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BHDC Minutes January 6 2016 - ApprovedBeverly Historic Commission Draft Minutes — January 6, 2016 CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES Board: Historic District Commission Date: January 6, 2016 Location: Beverly City Hall, City Council Chambers, 191 Cabot Street Beverly, MA. Members Present William Finch, Chair, Vice Chair, James Younger, Martin Lian, Suzanne LaMont and Wendy Pearl Members Absent: None Others Present: Allison Crosbie, Staff Planner Recorder: Eileen Sacco Finch called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Finch calls for a motion to recess for a Public Hearing at this time. Younger: Motion to recess for a public hearing at this time. Pearl seconds the motion. The motion carries (5-0). Finch explains the process for this evening and notes that the matter before the Commission is the request for the demolition of the house located at 37 Paine Avenue. 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. Finch explains that if the Commission issues a demolition delay, it would be for a period of one year, and during that time the applicant may choose to work with the Commission or others to find preservation recommendations. Finch explains the history of the house and notes that it is circa 1880 designed by Sebastian Schlesinger. He refers to photographs of the house and notes the style as being Victorian noting it came after the Gothic Period and before the Queen Anne period. Finch calls on the owner or their representative to make a presentation to the Commission. Page 1 of 4 Beverly Historic Commission Draft Minutes — January 6, 2016 Attorney Miranda Gooding of Glovsky and Glovsky addresses the Commission and notes that she is present this evening on behalf of the owners of the property. Gooding explains that the owners of the property have filed for a demolition permit fully anticipating that the Commission would issue a demolition delay on the property. She states that they do not intend to offer any presentation this evening and explains that the owner intends to use the 12 month demolition delay period to explore their design options. Finch opens the hearing up for public comment at this time. Mr. Martin of 116 Herrick Street addresses the Commission and expresses his concern about the proper use of the ordinance and asks if there is any evidence that the house is historically significant and should be preferably preserved. Finch states that this not a zoning issue and they are not considering taking of private rights. Martin states that it does not seem proper to hold this up and the Commission should be protecting people. Matt Pujo of Longwood Avenue addresses the Commission and states that this property is an asset to the Gold Coast noting that the property is rare and this should be fully reviewed by the Commission. He states that he is concerned that we are losing our heritage and notes that this building has been fixed up significantly over the years. Pujo further explains that this is a historic neighborhood, noting that there have been books written about it. He states that he hopes that during this demolition delay period that calmer heads will prevail and they will decide to save the property. Lucia Sargent addresses the Commission and states that she has been following the progress of this and feels that the proposal to demolish this property is unfortunate. She states that she grew up in Bar Harbor, Maine and after a fire they lost a lot of historic properties and it would be a shame to see this property go away. Sargent further explains that she fears that the architect will recommend tearing the property down. She states that there is a lot of new construction going on today rather than restoration of old properties. She notes that old buildings are more sustainable and help us learn from the past and should be kept for the future. Finch explains that part of the process is to issue a demolition delay to allow for time to review options and work with professional on possibilities to save a property from being demolished. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter: Finch declares the public hearing closed at this time. Page 2 of 4 Beverly Historic Commission Draft Minutes — January 6, 2016 Finch asks members of the Commission if they have any questions or comments at this time. Younger states that it is overwhelmingly evident that this building has historic significance. He states that it represents an architectural style of the Gold Coast era and it is extremely historically significant. Pearl states that she agrees noting that looking at the property and the landscaping it seems to have some history noting the Olmsted landscaping which is historic. LaMont reported that she found evidence noting a book published in 1912 and notes that this property is part of our heritage. She notes that the book, a Wio's no in Beverly, lists the house at 37 Paine Avenue. She also states that she does not think that this house is invisible to the community. Lian states that this reminds him of his grandfather's house in Norway that is still present today and is being restored, not updated. He states that replacing a diamond with another stone is not the same and he would like to see this property preserved. Finch states that he concurs with all of the comments made by his colleagues. He notes the stick style architecture of the mansion and its history in the neighborhood. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter: Younger: Motion to find that the property at 37 Paine Avenue is historically significant, based on the history as one of the rare examples of stick style architecture that is relatively intact. LaMont seconded the motion. The motion carries (5-0). Younger states that he would recommend that the find that the property at 37 Paine Avenue should be preferably preserved, noting that you can't build a house like that today and the demolition of this property would be a loss to the community. Pearl agrees noting that a delay is a delay and she feels that the property should be preferably preserved. She states that this is one of the more visible Gold Coast properties. She states that this is not about getting in the way of things but rather to preserve the property if possible. LaMont states that she agrees noting that this is part of Beverly's heritage and one by one we have lost that era and this is one of the last examples of the Gold Coast. LaMont: Motion to find that the property at 37 Paine Avenue should be preferably preserved. Younger seconds the motion. The motion carries (5-0). Finch states that he hopes the time of the demolition delay will involve a process by which they will look at seriously preserving the house. Page 3 of 4 Beverly Historic Commission Draft Minutes — January 6, 2016 CPA Update — Wendy Pearl Pearl reported that there is a public hearing on the CPA funds being held on February 4, 2016. she reported that she is working on refining the Community Preservation Plan that the Commission reviewed at the last meeting. Crosbie reported that the Commission will be reviewing the proposed Great Estates Ordinance at the next meeting. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Beverly Historic District Commission this evening, LaMont moved to adjourn the meeting. Lian seconds the motion. The motion carries (5-0). The meeting was adj ourned at 8:00 p.m. Page 4 of 4