Historic District Commission

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION, NORWICH, CONNECTICUT Minutes of September 17, 2014 Meeting The regular meeting of the Historic District Commission was held on September 17, 2014 in Room 319, Norwich City Hall at 5:15 P.M. Members Present: Judith Hamblen, Vice Chair Pamela Muccilli Tim Dowhan Members Absent: Gideon Loewenstein Nancy O’Neil Scott Learned Also Attending: Property owners, Robert and Darlene Brown; and City Engineer, Patrick McLaughlin. I. Public Hearing: The Public Hearing convened at 5:17 pm. COA # 317: Robert and Darlene Brown 13 Harland Rd Repair and restore windows and siding. Mr. and Mrs. Brown presented the application for the COA. They inherited the house, built in 1740, which is in need of extensive repairs. They have already begun repairs of the interior of the house and need to attend to the exterior before winter sets in. An estimate from their contractor, Banton Construction of North Haven, describes the work to be done: Replace wood clapboards in specified areas, apply house wrap air/moisture barrier, remove one basement window and replace opening with clapboard; replace rotted door sill and reset existing door. The existing windows will be repaired as needed, replacing broken window panes. Lead abatement is not covered by this contractor and homeowners will have to arrange for this if necessary with a lead abatement company. The house will be painted at a later date following completion of the work. There are shutters on the street facing façade and some metal shutter dogs on other elevations. The owners are asked to preserve these elements. Banton Construction estimate is attached. The Public Hearing concluded at 5:45pm. II. Regular Meeting: The regular meeting convened at 5:45pm A. Action on COA: COA 317: on motion made by Muccilli and seconded by Dowhan COA # 317 was unanimously approved, with modifications:  The removed basement window area must be replaced with clapboard and the new clapboard must cover the entire wall for consistency in appearance.  Any new clapboard to be installed must be the same dimensions as the existing ones.  The homeowners must preserve shutters, shutter dogs and other existing architectural elements.  Other work is approved as presented. B. Guest Presentation: City Engineer, Patrick McLaughlin presented the plan for restoration of the original wooden floors on the corridors of three floors and in the City Clerk’s office area. This work was one of the recommendations in the master plan for the preservation and upkeep of city hall which the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation had previously funded. The city is applying for another grant that will provide a 50% match to meet the costs of restoration. The commission members support this endeavor and will provide a letter of support for the application; if successful, work will commence in the spring of 2015. C. Minutes: Due to absences in prior meetings, there being insufficient members present, no vote was taken and approval of the June and July meetings was postponed. D. Old Business: Commission member Scott Learned was asked to revise the new COA form to fit onto one page. When completed, the Chairman will arrange for distribution of the new forms and posting on the city website through the City Clerk’s office. Recruiting new members has been a challenge since everyone contacted by the Chairman has declined to serve due to many other commitments. Additional possible members were discussed and will be contacted by current members. E. New Business: Pam Muccilli raised the issue of selecting the houses to receive the annual preservation award. She asked for help in identifying the houses and also opened a discussion regarding expanding the pool of possible awardees to include structures from the early to mid-20th century as there exists in Norwich many examples of the Craftsman and Mid-Century styles. This suggestion will be explored further. F. Chairman’s Report Vice-Chair Hamblen reported information provided by the Chairman who could not attend this meeting: Several inappropriate temporary signs were placed on the Norwichtown Green and the Chairman called the responsible persons and asked for their removal. These  temporary signs are appearing more frequently and the issue of strengthening the regulations governing their use and limiting them only to events held on the Green will be explored further. The Chairman also called Norwich Zoning re a business sign on a house in the historic district; the resolution of this issue is pending. Satellite Dish Regulations: The Chairman and Recording Secretary attended an HDC public hearing meeting in Groton City on August 7th at which time their regulations regarding satellite dishes were amended to be very specific: The regulations were read at the meeting and it was agreed that the Norwich HDC Commission should consider adopting similarly specific regulations. The matter will need to be reviewed, possibly with the City Attorney, and a public hearing held for the process to move forward. In this regard, Pam Muccilli reported that the satellite dish at 175 Broadway was lying on the ground whereas previously it had been installed upright making it visible from the street. No response has been received to the letter previously sent to the landlord of 175 Broadway regarding the satellite dish. G. Next Meeting The next regularly scheduled meeting is October 15, 2014. H. Adjournment On motion by Dowhan and seconded by Muccilli the meeting adjourned at 6:55pm. Respectfully submitted Judy Hamblen, Vice- Chairman JH:mtl