Historic District Commission

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION, NORWICH, CONNECTICUT Minutes of October 15, 2014 Meeting The regular meeting of the Historic District Commission was held on October 15, 2014 in Room 319, Norwich City Hall at 5:15 P.M. Members Present: Gideon Loewenstein, Chairman Judith Hamblen Nancy O’Neil Tim Dowhan Members Absent: Pamela Muccilli Scott Learned Also Attending: Applicants Robert Lasch and Kevin Lathrop, and Joanne Philbrick, neighbor. I. Public Hearing: The Public Hearing convened at 5:20 pm. COA #318: Robert Lasch 20 East Town St. Install solar panels on garage roof. Mr. Lasch intends to install 13 solar panels on the western exposure of his garage roof. This exposure is not visible from the street and would only be slightly visible from the Lowthorpe Meadows during months when trees are bare. Mr. Lasch plans to have the panels installed in late April or early May; this would mean the work would not be started within the six months COA requirement. COA #319: Kevin Lathrop and Stogie Properties 65 East Town St. Install new one car driveway Mr. Lathrop, the contractor hired by the potential buyer of this property, presented the application to put in a one car driveway on the Mediterranean Lane side of the property. There is no garage or parking area currently and the driveway is a requirement of the potential buyer. Current owner, Stogie Properties, has agreed to the COA application. Mr. Lathrop met with and received approvals with stipulations, from the City Engineer from the Dept. of Public Works. (Copy of the approval is on file). DPW requires that the driveway surface be a permanent surface other than crushed stone which was the material originally indicated in the COA application. Approved surfaces could be bituminous pavement or brick pavers. Currently there is a large stone in the middle of the proposed driveway which he intends to use for the steps up to the house. He also proposed a modification to his application that would allow for  one guest’s car to be parked in addition to the homeowner’s. Neighbor, Joanne Philbrick provided a letter of support from the abutting property owner, Paula R. Bell of 67 East Town St. The Public Hearing concluded at 5:40pm. II. Regular Meeting: The regular meeting convened at 5:40pm A. Action on COA: COA #318: Because Mr. Lasch intends to wait to install the solar panels until the springtime it was agreed to table the action for this COA in order to give the homeowner sufficient time to start work prior to the expiration date of the COA. On a motion by Judy Hamblen and seconded by Nancy O’Neil and passed unanimously, action on COA #318 was tabled until the November 19th meeting. COA #319: There was further discussion concerning details about the materials, size and configuration of the driveway. The space for a guest’s car is deemed to be necessary to accommodate visits by the elderly parent of the new homeowner and other elder guests. On motion made by Tim Dowhan and seconded by Judy Hamblen, COA #319 was unanimously approved by the commission with the following modifications: o Based on requirements from the city Department of Public Works, City engineer, the driveway must be a permanent surface such as bituminous or brick pavers. The applicant’s request for a bituminous surface was approved. o The driveway size and configuration is approved for one additional car to accommodate visitors as shown on submitted Plan A. B.Minutes: Due to absences in prior meetings when there were insufficient members present to vote on minutes, there were three months’ minutes to vote on:  On motion made by O’Neil and seconded by Hamblen, the minutes of the meeting of June 18, 2014 were accepted. Dowhan abstained.  On motion made by Dowhan and seconded by O’Neil, the minutes of the meeting of July 23, 2014 were accepted. Hamblen abstained.  On motion made by Dowhan and seconded by Hamblen, the minutes of the September 17, 2014 meeting were accepted. O’Neil abstained. C.Old Business: Preservation Awards: Commission member Muccilli will work with member Hamblen to review potential candidates. Both Ms. Hamblen and Mr. Dowhan have identified possible awardees. Members agreed to consider expanding the criteria for the 2015 awards.  The business sign on an East Town street residence has been removed after the homeowner was contacted by the Zoning Officer. Many signs continue to be planted on the Norwichtown Green. Chairman Loewenstein contacted Parks and Streets division of Public Works regarding this problem. Recruiting new members continues to be a challenge. Chairman Loewenstein contacted another person, who was interested but has a conflicting commitment on the day that the HDC meets. Additional prospects will be explored. The adoption of the wording of the Groton regulations regarding satellite dishes in the historic district will be studied further and copies of those regulations will be sent to members for review before the next meeting. The satellite dish at 175 Broadway is no longer visible on the property. D. New Business: Meeting Schedule: Chairman Loewenstein opened discussion about changing the meeting time to give members more time to get to meetings. Discussion about changing the day back to the third Thursday of the month will be postponed until all members have been polled. On a motion made by O’Neil, seconded by Dowhan, and passed unanimously, effective January 2015 the meeting time of the HDC will change to begin at 5:30pm. E. Chairman’s Report Chairman Loewenstein reported that a letter from the HDC was sent to City Engineer Patrick McLaughlin in support of the city’s application for funding from the State Historic Preservation Office to restore the floors in city hall to the original wood in the corridors on the first three floors of the building. F. Next Meeting The next regularly scheduled meeting is November 19, 2014. G. Adjournment On motion by Hamblen, seconded by Dowhan the meeting adjourned at 6:30pm. Respectfully submitted Gideon Loewenstein Chairman GL/mtl