CITY OF SALEM MASSACHUSETTS
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
BOARD OR COMMISSION: Design Review Board, Regular Meeting
SUBCOMMITTEE:
DATE: Wednesday, March 26, 2008
LOCATION: 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor Conference Room
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson Paul Durand, Michael Blier, Ernest DeMaio, David
Jaquith, Glenn Kennedy
MEMBERS ABSENT:
OTHERS PRESENT: Tom Daniel, Economic Development Manager
RECORDER: Andrea Bray
Chairperson Durand calls the meeting to order.
Approval of Minutes – February 27, 2008 Meeting
Jaquith: Motion to approve the minutes, seconded by DeMaio. Passes 5-0.
Projects Under Review
1. South River Harborwalk: Discussion of Final Design Plans for the proposed harborwalk
Susan St. Pierre of Vine Associates, representing the City, presents the final design of the harborwalk, and states that she is looking for final approval from the DRB and then the SRA and they plan to bid the project this spring. She states that it begins with a public plaza meeting the existing grade at Derby Street and moving above grade as it approaches Mass Electric. She adds that it will cantilever in front of Mass Electric and then ramp up to the Congress Street Bridge.
David O’Connor of The Cecil Group describes the design with all of the elements including the sculpture of the ship half-hull, the fence, the lighting, the plantings, and the interpretive signage.
Harbor Coordinator Frank Taormina states that the interpretive signage is still in the developmental stages.
Regarding these signs, Daniel states that the board need approve only the location of the panels.
Durand expresses concern about not having the signage ready for the opening of the walkway.
Taormina says that Jim McAlister will have them ready but they will be funded through a different source.
Blier asks about the stockade fence.
O’Connor states that it isn’t exactly a stockade fence, but a board fence with a cap on top.
Blier says that the fence might produce a dark alley on the other side of the fence.
O’Connor states that the vegetation might create enough screen once it has matured.
Blier says that the fence might be a safety concern.
Taormina suggests using a wooden guardrail instead of the fence. He adds that a vegetation strip could be placed in front of it.
Much discussion ensues about this and the members agree that the guardrail is preferred.
Jaquith asks how many solar-powered trash compactors will be placed on the walkway.
St. Pierre says there will be four dispersed along the area.
DeMaio states that the proper lighting will lend a state of security. He states that if the American flag is up at night, it must be lit. He asks if there will be banners or flags around the light poles along the walkway.
O’Connor states that they currently have no plans to add banners to the light poles, but this might be possible in the future.
DeMaio says that the Congress Street end is being treated as a “back-door”. He emphasizes the importance of this end of the walkway, stating that it will attract people coming from the harbor and Pickering Wharf. He adds that establishing a visual connection to this end of the walkway will inspire walkers to travel toward it from the Derby Street end.
St. Pierre says the she isn’t sure what can be physically accommodated at the end because of the limited space and the budget.
DeMaio asks if any bike racks will be placed at the walkway.
O’Connor expresses concern about the racks taking up too much space, but he agrees to look into it.
DeMaio states that the guardrail along the harborwalk is a critical part of the scheme and it is too plain. He adds that if the next piece of walkway is built it will either have the same guardrail or it will contrast with this one.
Regarding the guardrail and other design elements of this project, Taormina states that any subsequent walkways must meet the same standards as this one. He states that the budget for this project is above $1.5 M, and states that he welcomes suggestions from the board for a more interesting yet economical railing.
DeMaio states that the rail has the feel of a fire-stair rail.
There is much discussion about the possible alternatives to the current rail design.
Blier asks about the size of the trees.
O’Connor state that they will be 3.5 inches in caliper.
Blier says that he would prefer they use 4-4.5 inch trees.
O’Connor agrees to look into it.
Daniel suggests that the board approve the design with conditions.
The members review the conditions, which are:
· An alternative railing design will be examined;
· The flagpole will be lit;
· The trees will be 4 – 4.5 inches in caliper; and
· A wooden guardrail, not a fence, will be placed at the parking lot to the tire store.
Jaquith: Motion to approve the design with the above conditions, seconded by DeMaio. Passes 5-0.
2. 118 Washington Street (Sacred Gear): Discussion of proposed signage and exterior lighting
David Lynch with Retro Sign Company describes the sign and shows sample materials. He states that the background will be black and the letters will have an aluminum overlay and the border will be aluminum.
Jaquith says that the length of the sign is off, and the letter placement looks tight.
Kennedy says that this will be a very clear-reading sign so he could reduce the letters by .5 inch without losing any legibility, and Lynch agrees to this and states that he would also like to lengthen the sign.
Durand states that they should extend the sign beyond the door opening.
Souchitta Chanthompalit of Sacred Gear says that she has already maximized the height and the width.
Jaquith: Motion to approve the sign with the condition that the sign extend an additional 6 inches on each end, second by Kennedy. Passes 5-0.
3. 272 Essex Street (Bella hair Studio): Discussion of proposed signage and exterior lighting
Beca Paulino presents the design and shows sample materials.
