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2011-09-01CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD: Design Review Board DATE: September 1, 2011 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Colleen Bruce, Patrick McGowan, Bill Finch, Jane Brusca BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: RECORDER: Bruce calls the meeting to order. Associate Planner Kate Newhall Kate Newhall 1. 240 Elliott Street — Eco Mate Dry Cleaning — Parkai Bagchi, 1 Intervale Avenue, Peabody, MA 01960 Mr. Bagchi presents the sign design for two identical wall signs. The individual letters are predominantly green, with only the "mate" being in black. The signs both measure 19" in height by 6' in length and are illuminated externally. McGowan: Motion to approve the sign design as presented, seconded by Newhall. All in favor. 2. 105 Cherry Hill Drive — Colonial Gardens: Gracious Retirement Living — Colson & Colson General Contractor, 105 Cherry Hill Drive, Beverly, MA 01915 Charles Ortner of Colson & Colson presents the sign design for a brick and stucco monument sign. The sign will measure 99.5" in length and stand 5' tall with a depth of 1 '/2 The background of the sign will be a light tan with black and blue text, framed on three sides by brick. Newhall mentions that the sign does not conform to zoning and the applicant is seeking a recommendation from the DRB to the ZBA for a special permit to allow the sign as presented at that address. Brusca asks about how it is positioned in relation to the street. Mr. Ortner states that it is perpendicular to Cherry Hill Drive so that it will be visible as vehicles drive up and down it. McGowan asks about lighting. Mr. Ortner states that there will be spotlights and that they will not shine into drivers at night. There will also be some landscaping around the sign as well. Bruce asks about the color scheme. Ortner describes it and the brick color that will match the brick on the building. Brusca asks why they need a Special Permit from the ZBA for the sign. Mr. Ortner responds that it is due to the size of the sign. Bruce: Motion to offer a favorable recommendation on the proposed sign design as presented, seconded by Brusca. All in favor. DRB September 1, 2011 Page 2 of 5 3. 95 Rantoul Street — Porter Mill: Artist Exhibits & Studio — Clifford F. Conti, NH Sims, 60 Old Derry Road, Londonderry, NH 03053 Mr. Conti presents his sign design. He is proposing to install an awning over the entire front facade of the building. The text, which will be centered on the awning, over the door, will read, "Porter Mill" "Artist Exhibits & Studios" in two lines. The color of the awning is a dark brown with the centerpiece a lighter brown/tan. The text is in white. This does not comply with the zoning since the letters are larger than the allotted 6" and there are two lines of text. Steve Frederickson has indicated that the applicant will need a Special Permit. Mr. Conti is proposing a smaller awning for a side entryway into the building. This awning is the same color scheme with the same text, but adds the word, "Entrance" in black. Both of the awnings are fabric and will not be illuminated. This awning, too, does not meet the zoning requirements. Newhall states that the applicant is seeking a recommendation from the DRB to the ZBA for a special permit to allow the signs as presented. Finch is opposed to the design of the awnings. Mr. Conti explains why he designed the awnings as he did. Finch states that the sign should just be a wall sign if he wants letters larger than 6 ". Mr. Conti explains that the awning sign is a way to soften up the brick wall. Bruce asks about the name. Mr. Vernet, owner of the property, mentions that the "Porter" in the name refers to Porter Sewing. Brusca and McGowan like the design but do not like that it doesn't conform to code and do not want to set a precedent of approving signs that don't conform. McGowan suggest taking the words off of the awning, but keep the color scheme and then installing a projecting sign with the text. Finch would like to see a sign band above the awning, which could mean altering the size of the awning to allow room for the sign above it. Finch acknowledges the good design, but does not want to set the precedent. The Board is in favor of altering the size of the awning so that a wall sign will fit above it and below the first row of windows. The applicant will work out a new design with the board's suggestions and send it to Kate. 4. 138 Conant Street — NOLIJ — Nolii Corporation, 138 Conant Street, Beverly, MA 01915 Ed Juralewicz of United Sign Co. presents the sign proposal for NOLIJ. The two identical wall signs will each measure 2' in height and 163" in length. The text will be individual, internally illuminated red letters. He states that the building inspector checked the variance for the signage on the building. This is the last of the allowed signs. Brusca asks if the others are illuminated. The Wells Fargo is lit but Orchard Brands is not. Bruce : Motion to approve the sign design as presented, seconded by Brusca. All in favor. DRB September 1, 2011 Page 3 of 5 5. 269 Cabot Street — Facade Improvement Program — Steven Archer, 269 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915 Mr. Archer is a recipient of a grant from Main Streets and the City to improve the look of his facade at 269 Cabot Street. He is proposing to retain the existing masonry on the facade, but install a new aluminum storefront system and doors with recessed panels along the bottom of the windows. Newhall states that the board may review this proposal and offer any recommendations in the form of a letter to Beverly Main Streets. This review is a condition of the grant funding. The Board has several questions: Are recessed panels green? If not, what color is the aluminum? Is the color on the presented drawing the actual color for the finished facade treatment? The Board would like more information before offering a recommendation to Main Streets on this proposal. Newhall states that she will contact Mr. Archer's representative from Main Streets for more information and will pass said information along to the Board. 6. 