HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-01-28 Old Center Historic District Commission Minutes Old Center Historic District Commission
Meeting Minutes
January 28, 2026
Present: Roger Lawson, Lisa Roberts, Laurie Belsito, Michael Lenihan, Ryan Schruender, Dan
Leary, James Dowd
The meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m. in Conference Room #2 at Town Hall.
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The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Discussion Item—Potential street signage identifying the boundaries of the Old Center Historic
District
R. Lawson presented the changes in the CPC fund request plan since the previous meeting. The
changes were as follows: The Massachusetts Ave. sign changed from a monument sign to a pole
sign, a previously presented pole sign on Great Pond Rd. was replaced with a monument sign,
the location of the sign at the intersection of Chestnut and Andover Streets would now be located
just East of Chestnut St. in the big piece of grass in front of the parking area across from the
Stevens Coolidge House.
It was specified that at this point the commission would only be approving moving forward with
obtaining signs for the historic district and not approving a design, and that the sign proposal
would have to come back in front of the OCHDC with the actual proposed sign design once
funding was secured. It was also noted that town safety and police would need to approve the
plans as well.
General approval of signs for the district was a common sentiment, and approval to move
forward. There was discussion on the style of the proposed signs being different than what we
had previously discussed as a commission, and concerns with fitting the vernacular of the
district.
Accepting that the commission could have input in the design choice, discussion of a draft letter
of support with these highlights were discussed and executed.
R. Schruender made a motion offering a letter of support from the OCHDC to the community
preservation commission for the monies allocating new welcome signs to the district and D.
Leary seconded the motion.
There was unanimous consent from the commission with L. Belsito recusing herself from the vote
since one of the proposed signs would be located on her property lot.
Approval of the meeting minutes e from 1114126
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L. Roberts made a motion to approve the meeting minutes from 1/14/26 and M. Lenihan
seconded the motion.
There was unanimous consent.
L. Roberts brought up the idea of encouraging businesses in the district to use a design the
commission could recommend for signage to encourage a more uniform look and help provide
direction for the businesses. There was general discussion of current signs including illuminated
signs that are not permitted, and regarding the commission's jurisdiction of certain signs. It was
generally agreed that a compilation of suggestions would be helpful.
R. Schruender made a motion to adjourn the meeting and D. Leary seconded the motion.
There was unanimous consent.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:30