2005-09-13 Historical Commission Minutes

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Reading Historical Commission Minutes September 13, 2005 Attending: Lt. Col. Wilbar Hoxie Master Plan Advisory Board: Virginia Adams - Chairperson Sue Patterson Jonathan Barnes;;; t;E-' Mark Cardono - Secretary Sharlene Reynolds Santo Unitarian Church AWttW~~ Kathy Greenfield Roberta Sullivan David Lloyd -.240 WoW$u Street Karen Herrick Linda Tuttle Barbara Rawding - 11 Prospect Stree Call to order 7:35 PM L-u I,rr - ,1; 3 31 t 8: 3 Past Minutes Review: Begin the review of minutes from July 12, 2005. The review of minutes was tabled for the Master Plan Review presentation. Master Plan Review: Jonathan Barnes presented the Master Plan Review that was put together by the Master Plan Advisory Board. They are looking for input from The Commission. They would like to add scenic roads and historic districts to help protect the character and identity of the town. Unitarian Church: Sharlene is a member of the Church and recused herself from this topic. The Sawyer house is to be removed and a large addition is to be added to the Church. The Commission previously wrote a letter objecting to placing a parking lot in front of The Loring house, which is an historic structure. Parking is a big concern for the area. Based on The Commission's letter, the Church and their Architect came up with a modified plan to improve the parking scheme in front of the Loring House. The Commission is satisfied with the new plan because the historic house will be protected. The abutters are concerned that the new parking plan will impact their lives, because the new parking will be up against their property lines. Because the Church is exempt from zoning, the do not have to have a required number of parking spaces. The abutters want the parking to remain in front of the Loring house, because they feel more parking at that end of the lot could lessen the parking at the end of the lot abutting their properties. However, current modifications that remove the parking in front of the Loring House also removed spaces that abutted their properties. CPDC will be holding a meeting on September 26, 2005, and they are requesting recommendations from The Commission for the meeting. The abutters left the meeting The Commission discussed the concerns of both the neighbors and The Commission. Overall, The Commission is pleased with the grass replacing the parking lot in front of the Loring house. Keeping the horseshoe drive in front of the Loring house is amenable to The Commission. However, the abutters concern of the parking is not a concern of The Commission, unless it impacts the Loring House. Past Minutes Review: The review of the minutes from July 12, 2005 continued. Sharlene moved that the Commission accept the minutes from July 12, 2005, as amended. Wilbar seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0-0. 420 Franklin Street: The owner's premature request for demolition delay is at bay. Virginia wrote a press release about the property and its history to help the owners sell it. Roberta suggested that The Commission explore the possibility of dividing the property to help salvage the old house. The Commission should check what variances will be needed to save it. A discussion of the new zoning in Andover and North Reading may help The Commission protect historic properties. The new zoning allows smaller lot sizes to help protect historic homes. The Demolition Delay Bylaw needs reinterpretation by Town Counsel. The Commission believes the current interpretation is not the initial intention of the Bylaw. Kathy and Virginia are working on a letter, in response to Counsel's interpretation, to request a re-review of the Bylaw with information from the initial intentions of the Bylaw. The Members should review counsel's interpretation of bylaw and make suggestions by next meeting. 75 Pleasant Street: A working meeting with the RHA was held, and an editorial was written about it. Sharlene and Virginia were at the meeting, along with the Selectmen and the RHA. The RHA wants to get going on the land swap and so that they can get the 4 units built. Virginia reviewed the meeting with The Commission. Another meeting will occur. Kathy suggested that the house should be made into an Antislavery Museum. The RHA can sell the property. The Commission will look at getting realistic estimates for renovation and a free marketing analysis from a realtor. Miscellaneous: The training session will be on September 22, 2005 at 7:45PM. A discussion about the reorganization of officers of The Commission began. Roberta moved that the slate stay the same. No one seconded the motion. The selection of officers will be put off until the next meeting. The Commission cannot use the money in the Senior Work Tax Program. The Commission discussed funding money to the program. This way, The Commission would be able to hire a senior from the program and the program would deal with all the book work. RHC Minutes Rhc09132005.doc Page 1 of 2