Historic District Commission - 8 23 2017 - ApprovedPage 1 of 4
CITY OF BEVERLY
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
COMMITTEE /COMMISSION: Historic District Commission
SUBCOMMITTEE:
DATE: AuL-ust 23.2017
LOCATION: Beverly City Hall, 191 Cabot Street
MEMBERS PRESENT: William Finch - Chair, Suzanne LaMont - Vice
Chair, Martin Lian, and Wendy Pearl
ABSENT: lames YounL-er
OTHERS PRESENT: Aaron Clausen, Emily Hutchings, Jeff Lawler, Tom
Alexander, John Michaud, Appleton Mason, and
Caroline Mason
RECORDER:
Travis Lovett
Finch calls the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
Public Hearing: Demolition of Structure at 582 Hale Street
Tom Alexander is the attorney representing the property owners of 582 Hale Street
LLC, where Jeff Lawler is the principal owner. John Michaud is an architect handling
potential project renovations. Alexander said they aim to greatly improve the
appearance of the area at 582 Hale Street. Part of the property is adjacent to the
Prides Crossing Post Office. The building has been vacant for almost 5 years. The
building has been in extreme disrepair, Alexander said. Lawler's LLC took
ownership of the property in March 2016. In August 2016, the application went
forward with the Zoning Board of Appeals to construct a new building on the site of
582 Hale Street. The Zoning Board unanimously ruled in favor of the project in
March, 2017, as 23 neighbors signed a petition in favor of the project, Alexander
said. Alexander said the building inspector condemned the current structure.
Alexander said there are holes in the floor, panes in the windows are missing. They
are concerned with another winter going by from a safety perspective. Alexander
said they don't know the exact date when the building was constructed, but they
believe the structure was built around 1900 and the building does not appear on any
historic registers.
Michaud said that the building is a pretty plain building lacking details. It has two
box bays, and one addition off of the back. Michaud said no one would want to visit
the property for historic value. The trim is decayed and there are no fireplaces in
any of the rooms, Michaud said. Michaud said the main body of the house has a
leaky roof and there are holes in the floor along with holes in the wall.
Finch said that buildings do not need to be grand landmarks in order to be
historically significant. He said that context is something that the Commission
members weigh in their judgments. Finch said there is an 18' century house next
door to the property and the Beverly Historic Society provided some materials
regarding the history of the house. The house had some association with the Frick
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estate, Finch said.
Finch opened the public hearing. Caroline Mason is a neighbor of the property at
583 Hale Street and she has been in the house several times. It is dilapidated and
full of garbage, Mason said. She said she did not see any ornamentation that was
salvageable and she is in favor of demolishing the existing structure. Appleton
Mason said he seconds his wife's comments. No further comments from the public,
Finch closed the public hearing.
LaMont said she was surprised to find out that the property was part of the Frick
estate. LaMont said that gardeners and workers lived at this site, so she has
concerns about losing the associational piece of history. Pearl said it stands out as a
property because it is not a great estate, which is unusual in this neighborhood.
LaMont said the building was a retail storefront in the 1950's. Finch said a bevy of
workforce housing would be found on the back roads of Beverly Farms for the great
estates. Finch said the associational value seems a little ambiguous. Finch said the
property, even though it is in poor condition, is a good example of what the property
is and that the property is worthy of a public hearing.
Pearl motions to designate the property as historically significant for reasons that it
is representative of historic workforce housing in the area. LaMont seconds the
motion. Lian said he does not view the property as being historically significant.
The motion carries 3 -1, with Lian voting against the motion.
LaMont said the property is clearly a mess and Pearl said that it would be hard to
say that the property should be preferably preserved, given the history and the
current integrity of the building. Finch said the building was probably in
substantially better condition five years ago, but the deterioration is substantial.
Finch said they wanted to hold a public hearing to give the public a chance to
express concerns about demolishing the property.
Pearl motions a vote to determine that the property at 582 Hale Street should be
preferably preserved. LaMont seconds the motion. The motion is rejected with all
four members opposing the preferable preservation.
