Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout20190320 - Hopkinton Historic District Commission - Meeting MinutesTOWN OF HOPKINTON HOPKINTON HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Wednesday, March 20 at 7:00 PM Town Hall (2nd Floor), 18 Main St, Hopkinton, MA MEETING MINUTES Committee Members Present: ​Amy Ritterbusch, Mike Auen, Jeanette Thomson, Beth Kelly Committee Members Absent: ​Melanie Smith, Beth Watson, Maryanne Chambers Also Present: James Burke, 80 Pleasant St John Palmer, 87 Main St Kathi Sherry, REC Hopkinton Jim Haskins, 26 Chamberlain St Michael Roughan, 6 Hayden Rowe St Denis Antaki, 12 Claflin Ave Christine Remby, 2 Kathryn Dr Mavis O’Leary, 11 Curtis Rd Michelle Murdock, 53 School St Binki De Collibus, 72 Front St John Coutinho, 1 David Joseph Rd 7:02 PM​ - Amy Ritterbusch called the meeting to order. 7:00 PM - Initial Public Hearing​ on the Preliminary Study Report for the “The Aaron and Lucy Claflin House Historic District” at 76 Main Street, Hopkinton - A motion to open the public hearing was made by Beth Kelly and seconded by Jeanette Thomson. ​VOTE 4-0-0 ●Link to the COMPLETE Preliminary Study Report​, which was submitted to the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the Hopkinton Planning Board on March 1, 2019. According to M.G.L. Chapter 40C, the HHDC must hold a public hearing at least 60 days from the date received by MHC. Therefore, in addition to the 3/20/19 hearing, the HHDC has scheduled a Public Hearing on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Town Hall (2nd Floor), 18 Main Street. ●Public feedback received at both hearings will be taken into account in the preparation of the final report, which will be presented at Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 6 at 7:00 PM at the Hopkinton Middle School. ●Introduction by Chair: Amy Ritterbusch gave a summary of what has happened up until now and explained the process, and outlined the procedure for tonight’s public hearing. ●Introduction by the property owner: Kathi Sherry, representing the property owner, explained that they intend to redevelop 76 Main St, by first demolishing all the existing buildings on the site, then building a new structure with office / retail on 1st floor and apartments on the 2nd floor. The proposed building would be 45,000 sq ft. with 26 apartments (about 600-1300 sq ft each). ●Comments from HHDC Members: ○Mike Auen - Feels that this is an abbreviated process. He is concerned the report doesn’t accurately reflect the timeline. The HHDC came late to the process as it was initially driven by the Hopkinton Historical Commission. ○Mike Auen - Asked about whether there was really another single-property Historic District in Hopkinton? Amy replied that since the last meeting she had looked up the 97 Ash St Fitch Adams Farm and found in the State Registry that it has a Preservation Restriction, but is not a Local Historic District. Mike Roughan recalled that the paperwork had been started to create a single-property Historic District, but it ultimately had a preservation restriction placed on it instead, which accomplishes a similar purpose. ○Beth Kelly - Stated that the process is legal and valid, and that the number of days is part of the process, the public hearing must be at least 60 days after submitting the report to Massachusetts Historical Commission. She feels that the greatest challenge is convincing the town that the building should be preserved and it will require a ⅔ vote at Town Meeting, which is a high bar. She stated that residents should speak up for what they believe. ○Amy Ritterbusch stated that she talked to MHC and that to her knowledge the HDC is following the process correctly and that the property owner’s consent is not required to create a local Historic District. ○Mike Auen stated that the developer doesn’t want it, and it may be too late, since when the building was sold it was not in a Historic District. He feels this could be a scary prospect for buyers of commercial properties in town, to not be sure if a property would be later be added to a Historic District. ○Beth Kelly - Local Historic Districts are a valid preservation tool under Mass General Law. She mentioned that the negotiation with the Pan Thai building owners, was a good example of compromise. She is hoping for a compromise rather than ending up with something totally different at the 76 Main Street location. She added that a Historic District only has purview over exterior architectural features that can be viewed from the public way. She does not