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2015-03-25Beverly Historic District Commission Minutes — March 25, 2015 CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES Board: Historic District Commission Date: March 25, 2015 Location: Beverly City Hall, City Council Chambers, 191 Cabot Street Beverly, MA. Members Present William Finch, Chair, and Wendy Pearl, Martin Lian, Suzanne LaMont, James Younger Members Absent: None Others Present: Allison Crosbie, Staff Planner Recorder: Eileen Sacco Finch called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Public Hearing — Request for Demolition of Buildings Located at 131 Rantoul Street — Bates Corp. & Regwill Corp., c/o Glovskv and Glovskv, LLC Finch explains the process for this evening and notes that the matter before the Commission is the request to demolish the buildings located at 131 Rantoul Street. He explains that the task of the Commission this evening is to determine if the property is historically significant and if so to determine if it should be preferably preserved. He further explains that if the property is not found to be historically significant, that essentially ends the process and the applicant is free to proceed and get a permit from the Building Inspector. He further explains that if the Commission finds the property to be historically significant, the Commission would then determine if it should be preferably preserved and if so, a demolition delay would be imposed for a period of one year, during which the applicant would be free to work with the Commission on other options etc. or to present additional evidence to them to prove that they have considered all options other than demolition. Finch states that it is not the role of the Historic Commission to make judgments on what is proposed to be developed on the site, and asks that those who wish to speak this evening comment on historic significance of the buildings. LaMont moves to recess for public hearings at this time. Pearl seconds the motion. The motion carries (5 -0). Page 1 of 4 Beverly Historic District Commission Minutes — March 25, 2015 Attorney Mark Glovsky of Glovsky and Glovsky addresses the Commission and explains that he is here this evening in place of Miranda Gooding who filed this application on behalf of Windover Development who proposes to purchase the property from the current owners and redevelop the property. He explains that they are proposing to demolish the current buildings and construct a new building for ground floor retail space and 72 apartments. He notes that the application for a special permit to authorize the new construction is currently pending before the Planning Board. Glovsky explains that the demolition plan proposes the full demolition of the three existing buildings on the site, the earliest of which was constructed in approximately 1900 according to the City of Beverly Assessor's records. He introduces Thad Siemasko, the architect for the project, to address the Commission. Siemasko addresses the Commission and explains the history of the property. He notes that it is located on Rantoul Street at Railroad Avenue and Pleasant Street. He states that the buildings construction around the 1850s were wood frame for the shoe buildings. He further notes that a fire in 1910 destroyed them and the configuration that is there today for an auto dealership and repair garage is what replaced them. He explains the location on the plans submitted. Siemasko stated that there is nothing about the buildings that are particularly outstanding historically and notes that they were painted at one point. He states that he does not see it as contributing to the historic significance of the area, nor should it be preferably preserved. Finch opens the hearing up for public comment at this time. Matt Pujo of 11 Longwood Avenue addresses the Commission and states that he is a great proponent of saving historic buildings in Beverly but in this case he thinks that even if the Commission finds that the buildings are historic they should not be preferably _preserved. He states that he wishes Windover well with this project. Finch asks for comment from members of the Commission at this time. Younger states that this site was a former great Oldsmobile dealership. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Finch declared the public hearing closed. Finch explains that the Commission must determine if the property is historically significant. Pearl states that she wishes to disclose that her sister -in -law works in the building that is the subject of this action and there is no conflict of interest. Page 2 of 4 Beverly Historic District Commission Minutes — March 25, 2015 Younger states that he feels that all of the fenestrations of the old building, the plate glass windows and the fagade of the building, show that it is historically significant as it relates to Rantoul Street and the City of Beverly, and he would like to go on record as finding this to be historically significant. Pearl agrees noting that it was a transportation themed district and this could be one of the last ones. She states that she feels that this is historically significant being an auto dealership in a district adjacent to the national registered Odell Park district. LaMont states that she agrees that the site is historically significant. Lian states that he does not see any evidence that this site should be preferably preserved. Finch states that the building was not included in the state historic registry but the fact that it was not included doesn't mean it has no historic value. Younger: Motion to find that the property located at 131 Rantoul Street is historically significant based on its location of the property. Pearl seconds the motion. The motion carries (4 -1). Younger: Motion that the Commission find that the property located at 131 Rantoul Street should not be preferably preserved as any fenestrations of the building that gave it character have been stripped overtime. Pearl seconds the motion. The motion carries (5 -0). Discussion of Mass Historical Commission Planning Survey Grant Crosbie reports that the City of Beverly has been selected for an allocation of $12,500 for the FYI Survey and Planning Grant Program. She explains that a letter to the MHC confirming acceptance of the grant is due by April 17, 2015. Crosbie explains that in May, the MHC will conduct a meeting with the local project coordinators to discuss the work program and consultant procurement procedures. Pearl reports that the appropriation of CPA matching funds for this was approved by the CPA Committee and the matter should be on the City Council agenda next week. Pearl suggests a press advisory be released to show that the Community Preservation Act Committee and the Historic Commission are working together. Old/New Business Page 3 of 4 Beverly Historic District Commission Minutes — March 25, 2015 Finch reported that he has reviewed the matter of the windows at 61 Front Street and explains that he has concluded that the language in the document on the city website was ambiguous and it is easy to see how it could have been misinterpreted. He notes that he discussed the matter with the City Solicitor and decided not to pursue the matter due to the information on the website. He notes that the work is done and this is not intended to be a precedent and he has drafted a letter to the owner indicating such. The Commission reviews the draft letter and made some revisions. Finch recognizes a man in the audience who identifies himself as the owner of the property at 61 Front Street. The Commission has a discussion with the gentleman regarding the installation of the windows at 61 Front Street. Finch explains that the Commission is accepting the windows installed due to the ambiguous language on the city website and that this is not intended to be precedent setting, noting that if other owners in the area want to install the same type of windows they would need to come before the Commission for approval. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the Beverly Historic Commission meeting held on February 25, 2015 were presented for approval. Pearl moved approval of the minutes as amended. Lian seconds the motion. The motion carries (4 -0 -1) with Younger abstaining. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Beverly Historic Commission this evening, Pearl moved to adjourn the meeting. LaMont seconds the motion. The motion carries. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Page 4 of 4