Minutes Historic District Commission Meeting
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Members in attendance: Gail Bruhn, Isabel Atwood, Anita Bacon, Dave
Spencer and Jason McGarry
Public Hearing:
The Public hearing regarding
the proposed change from wood to asphalt shingles on the roof of the home owned
by David and Nanci Westlake at
Comments were received from
the Westlake’s who indicated that the cost of re-shingling the roof in wood
shingles was prohibitive for them given their current economic condition, and
that it was their intention to have the roof reshingled
in ashphalt at one-fifth the cost. The need to proceed quickly was emphasized
given the status of the current hole in the roof and their desire to complete
interior renovations once the new roof was in place.
The
Jack Nardi,
a neighbor in the District spoke in favor of the change to asphalt shingles.
The Commission members
expressed their concern about changing from wood to asphalt shingles, but
recognized the expense and the hardship it presented for the Westlakes. They also
explained the durability of wood vs. asphalt (the current wood-shingled roof is
60 years old). The Westlakes
stated that they do not intend to own the house that long. The Commission requested that copies of the
estimates for the repair work be forwarded to G.Bruhn,
and D. Westlake agreed to do so.
Commission member, Dave
Spencer suggested that if asphalt shingles are to be used, that they be of
architectural style and similar in color to wooden shingles. Dave had a sample of such shingles in his
truck, which he retrieved and showed to the Westlakes
and the Commission members. Gail Bruhn
requested to see the asphalt shingles the Westlakes
would use in order to assess the likeness of these shingles to those D.Spencer showed and to get
an idea of the color that would be used.
The Public Hearing was
closed and the Commission agreed to continue further discussions among
themselves and other parties before coming to a decision.
Regular Meeting:
Mrs. Luba
Roskow presented a proposal for installation of an
electrical generator to be installed on the side of the dentist’s office at 981
Storrs Road, Mansfield, Spring Hill Historic District, Dr. Rostayslav
Stepanenko, owner .
Photos were presented and the Commission discussed the possibility of
moving the placement of the unit to behind the house. If this was done, then a public hearing would
not be required. Ms. Roskow
agreed to consult her electrician to see if placement behind the house met all
appropriate codes and to get back to the Commission with the result of that
determination. If placement behind the
house is not possible, then a public hearing will be called and the placement
of bushes in front of the generator will be discussed.
The Committee also discussed
with Ms. Roskow the fact that numerous complaints
have been received regarding the sign that was installed in front of the
building. Discrepancies between the sign
that was approved by the Commission and the actual sign were discussed. D. Spenser recommended that the posts be
changed, and Ms. Roskow agreed to look into this and
get back to the Commission.
The fact that the entire
house was resided with a material different from the original was also
discussed. Ms. Roskow
stated that it was the owner’s intention to improve the overall appearance of
the building, and at the time this was done, the building permitting process
did not require that a Certificate of Appropriateness be obtained. She understands that future changes will
require that she come before the Commission.
The meeting was adjourned at
9:32 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jason McGarry
Gail Bruhn