HomeMy Public PortalAbout20210628 - Woodville Historic District Commission - Meeting MinutesWOODVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
Town of Hopkinton, MA
June 28, 2021 7:00 PM
18 Main Street, Hopkinton MA - Lower Level Meeting Room
MINUTES
Members Present: Paul Larter, Vice Chair, Tina Berlad,Nancy Peters, Craig Nation, Sharon
O’Reilly
Members Absent: Sean Davan, Chair
Paul Larter, Vice Chair, called the public meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
282 Wood Street - Application for Certificate of Appropriateness
K. Sheingold, 282 Wood St., stated that portions of the existing fence have blown down and they
want to replace the entire fence with a new vinyl fence, but it is expensive so only the portion at
the driveway will be replaced at this time. It was stated that they would like to replace it with
either a wood stockade fence or a vinyl fence, depending on the cost. It was noted that there are
two gates now, and only one would be retained, and the vinyl fence would either be white or
brown. The Commission discussed the proposal, and it was noted that not all of the fence can be
seen from the street.
Paul Larter moved to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness,allowing replacement of the
fence on the property with either a wood fence or a vinyl fence. The vinyl fence may be white or
brown in color. The wood fence shall be a similar style as the existing fence. The motion was
seconded by Sharon O’Reilly and the vote was unanimous in favor, with Craig Nation
abstaining.
0 Wood Street - Borrego Solar
Brandon Smith, Borrego Solar, appeared before the Commission. He referred to the large ground
mounted solar project on Mechanic St. that was permitted by the Planning Board in 2019, stating
they have now worked through interconnection with Eversource. He stated they have worked to
minimize the impact on Wood St., and at previous meetings with the Commission it was agreed
there would be one additional pole on Wood St. and underground utilities in Mechanic St. He
stated that since then, process and standards have changed, and Eversource doesn’t have to honor
the agreement, and now there needs to be additional safety and metering equipment. He stated
they have been able to reach a compromise regarding what is located in the historic district, so
there will be one new pad-mounted disconnect switch and the same utility pole as before. He
stated the switch will be located back from Wood St.as far as possible in an existing parking
area, noting it has to be visible from the utility pole. He stated that the switch is a box about 4 ft.
x 4 ft. on a 6 ft. x 8 ft. pad.
Mr. Larter, speaking as an abutter and not as a member of the Commission, recommended that it
be moved further back from Mechanic St. so traffic doesn’t have to go out and around it and onto
property across the street.
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The Commission discussed the proposed changes to the previous plan, and it was the consensus
that the disconnect switch should be located as far back from Mechanic St. as possible to avoid
traffic going onto the neighbor ’s property, and it should be concealed as much from Wood Street
as possible. Ms. Lazarus will convey this to the Planning Board.
274 Wood Street - Application for Certificate of Appropriateness
William and Karen Ford, 274 Wood Street, appeared before the Commission. They described the
after-the-fact application for new windows and siding,stating they thought the windows would
be ok since they match others previously approved.They described the proposed Hardie board
siding, which will be close in color to the existing color. It was noted that the old windows are in
poor condition, and the new 6 over 6 windows will be consistent throughout.
Craig Nation moved to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness to allow replacement of the
existing windows with new 6 over 6 windows and new Hardie board siding on the exterior of the
house. The motion was seconded by Nancy Peters and the vote in favor was unanimous.
221 Wood Street Update
The Commission reviewed the response received from the prior applicant in response to the
Chair’s letter. It was discussed that the Chair may want to send a letter thanking them for the
update and noting that any plan must be compatible with the Historic District, and the
Commission is willing to discuss proposed plans with them.
Nancy Peters stated she would like the temporary trailer removed from the property, and the
Building Department should follow up on that. She stated that the house is unsafe and this should
be looked into.
Minutes
The Commission reviewed the draft Minutes of the May 25, 2021 meeting. Nancy Peters moved
to approve the Minutes of the May 17, 2021 meeting,and the motion was seconded by Craig
Nation. The vote in favor was unanimous.
Craig Nation moved to adjourn the meeting, and the motion was seconded by Nancy Peters. The
vote in favor was unanimous
Adjourned: 8:08 PM
Approved: August 2, 2021
Documents used at the meeting:
●Application for Certificate of Appropriateness and supporting documents, 282 Wood Street
●Plan entitled “Bid Set, 4 Mechanic St.”, prepared by Borrego Solar, dated 5/21/2021
●Application for Certificate of Appropriateness and supporting documents, 274 Wood Street
●Draft Minutes of the 5/25/2021 meeting
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