27 September 2002 | Approved:
Present: Bob Booher, Larry French, Chris Kirtz, David Neumann
The meeting began at 7:00 pm.
The meeting began with a discussion of the relationships between the HPC, the Planning Commission, and the Town Council. To foster coordination with the Planning Commission, the members decided to invite John McClelland and Bud O’Connor to meet with us in the near future. Bob indicated that he also planned to meet with the Town Council. After some discussion, it was decided that Bob should raise with the TC the specific issues of whether (and under what circumstances) the Planning Commission can act on HPC reviews.
Subsequently, the HPC dealt with several applications received from the Planning Commission. The first of these was for the construction of a fence at 500 McCauley St. David Neumann, the applicant and also a HPC member, recused himself from the deliberations. The remaining members decided not to review the application since the HPC had decided in its July 14th meeting not to review applications for the construction of fences. Larry was asked to notify the mayor, John McClelland, Bud O’Connor, and Kathy Lehman of this decision.
The next application considered was for a covered stairway to a basement at 201 Washington Grove Lane. It was noted that the proposed change was very small and to a non-contributing structure. In the course of considering this application, the members refined their checklist of key questions to be addressed in each review. These are:
- Has the HPC received all the relevant documents, materials and information necessary to for a review?
- Is the project to be undertaken on a contributing or non-contributing structure?
- Are there contributing structures adjacent to the house or structure in question?
- Will the proposed changes in the structure be visible from a public way?
- Are the proposed changes consistent with the character and scale of the house?
- Are the materials to used consistent with those used in the house?
Attention was next directed to the proposed new construction at 215 Ridge Rd on one of the WSSC lots. The review process was hindered by a lack of clarity regarding the specific model to be constructed on the lot by the developer. Nonetheless, there was sufficient information that HPC members expressed concerns regarding several features of the structure including its height and the lack of architectural detail on the sides. Further complicating the review was a lack of information as to the history of this application. The plans appear to have been submitted to the Planning Commission over two years ago. Under an ordinance adopted in July of 2000, the PC had the right to conduct a broad review of the plans that went beyond normal permit considerations to include questions of compatibility with TWG architectural styles. HPC reviewers suspected that the PC had already conducted some form of review and believed that this input would have been valuable to their deliberations.
An discussion then ensued regarding an informal and incomplete proposal for a playhouse at 110 Grove. It was decided that Bob Booher would contact the applicant for more information and to express some concerns of the HPC members.
A final review was then undertaken of an application for some relatively small changes to the entrance of 12 Center Street.
After completing the reviews, the HPC:
- passed a formal motion to adopt the list of contributing structures as developed earlier on the basis of previous documents and site visits.
- was informed that Chris Kirtz had now become a permanent and voting member of the body as a result of the fact that he had moved to TWG.
- amended a form that applicants for a building permit and HPC review receive
- reduced the burden on the HPC Chair by relieving him to responsibility for writing up the final reviews.
The next meeting is scheduled for October 22nd.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 p.m.