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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-03-16 Historical Commission MinutesOFR Town of Reading .,". (,L[-Rh =� Meeting Minutes _ ",, ;r MA• gp24 Nh`d 12 hN 101 13 Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Reading Historical Commission Date: 2022-03-16 Time: 7:30 PM Building: Location: Remote Meeting - Zoom Address: Session: Executive Session Purpose: Joint Meeting with HDC Version: Final Attendees: RHC Members: Samantha Couture (Chair); Virginia Adams (also on HDC); Jonathan Barnes; Pino D'Orazio (also on HDC); Amelia Devin -Freedman (also on HDC); Sharlene Reynolds Santo; Christine Keller; Dan Moresco HDC Members: Everett Blodgett; Ilene Bornstein; Carl Mittnight (Joined at 8:25) Members - Not Present: RHC: n/a HDC: Priscilla Poehler, Carl Mittnight, Greg Maganzini Others Present: Fidel Maltez, Town Manager; Jean Dallas, Public Services (Assistant Town Manager); Ivria Fried of Mlyares & Harrington (Town Counsel); Chris Haley (Select Board Liaison) Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Jean Delios Topics of Discussion: MEETING HELD REMOTELY VIA ZOOM 186 Summer Avenue (Criterion property) Executive Session Mr. D'Orazio made the following motion for the HDC: Move to enter executive session under purpose 3 to discuss demonstrably likely litigation relative to 186-190 Summer Avenue, where discussion in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the litigating positions of the RHC and HDC, as declared by their respective chairs, and under purpose 7 to review executive session minutes from Feb. 28, 2022, to invite all present RHC and HDC associate members, Town Counsel Ivria Fried, Jean Dallas, and Julie Mercier, and Fidel Maltez to attend the executive session; and not to return to open session and adjourn from executive session. Ms. Devin Freedman seconded the motion. Motion passed 5-0-0 by roll call vote. Ms. Couture moved the same motion for the RHC. Mr. Barnes seconded the motion. Motion passed 5-0-0 by roll call vote. There were no public attendees. Town of Reading Meeting Minutes r11J1. All members stated the following: "no one can overhear me." Ms. Fried provided an overview of the meeting with Criterion that took place on March 8, 2022. Criterion was not willing to concede any rights of the Commissions to access the property. 1. Ms. Fried discussed the structural report provided by Criterion, which was sent to the structural engineer hired by the Commissions. Ms. Fried noted a few issues that came up in the meeting: 2. What Criterion is planning to do: based on the report they will do some minimal work. They indicated they will do the bare minimum and that is all, such as work to improve the water damage. They will do some things but not really what the Town is looking for. 3. Criterion's plans for the property: the basic message is that they are willing to sell the property and want to recoup the money they lost on the property. They indicated that the money lost Is the fault of the Town. They discussed some potential for negotiation, starting with getting an appraisal. However, if the property owner believes the Town should pay them $2 million, that is likely a non-starter. 4. Criterion's insurance for the property: they do have insurance that covers full replacement value if the property is damaged in a fire. The PRA requires additional Insurance above and beyond in the case of Building Code or Zoning changes. Ms. Fried has a call scheduled with their counsel on Friday and will follow up on whether the property is insured at the level established in the PRA. Mr. D'Orazio noted that they never stipulated what they want relief from in the PRA. Ms. Fried confirmed and said that they may want an amendment to the PRA. She expressed surprise that they didn't come to the meeting with changes already proposed. She noted that ultimately the Town is not legally obligated to grant them relief to the PRA, but that they will likely ask for this if a transfer between Criterion and the Town does not occur. Ms. Couture asked what is meant by relief. Ms. Fried said an amendment to the recorded PRA to give them Flexibility as to how they treat the property. She said an amendment could make it easier to sell the property. Ms. Devin Freedman asked if they indicated they will repair the things noted in the letter provided by the Town. Ms. Fried said they were not clear as to how far they will go. She said that the meeting had some promise and that there was a willingness to look to the future and move things forward. Mr. Barnes noted that he has a lot to say. He commented that Mr. Littleton is an incredibly bitter man regarding this project. He said his takeaway with what they will do is as follows: he does not believe that the inspection was done by a structural engineer; he thinks he is a professional engineer but not certified as a structural engineer, and the inspection was more of a home inspection, thus it is shameful to call it a structural report. He said this is not an acceptable report. He opined that the report is woefully inadequate in several respects and noted that the report does not deal with the exterior deterioration of the building. Mr. Barnes noted that the report ambiguously mentions only three areas they are willing to address: (1) some of the roof material and slates, which they will fix with interim temporary maintenance; (2) the pergola, which they will shore up parts of temporarily, not a permanent restoration; (3) the carriage house/barn - no indication that the inspector went inside. There was also no indication that he went into the attic or the basement. Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Mr. Barnes stated that Criterion indicated that their plans for the building are completely dead on arrival. The Town could purchase it, or they will try to sell it to a public service entity like a charitable organization. A private person could purchase it as well, but that seems extremely unlikely. Mr. Barnes asked for the Town to discuss whether the Town could purchase it. He asked if the group is interested in heading in that direction, then there is no debate as to whether the property can be inspected / appraised. Arguably, the appraisal would require a structural engineer's inspection, which would defer the fight of the Commission's having their structural engineer inspect the property. He noted that there is a lot of work involved in having the Town purchase the property, but that he does want a short-term, legitimate, inspection of the property. Mr. Maltez introduced himself and noted that it is his 5th week in Reading. He said he was in the meeting with the property owner and Town Counsel, and that it seems Criterion no longer has any interest in the property and wants out. He suggested that litigation may not get the Town anywhere. He noted the other alternative, which is to explore whether the Town could purchase it, which by no means would be a slam dunk. He referred to the Oakland Road and Symonds Way parcels, which the Town recently bought, and the frequent question as to what the Town is doing with them. He suggested that we not take on 186 Summer Avenue as a problem, but rather know in advance what we are doing with it before we buy it. He commented that if the team agrees it is worth pursuing, the first step is figuring out what we would do with it. Mr. Barnes wholeheartedly concurred with this opinion and said if there is no viable plan for the property that It is unlikely Town Meeting will support purchasing it. Mr. Barnes said he investigated it a bit, and putting aside single-family residential, multi -family uses are not currently permitted, but assisted living & independent living are available options. He noted that the Municipal Reuse bylaw may also be an option. In addition, Mr. Barnes spoke with an employee at Mass Historical and the employee noted that Framingham has a Historic Reuse bylaw which allows the town to reuse properties in a variety of ways. Mass Historical also has a Preservation Projects Fund and could provide a 50% reimbursable grant for pre -development work ($5k to $30k), or development ($75k to $100k). The grants are awarded on an annual basis, and towns can apply for either or both. She also noted that if the Town were to own the property, the PRA would have to be transferred to a V party. Ms. Fried commented that the PRA would need to be transferred, which is an opportunity to revisit the PRA and make sure that any use in consideration would be covered under it. Ms. Bornstein asked about the extension of permits due to the pandemic and noted that if the pandemic really caused a hardship to the owner, maybe COVID funds could be used to help bail out the owner/project. Mr. Maltez indicated that the owner is not interested in building on this property anymore, that they have acquired property in another town (Stoneham) and are moving forward with a building there. Ms. Bornstein expressed surprise that they can carry two substantial mortgages at the same time. Ms. Fried said this is the main issue. If the Town cannot purchase the property, then the Town is left with litigation, which will not be a quick and easy process, and there is no faith that they will perform any work, and they may claim bankruptcy. Litigation comes with its own set of issues. She said that a new owner may operate in better faith, and that the Town may want to renegotiate the PRA. She suggested that everyone step back and look at the bigger picture. � OFq Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Ms. Couture added that she is all for encouraging a new owner - either the Town or someone else, and that if the PRA really is prohibitive, then it is worth revisiting it. She asked whether the School Department may have a use for the building. Mr. Maltez mentioned the