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2012-06-07CITY OF BEVERLY BOARD: DATE: BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: RECORDER: OTHERS PRESENT: Newhall calls the meeting to order. PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES Design Review Board June 7, 2012 Colleen Bruce, Rachel Matthews, Karen Bebergal, Jane Brusca Bill Finch, Associate Planner Kate Newhall Kate Newhall 1. 38R Enon Street — Blade Barbershop — Joseph Haddad, 38R Enon Street, Beverly, MA 01915 The Board reviews Mr. Haddad's application and questions him as to where the drawings of the proposed signs are. Mr. Haddad responds by saying that the signs will look like his business card. The Board asks for clarification regarding dimensions, letter size, colors, how many lines of text, etc. Mr. Haddad has difficulty answering their questions. Much discussion ensues. The Board will not vote on Mr. Haddad's proposal tonight. They request that he contact his sign maker for a photo of his signs superimposed onto the locations where he will hang them. He can then bring his proposal back to the Board for review. Newhall offers to discuss the Board's needs directly with the sign maker if Mr. Haddad would like. 2. 8 Enon Street — Sandwich Board Sign: WBOO Radion/North Shore 104.9 — Joanne Flannery, Westport Communications, 8 Enon Street, Beverly, MA 01915 Ms. Flannery presents her design for a sandwich board sign. She states that the sign will only be displayed on days when the Red Sox are playing. It will not be on the sidewalk, but on the station's property and it will not be blocking the handicap access ramp. Newhall: Motion to recommend approval of the sign design as presented to the City Council, seconded by Bruce. All in favor. 3. 581 Cabot Street — Cutting Edge Hair Studio — Jeanne Tarnowski, 581 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915 Ms. Tarnowski presents her sign proposal for a projecting sign. Brusca asks about the location of the sign. Tarnowski says that it will go in the newly constructed gable on the front of the building, which is next to Flairs dry cleaners on Cabot Street. Bruce asks about lighting; Tarnowski states that it will be external, using a gooseneck lamp pointed upwards toward the sign. Brusca: Motion to approve the sign design as presented, seconded by Bruce. All in favor. DRB June 7, 2012 Page 2 of 5 4. 4 Colon Street — Rockport National Bank — Ed Juralewicz, United Sign Co., Inc., 33 Tozer Road, Beverly, MA 01915 Mr. Juralewicz presents his sign proposal for a non - illuminated wall sign at the Rockport National Bank. He tells the board that the sign requires a special permit from the ZBA and he is seeking the DRB recommendation for his application. Peter Anderson, representing Rockport National Bank, is also in attendance. Newhall asks why the bank needs a Special Permit; Juralewicz states that the bank already has two wall signs and needs permission to install a third sign. He says that the sign is necessary for identification of the building in the already busy and confusing intersection of Colon, Sohier and Cabot Streets. Brusca: Motion to recommend approval of the sign design as presented to the ZBA, seconded by Bruce. All in favor. 5. 282 -284 Cabot Street — Facade and Sign Review: EJ Cabots — Joseph Deisley, 282 -284 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915 Mr. Deisley presents his sign application and his facade improvement proposal to the board. Newhall explains that the facade review is a requirement of the city's and Main Street's Facade Improvement Grant Program. Deisley tells the Board that he is restoring what was originally on the facade. Brusca appreciates that Deisley is restoring the original facade rather than covering it. Brusca confirms that the proposed sign will be illuminated externally. Mr. Deisley is considering adding the words, "Bar and Grill" to his sign. Newhall suggests adding them to the window signs rather than the proposed wall sign. Newhall asks about the potential for installing a projecting sign. Mr. Deisley confirms that this is something that he may do in the future. Bruce states that he will need to come back to DRB for a separate application for that sign if he chooses to pursue it. Newhall: Motion to approve the sign as presented, seconded by Matthews. All in favor. Newhall: Motion to recommend approval of the facade proposal as presented to Main Streets, seconded by Matthews. All in favor. 6. 130 Cabot Street — Site Plan Review — 130 Cabot Street LLC c/o Holloran Co., 100 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915 Attorney Alexander presents the site plan for 130 Cabot Street, which is next to Siam Delight. The vacant lot is on the corner of Vestry and Cabot Streets. The owner would like to build a three -story building with approximately 4,000 sf of retail /commercial space on first floor with one, one - bedroom residential unit on the first floor and another twelve, two - bedroom units on the upper two stories. The site is lacking in the DRB June 7, 2012 Page 3 of 5 required parking, but the City provision that allows downtown properties within 500 ft of a public lot may use the public lots in the parking requirement calculation. The Washington Street lot is within 500 ft. although it is across Cabot Street and located behind several storefronts. Attorney Alexander states that in order to revitalize downtown, people must be living in the downtown and this mixed -use building fits in with this revitalization theory. Attorney Alexander states that he has met with the Parking and Traffic Commission. They had three recommendations: change the back parking lot to allow for 24' aisle width; remove the drive -thru along the Siam Delight side of the building (Alexander states that they will landscape the area instead); remove the three parking spaces along Vestry Street. These changes will result in 13 spaces on the lot, which