think the HDC has ever had a property owner feel beaten down after the process. She still hopes for compromise with negotiation, but at this stage in the process, the attempt to create a Historic District is the best option. ○Amy Ritterbusch - Said there could be other options, such as a new plan that included preserving the Historic Building in the front of the lot, but that given the demolition delay will expire in July and the strict timelines both from MHC and for the upcoming town meeting, she felt that the HDC had to proceed with the attempt to create the Historic District. If we had more time before demolition, we could have more time to explore other compromise options. ○Michelle Murdock (audience / press) - How did the board vote? ○Amy Ritterbusch - The HHDC voted on 2-28-19 to designate itself as the Local Historic District Study Committee per the process outlined by the MHC. At that time the HHDC did vote yet on whether or not to co-sponsor the Town Meeting article with the HHC, but may choose to do so after the public hearings and after receiving feedback from the MHC. ○Mike Roughan - Stated that the HHC voted for the demolition delay in hopes to negotiate with the property owner. At the HHC hearings members of the public requested creating that they do more and try to create a Local Historic District for 76 Main Street. Mike Roughan was pessimistic that there was enough time to create a Local Historic District, but was encouraged by members of the public. ○Kathi Sherry - Prior to preparing their site plan, they had their contractor look at keeping the house, but they felt it was cost-prohibitive for what they wanted to do. She stated that the owner has offered to donate the home to be moved as a compromise. She stated that keeping the house is not a viable solution. She stated that the owner will let the house sit empty if there is a Historic Restriction placed on it. ○Jim Burke (audience) - What if the Preservation Restriction is enacted, will they sell the building? ○Mike Auen - stated that the HHDC has a precedent for not going against the property owner’s will, for example last fall when considering expanding the Historic District near the Common, the HHDC opted to step back in the face of objections from property owners. ○Beth Kelly - Stated that we follow a procedure, and 2/3rds vote is not easy to get. The Korean Prebyterian Church was left out of an earlier expansion of the district, not only because the property owner was not in favor, but also because the church was not in danger of demolition the way 76 Main Street is in danger. She feels this is a different situation. ●Comments from the public: ○Letters - Amy Ritterbusch read aloud two letters into the record which had been received prior to the meeting: ■Susan and Peter Hellberg - March 18, 2019 ■David Minkle - March 20, 2019 ○John Palmer - 87 Main Street (c. 1825) - Stated that he bought his home from the Minkles. He said that 76 Main St is part of the town area, there are not too many left of that era. This one stands out and would be missed. The demolition would be a detriment to the town and to his property. There should be a compromise. All or nothing doesn’t work for either the HHDC or the developer. There was no other choice but to a LHD, and he feels it is worth a try. He supports the efforts for the creation of a single property local historic district. ○Mike Auen - If a donation of the building or land would be made to the town, who would facilitate it? ○John Coutinho - A donation to the town would need to go to town meeting, but it is too late to get on the warrant for the May 2019 town meeting. ○Amy Ritterbusch - A private citizen could move the home at their own expense to their own land, which would not involve town meeting. ○John Coutinho - A private solution would be better. Any group or committee could initiate the process. ○Mike Auen - Suggested a parallel path of seeking someone to move the home, while at the same time the process to create a local historic district is being followed, due to the tight deadlines. ○Jim Burke, 80 Pleasant St - His grandmother owned the home. Breezy Acres Kindergarten was located there. He hates that the town is being sold to developers. We have to put our foot down, enough is enough. How many more homes will be torn down? He will fight hard to preserve this house. ○Nanda Barker-Hook, 75 Grove Street, HHC member, 20 year resident. Would like to see the building preserved. HHDC has a mandate to preserve historical assets in town. If there is any building to preserve this is the