possibility of senior assisted living on the property. He commented that to make the financials work for any developer, the number of units inside would need to be more than just one house and the barn, with a connecting structure. He noted that 20-30 units for seniors may be what is required to make it financially feasible. Mr. Barnes noted that senior assisted living would require a lot of care staff and be a different function on the site than just strictly residential and asked whether it could be over -55 independent living. Mr. Maltez said price per unit is the same. He noted that senior assisted living can get grants and be subsidized by external funding sources. Mr. Barnes asked if it could be some type of office/professional use under the Municipal Reuse bylaw. Ms. Mercier said she will investigate what is allowed under that bylaw. Ms. Bornstein suggested that maybe the site could be used as a senior center; there is plenty of land to expand the building. Mr. Blodgett noted that the original proposal changed. First Criterion was going to remove the back and put on an addition making the building 2 or 3 times larger than the original structure, but the HDC had a problem with that. Then they changed it and got approval to construct a tunnel connecting the house and barn. He commented that there might be a private buyer out there who would rehab the property as a single-family home. He noted an example of a home that was bulldozed and rebuilt with a mansion. Other Commission members pointed out that bulldozing is not an option for this property. Mr. Blodgett asked if the PRA stands strong if the Town owns the property, noting that Dr. Littleton wants the PRA to be less stringent, so it is easier to sell the property. Mr. Barnes said his feeling was that Dr. Littleton was saying the burdens of the PRA to conform to HDC requirements were too hard to comply with. Ms. Couture asked about the rules for the property, noting other homes in the S-15 district that are more than a single unit. She asked if 3-4 condos would be allowed. Ms. Mercier provided clarification on what zoning allows In single family districts. Mr. D'Orazio said they should facilitate the owner putting the property on the market. He opined that every day is one day closer for the building to collapse. Ms. Fried suggested potential acquisition of an easement for fire to access the school in exchange for presenting a rezoning petition to Town Meeting and commented that other creative ideas like this may exist. Ms. Adams asked if Ms. Mercier could outline some different zoning options for the property. Ms. Mercier agreed to outline the options. Mr. Blodgett noted that the Historic District bylaw has parameters for expanding historic buildings that could be quite constraining to this property. Mr. Maltez noted that the Town does not necessarily have to follow local rules. Mr. Barnes pointed out that the PRA is a legally binding document, and that Historic District regulations may not be local rules. nra Town of Reading Meeting Minutes re'aJa:INCOA Mr. Blodgett noted that the PRA is not the issue; they agreed to it when they got their Certificates of Appropriateness. Ms. Fried chimed in that she agrees with everything being said, but the financial cost to Criterion is the Items in the permits, for which the appeal period has since run out. She said that this argument is not useful for them, and that their best attempt is to relieve a future property owner from some of the requirements in the PRA. Ms. Fried said that in exchange for making concessions on the PRA, the Town should ask for certain maintenance to the property before sale, so a future property owner is starting from a better baseline than is there now. Mr. Barnes agreed with Ms. Fried but said he does not support backing away from getting a structural engineer to inspect the site. He suggested that it be couched with the Town's potential interest in purchasing the property. He said if they do not allow a structural engineer on-site, then the only path he agrees to is litigation. Mr. D'Orazio suggested that Ms. Fried ask them what they need/want to sell the property. He wants to know what they are thinking in terms of easing the PRA language. He suggested they do the fixes they said they would do and let a structural engineer to inspect the property. The Commissions discussed when to get the Select Board involved. Ms. Fried suggested it may be good to wait until after the Election, which is a couple weeks away. The Commission members expressed their thanks to Town staff and Town Counsel Executive Session Minutes of 2/28/22 These minutes will be taken up in a future Executive Session. Meetina Adiournment The meeting ended abruptly at 8:45PM due to a technical Issue with zoom access. Documents Used at the Meeting: Field Inspection Report prepared by T.A.M. Engineering, on behalf of Criterion Child Enrichment, dated March 6, 2022.