Link back to Historic Districts Commission
Thursday November 13, 2008
Hingham Town Hall
7:00 P.M.
Present: Ben Wilcox, Nancy MacKay, Chuck Clutz, Susan Berry, Elaine Marcell, Winston Hall, Arthur Choo
Absent: Scott Ford, John McCoy, Bill Tuite
In the absence of Chairman Scott Ford, Ben Wilcox served as Acting Chairman and voting member, and called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.
The October 16, 2008 meeting minutes were approved as written.
40 North Street
Charlie Reiter,VP of Operations for William Raveis brought in two material samples for the awnings proposed to be installed on the Station Street side of the building. Acting Chairman Wilcox stated that there are 2 more items to discuss, i.e., the shape of the awning and the color. Chuck Clutz pointed out that trying to match the awning color to the building is difficult because dissimilar materials are not only hard to match, they fade at different rates. In further discussion of the façade, members remarked on the lack of a transom above the door, the missing half rounds that were previously over the doors and that their presence broke up the monotony of the Station Street side of the building. Elaine Marcell said that the awnings as shown in the mock-up interfere with the symmetry of the building. Arthur Choo agreed that the spacing looks awkward. Suky Berry suggested using one continuous awning. Ben Wilcox said that the awning looks more like a canopy than a window awning. Arthur agreed and asked if Raveis would be opposed to extending the awning out further away from the building. Ben and Chuck agreed that the structure needs to project out further to make it look like a proper awning. Elaine suggested removing the white piping bordering the material. Suky added that it would get dirty over time. She added that her preference is the darker of the two blue materials. Navy is a more traditional color. The Station Street lights were the next topic of discussion. Mr. Reiter objected to the Commission’s requirement of a remote ballast due to cost. Chuck reminded Mr. Reiter that the concern the commission expressed was not seeing the junction boxes. Ben added that the Commission was presented with two lighting options, and it chose the remote ballast. Ben and Chuck advised Mr. Reiter on other invisible and less costly options to options to the remote ballast. Mr. Reiter indicated that he has not yet found acceptable lighting
for the North Street sign. Again, Commission members provided several suggestions. He asked to continue the question of the North Street lighting to the next hearing.
Decision
Members voted unanimously to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness to 40 North Street to install awnings as proposed with the following changes:
1. The center awning will be of one piece.
2. The awning color will be navy blue with no piping and no graphics.
3. The projection of the awning off of the building is to be a minimum of 24” up to 36” as opposed to the 18” projection shown on the plan.
4. There will be no change in the Station Street lighting from what was set forth in the previous certificate.
17 Pleasant Street
Ben Burnham, representing the owner, reviewed three possible window configurations to replace the existing kitchen windows on the driveway side of the house. Mr. Burnham produced these options as a result of ideas discussed during a visit to the site on 11/08/08. Commission members were in agreement as to the preferred options.
Decision
The Commission voted unanimously to issue a Certificate of Appropriateness to 17 Pleasant Street to change the windows on the driveway side of the house using either option 2 or 3 as shown on the drawing submitted. The windows will be Brosco, wood, single pane true divided lights?????? in a 6/6 configuration.
648 Main
Architect Jonathan Aprea described the proposed project. The plans call for demolishing the garage, the driveway side porch and the back wall of the existing house. Ben Wilcox asked for the square footage of the new addition vs. the existing house. Mr. Aprea said he wasn’t sure. Ben said that the first concern he has is the size of the new vs. the old.
JA – Well we decided to go out the back rather than to the side (Main St. façade).
Arthur – How far from the street is the new garage?
JA – The new garage is 15 ft. from the side and no closer to the front than the current garage. The old is 20 ft. X 20 ft. The new is 23 ft. X 25 ft.
Chuck – The windows shown on drawing A4 are contemporary.
Ben/Suky – The number of windows is overwhelming.
JA – It’s a southern exposure and we wanted to take advantage of the light. This house is situated far back from the street and most of the addition will not be visible.
Winston – This house used to be the post office in south Hingham. You can add on to it carefully without destroying the character.
Nancy – I would like to see the entrance on the South side look simpler.
Chuck – For me there is just too much fenestration, and too many different types of windows.
JA – That was done on purpose to get light into the mudroom.
Ben – Looking at the dormers…..Just because the house has a hip roof doesn’t mean hip dormers are appropriate.
Arthur – Does the trim match?
JA – Only on the second floor. The rest is subordinate.
Ben – There are several issues: the square footage, the massing, the busyness of the south elevation. We haven’t discussed the walkway or the garage. For the next meeting we will need:
1. site plan showing new construction
2. square footage of the new and existing
3. demolition plans for the garage
4. dimensions shown on the elevations
5. lines showing the break between the old and the new
6. dimensions of the entryways
7. window schedule
8. cut sheets for light fixtures
9. photographs from the side, and all aspects
Ben – The quoins on the new garage should be removed. We are getting way too far from colonial architecture.
Arthur – The dormers really stand out on this design.
Nancy – The breezeway shown on A5…are there two separate roof lines?
The Commission discussed the columns on the walkway briefly and indicated that they may not be appropriate. The hearing was continued to December 11, 2008.
6 Station Street
Bonnie Hobbs showed revised plans for the Biergarten. Ben commented that the bulk is reduced, and asked if there were any objections to the massing? The consensus was that it was fine. Bonnie reviewed some additional changes and details. All agreed that the design was going in the right direction. Chuck expressed some concerns about the roof line and asked Bonnie to draw a cross section through the building from the aspect of the lower parking lot to show where the visual line of the roof will be. Bonnie commented that they are planning to install solar panels and the pitch of the roof would have to change to accommodate them. The hearing was continued to December. Bonnie said that they would come with interim drawings, more details and some materials if possible.
The next HDC meeting is on Thursday December 11, 2008 at 7:00 P.M.
Acting Chairman Ben Wilcox adjourned the meeting at 10:00 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrea Young
Administrator