Historic District Commission

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION, NORWICH, CONNECTICUT Minutes of March 18, 2015 Meeting The regular meeting of the Historic District Commission was held on March 18, 2015 in Room 319, Norwich City Hall at 5:30 P.M. Members Present: Gideon Loewenstein, Chairman Nancy O’Neil Pamela Muccilli Scott Learned Judith Hamblen Members Absent: Timothy Dowhan, Christie Gilluly Also Attending: Bill Champagne and Regan Miner for the Norwich Historical Society and Dennis Baptiste. I. Public Hearing: The Public Hearing convened at 5:30 pm. COA #322: Norwich Historical Society 69 East Town St Install a storm door at the front door Regan Miner and Bill Champagne presented the application containing an architect’s drawing of the proposed storm door which will help preserve heat during the winter and provide additional air exchange during the warm weather. The new storm door will be made of wood and will reflect the style of the existing exterior door. They also informed the commission of their plans to repoint bricks, and repair existing windows, work that does not require a COA. The public hearing concluded at 5:40 pm. II. Regular Meeting: The regular meeting convened at 5:40pm A. Action on COA #322: Commission members discussed the need for the door installation to comply with building codes and the use of a period appropriate door handle. On a motion made by Pamela Muccilli and seconded by Judy Hamblen, COA #322 was unanimously approved with the stipulation that the door installation comply with building codes and the use of a period appropriate door handle. B. Minutes: On motion made by Nancy O’Neil and seconded by Scott Learned, the minutes of the meeting of December 17, 2014 were accepted. C. New Business: In order to accommodate the schedule of Dennis Baptiste, the commission members agreed to change the order of the agenda. Mr. Baptiste, the Chairman of the Norwich Area Veterans Council had been referred to the HDC by Mayor Hinchey. His organization wants to install American flags on utility poles surrounding Chelsea Parade and the Norwichtown Green. He was informed that the HDC only has jurisdiction over the properties surrounding the Norwichtown Green and the Dept. of Public Works manages the Greens. He indicated that he had already contacted Norwich Public Utilities regarding the poles and was told they belonged to AT&T and CL&P. His group would like to fly the three by five feet flags from Memorial Day to Veterans Day. Commission members expressed a need for his group to obtain permission from the company owning the poles prior to installing flags on the utility poles. Members were also concerned about the placement of flags on every pole on the Elm St. side of the Green; Mr. Baptiste agreed to using only some poles. D. Old Business: Pamela Muccilli made the Preservation Plaque awards at the February 17th meeting of the City Council using a very informative power point presentation. One of the recipients, the owners of 70 Peck St did not attend and Ms. Muccilli will deliver the plaque to them. COA 321 update: Mr. Loewenstein received a letter from Terry MacDonald the realtor for 11 Harland Rd requesting the minutes of the December meeting. She was informed about accessing them online at the city’s website. There has been no work done on the exterior of the house, probably due to the inclement weather. However there has been considerable activity at the property indicative of interior renovations. The chairman will inquire with the Building Dept. official if a building permit had been obtained for the work approved under the COA.. Members discussed the recommendations made by City Attorney, Michael Driscoll for changes to the Rules of Procedures and Regulations and agreed to incorporate them into the proposed revised document. Learned made a motion seconded by Muccilli to accept as amended the recommendations for changes to the Commission’s Rules of Procedure and Regulations and was approved unanimously. E. Chairman’s Report: A new property owner letter for 32 Huntington Place was sent February 10th to Robert Duprey of Autumn Oaks Investments, LLC informing him of the responsibilities of a property owner in the Historic District. There has been no response to date; however a complaint has been made by a neighbor regarding the usage of the property as a recovery house. The usage question was referred to the Zoning Officer who had not received any application for a zoning change. This property is listed as a two family on city records.  The chairman attended a meeting of the Norwich Heritage Groups on March 2nd focused on collaboration and cooperation among the various groups to promote the history and culture of Norwich. Information about the HDC was submitted for inclusion in the information to be disseminated at the Historical Society center. A letter of support was sent to the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation for a grant request by Slater Museum to hire a consultant for the restoration of the museum’s roof which is in poor condition. The request received approval. F. Next Meeting: The next regularly scheduled meeting is April 15, 2015 at 5:30 pm G. Adjournment: On motion by O’Neil, seconded by Learned the meeting adjourned at 6:50 pm. Respectfully submitted Gideon Loewenstein Chairman GL/mtl