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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOKH 11 15 23 Draft Minutes Town of Barnstable Old King’s Highway Historic District Committee MINUTES Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 6:30pm To all persons deemed interested or affected b y the Town of Barnstable's Old King’s Highway Historic District Act under Section 9 of Chapter 470, Acts of 1973 as amended. You are hereby notified that a hearing was held by remote participation via Zoom Meetings on the following applications: Bett McCarthy, Chair Present George Jessop, AIA Present Ryan Coholan Present Lesley Wallace Present Wendy Shuck, Clerk Present Kaitlyn Maldonado, Senior Planner Present Erica Brown, Administrative Assistant Present Kristine Clark, Town Council Liaison Present A quorum being met, Chair Bett McCarthy called the hearing to order at 6:30 pm. The Chair explained the hearing and appeal process and invited the public to address the Committee and view the plans of interest when the application is called. ______________________________________________________________________________ Roll Call Chair Bett McCarthy called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm and took roll call. Attendance Roll Call: George Jessop Ryan Coholan Lesley Wallace Wendy Shuck Bett McCarthy CONTINUED APPLICATIONS Coholan, Ryan & Katie, 260 Church Street, Barnstable, Map 153, Parcel 007, Built 1978 Install 10.935 kw solar panels will not exceed roof panels but will add 6” to roof height. 27 panels total no ess. Ryan declared he will be acting in his own capacity and will not be acting in an official capacity concerning this application. Ryan presented that at the last meeting a delegate from the solar company presented a plan and that the take away from the meeting is that there are a couple of options to move forward. Ryan detailed these options and ultimately they decided to take the solar panels off the front of the house and put them on the side and back of the house and out of the view of the scenic road. It may impact the productivity of the system and may choose to revisit a dedicated array in the back of the house at a later time, but for now this option is what they’re looking to. Wendy- A great improvement, however, wishes she had the plan ahead of time so that she would’ve been able to drive by the property to take a look at it. George- Any past photographs to show the side elevation? Erica brought up the original application with the existing photo. George- Pointed out that there are trees screening that side of the roof. Are the trees between the home and the road? Ryan- No those tree are between my property and the adjacent property. George- Can you see that side roof if you are square with the house? Ryan- Given the way the property line is cut, probably not. The vegetation does buff out. Probably about a 15-20 ft natural buffer. George- Noted travelling from left to right it appears to be screened and from right to left you wouldn’t be looking at the side elevation. Given the location of the home it does not appear that side elevation would be visible from the road. Wendy- Wasn’t a lot of the front vegetation cleared out? Ryan- Beyond what is shown on the site plan, no. George- Asked is that side elevation visible from the road? Ryan- Unless someone is coming onto my property, no. Lesley- Thank you for putting in the effort to take the panels off the front of the home. The home is set back. There is a natural vegetation buffer on that side. Thinks it would be appropriate. Ryan- For the record, the house is 163 ft. off the road. Bett- Going West on Church Street, you would absolutely not be able to see the panels. You would need to be almost stationary travelling from the east to see it. Thinks it is a major improvement. Public Comment: Nancy Conroy- With this change tonight, is there any panels on the side roof the house or is it all in the back? Ryan- There are panels on the left side of the house. Nancy Conroy- Nancy Conroy read a letter into record regarding solar panels on Church Street. She noted that the scenic road of Church Street has changed significantly in the past five years. Asked if this new plan would be voted on tonight without the Committee reviewing the plan/ seeing the property with this new plan in mind. Appreciates the change and voiced concern on voting on the change tonight. Wendy- Asked that since this wasn’t part of the original submission, could the Committee vote on this? Erica- Yes, at the last meeting updated materials were requested and the item continued. The Committee could choose to vote on this tonight. Normally, plans are requested in advance of the meeting so that the Committee has sufficient time to review, but, unfortunately, in tonight’s case it was not