is one space per residential unit. Bruce asks about spaces for commercial parking. Alexander states that during the day the site's spaces will be available for customers when the residents are typically away from home. Newhall asks about landscaping. Alexander states that they do not have a plan yet, but would like Board input on this so that they may incorporate suggestions into a plan. Dan Skolski, the architect, goes through the building features. He describes how the space on each floor will be used. There will be a flat roof, no elevator, and no basement. The exterior materials are cement siding on base, the vertical portions are vinyl clapboards, and the trim will be cementiciuos or pvc. The vinyl siding portions of the building will be stepped back about 6" from main facade. The proposed windows will be aluminum clad or vinyl with integral trim. The tall corner style banding at top of the Cabot Street facade will be worked into a sign detail. Skolski states that the site is graded about 5' from the front to the back. The commercial spaces are at street level and will be fully accessible, as is the first floor residential unit. . Bruce asks about the rear garage door. Holloran, the developer, stated that it will lead to the mechanicals and also provide storage for building maintenance. Finch asks about the residential units. Alexander states that two of the units will be affordable, according to the City's Inclusionary Zoning ordinance. Newhall asks about facade colors. Alexander states that the color scheme is not yet developed; he would appreciate Board recommendations if we have any. Bruce asks about fire access. Alexander states that there is access along Cabot and Vestry Streets; he states that Lt. Fiore from the Fire Department is ok with the plan, plus the building will be fully sprinkled. Finch confirms that there are no elevators. Newhall asks if this meets ADA codes. Skolski states that it does meet code. Brusca confirms that the proposed drive -thru will definitely be removed and that this area will be landscaping. She also suggests adding landscaping also along the corner of Vestry and Cabot Streets and states that this area is an opportunity to really define that corner. Finch makes several comments regarding the facade of the building: he finds the facade bland and believes that a 6" setback is not enough to make a visual impact; the materials proposed are not quality DRB June 7, 2012 Page 4 of 5 ones; Cabot Street has a lot of brick and these materials will not fit in; the cornice element does not have any architectural quality; the sign band should continue across the front entry to emphasize the commercial piece versus the residential piece. Finch would like to see more architecture versus a vinyl - clad box. He would like to see muttins on external portion of the glass to add dimensions. He states that the building does not have any texture; it is a big three -story box. He suggests using brick, at least on the first floor commercial space. Maybe they could use brick on the front of the building and a different material along the side and rear facades. Finch questions the market for this type of building; Holleran states that it is work force housing, people that take the train to Boston. Finch does appreciate the commercial use on the first floor. Finch suggests looking at Cabot Street Homes to see how they were able to give the building some architectural interest and shape. Holleran states that they used the cues from other buildings that have been through the process recently as they developed their own site plan. Finch reiterates that he would like to see a sense of architectural quality by using good materials, finishes, surfaces, etc. Alexander states that he will take team to see Cabot Street Homes. Newhall confirms that the next meeting will be moved from July 5 th to the following week, July 12 in order to accommodate the 4 th of July holiday. 7. Approval of Minutes — May 3, 2012 Meeting Finch: Motion to approve the minutes as presented, seconded by Matthews. All in favor. 8. New /Other Business a. Fagade Improvement Program — YMCA— Rhonda Wallace, 245 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915 Ms. Wallace presents her proposal to restore the historic YMCA sign by cleaning up the facade of the sign and also installing new, energy- efficient electrical systems. She states that the sign will be taken down, sanded, de- rusted, re -wired with new sockets and LED bulbs that can run for up to 50,000 hours. Bebergal asks how long the sign will be down. Wallace states that sign will be down for two weeks. Wallace confirms that the sign will remain blue and have the same round light bulbs to preserve the look. Brusca asks about the material; Wallace responds that it will be metal. Newhall: Motion to recommend approval of this project as presented to Main Streets, seconded by Matthews. All in favor. DRB June 7, 2012 Page 5 of 5 b. Fagade Improvement Program — Chive Events — Jennifer Frost, 252 Rantoul Street, Beverly, MA 01915 Lindsay Frost presents her plans to improve the facade at Chive on behalf of Jennifer Frost. Her proposal includes installing a window box along the top of her building, a new door and goose- necked lamps for security purposes and a barn door for aesthetic and additional security. Frost states that the vision for the project is to freshen up her space, add some greenery and also increase the security with the added features and lighting on motion sensors. Bruce asks about the door's stain. Frost responds that the type of wood used to create the door will dictate the color stain. Finch asks if the stain will be transparent, stating that transparent is harder to maintain and she will need to stain it often. Matthews: Motion to recommend approval of this project as presented to Main Streets, seconded by Finch. All in favor. 9. Adiourn Meeting is adjourned at 8:00 p.m.