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Historic District Commission - 3 22 2017 - edited notesCITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES COMMITTEE /COMMISSION: Historic District Commission SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: March 22, 2017 LOCATION: Beverly City Hall, 191 Cabot Street MEMBERS PRESENT: William Finch — Chair, Suzanne LaMont — Vice Chair, Martin Lian, Wendy Pearl, and James Younger OTHERS PRESENT: Allison Crosbie, Thad Siemasko, Pamela Hartford, and Dan Lohnes RECORDER: Travis Lovett Finch calls the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Hale House — Beverly Historical Society Pamela Hartford, a consultant working with the Beverly Historical Society, gave an update about the first phase of site work for the tree and vegetation removal at Hale House. The CPA agreement was signed on March 1s Hartford said they will not have a rehabilitation plan ready for approval until summer. They wanted to do some site work this spring, Harftford said. The first phase of site repair is tree removal. Hartford said they want to clean up the landscape so that Beverly Historical Society can use the property over the summer. They will be filling in holes and cleaning up the site so that it is acceptable for visitors. They will be cleaning up invasive plants around the fence line of the Hale House property. They will also be itemizing all of the trees on the site. There were several important trees planted during the era when Thomas Bancroft and his son owned the house. It was the Bancroft's summer residence. The Bancroft Era ends in 1917. Beverly Historical Society purchased the house in 1937. They are not taking anything down except for one larch tree. The property has several Norway Maple and Sycamore Maple trees. Hartford said several trees create a natural buffer between the property and its neighbors. There were 3 important beech trees planted on the property in 1852. Younger asks about the big beech tree that is part of the bigger farm. Hartford said that Robert Bancroft planted a 60 foot strip of trees to create a buffer between Hale House and the neighbors. Hartford said they called this stretch of trees "the long walk." She said they would try to recreate the long walk to make the property more inviting to visitors. The trees are in bad shape, Hartford said. The last tree was taken out last spring. The beech trees are always leaning, Hartford said. Pearl said she wonders if the two Norway Maples were planted. Finch said the Norway Maples are about 40 years old. Hartford said there was an elm tree on the property and that was taken out. There were periods of neglect of maintenance on the property, Hartford said. The elms there were at least from 1907, Hartford said. Pearl asked if all of the tree removals would include stump grinding. Hartford said stump grinding would be included. The land had been farmed for 300 years, Hartford said. Younger asks if the long walk went across the street. When they graded Lovett Street, the land slopes, so they had to make a cut, Hartford said. The Bancrofts were allowed to widen Lovett Street. Younger said they may want to create an interpretive exhibition as it is happening. Finch said it's important to not disrupt archaeological findings on the property. Finch said the porch may have been wiped out in the process of paving. The porch probably didn't have a deep foundation, Finch said. Finch said you need to do archaeology before you dig and even if you only dig 8 to 10 inches for a walkway. Younger motions to approve the plan as presented tonight and commend the work being done for bringing this property back to life. Pearl seconds to motion. The motion carries, 5 -0. Draft CPA Plan Review Pearl provided the committee with an update on the draft Community Preservation Act (CPA) plan. Pearl said the current draft is a soft roll -out and will be reviewed by the Beverly City Council. Finch said he didn't see anything out of place in the existing plan, but he said he would encourage saying that the Historic District Commission encourages preservation and the adoption of historic properties. Younger encouraged Pearl to remove the example of "Beverly Arts District" on page 13 in the historic preservation priorities description, as the CPA should generally want to preserve and adaptively reuse all properties contributing to the city's cultural economy. LaMont said she had some typo edits for the CPA plan. Pearl said the page 4 statute requirements work to put all projects under one order. Pearl also said in the first year of CPA funding, the city council voted on each project. After the first year, the City Clerk said that all projects would be considered under one order. During one meeting, one project held up the whole slate, Pearl said. Pearl said the CPC makes a recommendation and then City Council votes on it. Younger said it is administrative in how they approach it. Pearl said they can recommend projects in batches. Finch asks about comments from the public. There were a lot of comments about the Powder House and GAR Hall, Finch said. LaMont suggests striking "a significant public asset would be lost" from the wording in point number three of the general evaluation criteria on page 34. Minutes Review LaMont said the first paragraph of the January 25° 2017 minutes should be changed to reflect that the home on 271 Essex