doable. Ryan had only just received the plans and indicated he wanted to share them with the Committee as soon as possible. John T- Is it visible via the abutter’s? Ryan- If someone looked hard enough, I imagine an abutter would see it. The regulation is pretty clear about if it’s visible from the scenic road not to abutters. Kate- Point of order: This discussion is an opportunity for public comment ant not generally a question/ answer format. If the Committee finds that they have enough information tonight, they may close the public hearing and make a decision tonight otherwise they may decide to continue this item to a time, date, and location certain. Nancy Conroy- Asked the Committee to take another look at this and continue this item. Nancy Wilson- The abutter on the other side would see the panels. There is a light issue from this home already. This may add another level of frustration and it would be preferable if it is not visible by the abutters. Matthew Jones- There’s no direct trees on 260 that’s providing any buffer. The map that was displayed, but the driveway is more exposed than what is shown in the aerial photograph. No issue with the rear as no one would be seeing them. He asked the Committee to review this more before deciding. Bett- Considering the comments and the Committee not being able to drive by the property, it may be best to continue this item to the next meeting. Kate- Should the Committee choose to continue the Committee would continue this item to the Wednesday December 13, 2023 meeting at 6:30pm via Zoom. George- How does Ryan feel about this? Does he wish to continue this item? Ryan- Commented that he is torn. He would almost like the decision to be held and if denied then he may appeal it. The regulation does not get into abutters preferences, but only states whether it is visible from a scenic road. There have been visible panels on the sides of homes on scenic road passed. Ryan understands, but he could see this being drawn out for a long time. He is concerned if this is continued. A motion was made by Wendy Shuck to continue the Certificate of Appropriateness for Coholan, Ryan & Katie, 260 Church Street, Barnstable, Map 153, Parcel 007, Built 1978 to install 10.935 kw solar panels will not exceed roof panels but will add 6” to roof height. 27 panels total no ess to the Wednesday December 13, 2023 meeting at 6:30pm via Zoom. Seconded by Lesley Wallace Roll Call Vote George Jessop- nay Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Ryan re-entered the meeting in his official capacity at 7:02pm. APPLICATIONS Ventura, Richard & Catherine, 64 Commerce Road, Barnstable, Map 301, Parcel 051, Built 2014 Construct new garage addition with second floor above. Wendy Shuck moved to open the public hearing. Seconded by Lesley Wallace. Roll Call Vote George Jessop-aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Steve Cook was in attendance for this application. Steve presented a project that is a two car garage on the east side of the home on the corner of Commerce and First. The house was built in 2014 that Steve designed. All siding, roof, trim, and windows will match the existing. This is in the flood zone so flood venting will be added on the front and rear. There is a group of cedar trees along the street so a few trees will be mo ved for the new driveway. George- Steve, what do you need with the flood vents when you have the overhead? Steve- Well if the doors are down and no one is living there then the flood vents will work. George- If the overhead doors are flush with the slab it wouldn’t prevent the flood resistance. Wendy- Will there be exposed concrete? Steve- Yes. Wendy- Any landscaping in front of it? Steve- Yes, there will be some shrubbery. Wendy- Thinks it is appropriate and blends in well with the house. Ryan- Appropriate. Likes the way it was incorporated into the lot. Lesley- Appropriate. It will blend in nicely. Bett- With some landscaping it will soften the front. The design blends in well and all the materials are the same as the existing home is appropriate. Public Comment: None Wendy Shuck moved to close the public hearing. Seconded by Lesley Wallace. Roll Call Vote George Jessop-aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye A motion was made by Wendy Shuck to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness for Ventura, Richard & Catherine, 64 Commerce Road, Barnstable, Map 301, Parcel 051, Built 2014 to construct new garage addition with second floor above, as submitted, Seconded by Lesley Wallace. Roll Call Vote George Jessop- aye Ryan Coholan – aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Darras, Basil & Giannaros-Darras, Sophia, 39 Carlson Lane, West Barnstable, Map 133, Parcel 064, Built 1986 Install two small 5’ decorative fences at driveway