18 December 2012 | Approved: 15 January 2013
Bob Booher, Mimi Styles, Margot Bohan, Gail Littlefield and David Stopak. Councilor Joli McCathran was present as Town Council Liaison. The meeting began at 7:30p.m. Bob Booher took minutes.
Approval of Agenda and Adoption of Minutes
The proposed agenda was modified and then adopted unanimously. Minutes for the November HPC meeting were approved subject to a few changes. They will be filed in the Town office and submitted to Bill Saar to be added to the Town Web Site. The October minutes will be reviewed at the next meeting. There was discussion regarding better attention to previewing minutes via email prior to the meetings.
Project Reviews
Members reviewed a permit application from Manish Gupta to build an addition to the rear of the house at 348 Ridge Road. The house is a non-contributing structure. Mimi Styles agreed to write the review.
Council Report
Joli McCathran presented her report on Council activities relevant to the HPC. The archivist has been averaging 34 hours rather than the 30 previously projected. Upon review with Mary, Joli indicated this would not be a budget problem. MARC has responded to a new schedule adding one evening stop. An Oral
History update will be added to the January HPC agenda.
PC Meeting Report
Gail reported on relevant issues at the Decemaber PC Meeting: status of the ongoing surveys; final results of the Snider appeal process; the new sidewalk along Washington Grove Lane; a newly proposed Ordinance that would require a permit for work by any entity on Town property, e.g. roads or bridges, and the status of the Meadow Park agreements. Assignments for attending the next series of meetings: January- Bob, February- Margot, March- Mimi, April- David, May- Gail.
Permit Procedure
Margot summarized her work to date on updating the permit procedure. She is preparing: 1) a set of FAQs, 2) a separate HPC application and instructions, and 3) a “cresting the process” document. There was discussion regarding whether the effort should be focused on a separate process for the HPC or on modifYing the current PC-focused process. It was decided to complete the effort to optimize the process related to the HPC and present it to the PC and the Town Council. A combined work session with the PC was recommended. Margot investigated other jurisdictions to compare their processes. Most involved a more formal inclusion of the HPC review as enabled by
their legislation. Many included links from either the application or from the website to the relevant supporting material. Margot suggested restructuring the website to be able to provide this enhanced access to needed information. At present, it is not at all user-friendly. Margot will send around drafts of the three mentioned documents. Bob volunteered to assist.
Deer Park Bridge
The group met with CSX in early December to review the progress toward an agreement and confer on the possible paths forward. CSX will contact the group to arrange a meeting with those in charge of providing community services, tree planting and interpretive programs. Gail will re-contact the engineers at the National Park Service who had offered to examine the bridge and the CSX proposal. The group will focus on preparing for a Town Meeting to consider the results of their investigations.
Towne Crest
The developer of Towne Crest has distributed a flier to the surrounding community describing their newest proposal for a slightly reduced density. David reported that their lawyer attempted to obtain a copy of our application to Preservation Maryland for the Endangered Maryland program. They were refused and referred to the HPC. Joli noted the impact that the application had made and the coverage it had gotten in the media.
Wallace Report
Gail reported on the meeting she attended regarding the initial structural engineering report finding that the trusses ofMcCathran Hall were spreading the top of the walls slightly, causing a slight gap in the shingles siding. The structural engineer was recommended by Preservation Maryland. The committee and Council have decided to proceed with a closer examination to be done by the engineer and a recommended contractor. They will expose the area in question at the top of the wall and at the sill to ascertain the extent of movement and possible cause. Gail encouraged the HPC to provide oversight of the process.
Adjournment
The next meeting will be Tuesday, December 20, 2011, at 7:30pm in the McCathran Hall meeting room.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m.