Kennebunk_ME_2013-08-12 Town of Kennebunk, Maine
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Historic Preservation Commission
Minutes of August 12, 2013
MEMBERS PRESENT: Frances Smith (Chair) ; Maureen Weaver (Vice-Chair); Eliza Chappell;
Stephen Larrabee; Patrick Orr; and Terry Philbrick
MEMBERS ABSENT: Maureen Railer;
FROM THE TOWN : None
ALSO PRESENT: Josh Church; Agent, 37 Summer Street ( 13 -H- 16)
Holly Black; Abutter, 37 Summer Street ( 13-1146)
Katharine K. Hughes; Owner, 18 Summer Street ( 134H- 15)
Erik Van Der Kaay; Resident, 23 Summer Street
Reporter, Kennebunk Post Newspaper
1) Open Meeting
Chairperson Smith opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. by welcoming all present to this meeting of
the Historic Preservation Commission on Monday, August 12, 2013 , Frances Smith stated, for the
record, that this was a public proceeding and unless the Commission specifically voted to go into
executive session, anyone present had the right to hear everything that was being said and look at all
exhibits that were offered. She asked that the Commission be notified if anyone was unable to see or
hear.
Frances Smith also stated, for the record, that this Commission uses the "Kennebunk Historic
Preservation Overlay District Design Guidelines" in their decisions and also the Secretary of Interior' s
" Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating,
Restoring and Reconstructing Historic Buildings."
Frances Smith designated alternate Orr and Philbrick as voting members for this meeting.
2) Continued Applications
None
Town of Kennebunk Historic Preservation Commission
Meeting Minutes for August 12, 2013
3) NewApplications
• Application # 13-H- 14: Property located at 21 Summer Street and owned by V. Gary & Mary
Lowatchie. The owner is proposing to remove two trees and restore the driveway.
Smith asked the public in attendance if any representative for this application was present. No
spokesperson identified themselves as either the owner or the agent. Smith continued application
# 13-H- 14 and proceeded to the next submission.
Y Application # 13-H-15: Property located at 18 Summer Street and owned by Katharine K. Hughes.
The owner is proposing to replace roof gutters.
Smith asked the public in attendance if any representative for this application was present. No
spokesperson identified themselves as either the owner or the agent. Smith continued application
# 13 -11- 15 and proceeded to the next submission.
Application # 13-H46: Property located at 37 Summer Street and owned by Eliza L. Chappell .
The owner is proposing to install walkway, turnaround, trees, and plantings.
Smith asked the public in attendance if any representative for this application was present. Chappell
identified herself as the owner and introduced Church as her agent. Together, they presented the
project as follows:
The current drip edge around the house is non functional tar pavement.
Smith asked if the drip edge pools water toward the house.
Church replied that the tar pavement drip edge serves no purpose because the roof drains to
another location. He proposed installing a proper drip edge (%" stone over a drain pipe) around
the house in locations where rain water is presently eroding the soil.
The walkway to the front porch is proposed in order to facilitate mail delivery.
The turnaround is proposed to allow proper driveway exit onto the street.
The plantings variety will be chosen from historic species.
Blue stone will be used for the paved area.
Smith asked if the blue stone was crushed or another configuration.
Church replied that the paved area would be regular, square cut blue stone.
Smith asked where plowed snow will be located.
Church replied that snow will be pushed to the left of the barn.
Smith recommended a wooden walkway be place on the blue stone in the winter to avoid
slippery ice conditions.
Smith asked that the plantings be identified.
Chappell identified the following plantings:
o Dogwood trees
o Boxwood hedge
o White hydrangea
i
Smith asked if anyone had any questions.
Black identified herself as an abutter and stated that she was concerned about the direction of the water
drainage because her property is lower than the applicant' s property.
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Frederic Trexler, Recording Secretary Page 2 of 7
Town of Kennebunk Historic Preservation Commission
Meeting Minutes for August 12, 2013
Church replied that in order to prevent drainage onto adjacent property, the runoff will all be directed
under the barn ramp and to the bottom of the hill.
