Historic District Commission

NORWICH HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Minutes of the September 15, 2021 Regular Meeting The regular meeting of the Historic District Commission was held Wednesday September 15, 2021 at 5:30 PM via Zoom virtual meeting. Members Present: Regan Miner (Chairwoman) Timothy Dowhan Richard Guidebeck Gregory Johnson Nancy O’Neil Gregory Farlow Members Absent: None. Guests: Sandra Nadolny, Dayne Rugh, Jason Largent, Steve McCormick, Cole Mileski, Sue Caplet Regan Miner reviewed the rules of a virtual meeting and clearly notified participants that the meeting would be recorded. I. Public Meeting The public meeting was convened at 5:33 pm. The order of COA presentations and discussions are at the discretion of the commission to accommodate all participants. ● COA 464 – 67 East Town Street (Dayne Rugh) Perimeter, Fixtures Dayne Rugh stated that the application was to replace the gutters on his home with like-for-like aluminum gutters painted a cream color to match the existing trim, in the same location as the existing gutters. ● COA 465 – 20 Harland Road (Jason Largent) Chimneys, Site Masonry Jason Largent stated he was putting a gas furnace in his home which required a liner because it is a gas fireplace. Jason Largent stated the work would be done by Don Armstrong who was familiar with historic properties. Jason Largent explained for the chimney to be up to code after a liner is installed, four small piers would be built up atop the chimney and  then capped with bluestone. Jason Largent concluded in all they would be finishing the top of the existing chimney and installing a liner. Richard Guidebeck asked if the picture showing a stone cap with four pillars was an accurate representation to which Jason Largent responded that the end result would be very similar to that stone cap. Timothy Dowhan questioned the appearance of the existing chimney and Jason Largent explained the chimney was not original to the home but from the 1950’s, installed prior to his ownership. Gregory Johnson stated the ceramic flues sticking out of the chimney would have a better appearance if the flues were at the same level of the chimney with higher piers. Jason Largent noted once the cap was installed nothing would be visible at that height especially with shadowing. Discussion ensued. Gregory Johnson stated the commission would like the finished product to look like the submitted completion photo by Armstrong Chimney. ● COA 466 – 14 Mediterranean Lane (Madlyn Easley) Windows Steve McCormick from Home Depot explained that the customer was looking to have either an Andersen or Simington window replacement installed to which they had the option of a natural wood or aluminum wrapped trim. Gregory Farlow asked what color the window would be to which Steve McCormick responded it would be forest green to match the existing color. Richard Guidebeck noted the exteriors could not be wrapped in aluminum. Richard Guidebeck asked if the window lites would be like-for-like to which Steve McCormick responded that the lites would have two vertical and one horizontal bar to match the adjacent window. Steve McCormick stated that the windows would be a Fibrex wood composite material which would withstand weather conditions best. Discussion ensued. Jason Largent stated in his opinion Fibrex windows have a much better appearance than snap-in false mullions on a real all-wood window. Jason Largent stated Fibrex windows were used in many other historic districts and they seemed to be a reasonable option for this case. ● COA 467 – 8 Ox Hill Road (Sandra Nadolny) New Construction, Other - Screen Door Sandra Nadolny stated she was looking to put a screen door on the front of her home and that a screen door had been there previously. Sandra Nadolny stated she was going for a Victorian style door to match the home in a black or maroon color. Richard Guidebeck recommended using a wood screen door to better match the style of the home. Discussion ensued on the material of the proposed door and the previously existing screen door. Sandra Nadolny stated she was open to using whatever material the commission recommended.  ● COA 468 – 81 Union (Reliance Health) Reconstruction, Other – Fire Exit Stairs Sue Caplet, property manager for Reliance Health, described the layout and history of the property. Sue Caplet explained they are looking to replace the last set of fire exit stairs and the adjoining decks with pressure treated wood sealed with clear stain, just like they had done with the other stair replacements. Timothy Dowhan asked for clarification on what was being replaced. Sue Caplet explained that the COA was for all the stairs and decks on the rear of the building as the other staircases had all been replaced previously. II. Regular Meeting The regular meeting was convened at 6:22 PM. A. Action on COA’s ● COA 464 – 67 East Town Street (Dayne Rugh) Perimeter, Fixtures Gregory Johnson made a motion to accept the COA as submitted and presented. Nancy O’Neil seconded. Gregory Johnson, Nancy O’Neil, Gregory Farlow, Richard Guidebeck and Timothy Dowhan voted in favor. Regan Miner abstained. The motion passed. ● COA 465 – 20 Harland Road (Jason Largent) Chimneys, Site Masonry Gregory Johnson made a motion to accept the COA as submitted and presented Timothy Dowhan seconded. Discussion ensued. Nancy O’Neil made an amended motion that the application be approved with the requirement that the chimney is completed in accordance with code and second photo submitted in the application. Gregory Farlow seconded. Gregory Johnson, Nancy O’Neil, Gregory Farlow, Richard Guidebeck, Timothy Dowhan and Regan Miner voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. ● COA 466 – 14 Mediterranean Lane (Madlyn Easley) Windows Nancy O’Neil made a motion to discuss the application. Gregory Farlow seconded. Regan Miner discussed previous COAs that had been approved using the same window manufacturer. Nancy O’Neil noted that the window was not in view of a public way if it was located in the rear of the home. Discussion ensued regarding the material of the window. Richard Guidebeck made a motion to accept the COA as presented and submitted. Gregory Johnson seconded. Gregory Johnson, Nancy O’Neil, Gregory Farlow, Richard Guidebeck, Timothy Dowhan and Regan Miner voted in  favor. The motion passed unanimously. ● COA 467 – 8 Ox Hill Road (Sandra Nadolny) New Construction, Other - Screen Door Gregory Farlow made a motion to discuss the application. Timothy Dowhan seconded. Discussion ensued regarding the material and style of the screen door. Nancy O’Neil made a motion to approve COA with the stipulation the door be an aluminum or wood screen door and that the homeowner will work with Regan Miner and Richard Guidebeck on a preferred style of the door. Gregory Farlow seconded. Gregory Johnson, Nancy O’Neil, Gregory Farlow, Richard Guidebeck, Timothy Dowhan and Regan Miner voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. ● COA 468 – 81 Union (Reliance Health) Reconstruction, Other – Fire Exit Stairs Gregory Johnson made a motion to approve the COA as submitted and presented. Timothy Dowhan seconded. Gregory Johnson, Nancy O’Neil, Gregory Farlow, Richard Guidebeck, Timothy Dowhan and Regan Miner voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. B. Minutes of Wednesday August 18, 2021 Regular Meeting ● Nancy O’Neil made a motion to approve the meeting minutes as written. Richard Guidebeck seconded. Richard Guidebeck, Nancy O’Neil, Gregory Farlow, Richard Guidebeck, Timothy Dowhan and Regan Miner voted in favor. Gregory Johnson abstained. The motion passed. C. Chairman Report ● Regan Miner stated consultant Chris Skelly was working on the design guidelines and that she would be meeting with him at the end of September to review his progress. Regan Miner added that he would be visiting Norwich and that she would share the meeting information with the commission members for them to join, if available. Regan Miner stated she would report updates at the next regular meeting. Regan Miner stated that the plan was to host an informational session for the public to discuss the design guidelines on October 21st, 2021. D. Old Business ● None. E. New Business  ● None. F. Next Meeting Date ● Scheduled for Wednesday October 20, 2021 at 5:30 PM. G. Adjournment ● Nancy O’Neil made a motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 7:05 PM. Gregory Johnson seconded. All voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Katherine Rose Recording Secretary