200 Rantoul Street — Marino's Cafe — Anthony Marino, 5 Pillowlace Lane, Beverly, MA 01915 Mr. Marino presents his proposal for new signage at his cafe. The funding for this sign is coming from the Facade Improvement Program. He is proposing to install new awnings across the front windows of his building. The black awnings have white text that lists the food and beverages that he sells. In addition to the awnings, he is proposing to install a black projecting sign with silver text. The signs will be externally illuminated. Brusca asks if the window signs will be removed. He states that they will be. Mr. Marino describes the valence of the awning and how it is removable so he could change the text or even keep it blank. He states that the projecting sign he has proposed will replace the awning that used to be over his door. The front facade will be illuminated with standard gooseneck lights that will replace the existing spotlights. Finch asks about listing products /services on the signs, he prefers them on the windows. He also states that the text in the windows is much more legible than the text on the awnings. Mr. Marino agrees with these statements. Marino states that he will remove the text from the awning, which takes the awning out of the purview of the DRB. Bruce: Motion to approve the projecting sign design as presented and to remove the text from the awning sign, leaving the valance black, seconded by McGowan. All in favor. 7. 135 Cabot Street — Funky Junk — Ana Romano, 135 Cabot Street, Suite 1, Beverly, MA 01915 Ms. Romano presents her proposal for a wall sign. The white sign will measure 2' in height and 8' in length. The blue text will read, "Funky Junk" and purple text will read, "Very Cool Used and DRB September 1, 2011 Page 4 of 5 New Furniture, Home Decor, Artwork, Custom Finishing and More." The sign has a black border and a drawing of a potted, flowering plant. The sign will not be illuminated although there are existing fixtures if she chose to use them. Brusca asks about the red text on the windows. Ms. Romano states that the business name was removed, but the phone number and website remain. Finch asks about the placement of the sign with the banner of the neighboring business. Ms. Romano states that the banner will come down or be moved so that the two signs won't overlap. McGowan states that the extra text clutters the sign. Newhall states that drivers won't be able to read it as they pass by. Finch does not like the listing of products. Bruce and Brusca like the idea of listing the products from the store in the windows. Bruce suggests having the sign maker white out the bottom of the sign and the applicant can choose a few things to put under the main text rather than the long sentence that currently exists. Bruce: Motion to approve the sign design with a limited amount of text under the business name, seconded by Brusca. All in favor. 8. 265 Cabot Street — Atomic Cafe — John Mahoney, 265 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915 Andrew Mahoney presents the proposal for a wall sign in the absence of his brother, John. The sign will replace the existing one and list the products that are available in the cafe as well as displaying the business name and logo and the slogan, "We roast our own award - winning coffee!" and the business' website. In addition to this being a formal sign application, this applicant is part of the Main Streets Facade Improvement grant program. Finch states that he prefers that the listing of products be displayed in the windows, not on the wall sign. He also states his preference for the existing sign. Mr. Mahoney responds that they have changed the name and identity of the business and they need a new sign to reflect this. Finch suggests keeping the feel of the old sign but using the new logo. Brusca asks about the awning in the sign proposal. Mr. Mahoney wants to add the awning over the door but recognizes that the design does not meet the zoning requirements. The Board states their support of the awning without the logo. Mr. Mahoney states that he will bring the wall sign suggestions back to his brother who has been handling the project. Bruce: Motion to approve the sign design with the extra text put in the windows, removing the website and reworking the logo and slogan so that it fits the size of the sign, seconded by McGowan. All in favor. 9. 30 L.P. Henderson Road, Parcel A — Site Plan Review — Cicoria tree & Crane Service, PO Box 443, Topsfield, MA 01983 DRB September 1, 2011 Page 5 of 5 John Morin presents the site plan. The watershed overlay district triggered site plan review, even though the building is smaller than necessary. The proposal is to construct a commercial building, 50' by 125' for a contractor's shop and office space. The outdoor stockpiling of materials associated with the owner, a tree service business, is also proposed. Access to the site will be from the airport property, which will be through an easement from the airport to the property owner. The building will be visible from Sam Fonzo Drive. The building will be used such that as someone drives onto the property from LP Henderson Road, the garage bays will be visible. A driver along Sam Fonzo will essentially see the rear of the building. A large portion of the lot will be gravel to allow the tree trucks to maneuver around the lot. There is also space for the stockpiling of woodchips and logs, although there will be no actual tree work conducted on the site. Currently there is no signage proposed for the building. However, in the future, Mr. Cicoria will likely want to install a sign. However, he does not want to put signage up for the future tenants that will rent the garage bays. Newhall states that if the applicant would like to install signage, he is able, but must first come to DRB for approvals. Newhall asks about the land in the front yard setback. Mr. Morin states that since the slope is so steep that it is essentially all boulders, leaving no space for any seeding or plantings. Brusca asks about access to the dog park in relation to the Cicoria park. Morin states that they will be accessing the same driveway as his client. He states that the parking area has not been identified for him, but Mr. Cicoria responds that parking for the dog park will be on the airport property, near the cafe. Newhall is curious about the safety of the dog park patrons and the trucks for the tree business, but recognizes that this interaction is not the purview of the DRB and this proposal. Newhall asks about roof color. Mr. Morin states that he's not sure of the color, but that it is in all likelihood silver- toned. Newhall acknowledges that the facade facing Sam Fonzo Drive is plain, but due to the proposed use, understands that visually improving it is difficult. Brusca recommends planting more trees to help soften that facade. Mr. Morin states that his client is in favor of this, but it may require a formal request to the City to plant in the City's right -of -way. Newhall states that she will write a recommendation letter to the Planning Board with the tree suggestion and also mention the need for DRB review of signs for the site. 10. Approval of Minutes — August 4, 2011 Meeting Newhall: Motion to approve the minutes as presented, seconded by Bruce. All in favor. 11. New /Other Business There is no new /other business to discuss. Meeting is adjourned at 8:30