Street is a 17t' century home. Pearl motions to approve the minutes as amended. Lian seconds the motion. The motion carries 5 -0. Beverly Crossing Development on Rantoul Street Thad Siemasko gave the Historic District Commission an update about the proposed property replacing the Ford car dealership on Rantoul Street. Finch said the Historic District Commission has 10 days to make a determination if the property is historically significant. Finch said if the Commission determines that the property is historically significant, they will need to set up a hearing and the group would be asked to present during that meeting. This is the 40,000 sq. foot parcel, Finch said. There's a one story building on the property that is about 23,500 square feet that dates back to the 1920's, Siemasko said. The front third of the building is the auto sales showroom. It's a somewhat non - descript mercantile building from the period, Siemasko said. Siemasko said he didn't think the building was significant. The developer is planning on razing the building and building a transit oriented development (similar to 131 Rantoul St.). Siemasko is asking the board to declare the property not to be historically significant. Finch asks how the building has changed since the 1920's to now. Finch said the essential question is about the integrity of the original construction and how it has been altered over time. Pearl said this project should go to a hearing. Finch said that rarity doesn't always make something significant. Younger said he would want to have the public weigh in on the conversation. Younger said for him the sign is more interesting than the building, but he said he is fine with a public hearing because it gives the public a chance to weigh in and it also gives committee members more time to research. Finch encouraged Siemasko to look for photographs of other buildings. Pearl said the character of the building is a plain transitional modern building. Pearl wanted to know if this building has functioned primarily as a car dealership since 1920. Siemasko said his understanding was that the building was opened as a Ford dealership. Siemasko said they will provide images. Pearl said that the Packard's Corner neighborhood in Boston is full of old car dealerships that have been beautifully restored. Finch said there are two car dealerships in Salem that have been recycled into other things. The Historic District Commission will hold a public hearing in April to determine the status of the property. 36R South Terrace Demolition Lian said the chimneys look to be original. Pearl sees a lot of additions on the front and back. The windows looked like they had been replaced. There are new insurance rules on flood control, Younger thought. Pearl said she didn't think they needed a hearing on the property. LaMont asked if the property is part of the Aunt Betty's Cove group of houses. Every Commission member agreed that no public hearing was needed for this property, even if the property may be rare. Beverly Golf and Tennis The Community Preservation Committee received an HVAC upgrade proposal for the Beverly Golf and Tennis property, and the Beverly Golf and Tennis Commission is seeking a letter of support from the Historic District Commission. Younger said he doesn't see how this project qualifies as historic preservation. A retrofit of an HVAC system is not a historic preservation project Younger said. Pearl said there is a definition of preservation to also protect property from harm or destruction. Pearl said the heating system is failing, so the property technically qualifies as preservation to prevent harm or loss. Rehabilitation has to conform to the Secretary of the Interior applications. Pearl said the CPC members viewed the Cabot Theatre and Beverly Golf and Tennis proposals as eligible projects, but Pearl doesn't know how the Committee will vote. The CPC awarded $180,000 last year for pressing improvements to meet Massachusetts Architectural Access board requirements, Pearl said. Pearl said there are a lot of big ticket requests. Finch said he would feel comfortable supporting HVAC upgrades if the projects were aiding in true preservation work. It's a sticky wicket, as wickets go, Pearl said. Pearl asked what if an existing heating system is causing damage to the building. Replacement of a HVAC system would qualify as capital maintenance, Younger said. Pearl imagines there will be a lot of discussion about heating system projects. Pearl said preservation is to prevent injury, harm, or destruction of the property. Younger said the public benefit of the Community Preservation Act is what's important to the committee. Pearl recuses herself from voting. Younger said he doesn't feel comfortable supporting this project. Younger said if the City can come up with $1,000,000 for a new turf, they can come up with funds for HVAC. Lian said he doesn't support the project. Finch is not in favor of supporting the project because it's twisting around the concept of preservation. Finch said this feels like an incidental case where the HVAC replacement will "by the way" also help to preserve the property. Adjournment and Next Meeting Lian motions to adjourn the meeting. Pearl seconds the motion. The motion carries 5 -0. The meeting ends at 8:50pm. The Beverly Historic District Commission is scheduled to meet at 7:00 p.m. on April 12, 2017 in Beverly City Hall.