Historic District Commission

NORWICH HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Minutes of the November 20, 2024 Regular Meeting Hybrid via ZOOM & Room 335, City Hall 100 Broadway, Norwich, CT 5:30PM Members Present: Timothy Dowhan (Chairman) Regan Miner (ZOOM) Nancy O’Neil (ZOOM) Gregory Farlow (ZOOM) Dayne Rugh (ZOOM) Greg Johnson (ZOOM) Members Absent: None. Guests: Charlie Carroll (ZOOM) I. Public Meeting The public meeting was convened at 5:32 pm. The order of COA presentations and discussions are at the discretion of the commission to accommodate all participants. ● COA 561 - 5 Town Street (Carrie Arleaga) - Alteration/Replacement, Residential Building, Windows Timothy Dowhan reviewed that the COA was tabled at the last meeting to determine if the property was truly located within the historic district. Timothy Dowhan stated that, as reviewed at the previous meeting, the building itself on the property was outside of the district boundary line, while the lawn was within the district. Timothy Dowhan stated he received advice from Attorney Driscoll and after discussing the consensus was the COA work fell outside of the Historic District Commission jurisdiction. ● COA 564 - 100 Town Street (M&M Care Realty DBA The Johnson Home) - Residential Building, Emergency Backup Generator Charles Carroll presented on behalf of the applicant. Charles Carroll stated the building was taken over under a state receivership and due to this were now required to have a backup generator to service the elevator and refrigerators. Charles Carroll explained that putting one larger generator in the rear of the home would be much simpler than splitting the power between two smaller generators. Charles Carroll stated there was an existing concrete pad in the rear to place it on that falls within all the existing setbacks. Charles Carroll stated he would be ordering the generator to be painted white from the factory. Charles Carroll noted that the generator enclosure was aluminum so there was little chance of rusting. Dayne Rugh asked how visible the generator would be from the road. Charles Carroll responded it would be visible from Town Street if you were to view the building on the right-hand side. Charles Carroll stated it would not be visible from Town Street if you were looking at the front of the building. Gregory Johnson asked the height of the generator. Charles Carroll stated it was approximately five feet tall. Gregory Johnson asked if  there was any plan to put shrubbery around the generator for screening. Charlie Carroll stated that was not included in the plan but he was not against it, as long as the shrubs were at least five feet from the generator for fire safety. Charles Carroll stated he could speak with the property owner about adding shrubbery that would increase in size and screening as they grow. Dayne Rugh responded that it would be ideal and in line with the typical HDC approval of similar generators. Timothy Dowhan asked if the wiring from the generator to the building would be underground. Charles Carroll stated that was correct and the wiring would run from the back of the home to outside where the transfer switch would be located. Charles Carroll stated there was no room to do this inside while maintaining setbacks. Charles Carroll stated there would be two PVC pipes for power and controls that protrude from the ground that he planned to paint white to match the building. Discussion ensued regarding the location of the pipes. Timothy Dowhan asked if any existing conduits would be removed. Charles Carroll stated that the two conduits on the front of the building that are currently tied to the existing electrical system would be removed. Charles Carroll reiterated that the new pipes that would be installed on the side of the building would be grey, but can paint them white. Timothy Dowhan stated that would be preferred. II. Regular Meeting The regular meeting was convened at 5:54 PM. A. Action on COA’s ● COA 564 - 100 Town Street (M&M Care Realty DBA The Johnson Home) - Residential Building, Emergency Backup Generator Gregory Johnson made a motion to accept COA 564 as written and presented. Nancy O’ Neil seconded. Gregory Johnson stated he felt the COA was sufficient as long as the greenery is planted around the generator. Timothy Dowhan stated he could add that into the stipulations for approval. Dayne Rugh agreed, as well as painting the exterior piping white. Gregory Johnson, Gregory Farlow, Dayne Rugh, Nancy O’Neil, Regan Miner and Timothy Dowhan voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. B. Minutes of the Wednesday October 16, 2024 Regular Meeting ● Dayne Rugh made a motion to approve the October 16, 2024 regular meeting minutes. Gregory Johnson left the meeting at 6:00 PM. Nancy O’Neil seconded. Nancy O’Neil, Gregory Farlow, Dayne Rugh and Timothy Dowhan voted in favor. Regna Miner abstained. The motion passed. C. Chairman Report ● Timothy Dowhan stated he submitted the 2025 HDC budget request to the planning and zoning department earlier that day. Timothy Dowhan stated he used the previous template for the budget and there was an  approximate 2.9% increase due to the cost of the legal notifications. Timothy Dowhan stated he budgets for twelve legal notices and one potential special meeting legal notice. Timothy Dowhan stated he took $100 from the budget for the historic home plaques in order to keep the budget number consistent with previous years. D. Old Business ● None. E. New Business ● Timothy Dowhan stated there were still openings on the commission and that Meghan Campbell was working through the interview process after submitting her application. Timothy Dowhan stated he had not heard anything regarding Tyler Booth’s application. Timothy Dowhan stated he would follow up on both. Timothy Dowhan reported he would be leaving the area February 1, 2025 when he planned to step down as a HDC commission member. Timothy Dowhan stated the role of chairperson was still available and he could help with the transition process. Timothy Dowhan stated he was unsure if the members wanted to present the opportunity to the new applicants. Regan Miner stated she would encourage that new members not be asked to take over as chair as they had not been on the board previously. Regan Miner stated that although she was the vice chair she would not be able to re-take over the duties of chairperson. F. Next Meeting Date ● Scheduled for Wednesday December 18, 2024 G. Adjournment ● Gregory Farlow made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting at 6:13 PM. Regan Miner seconded. Gregory Farlow, Dayne Rugh, Nancy O’Neil, Regan Miner and Timothy Dowhan voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Katherine Rose Recording Secretary