one. Town is obligated to preserve. All the neighbors have come out against the demolition. We have a lot to be proud of, including safety, school, charm, 300th anniversary, and a sense of pride in town. We need to think creatively about rising populations. How can 76 Main St still become a destination while maintaining its Historic Character? It has similar potential as the library. Downtown revitalization is not at odds with historic preservation. She would like to have a sense that the owner is hearing us (the residents / neighbors) and that our opinions matter. She hopes the owner is willing to consider working with HHC. ○Mike Roughan, Hayden Rowe St - Suggest that the HHDC ask the developer to put in writing the terms under which they would release the structure if it needed to be moved. ■A motion to request terms for moving the house from the owner was made by Mike Auen and seconded by Jeanette Thomson ​VOTE: 4-0-0 ■A motion was made to request that the Board of Selectmen negotiate with the builder on ways move the building to town land. Motion by Mike Auen and seconded by Jeanette Thomson. ​VOTE 3-1-0 ○Mike Roughan - Recommends getting it in writing first from owner, then sending a press release, a Press Release requesting the public find funding to move the building. The HHDC Opted NOT to do this at this time. ○John Coutinho - supports other options for a win-win ○John Palmer - Asked about zoning. Amy Ritterbusch stated that it is in the Downtown Business zone. John Palmer stated that he would be in favor of an expanded Main Street historic district including 76 Main Street and other historic homes in that area. ○Mike Auen - suggests a joint meeting with HHC, to determine next district area to pursue. ○Mike Roughan - stated that the last grant was focused on another area, the areas surrounding common that are not already in the district. ○Denise Antaki - stated that she supports preserving 76 Main Street. ○A Motion to close the Public Hearing was made by Mike Auen and seconded by Jeanette Thomson. ​VOTE: 4-0-0 Other topics that may be discussed at any time during the meeting: ●Hopkinton 101 - Saturday, March 30 from 10 am - 2 pm. - Hopkinton Library - who can attend and staff our table? What should we include on the table? ○Amy & Beth Watson can attend ○Map of the district and what properties are not in the district ○76 Main St Local Historic District Preliminary Report ○New Property Reports from the recent survey. ○Email Sign Up List ●2019 Annual Town Meeting - Discuss Article Submitted by Hopkinton Historical Commission (HHC) ○Extending the Demolition Delay to 18 Months - Was not discussed. ●Tree Planting on the Common (update, Beth Kelly) - ○Beth walked the Common with Peter Mezzit who noticed some dead and dying trees and made some recommendations for replenishment. ○John Westerling is the Tree Warden, and Beth suggested she meet with John Westerling and show him the dead trees and see what he thought. ○Money is available in the Holman fund for shade trees, if John Westerling recommends, maybe HHDC and Parks & Rec could apply for a grant? ●Drafting of Historic District Design Guidelines (update, Beth Watson) - No Update ●Claflin Fountain - Rusting, Fence Construction (update, if any) - No Update ●Master Plan - Implementation Item #NCO19 “Expansion of the Center Historic District” - Discussed above, will consider approaching Main Street owners in the coming year. ●Downtown Corridor Project (update, if any, Jeanette Thomson & Mike Auen) - No Update from Mike & Jeanette, but Beth Kelly watched Board of Selectmen meeting and stated that they may be coming for a Certificate for some of the work. Beth is concerned about signage. Amy noted that there is a new project portal for the Downtown Project with email sign up: https://www.cleargov.com/massachusetts/middlesex/town/hopkinton/projects/120/downtown-corrid or ●Library Expansion & Renovation - Remedies to discrepancies in approved plan (update, if any, on open items) ○Front wheelchair /stroller ramp - Open item - No Update ○Church emergency access door railing - Open item - No Update ○Installation of new light fixture - Daltorio is working on it. ○Amy will invite the Permanent Building Committee to come give us an update. ●Identify future agenda items - None ●Decide on next meeting dates: ​Thurs 4/11 at 7:00 PM ●Approve meeting Minutes from 02-07-19, 02-28-19 - Not ready yet. 8:44 PM Adjournment ​- Motion to Adjourn made by Beth Kelly and seconded Jeanette Thomson. VOTE: 4-0-0 Respectfully submitted, Amy Ritterbusch, Chair Approved on Date: 06/13/19