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Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes
Regular Meeting
Monday, July 10, 2017
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), Dini Mallory, ALTERNATE: Cynthia Taylor, |
Absent |
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Barbara Traskos, Jeff Cooley |
Guest |
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Steven Ross, Edie Twining, Alison Mitchell, Tim Griswold, David Griswold, Eileen Griswold, Ned Farman |
Agenda |
9:00 |
Call to order, Quorum call, Approval of minutes, Communications |
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9:05 |
Public Open Forum |
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9:15 |
Plaque Program Update: 206 Mile Creek Road, 209 Mile Creek Road |
90 Lyme St |
9:30 |
Public Hearing: Lyme Art Association, 90 Lyme Street, Install two light poles with lights in parking area |
55 Lyme St |
10:00 |
Public Hearing: Old Lyme Historical Society, 55 Lyme Street, new sign |
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10:30 |
Secretary’s Report - Handbook update, Active CofAs |
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10:45 |
Congregational Church Banners |
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11:00 |
Any other new or old business to come before the Commission (National Register survey, FRA plan update, Town Band Concert donation) |
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11:15 |
Adjournment |
A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order at 9:04 a.m. by Chairman John Pfeiffer. Cynthia Taylor was authorized to vote in place of Barbara Traskos.
John Forbis moved, seconded by Dini Mallory, to approve the June minutes as presented. John Forbis, Cynthia Taylor, and Dini Mallory voted in favor, motion passed. John Pfeiffer abstained as he had not attended the June meeting.
1. Communications: none
2. Public Open Forum: David Griswold stated his opinion that the three banners and two hand-lettered signs displayed in front of the Congregational Church look bad and set a bad precedent for the Historic District. He would like them removed and remarked that the church is a cornerstone of the Historic District and the items on display detract from it. Tim Griswold agreed and asked about sign regulations.
Permanent signs in the Historic District require approval from the HDC. The Town’s regulations limit the display of temporary signs to 30 days.
Action: Send letter asking that the signs and banners be removed to FCCOL Senior Minister Reverend Jungkeit, with copies to Reverend Gerber, Robert McCracken, the FCCOL Board of Trustees, Bonnie Reemsnyder, and ZEO Keith Rosenfeld (Martha Hansen).
3. Plaque Program Update: Martha Hansen
206 Mile Creek Road: Research has been started on the neighboring property to help clarify the history of #206. Check with Gary Holland (Martha Hansen).
209 Mile Creek Road: Research is continuing, Martha Hansen will check probate court records.
32 Lyme Street: Cynthia Taylor has been working on the research. Her house was moved to its location after it was built. John Pfeiffer suggested that she check probate court records as well.
5 Bailey Road: Alexandra Escher is interested in a historic plaque for her home, believed to have been built by Captain Cunningham ca 1820. Martha Hansen will work with her on the project.
4. Public Hearing: Lyme Art Association, 90 Lyme Street, Install two lights on poles in parking area. Steven Ross submitted a CofA application to install lights on two 20-foot dark bronze-colored poles in the parking lot. One will be on the north (Florence Griswold Museum) end of the parking lot, the other on south (Halls Road) end. The LED light bulbs would not be visible, are night-sky compliant, and are on a timer which is synchronized to seasonal light, so they would go on at dark and then off at some point during the night. The “off” time will be set by the Art Association depending on need. Mr. Ross commented that the parking lot is very dark at night. The lights are being installed for safety reasons and have been designed to blend in with the surrounding trees.
John Pfeiffer would like to have an architectural assessment of the lighting due to the proximity to the Florence Griswold Museum and the Old Lyme Inn. The parking lot is below grade and he also wants to ensure that the lights do not blind oncoming traffic. He suggested looking into lights that are lower to the ground and asked Mr. Ross to contact the Florence Griswold Museum and the Old Lyme Inn to make sure they have no objection to the plan (neighbor notices were sent to them).
Dini Mallory asked to have one other person weigh in on the lighting plan ensure that it will be compatible with the style of the Historic District.
Mr. Ross stated that if the lights were lower, they would have to use more, and brighter, lights to illuminate the area. He is willing to have a landscape architect evaluate the plan.
John Forbis remarked that he could contact David Duncan and ask him to look at it, Steven Ross agreed.
The public hearing will continue at the September 11, 2017 meeting.
Action: Consult landscape architect to ensure the most appropriate lighting design is used, and ask the Florence Griswold Museum and Old Lyme Inn for their input; report at the September 11 meeting (Steven Ross).
5. Public Hearing: Old Lyme Historical Society, 55 Lyme Street, new sign. Edie Twining submitted a CofA application for a new sign in front of 55 Lyme Street. The blue and white, unlit, sign includes removable “rider” signs to hang beneath the main sign, and space to display event banners on the side. The sign would be similar in style to those used by the Florence Griswold Museum, and the Lyme Art Association.
John Forbis moved, seconded by Cynthia Taylor, to approve the CofA as presented. John Pfeiffer, John Forbis, Dini Mallory, and Cynthia Taylor voted in favor, motion passed.
6. Secretary’s Report: Martha Hansen and Dini Mallory are working on updates to the Historic District
Jim Meehan, of James Meehan Art Design, has agreed to work with us on layout and photographs.
Active (Open) CofAs: 30 Lyme Street, solar panel installation; 55 Lyme Street, screening fence for propane tank and AC unit.
7. Congregational Church Banners & Signs: see discussion above.
8. Any Other New or Old Business:
National Register Survey: no update.
FRA Plan Update: The Record of Decision is imminent according to Bonnie Reemsnyder.
9. Adjournment: Cynthia Taylor made a motion, seconded by Dini Mallory, to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 am. John Pfeiffer, John Forbis, Cynthia Taylor, and Dini Mallory voted in favor, motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Hansen
Recording Secretary
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