entrance. Wendy Shuck moved to open the public hearing. Seconded by Lesley Wallace. Roll Call Vote George Jessop- aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Basil Darris, homeowner, was in attendance. Basil presented too small decorative fences at the beginning of the driveway. The fences would be approximately five feet in length each. This will be about the same size and style as another fence within the district as shown in the photo. The lamps will be Nantucket lamps to match the lamps on the house. The fences will be white azeck and pvc. Add cobblestones to the two sides around the columns. Plan to plant evergreen trees behind the fence. The width between the columns must be large enough to accommodate a fire truck. The design and color have been approved by the Bodfish Community Association Board. They need the lights at the entrance as the driveway takes a sharp right turn. Wendy- Clarified where the cobblestones will be going. On the side closest to the home? Basil- Correct. Wendy- The shrubbery would on the other side as well? Basil- Correct, closer to the home not to the street. George- Bear in mind the width of the columns the height of the lamps for the fire trucks and what their clearance requirements are. Ryan- Do you have a measurement of Area A? How far away will the fence be from the street. Basil- Approximately 12-15ft or possibly more. Could be as long as 20 ft. The entrance would be set back as much as possible. Ryan- And approximately a 10 ft opening? Basil- More than 10 ft. Ryan- George brings a good point with the clearance for a fire truck. It’s not the Committee’s purview but please keep in that in mind. Basil- Noted this is not a straight driveway but will be discussing with the fire department. Ryan- Any consideration to a material beyond azeck? Basil- Would prefer composite. George- Would require the azeck to be painted. There is a specific paint for azeck. Lesley- It is a nice looking fence and appropriate. Bett- A nice addition to this property and having this fence would be a good alert to the precarious driveway beyond it. Public Comment: Erica- Would like to acknowledge that there was an anonymous letter submitted. Asked if all the Committee members have reviewed the letter and the letter submitted by the Darras’s? Committee members acknowledged they had reviewed both letters. Wendy Shuck moved to close the public hearing. Seconded by Lesley Wallace. Roll Call Vote George Jessop- aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye A motion was made by Wendy Shuck to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness for Darras, Basil & Giannaros-Darras, Sophia, 39 Carlson Lane, West Barnstable, Map 133, Parcel 064, Built 1986 to install two small 5’ decorative fences at driveway entrance with two modifications: one to paint the fence with the appropriate azeck paint and ensure the width between the columns is sufficient to allow large trucks such as a firetruck through, otherwise as submitted, Seconded by Lesley Wallace. Roll Call Vote George Jessop- aye Ryan Coholan – aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Freitas, Anthony & Shari, 34 North Winds Lane, West Barnstable, Map 109, Parcel 090, Built 1992 Install roof top solar PV system rated @9.3kW 23 panels. Install 1 Tesla powerwall on exterior of home. Wendy Shuck moved to open the public hearing. Seconded by Lesley Wallace. Roll Call Vote George Jessop- aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Nathan Tissot, Tesla energy, was in attendance. Shari and Anthony Freitas, homeowners, were also in attendance. Nathan presented 23 solar panels with a Powerwall on the southern facing side of the home. George- Asked how many panels were going on the front of the home? Nathan- 6 panels on the front of the home with the remainder on the back. The Powerwall which is an energy storage system would be going on the side of the home. George- How big is the Powerwall? Nathan- Approximately 5ft tall and 2.5ft wide. Wendy- Asked for the front elevation of the house again. Nathan- Two panels above the first dormer and four on the garage roof plan. Wendy- Could those be on the back of the home? Nathan- There is shading issues that would limit the production. Lesley- Could the trees be cut back? Nathan- Would have to ask the homeowners. Northwinds Lane is located north of the West Barnstable airfield. George- What would be the production loss? Nathan- About 2kw. Given the nature of the location and neighborhood it is a pretty remote area. Wendy- Would like to continue to view it with the panels on the front in mind. Did not realize that it would be on the front. Lesley- Agreed. Bett- The roof is dark and this is a very remote street. The majority of them are in the rear. The ones on the garage are a perfect rectangle, if the