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Historic District Commission - 12 20 2017 - ApprovedCITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES COMMITTEE /COMMISSION: Historic District Commission SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: December 20, 2017 LOCATION: Beverly City Hall, 191 Cabot Street MEMBERS PRESENT: William Finch - Chair, Suzanne LaMont - Vice Chair, Wendy Pearl ABSENT: Martin Lian and Jim Younger OTHERS PRESENT: Emily Hutchings, Caroline Mason RECORDER: Travis Lovett Finch calls the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Historic Resources Surveys RFQ Hutchings reached out to seven consultants after not receiving any bids for the historic properties surveying work. Five of the seven consultants responded back to provide reasoning for not bidding, including issues of timing and concerns about getting permission from property owners to access the properties. The properties that need surveying include 12 Parkview Avenue, the Augustus P. Loring Estate, the Rockmarge and Swiftmoor estates, and Pompey's Garden. Finch said they have a few more months to further establish the details of the project and said that consultants would be available for summer projects. Pearl recommended contacting the Boston University Preservation Studies Group. Hutchings raised the question of how the Rockmarge and Swiftmoor estates would be surveyed, considering the original properties appear to have been subdivided. Finch stated that a significant portion of the surveys would involve surveying landscapes for historical remains. As the properties at 73 -74 Paine Avenue have been subdivided, someone will need to look at an historic aerial photo, Finch said. Hutchings said they had permission to survey the Beverly Golf and Tennis Club and the Summer Cottage at 12 Parkview Avenue. Finch said it's mainly the garden areas that they need permission to survey, such as the Augustus P. Loring Estate and the Rockmarge and Swiftmoor estates. The landscape could have structures or secondary buildings, Pearl said. Finch said the main residences are no longer there. Pearl said the properties have now all been subdivided. Hutchings will check with Historic Beverly to see if there is any information available for the historic properties. Finch said aerial photos show most all of the remnants of the properties. Mason asked why people would object to being surveyed. Finch said privacy was important to the owners. Pearl said they could enclose a sample survey from another Pride's Crossing property as a way of encouraging property owners to participate. Mason asked about local protection for Historic District Commission December 20, 2017 Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 5 important properties. Finch said National Register and Chapter 40C programs are unpopular because it is someone telling property owners what they can or cannot do with their property. Hutchings said the preservation restriction on the Hale House provides a very good source of protection. Pearl said it might not hurt to contact Nancy Coffey as she wrote a book about one of the properties. The deadline to use funds from the Community Preservation Act is November 16, 2018. CPC Guidelines for Assisting Private Homeowners Hutchings asked about requiring private homeowners who apply for Community Preservation Committee (CPC) assistance to have a Certificate of Appropriateness or Non - Applicability to pursue historic work. Finch said property owners in local historic districts properties have to adhere to certain standards whether they like the standards or not. Hutchings asked about the creation of other historic districts. LaMont said it was time and labor intensive. LaMont doesn't see homes such as the Livermore House establishing its own district to apply for funding. Pearl said the CPC talked about supporting historic districts and properties on the National Register. The Fish Flake Hill District is much larger than Fish Flake Hill, Finch said. Pearl would want properties to be within the local historic district or appear on the National Register of Historic Places if they receive CPC funds. The whole project would need to be compliant with CPC guidelines in order for private homeowners to receive funding. Finch said he is only interested in funding historic work (based on evidence), not preserving something for modern use. Pearl said the Secretary of the Interior standards differ based on the treatment that is chosen. Pearl said they can use the word "preservation." Finch and Pearl want to use the word "preserve" and not use the term "rehabilitate." Hutchings said there would be some public benefit to the historic preservation to be eligible for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding. If projects meet the CPA guidelines, the CPC would still have final approval authority, Pearl said. She said CPC members would like to have guidelines from the Historic District Commission to work from. Pearl asked about considering businesses for CPA funds. Finch said businesses would start pitching rehabilitation projects that have nothing to do with preservation. Finch said there are a few store fronts with a few transoms above the doors, but he thinks private properties are a can of worms. Finch said the YMCA is getting rehabilitated they are replacing 9 original windows on the first floor with modern windows. No owner is going to be interested in restoring their old wood windows, Finch said. All of the energy codes, all of the costs are against it, Finch said. Finch said this program should be a way of ameliorating the cost of historic preservation with respect to houses. Hutchings said that Cambridge's program is a rehabilitation program and meant to augment affordable housing. Pearl said the Community Preservation Act calls rehabilitation "bringing property up to code" and that owners can "acquire" or "preserve" property. A new roof would be the loss of historic property, Pearl said. Rehabilitation can Historic District Commission December 20, 2017 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 be used to define a broader set of standards, Pearl said. Last year, a private homeowner asked the CPC for funds to preserve windows and put a new cedar roof on their historic property. CPC members weren't sure how to respond, Pearl said. Should they fund the difference between a regular asphalt roof versus a cedar roof? If the HDC makes a recommendation to the CPC, it could be for very specific activities, Pearl said. Pearl said an application for private homeowners could outline different types of work supported by CPC grants and that applicants would have to provide clear documentation to be eligible for funds. Hutchings asked if private homeowners should be required to at least provide matching funds in order to be eligible for CPC funds. Pearl and Finch said matching funds ensure that applicants are invested in historic preservation. Hutchings said any guidelines for funding privately owned historic preservation projects would need to be revised by the HDC and eventually reviewed by the City Solicitor. Hutchings will have guideline revisions ready for the next meeting. Pearl said they should be more specific about recapturing funds. Reversal of any work would require property owners to pay the city back all city funds that have been invested, Pearl said. Contracts are a 5 -year duration, which creates an