Historic Resources Survey
Hutchings said the city received one bid to conduct the Historic Resources Survey
that came in above the allotted amount for the Historic District Commission. Pearl
said if they needed more funding to conduct historic resources surveys on each of
the properties, someone could submit a formal funding request to the Community
Preservation Committee. Clausen said the project bid was received in May, so they
would probably need to revalidate the bid. Finch asked if they could reprioritize the
list to renegotiate a fee, but Clausen said they could not renegotiate a bid. Pearl said
the tennis club should be a priority and the Prospect Hill property should be a
priority. Pearl said she would like to see an archaeological survey of Witches Woods
(The Commons). Clausen said 12 Park View Avenue is fairly non - descript. LaMont
said she is curious about the Augustus P. Loring Estate at 110 Common Lane.
Pompey's Garden is up on the hill on Hale Street between the two properties, the
Charles Loring Estate and Caleb Loring Estate, Pearl said.
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Pearl said the priority properties have already been surveyed. Prospect Hill is the
biggest survey project, due to the number of properties, Pearl said. Finch said it was
important to document landscapes before they disappear. Finch said 73/74 Paine
Avenue (the Moore /Swift estates) is an important property to survey. Clausen said
that 12 Park View Avenue is probably the most vulnerable property due to climate
change.
Pearl said The Commons /Witches Woods is something that is mentioned in so many
different ways. Finch said The Commons /Witches Woods is vastly different from the
rest of the properties so it should be separated from the other properties on the
survey. The members reached a consensus to remove The Common /Witches Woods
from the priority survey list.
Approval of Minutes
LaMont motions to approve the minutes for June 28, 2017 and July 6, 2017. Lian
seconds the motion. The motion carries 3 -0, with Pearl abstaining from voting.
New /Other Business
Clausen said there has not been any public conversation about how some of the
larger homes in Beverly Farms could be turned into condo units. Clausen said that
Councilor Houseman wanted to put forward a zoning ordinance amendment that
would allow owners or developers to propose adding a unit or two in order to
preserve the building. The Great Estates Ordinance would allow property
subdivision, but navigating through zoning ordinances is tricky, Clausen said.
Pearl said she would like to see seven members on the Historic District Commission.
She asked if someone needs to be a realtor to serve on the commission. LaMont said
there should be a minimum of five members and up to seven members, and there
are conflicting reports about whether or not a realtor needed to serve on the
commission.
There were concerns from Beverly Historical Society about placing a potential
preservation restriction on the premises of Hale House. They didn't like the use of
the term "premises" and would prefer a preservation restriction on just the
historical structure, not the landscape. Pearl said the public investment goes beyond
the landscape. Clausen said the funding from the first round is only tied to building
preservation at Hale House.
Pearl said there are significant concerns from the Community Preservation
Committee members about whether or not funding should be given to private
homeowners. Pearl said there are concerns about who would hold the preservation
restrictions. Pearl said the Community Preservation Committee has talked about
ways for private homeowners to apply for funding. Pearl said if the Livermore
House was gone tomorrow, people would notice. Pearl would like to find 30 minutes
to talk more about supporting private homeowners with pursuing historic
preservation projects. Clausen said the City is looking at historic structures and
developing a priority list for funding sources. Clausen said they know there is $10
million in preservation need for four structures that the city owns. Pearl said there
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is a whole range of options for purchasing preservation restrictions from private
homeowners. Clausen said they would conduct a literature review about
preservation restrictions and then have further conversations. Pearl wondered if
the Trustees of Reservations would want to hold preservation restrictions, but Finch
said he doubted they would want responsibilities for buildings.
LaMont asked if the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) can approve the demolition of
structures. Clausen said the ZBA has the ability to review non - conforming
structures. Clausen said the applicant or property owner need to prove that they
can proceed with demolition of a structure.
Adjournment
LaMont motions to adjourn the meeting at 9 :00pm. Pearl seconds the motion. The
motion carries 4 -0.