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2001-04-26Page 1 CITY OF BEVERLY Public Meeting Minutes BOARD: Historic Commission SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: April 26, 2001 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: John Condon, Matt Lewis Jim Younger & John Frates BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: William Finch & Alan Syneki OTHERS PRESENT: RECORDER: Diane Presutti Chairman Mr. Finch is not in attendance this evening, as Vice-Chairman, Mr. Younger accepts the Chairman's responsibilities and calls the meeting to order @ 7:05 p.m. Mary Ann & Scott (Launt) Loomis - 35 Front Street. COA Rebuild rear fence and deck Mr. Loomis approaches the Board to describe his plans to rebuild the rear deck and fence at 35 Front Street, photographs of existing conditions, specifications of decking materials, and a schematic three dimensional design sketch were circulated to Board members. Mr. Loomis describes the deteriorated state of the existing deck, justifying his need for a complete rebuild. The proposed new deck will be built with a new concrete footing and it will be built to duplicate the limits of the existing deck footprint. The fence will be white, matching post cap and top fence rail details as seen in photo A (see corresponding record case folder filed in the Beverly Planning office). Decking will be fiberon recycled decking material with no finish (specifications for this material are also enclosed in record case folder filed in the Beverly Planning office). Mr. Frates asks Mr. Loomis to approach the Board and point out the exact placement of the deck on the pictures he has given them. Mr. Loomis approaches and explains. Mr. Frates also states he must obtain a building permit. Ms. Tompkins, a neighbor, approaches thc Board and speaks in favor of the new deck. There is no opposition. Mr. Younger asks the Board if there arc any other additional questions regarding the request for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA). Mr. Condon motions to accept application for COA. Seconded by Mr. Lewis, motion carries 4-0. 2. Gary Corsetti - 62/64 Water St., COA Reconstruct and Rehab Page 2 Mr. Corsetti approaches the Board with various prints and sketches of the building at 62/64 Water Street, he describes his desire to rehabilitate and reconstruct the building into 3 dwelling units and ground floor commercial office space. Mr. Alexander, counsel representing Mr. Corsetti, approaches the Board and provides background regarding Mr. Corsetti's request for a Certificate of Appropriateness (CEA) for proposed rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Water Street building. Mr. Alexander describes the existing Water Street building, describing the architectural features and size of the original three story warehouse structure before a portion of it was destroyed by a fire and hurricane in 1938. Mr. Corsetti's proposed design includes the reconstruction of the damaged portion of the building. Prior to meeting with this Board, Mr. Corsetti met at the Jubilee Yacht Club with neighbors to present his proposal, listen to neighborhood concerns, and answers questions. The attached 62-64 Water Street Variance Conditions were written as a condition of Mr. Corsetti's variance request to the Zoning Board of Approval (ZBA), the variance was approved prior to requesting a cea from the Historic Commission. After some initial discussion about parking on Front Street and a strong recommendation from Mr. Younger to place a fence along the rear lot line along Front Street to prevent parking and enhance the usefulness of the open space by tenants of the proposed building project, Mr. Alexander handed Mr. Younger a copy of Maseachusetts General Laws Chapter 40C Section 10-29, the regulations which outline the features of architectural importance which are within the jurisdiction of the Historic Commission. Mr. Alexander states that the variance declares that there will be no parking on Front Street, and he reminds the Board of their responsibility which is to review issues which are relevant to the issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness. Mr. Alexander continues to describe the extent of proposed demolition and construction to the Water Street building; the cinderblock building, indicated in photo A (filed in the Historic Commission folder, located at the Beverly Planning Board office in City Hall, which corresponds to this heating) will be removed and the building envelope will be reconstructed as indicated on Elevations 5, 6, 7, 8 dated 12/15/00 revised 3/27/01(plans have also been retained in the Historic Commission folder, located at the Beverly Planning Board office in City Hall). Mr. Younger reads 62-64 Water Street Variance Conditions to all present in the Council Chamber and asks for questions. Mr. Loomis, a neighbor, questions the reconfiguration of the proposed design stating that the residents living directly behind the property on Front Street who currently have water views will have obstructed water views once the building has been completed. Mr. Corsetti explains that Mr. Finch and Ms. Rose currently live behind the proposed project and do not take issue with the proposed reconfiguration, Ms. Rose who is present in the Chamber concurs. Page 3 Mr. Frates voices concern regarding the first floor handicapped bathroom. The plans are not