21 June 2006 | Approved: 18 July 2006
HPC members present: Bob Booher, Chair, Ed Mroczka, and Mimi Styles. David Stopak attended as liaison for the Town Council.
The meeting was called to order at 7:45 p.m.
After some modifications, the Commission members approved the Agenda presented by Bob Booher.
Mimi Styles agreed to take minutes for the meeting.
Minutes of the regular meeting of May 16, 2006, were presented for review and approval, but it was noted that although a quorum was present at the instant meeting, Ed Mroczka was not present at the May 16 meeting. Thus the minutes of the May 16 meeting will be presented again for review and approval at the
July 18 meeting.
ICC
Bob Booher reviewed developments regarding the ICC. Of particular concern is the State Highway Administration’s decision to proceed with a “design/build” contract. Under this scenario, the SHA would NOT be responsible for the ICC’s final design. Also, the contractor would commit to a dollar amount and timetable, but “how he gets there” would be more or less left to the contractor. Concerns were raised that features deemed important by the affected communities could easily be dropped under the design/build concept. In addition, the contractor would also be able to begin clearing land before the design is begun.
Bob also commented that renderings he has seen are strictly from the perspective of someone traveling on the ICC. He has seen no renderings from the perspective of someone looking at the proposed ICC from an adjacent community.
Review Session
A building permit application submitted by Konrad Ritter and Christiana Figueres relating to a small kitchen addition, changes to the porch on the south side of their home at 206 Grove Avenue, and a new entrance from the east side of said porch, was presented to the HPC for its review. The homeowners were not present at the review.
The materials presented were minimal, consisting of a site plan and a simple sketch, the latter which was not to scale nor did it incorporate depiction of the existing structure. The materials were considered inadequate for a proper review.
Nonetheless, HPC members discussed at length the proposed changes, and referred to the photographs of the house in the HPC archives in an effort to better understand how the changes proposed would relate to the existing structure. HPC, being sensitive to the perception that HPC reviews cause delays and are a stumbling block to homeowners’ construction timetables, gave much consideration to whether a review – or even a preliminary review – could be made. HPC members ultimately decided that in all fairness, neither a standard review nor a preliminary review would be possible, as the materials submitted were simply not sufficient for review purposes, nor did they meet the documentation requirements of the building permit application process.
It was also noted that the hand sketches represented “concepts” and that, for example, there might be structural issues or building code issues with some of the stairs, not addressed in the simple sketch, which could greatly change the actual design once construction details were fleshed out.
To keep the process moving, it was decided that Ed would contact the applicants directly about the materials required to be included with the application for the town building permit (as this apparently had not been understood by the homeowners), suggesting that they may wish to consider withdrawing the application pending submission of the required materials.
HPC members noted the continuing issue of receiving building permit applications for HPC review which have not been vetted for inclusion of all materials required for applications for Town building permits.
Work Session
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Master Plan and Ordinances – Preservation Goals
Bob reviewed the make-up of the committee and advised he would set up meetings for the committee. -
Cator Property Annexation
Dave Stopak reviewed the status of the Cator property annexation. The “clustering option” for residential development and commercial zoning possibilities were discussed. HPC commentary would be needed at the public hearing on annexation of this property.
The next meeting is scheduled for July 18, 2006 at 7:30 pm.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m.