Jaquith states that the two words “Hair” and “Studio” need to be closer together.
Kennedy says that the font is inappropriate and suggests a different script. He agrees that the word “Hair” should be lowered at least 1 inch.
DeMaio says that this sign should not hang lower than the “Feed Your Head” sign.
Durand agrees and states that the ordinance states that all signs must have a 10-foot clearance.
Kennedy: Motion to approve the sign provided the sign allow for a 10-foot clearance and the word “Hair” be at least 1 inch lower, seconded by Jaquith. Passes 5-0.
4. 275-281 Essex Street (Cabin Fever): Discussion of proposed signage and exterior lighting
Aaron Margolis of Gienapp Design Associates describes the sign and the color scheme. He states that the landlord has installed new lighting which is inconsistent with this design, so they may need to add more lighting.
DeMaio expresses disapproval of the lighting that the landlord installed on that signband.
Daniel states that he will look into that because he doesn’t know if it was reviewed.
Durand states that he likes the lighting in this proposal and would like to see this installed, rather than the lighting installed by the landlord.
Kennedy states that the horizontal red band should run to the end of the Crombie Street side of the store.
Dale Gienapp says there is a limited budget and that may not be possible.
Much discussion ensues about the band. They agree that the red should extend to the end (if possible) and the green verticals should be removed, and the lettering on the Essex Street side should get moved toward the corner.
Jaquith: Motion to approve the sign design provided the red band extend the length of the Crombie Street side of the store (if possible), the green verticals be removed, and the lettering on the Essex Street side move toward the corner, with the lighting design as presented, seconded by DeMaio. Passes 5-0.
5. 304 Essex Street: Discussion of proposed façade restoration
Ry Hawkins states that the neighbor had an issue with some crumbling lintel and they would like to go beyond making emergency repairs and use cast concrete and re-point the entire elevation.
DeMaio states that the pointing of the existing building is not white and they need to select the right mortar color to match the existing building. He confirms that the new lintels will resemble that of the second floor.
DeMaio: Motion to approve as submitted provided the mortar color conforms to the initial color, seconded by Blier. Passes 5-0.
6. 125 Washington Street: Discussion of proposed façade restoration
David Hark states that they received a letter from the building inspector stating that some concrete was falling and they need to make emergency repairs.
Contractor Tom Jacobs says that he and his mason inspected the site, and he wishes to use a concrete that matches the existing concrete. He adds that some prior repairs that had been executed incorrectly will also be repaired. He states that he meant no disrecpect to the board when he began working on this project prior to seeing the DRB.
Durand says that he has no objections and understands the necessity for the emergency repairs. He assures Jacobs that the members of the board didn’t see his actions as disrespectful.
Jaquith: Motion to approve as submitted, seconded by Kennedy. Passes 5-0.
7. 155-189 Washington Street (Salem News Project, Central House renovation component): Discussion of Final Design Plans for the proposed redevelopment
Matthew Picarsic explains that the windows on the second floor have been widened. He says that the flashing will be the same color as the trim color above the third floor windows. He shows a window sample stating that it is wood and has greater depth than the window that was originally proposed. He says that the shiplap board will be used for the screen. On the rear elevation, he proposes to use shiplap for siding. He states that the trim over the second floor windows will match in color the trim over the third floor window.
DeMaio states that the board appreciates all of the effort that went into this design.
Kennedy agrees stating that the design has improve greatly since the first presentation.
Kennedy: Motion to approve provided the trim over the second floor windows match in color the trim on over the third floor window, and the color of the new canopy will be reviewed, seconded by DeMaio. Passes 3-0.
8. 155-189 Washington Street (Salem News Project, New Construction Component
Matthew Picarsic reviews the changes based on comments from the last meeting. He says that there is now a new fence detail.
Kennedy states that the two fences work much better together.
Jaquith confirms that this is a black metal picket fence.
Picarsic says that the curb was re-graded at the corner so there will be no tripping there.
At the sidewalk level, Ron Lamarre says that an aluminun piece that matches the curtain wall will be encased into the sidewalk, then brick will be above that. He proposes “Practical Beige” as the top story color, and bronze for the windows, and on the storefront they will use anodized aluminum for the mullions, and standstone color siding, and “Lee Ivory” for the mechanical screen.
There is discussion about the color of the storefront mullions. Dark-colored mullions will tend to disappear and light-colored mullions will tend to pop. It is determined that the mullions will be either sandstone or beige.
DeMaio suggest a champagne color instead of the aluminum mullions.
DeMaio states that the two elevations have inconsistencies with the window dimensions.
Jaquith suggests approving subject to seeing the windows and detail at the first floor cornice at the rounded corner.
DeMaio: Motion to approve the final design subject to further review of the window dimensions and the detail at the first floor cornice at the rounded corner, seconded by Kennedy. Passes 3-0.
Jaquith: Motion to adjourn, seconded by DeMaio. Passes 3-0.
The meeting is adjourned at 9:05 PM.
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