complete enough to allow a full understanding of the design intent. Mr. Frates questions the Boards ability to satisfactorily review, discuss, and grant a COA this evening when the majority of the Board just received the plans a few minutes prior to the start of the meeting and the plans appear to be incomplete and poorly executed. He points out that there are no drawing numbers or basement shown on the plans. Mr. Younger states that although there may be building code issues revealed in the review of the drawings, the Board needs to resist the temptation to address code issues and concentrate on exterior architectural features of the building such as windows, doors, and brick detailing. Mr. Lewis questions the brick detailing, trying to determine the size of the existing brick, identifying areas where brick is new or existing, where it has been replaced or repaired. Mr. Corsetti indicates that he has secured 258 cubic yards of matching brick from a building in Gloucester. He also mentions that some of the brick especially at the Water Street elevation has been stained. Although Mr. Corsetti would like to chemically remove the stain from the existing brick, he may be unable to chemically strip paint in such a environmentally sensitive area, the costs may be exorbitant as well. Mr. Younger states that he is not personally opposed to painted brick as long as field applied color samples are approved by the Board prior to applying paint. Mr. Younger asks for information regarding types of windows to be installed and sill detailing. Mr. Corsetti states, windows will be Brosco, single glaze, true divided lite windows of dimensions to match elevations as indicated on the drawings. Windows will have aluminum screen/storm combinations. Side entry doors will be constructed of wood their size and design as indicated on the drawings. Sills will be 3" high, constructed from mahogany or fir. Mr. Lewis and Mr. Younger ask for details regarding the doorway. Mr. Corsetti approaches the Board to review an alternate front elevation entry design which he likes better than the design shown in the current set of drawings, this alternate design shows the entry with a granite lintel spanning the door and side lites. The granite lintel would be approximately 8" to 10" high. Mr. Frates motions to table further discussions until revised drawings are resubmitted to the Board. The drawings would be less schematic and they would be received by Board members well in advance of a scheduled hearing so that there would be sufficient time for review. The motion is not seconded. Mr. Younger asks the Board to take 10 minutes to review all plans available and to focus on exterior architectural features. Page 4 Mr. Younger motions to conditional grant COA, the conditions are as follows: All brick must match the size, and texture of the existing brick. Mortar color, mortar joint size and texture is to match the original building. If the existing stained brick is to be stripped of its color, all new brick shall match the color of the newly "stripped" brick. The Board shall approve of the final color achieved through the stripping process. If the existing stain is not stripped, all brick may be stained to match the existing brick. The Board shall approve a sample of the stain in the field prior to staining of the building. Under no circumstances is the existing brick or replacement brick to be sandblasted. All Windows to be wood single glaze true divided lite manufactured by Brosco. Window design and layout to match design drawings. Windows will be supplied with alumimun screen/storms combinations, color to be submitted to the Historic Commission for approval. Window sill to be three inches high and constructed of mahogany or fir. Window jambs shall be set back a minimum of 1-1/2" from the brick facade of the building, the purpose being to create an 1-1/2" reveal. Front Entry on Water Street shall be the alternate design as presented by Mr. Corsetti, see exhibit A. The entry shall have a granite lintel 8" to 10" high, a full scale mock-up of this lintel using wood will be created and approved by the Historic Commission before the entry is installed. Side entry doors will be constructed of wood their size and design as indicated on the .drawings. Door and side lites will be true divided single glaze windows. The size and scale of the dormers as indicated on elevation drawings 5,6,8, and the detail window drawing of the schematic design set dated 12/15/00 revised 3/27/01 is approved. There is not enough detail for the Board to review the treament of the trim at the gabled portion of the dormer facing the street. A mock-up of this detail shall be created in the field for review and approval by the Board. The section of the granite/fieldstone wall running behind the proposed parking space number nine on the site plan has collapsed and shall be repaired using materials to match the existing granite/fieldstone wall. The site plan is to be revised to reflect the existing location of this wall and its proposed repair. A new set of revised drawings reflecting the changes as identified by this Board shall be submitted within 60 days. 100% construction drawings shall reflect all design conditions reviewed and · conditionally approved by the Board. Page Seconded by Mr. Condon Motion carries 3-1. Mr. Frates opposed. Mr. Condon motions to adjourn at 9:15 p.m. Seconded by Mr. Lewis.