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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-29 Old Center Historic District Commission Minutes North Andover Historic District Commission Meeting Minutes January 29, 2025 Present: Ryan Schruender, Michael Lenihan, Roger Lawson, Leslie Frazier, Lisa Roberts, Kathleen Szyska, Laurie Belsito The meeting was called to order at 6:0112.m. in Select Board Meeting Room at Town Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Continued Public Hearing-Certificate of At2propriateness s for Old Stage at Town Common to s s allow for removal of the current stage and replace with a new concrete stage. e e � Laurie Burzlaff,Assistant Town Manager/Director of Operations- Started by addressing a previous concern about the larger size of the proposed new stage, saying that they plan to keep the previously submitted footprint because they deemed the larger size necessary. Copies of written comment were passed out to commission members and reviewed. R. Schruender opened the discussion to public comments. Phyllis Jones- introduced herself and noted that she is a member of the Commission on Ability Assistance, however she was speaking simply as a resident of the town. She wanted address that sometimes aesthetics need to take a backdoor to functionality. She discussed how concrete, which is more solid than wood, makes accessibility easier for different types of mobility devices. She gave examples of when this structural integrity might be necessary. She also wanted to bring to our attention that if the top of the stage is painted, that we consider color blindness when approving a color, and consider a textured boarder on the top of the stage to give warning to people that the end of the stage is there. She mentioned a ramp is obviously also necessary and the same would apply to the top of the ramp if there are no railings. It was noted that our Commission does not have involvement in assuring ADA compliance of a project, but we would take what was said into consideration. L. Burzlaff noted that it was verified that railings would not be necessary on the ramp to be compliant, and that when going through the design process, the engineers made sure to follow safety guidelines for the slope of the ramp and other potential concerns. It was mentioned that the proposed footprint was staked out on the common since the last meeting for the commission members to see how the proposed size would look in the space. It was generally agreed that the size was sufficient. R. Schruender Directed attention to written comments and read aloud some questions submitted in a comment from Brad Wakeman, 140 Academy Rd. B.Wakeman-asked about funding for this project and L. Burzlaff responded that it is fully CPC funded. Answering the question of what input the town received on the design before sending this plan out to architects, L. Burzlaff said they put the plan out before town meeting and went in front of the select board. Asking if we can have a plan for the common including a number of maintenance concerns, L. Burzlaff replied for him to reach out to her office directly since his concerns are outside the OCHDC preview. L. Roberts said the main concerns in other written comment were the upkeep of concreate vs. wood for the stage, and L. Burzlaff agreed that she would make sure there will be a maintenance plan in place to upkeep the stage, and said the concrete would be less upkeep than wood. R. Schruender—Centered back to the aspects of the project that needed an immediate decision being is the size and the proposed stone facade. The Commission discussed the options provided in the handout packet for the proposed facade of the stage. M. Lenihan brought up that varying stone size and color would be preferable to make it look less industrial. There was a decision to have L. Burzlaff work with the architect to match the old bridge structure that currently sits on the common with the new facade. There was consensus that the commission would ask for final say once a match was found by the architects. R. Schruender Asked if the commission agreed on the proposed concrete material and proposed size, to which the commission members agreed. There was discussion about looking into using a piece of material on the top of the facade to match the field stone slabs on top the old bridge structure. R. Schruender closed public hearing at 6:44 p.m. L. Frazier made a motion to vote on the certificate of appropriateness for a 40 x 15 ft. stage, the facade being approved at a later date by the commission, the base material consisting of concrete per specs attached, with ramp in the back. R. Schruender seconded the motion. There was unanimous consent. Public Hearing on the Certificate of Appropriateness for 83 Academy Road to allow for e e e ■ e improvements to the Stevens residence at 85 Academy Rd. Mark Yanowitz, LYF Architects, representing Kathy Stevens, property owner 83 Academy Rd. He stated he was there to present improvements of the detached carriage house behind the primary residence. He mentioned the original structure being considered, looks like it was built in the 1830's as a barn that went with the original house. There's been many improvements through the years and for 100 years or so someone has lived in the carriage house building. He mentioned there would be significant updates inside the building to make it energy efficient and update it. He said there are currently two sets of stairs, one on the exterior of the building and one enclosed on the outside wall, and both would be rebuilt in a safe manner. They also plan to add a shed dormer in the rear, replacing the three dormers currently in place. They would match the current wood siding and trim and match the 6x6 divided light windows. R. Schruender asked about the enclosed stairs on the right side of the building, and if visually there would be any changes when it was rebuilt. M. Yanowitz said he would match the current wood siding in cedar and for windows they would have a true grill on the exterior to look like the windows currently there, proposing he would most likely use windows form the Andersen Woodright series. There was discussion about if all windows would be replaced. R. Schruender Stated that samples of the windows and specs would be needed for the commission to approve in the future. There was discussion about the stairs that were exposed on the left side of the building. The proposed material was pressure treated wood and maybe an a PVC material that would match the old aesthetic such as Azec Vintage. It was reiterated that the commission would need to approve those specific materials in the future. There was discussion about replacing a door at the bottom of the enclosed stairs and it was agreed that the commission would need to review specific specs of that door at a future meeting. There were questions about the material of trim that would need to be replaced, and it was concluded that any replaced trim would most likely remain wood to match the rest of the trim. It was pointed out that specification of a material change is something the commission would need to approve in the future. M. Lenihan questioned how big the proposed larger deck would be expanded from its current footprint. It was estimated that it would only be expanded a couple of feet for safety reasons. There was general agreement about expanding the dormer to one shed dormer instead of the current three separate dormers, saying the new design would actually fit the original design of the building better than what was currently there. M. Yanowitz agreed that he would plan to come back in front of the commission with the specifics on materials being used, the new door being proposed, as well as the exact windows being proposed. R. Schruender Issued a continuance for the Certificate of Appropriateness for 83 Acaderny e e e e ■ Road to allow■for improvements to the Stevens residence at 85 Academy Rd. Discussion item: letter to businesses within the Old Center District for sins �ns rules. Tabled Approval of Meeting Minutes from 11120124 e e K. Szyska called for a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting on November 20', 2024 and R. Lawson seconded the motion. There was unanimous approval. The meeting was adiourned at 7:11 b.rn.