other two above the dormer could come off and go on the back it would be preferable. Asked the Committee to keep in mind that this home is not on a scenic road, it is off the beaten path, and would not be hugely visible. Lesley- Are the homeowners amenable to moving the two panels to the back of the home. Anthony- The original plan was to have all of the panels on the back, but it was 10% less efficient in terms of the production. The trees were trimmed recently. There are a number of houses in the neighborhood that do have front facing visible panels from t he road. Ryan- Barring the fact that the panels on the front of the home aren’t contiguous, this would qualify for a solar panels exemption and wouldn’t need to be heard. If all the panels on the front were together this would qualify for an exemption. Wendy- Would think it appropriate to add the two panels to the back of the home. Ryan- Can relate to the Freitas’ in the aspect of the efficiency loss when the panels aren’t going where the need to. It would be up to the homeowners to lose that. Shari- There is a beautiful old Oak tree behind the garage that is providing that shade. They’re trying to have a system that is within their energy needs and as unobtrusive as possible without being wasteful. Would prefer not to take the tree down. Bett- Moving the two panels over the dormer, but keeping the four over the garage would be appropriate. Anthony- As homeowners, they would be amenable to moving those two panels. Public Comment: None Wendy Shuck moved to close the public hearing. Seconded by Ryan Coholan. Roll Call Vote George Jessop- aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye A motion was made by Wendy Shuck to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness for Freitas, Anthony & Shari, 34 North Winds Lane, West Barnstable, Map 109, Parcel 090, Built 1992 to install roof top solar PV system rated @9.3kW 23 panels. Install 1 Tesla powerwall on exterior of home with the modification to move the two panels on the left side to the rear of the home otherwise as submitted, Seconded by Ryan Coholan. Roll Call Vote George Jessop- aye Ryan Coholan – aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Lewis, John Robert Tr, 3217 Main Street, Barnstable, Map 299, Parcel 023, Built 1700 Remove existing door on north elevation of bump out, re-side with natural white cedar. Wendy Shuck moved to open the public hearing. Seconded by Lesley Wallace. Roll Call Vote George Jessop- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Ryan Coholan- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Mike Rockwell was in attendance. Mike referenced the bump out and how it already has several doors on it now. They would like to remove the door to try and clean it up a little bit. They’ve already gotten approval to re-side the building and would like to side this part at the same time with white cedar shingle. George- This addition is a common addition. Bett- Is this the entrance to the rear of the home? Mike- There are two other entrances. Wendy- Will this be replaced by a window or anything? Bett- No. George- There’s two other openings already. Lesley- Removing the door and re-shingling is more historic looking. Public Comment: None Wendy Shuck moved to close the public hearing. Seconded by Lesley Wallace. Roll Call Vote George Jessop- aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye A motion was made by Wendy Shuck to approve the Certificate of Appropriateness for Lewis, John Robert Tr, 3217 Main Street, Barnstable, Map 299, Parcel 023, Built 1700 to remove existing door on north elevation of dump out, re-side with natural white cedar, as submitted, Seconded by Ryan Coholan. Roll Call Vote George Jessop – aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye MINOR MODIFICATIONS None EXTENSIONS None OTHER • OKH Annual Election- Tuesday November 28, 2023 between 7:00PM -8:00 PM at the Barnstable West Barnstable Elementary School located at 2463 Main St, West Barnstable, MA 02668. Approval of Minutes October 25, 2023 Wendy- Two small edits. The first application in the motion, a word is missing “for”. Asked on the adjournment, Geroge’s name wasn’t there. Erica- Clarified George was there and would add that in. Wendy Shuck moved to approve the October 25, 2023 minutes with the two edits as discussed. Lesley Wallace seconded. Roll Call Vote George Jessop – aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Next Meeting Date: December 13, 2023; January 10, 2024 ADJOURNMENT- Wendy Shuck moved to adjourn meeting Wednesday November 15, 2023. Lesley Wallace seconded. George Jessop- aye Ryan Coholan- aye Lesley Wallace- aye Wendy Shuck- aye Bett McCarthy- aye Meeting adjourned at 7:30pm. Respectfully Submitted, Erica Brown, Administrative Assistant Planning & Development