Local Historic District Commission Meeting Report, 8/17/20

The meeting was held via Zoom webcast and was recorded.

Participating: Commission members: Jennifer Taub (Chair), Maurianne Adams, Peggy Schwartz, Karin Winter, Bruce Coldham, Greta Wilcox, and Jim Lumley. Staff: Ben Breger and Nate Malloy

Public Hearing for 19 McLellan Street
The third continuation (6/29/20, 7/27/20) of a public hearing to alter a porch at 19 McClellan Street was tabled to the end of the meeting with the hope that the applicant might appear. Since the applicant had not appeared for the previous two scheduled hearings, staff gave a list of Commission questions to the applicant to which there has been no reply. To avoid the ambiguity of the applicant considering his Certificate of Appropriateness to be “deemed approved” if not acted on within the 60-day window, the Commission denied the application.

Application Fees
Currently there is no application fee for a Certificate of Appropriateness even though the Town uses department funds for the Legal Notice, which can cost $500 or more depending on the number of column inches, as well as postage for letters to abutters, etc. The Commission decided that a $50 fee toward compensating the Town is reasonable. However, they felt that some minor repairs or appurtenances should be excluded from the fee under certain conditions. If the change is not visible from the street, the bylaw already exempts the project from compliance. If visible from the street, exhaust vents, flue caps, exterior compressors or condensers, bathroom and dryer vents, and the like would be exempt from the application fee. The Commission fleshed out the language for this new regulation, for which there will be a public hearing at its next meeting, which is on August 31, 2020.