D. Taylor presented his findings in a report entitled Historic, Architectural Resource Survey of the Town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Properties comprised of residential, commercial, churches and industrial buildings were looked at in the process of creating this survey. Two hundred thirty properties within the Town were inventoried and a list was created. Each of those properties were researched, photographed, architectural descriptions reviewed and inventory forms completed. A copy of this survey will go to State Historic District Commission in Hartford. The last full inventory was conducted in 1980.
The process involved research, photography and recommendations. The first recommendation deals with the National Registry. D. Taylor noted that within the Town of Old Saybrook, there are two National Historic Districts; north cove and south green. The National Register age threshold is 50 years.
D. Taylor suggested that the HDC contact Mary Dunn, State of CT to visit Old Saybrook and expand the South Green District.
There are two types of historic registries; The National Registry places no restrictions on rehabilitation or demolition however they do provide Federal and State incentives for property owners. The local Historic District is set by local ordinance which in the State of CT is passed by the Board of Selectmen, and provides some protection for historic properties in that area.
C. Nelson questioned if the North Cove Historic District is a National District. The area of the North Cove District was negotiated and some houses were excluded. They were included in the study report, however when the boundary was created they were excluded. These homes would benefit under the National Register.
D. Taylor suggested that the next step would be to have either a survey coordinator or Mary Dunn do a windshield study to look further into those homes and areas of particular interest.
D. Taylor stated that the survey is open ended, noting that individual buildings/homes may be individually listed, however they must possess a high level of integrity. Historic District(s) criteria is for the exterior; a home may have vinyl siding and replacement windows, however the integrity of the home is looked at. Tax credits are a large incentive as they offer a good deal of relief to the property owner. To be eligible for a tax credit, there are thresholds that must be met and information related to the tax credits may be reviewed on the State and Federal websites. The tax incentive on the Federal level is for income producing property. At the (Connecticut) State level there are state tax credits available for rehabilitation which is offered for individual property owners.
D. Taylor will provide a PDF of the survey which will be made available to the public.
D. DePaola stated that D. Taylor will be back to facilitate a community presentation which will be advertised.
B. Physical Improvements – Roadside & Hillside Planting Plan
125 North Cove Road (Map 32 /Lot 3)
ACTION: Update about the planting plan
D. DePaola presented two letters: Michael Cronin, Esq. dated April 21, 2015 to First Selectman, Carl Fortuna regarding the jurisdiction of the Harbor Management as related to the Guardrail Planting Plan, and a Memorandum to Ray Collins, Chair Harbor Management Commission dated May 20, 2015 from First Selectman Carl Fortuna. C. Fortuna stated that the Town of Old Saybrook has jurisdiction over the guardrail. The HDC will move forward with the installation of the planting for the guardrail in the fall of 2015. D. DePaola stated that a proposal was submitted for the planting plan that will range from $2,300 to $3,300.
MOTION to commit the remainder of the Historic District Commission’s current budget toward the proposal to install the planting of the guardrail; MADE by E. Creighton; SECONDED by D. Brigham; IN FAVOR: D. DePaola, D. Brigham, E. Creighton, W. Childress. OPPOSED: None; ABSTAINED: None; APPROVED: 4-0-0
C. “Notice” on Land Records
ACTION: Update about recording notice of properties located within historic district
W. Childress stated that the “Notice Regarding North Cove Historic District” which is a compilation of the owners of parcels, all or portions of which are within the Historic District, and the street addresses of those parcels, as appears on the records of the Old Saybrook Tax Assessor was completed and reviewed and approved by Attorney M. Cronin. W. Childress has recorded the Notice in the Land Records.
MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 8:42p.m. until the next regular meeting on July 17, 2015 at 7:00 p.m., Town Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 302 Main Street; MADE by E. Creighton; SECONDED by D. Brigham; IN FAVOR: D. DePaola, M. Kennedy, E. Creighton, W. Childress. OPPOSED: None; ABSTAINED: None; APPROVED: 4-0-0
Respectfully Submitted,
Stella Beaudoin
Recording Clerk
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