incentive for preservation and putting down roots, Pearl said. Hutchings said that Cambridge gives out up to $30,000 in CPA funds to private homeowners and that they work with developers to create affordable housing. Hutchings said that Somerville has not given out any grants yet. Pearl said Chapter 40C restricts control of individual buildings in Somerville. Finch questioned the recapture clause language, given that they are talking about a small amount of money that involves significant legal actions to enforce it. Pearl said the City Solicitor would want to protect the public investment. The contract and the recapture clause are in lieu of a preservation restriction, Pearl said. The pre- application process would be about the determination of significance, Pearl said, with a focus on whether or not the proposal is complaint with a subset of criteria related to historic significance. Preservation sets the best tone for what we're trying to accomplish, LaMont said. Several HDC members said that CPA funds should not exceed more than 50% of the total project costs and CPA funds should not exceed $15,000. Historical Plaques Hutchings found a standard graphic for historical plaques that can be redone. Mr. Leonard will have a standard to use, Finch said. Finch said the property owners would have been responsible for any of the recent plaques that were made. Hutchings said the estimated cost per plaque, including a house history, is $205. Hutchings asked what Historic Beverly should be researching for a house history. Pearl would like to see Historic Beverly run the plaque program. Finch said he wants to see a review process for what is being put on the plaques. Finch said the HDC has the ability to verify and approve plaques. Pearl said if HDC is running this, there should also be financial support of the program (e.g. a subsidy for the plaques). LaMont asked if there are any restrictions regarding the age of a building. Historic District Commission December 20, 2017 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 Hutchings stated that Goganian had informed her that the plaque program shouldn't be time related. Hutchings would like to develop maps that highlight the history of historic houses. LaMont said that's what they do in Salem. The house history should include the date of construction, the original owner(s) and their occupation(s), the architect, and builder whenever possible. Finch said property owners should be expected to pay for replacement signs and upkeep. Preservation Award Program Pearl said she thinks the preservation award program should belong to Historic Beverly. She said the Historic District Commission could provide some support and promotion for the program. Hutchings said having a small budget in place would cover the cost of framed certificates and an awards ceremony. Hutchings mentioned honoring recipients at a Beverly City Council meeting. LaMont said mixing the award with a city council meeting is confusing. Mason said in Albany, New York they would have an event at the site that won the award. They would invite the mayor and city council to encourage people to see what is preserved. Pearl said that May is Historic Preservation Month. Pearl said the Beverly Heritage Project and Historic Beverly might also have some recommendations for preservation awards. LaMont said she already had a building in mind. LaMont asked about the building on the corner of Pleasant Street and Rantoul Street. Steve Archer's rehabilitation of the Mason Hall is nice, Finch said. Massachusetts Historic Society is accepting nominations for the 40 annual preservation awards. Pearl said they should aim to make an announcement in May 2018 during preservation month. Hutchings will collect ideas for the next meeting. Mason asked if they will seek nominations. Hutchings said the question is whether or not they will seek nominations for the first year. Finch doesn't like the idea of taking nominations for the first year or beyond that. LaMont said broadcasting the awards to the public will give a sense of ownership. Hutchings will develop a nomination form with multiple categories (she will ask forms to be submitted to the Beverly Planning Department by March 15, 2018). All three committee members expressed that the projects should have been completed sometime after January 1, 2015. Pearl would love Cabot Cinema to be nominated for an award. Pearl asked about featuring the winner on the city website. Ongoing Projects GAR Hall Phase 1 of the GAR Hall project is being put out to bid and the deadline for responses for January 18, 2018. The announcement seeking requests for proposal will be shared through the Central Register and they will appear in newspaper announcements along with the City of Beverly website. It could also be shared through the Massachusetts Historic Commission email list - serve. Historic District Commission December 20, 2017 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 GAR Hall - Form B The first step of placing GAR Hall on the National Register is the recompletion of Form B. It was a chapel, not a church. The style is Romanesque Revival. Hutchings will email Finch the Word file with the narrative. The narrative provides information about who owns the building and when it moves. LaMont gave Hutchings the deeds. It's unclear who moved the building. The City of Beverly purchased the land and the building in 1960. In 1944 the property has a building on it. The building was where Beverly Bank is and the building was used as a high school until 1875. The property was sold in 1960 to the city. It should be clarified that Beverly became a city at a certain date. Finch isn't going to try to tread into the business of ownership. The National Register nomination will get worked out with the provision that the building is forever maintained. Finch recommends including historic photographs in the form. Richard Smith will email photographs to Hutchings. Hutchings has a signed letter from Mayor Cahill. There should also be information about the hall itself. Finch said the wainscot is preserved and building alterations have been tracked since 1941. Finch said the building condition is fair to poor. Pearl said graphics would be helpful to show when and how the building was moved. Hale House Preservation Restriction Hutchings is waiting for photographs from Historic Beverly. They have extended the deadline for the Memorandum of Understanding with the CPC. Powder House The next meeting for the Powder House will be sometime at the beginning of January 2018. Historic Beverly would be interested in holding the preservation restriction as long as an endowment is provided to maintain the structure. Community Preservation Committee funds could be used to establish an endowment to protect the Powder House. Balch House, Cabot House, and Hale House all have endowments, Pearl said. If Historic Beverly held the preservation restriction, they would also manage the endowment. Meeting Minutes Pearl motions to approve the September 2017 and October 2017 minutes. LaMont seconds the motion. The motion carries 3 -0. Adjournment Pearl motions to adjourn the meeting at 9:53 pm. LaMont seconds the motion. The motion carries 3 -0. The next Historic District Commission meeting will be held in Beverly City Hall on January 24, 2018 at 7:OOpm. Historic District Commission December 20, 2017 Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5