Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes
Amended July 6, 2015
Regular Meeting
Monday, June 1, 2015
Place: |
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Memorial Town Hall, 52 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT |
Present: |
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REGULAR: John Pfeiffer (Chairman), John Forbis (Vice Chairman), Jim Bechtel, Barbara Traskos, Joanne DiCamillo ALTERNATE: Jeff Cooley, Carol Winters, Dini Mallory |
Guests: |
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Bob McCracken, Sarah McCracken, Russell Learned |
Agenda: |
9:00 |
Call to order, Quorum call, Approval of minutes, Communications |
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9:15 |
Zoning Update |
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9:25 |
Public Hearing: First Congregational Church of Old Lyme - fence enclosure & screening |
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10:00 |
Plaque Program Update: 4 Johnnycake Hill Road, 206 Mile Creek Road, 209 Mile Creek Road |
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10:15 |
Secretary’s Report |
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10:30 |
Any other new or old business to come before the Commission (Village Shops, Lyme Street signage) |
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10:45 |
Adjournment |
The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Chairman John Pfeiffer. John Forbis made a motion, seconded by Jim Bechtel, to approve the minutes of the May 4 meeting. John Pfeiffer, John Forbis, Jim Bechtel, and Barbara Traskos voted in favor. Joanne DiCamillo abstained as she had not attended the meeting. Motion passed.
John Forbis made a motion, seconded by Jim Bechtel to approve the minutes of the May 7 Special Meeting. John Pfeiffer, John Forbis, Jim Bechtel, Joanne DiCamillo, and Barbara Traskos voted in favor, motion passed.
1. Communications: The HDC received letter from architect Christopher Arelt complimenting Dr. Pfeiffer and the HDC on their dedication and hard work in preserving the character of the Historic District. Mr. Arelt, of Old Lyme’s Nautilus Architects, recently presented plans to the HDC to remodel a home in the Historic District.
2. Zoning update –
Keith Rosenfeld, ZEO, sent a letter to the Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center regarding screening the AC unit in the front of the building. Plants have been installed in front of the unit but will not be sufficient to screen it in the winter.
Action: Send letter to OLCLC (Martha Hansen).
There was a discussion about propane tanks in the Historic District, and town-wide. More people are switching to propane to heat their houses, requiring larger tanks. John Pfeiffer recommended forming a committee to consider the situation, and working with the fire marshal to create guidelines for propane tanks.
3. Public Open Forum - no participation
4. First Congregational Church of Old Lyme – 5 Lyme Street fence enclosure & screening– Bob McCracken, Sarah McCracken, and Russell Learned
A plan was presented to install a 10 foot by 12 foot 48” high natural cedar fence, screened by a mix of deciduous and evergreen deer resistant shrubs. The proposed location is near the setback line on the south side of the property.
John Forbis made a motion to approve the CofA application, seconded by Joanne DiCamillo. John Pfeiffer, John Forbis, Jim Bechtel and Joanne DiCamillo voted in favor, Barbara Traskos recused herself as she is a member of the church.
5. Plaque Program Update: Martha Hansen
4 Johnnycake Hill Road: Dyanne Rafal plans to do the research with help from Martha Hansen
206 Mile Creek Road: Continue research with Mr. Holland (Martha Hansen).
209 Mile Creek Road: Patricia Shippee has started researching her house
There was a discussion about how to get plaques on more eligible buildings in the Historic District. Promoting the program at the Midsummer Festival, getting a grant to pay for plaques and research, and hosting a talk about the program were suggested.
6. Secretary’s Report:
The last part of the annual CLG report will be sent this month to Mary Dunne at the Connecticut Commission for Culture and Tourism. The main report was filed last November.
7. Any Other New or Old Business:
John Forbis noted that the house at 32 Lyme Street has a propane tank on the south side that is not screened from view.
Action: Send letter to property owners (Martha Hansen).
John Pfeiffer stated that there is new landscaping in front of the Village Shops. In the future the HDC would like to be notified of this ahead of time.
Action: Send letter to Lee and Michele Mergy (Martha Hansen).
The Bee & Thistle Inn has installed several new sculptures on the front lawn, and the house at 75 Lyme Street has new urns by the fence gates.
Action: Send letters to the property owners (Martha Hansen).
Joanne DiCamillo reported that the inkberries screening the transformer on the north side of the Fire Station driveway have been damaged by snow plowing and are not growing well. Jim Bechtel commented that the transformer may need to be screened with lattice.
John Pfeiffer commented that there a number of small infractions throughout the Historic District that need to be addressed by the HDC. A biannual neighborhood site walk could be a good way to check things out.
John Forbis made a motion, seconded by Jim Bechtel, to set up a site walk program in the Historic District, to be done every 6 months the first year, and as needed thereafter. The motion passed unanimously.
Action: Schedule and coordinate an HD site walk in June (Martha Hansen).
8. Adjournment:
John Forbis made a motion, seconded by Jim Bechtel, to adjourn the meeting at 10:26 am. All present voted in favor. Motion passed
Martha Hansen
Recording Secretary
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