Historic District Commission

NORWICH HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Minutes of the July 19, 2023 Regular Meeting The regular meeting of the Historic District Commission was held Wednesday July 19, 2023 at 5:30 PM via Hybrid meeting in Room 319 of City Hall and via ZOOM. Members Present: Timothy Dowhan (Chairman) Regan Miner Jacob Stahl (ZOOM) Gregory Johnson (ZOOM) Nancy O’Neil (ZOOM) Dayne Rugh Members Absent: Gregory Farlow Guests: John Day, Chiung-Nien Lee and Daniel Heermance (ZOOM) Timothy Dowhan 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 5:31 pm. The order of COA presentations and discussions are at the discretion of the commission to accommodate all participants. ● COA 526 - 28 Huntington Place (Chiung-Nien Lee) - Roofing John Day of CIA LLC stated he was the contractor for Chiung-Nien Lee, who has a wrap-around porch on his home with a yankee gutter that is incorporated into the roofline. John Day stated it is a late 1800’s style construction that is notorious for failing. John Day stated that Mr. Lee’s gutter has been failing for some time and is destroying the structure of the roof. John Day explained that a typical correction for this type of engineering is to put plywood over the existing yankee gutter and then put a regular gutter on top of that. John Day stated the roof on the porch is almost flat and cannot be seen from the public right of way, however the gutter would be visible. John Day stated the downspouts to the gutter sit at either end of the home and would be replaced with new downspouts in the same location. John Day stated the COA included a submittal for one additional downspout to be placed on the front corner of the home, as they are concerned with the amount of water that will funnel from the upper level roofs onto the porch roof. John Day stated that would be the only visible change from the public right of way and demonstrated where the gutter and downspouts would sit on a photo shown on screen for all to view. John Day stated the new roofing material would be an EPDM rubber roof with irregular half-inch plywood sheathing that would have a medium density fiberboard overtop, which would be screwed down with large metal plates. John Day stated the new gutter would be seamless with  interior connectors that would be screwed into the facia. Regan Miner asked what the current roofing material was where the change would occur. Chiung-Nien Lee responded he believed it was rubber but was not certain. ● COA 527 - 89 Union Street (Aaron Daniels) - Roofing Daniel Heermance of Rhino Black Roofing stated he was the contractor for the applicant. Daniel Heermance stated the homeowner is desiring to eliminate a roof hatch on the rear section of the upper main roof of their home. Daniel Heermance stated the approximately four foot square hatch had not been functional for many years and was a major source of leaking. Daniel Heermance stated the plan is to remove the hatch and add a small framing membrane that would be covered with ¾ inch plywood, which matches the original decking. Daniel Heermance stated they would then roof over that space. Daniel Heermance stated the hatch is not visible from the street. Daniel Heermance stated the existing asphalt shingles of that entire roof area would be replaced with architectural asphalt shingles, opposed to the existing combination of asphalt and three-tab shingles. Daniel Heermance stated only the asphalt portion of the home’s roof would be replaced and not the lower tin roof. II. Regular Meeting The regular meeting was convened at 5:47 PM. A. Action on COA’s ● COA 526 - 28 Huntington Place (Chiung-Nien Lee) - Roofing Jacob Stahl made a motion to approve the COA as written and presented. Regan Miner seconded. Jacob Stahl, Regan Miner, Gregory Johnson, Nancy O’Neil, Dayne Rugh and Timothy Dowhan voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. ● COA 527 - 89 Union Street (Aaron Daniels) - Roofing Dayne Rugh made a motion to approve the COA as written and presented. Jacob Stahl seconded. Jacob Stahl, Regan Miner, Gregory Johnson, Nancy O’Neil, Dayne Rugh and Timothy Dowhan voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. B. Minutes of the Wednesday June 21, 2023 Meeting Minutes ● Jacob Stahl made a motion to approve the meeting minutes, with a correction. Regan Miner seconded. Jacob Stahl, Regan Miner, Gregory Johnson, Nancy O’Neil, Dayne Rugh and Timothy Dowhan voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously.  C. Chairman Report ● Timothy Dowhan reported the HDC budget for 2023 was approved for the same amount as the previous year’s budget. Timothy Dowhan stated he would have the budget information available at the next meeting to determine if there were funds available for preservation awards. D. Old Business ● Timothy Dowhan thanked Regan Miner for notifying new homeowners in the district that they purchased a home within the historic district and the guidelines. Timothy Dowhan stated he would continue to make an effort to monitor recently approved COA’s to see if the work has been completed in accordance with their COA. E. New Business ● None. F. Next Meeting Date ● Scheduled for Wednesday August 16, 2023 at 5:30 PM. G. Adjournment ● Jacob Stahl made a motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 5:58 PM. Nancy O’Neil seconded. Jacob Stahl, Regan Miner, Gregory Johnson, Nancy O’Neil, Dayne Rugh and Timothy Dowhan voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Katherine Rose Recording Secretary