Black asked what ground cover material is planned for the area between the cedar trees and the
driveway.
Church responded that the grade will be raised and covered with gravel.
Black said that she was also concerned about vehicle headlights shining into tier window at night.
Church assured the board that the parking arrangement and turnaround has been configured to prevent
vehicle lights from shining into adjacent building windows.
Black asked if any vegetation removal between the two properties was planned.
Church responded in the negative.
Smith asked if there were any more questions. There were none.
A motion was made to accept Application 13-1146 as presented.
MOVED : Orr
SECONDED: Weaver
DISCUSSION: None
EXCEPTIONS: None
VOTE: All in favor, the motion carried.
Smith continued to previous application # 13 -11- 15 noting that the owner was now present. Hughes
presented the project as follows:
The current wooden gutters require constant maintenance.
During heavy rain, water from the gutters floods the porch.
Internet research revealed that "Old World Gutters", a prominent distributer of high end, copper
and wood gutters has replaced their line of wooden gutters with fiberglass products due to the
poor durability of new growth wood. Further research revealed that high end producers were
also discontinuing their wooden gutter products.
Various solutions included:
o Remove the gutters and install shingles over the edge
o Remove the gutters and install perimeter drains
o Remove the gutters and install an aluminum product
o Replace the wooden gutters with fiberglass
After receiving samples, a product manufactured by "Fiberglass Gutter Company" was chosen
due to its quality, profile, sheen, and texture.
Hughes presented the sample and illustrations of the chosen gutter being held in place next to the
existing gutter to demonstrate the similarity.
Smith asked if the product was paintable.
Hughes responded in the positive and continued by describing the manufacturing process.
Orr asked how the separate pieces were joined .
Hughes said she didn't know.
Orr asked if the product had been used on other historic areas.
Hughes listed the known area of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Smith expressed concern over setting a precedence of using fiberglass material .
Philbrick asked if different styles were available.
Frederic Trexler, Recording Secretary Page 3 of 7
Town of Kennebunk Historic Preservation Commission
Meeting Minutes for August 12, 2013
Hughes acknowledged that this company produces four (4) different profiles.
Weaver agreed with Smith regarding setting a precedence; however, she qualified the statement by
acknowledging that entry door, garage doors, siding and gutter are all different in visual impact and each
require its own consideration.
Chappell, citing the board 's previous approval of a fiberglass garage door based on its similar
appearance to the original, commented that if a property owner researches a product to find a visually
identical match, instead of using a generic product, it should be acceptable regardless of the material
type.
Smith asked the board if it felt this application could be approved in this one instance.
Chappell said applications should be reviewed on a case by case basis depending on what they are
presenting, For example, if an applicant requests to install generic products without taking into
consideration the historic aspect of the property, the application should be denied; however, if the
applicant makes the effort to research and match the product to the historical era of the original
construction then it should be approved.
Philbrick pointed out that that not only does the new fiberglass gutters visually match the original
designs; they are much more efficient in handling rain water volume.
Smith asked if the fiberglass material was lighter than wood .
Hughes responded in the positive.
Smith asked for the downspout capacity.
Hughes replied that it will be slightly larger.
Smith asked if the number of downspouts needed to be increased .
Hughes responded in the negative.
Smith asked if there were any more questions. There were none.
Smith asked for a motion.
A motion was made to accept Application 13-H45 as presented.
MOVED: Philbrick
SECONDED: Orr
DISCUSSION: None
EXCEPTIONS: None
VOTE: All in favor, the motion carried.
In order for home owners to have a source they can reference when researching materials, Chappell
suggested that a file be created containing a list and data sheets of previously approved products that
have unique design or material .
Smith agreed and assigned the task to the recording secretary.
Smith continued to previous application # 13-H- 14. Noting that a representative was still not present,
Smith continued the application until the next meeting.
4) Amended Applications
None
Frederic Trexler, Recording Secretary Page 4 of 7
Town of Kennebunk Historic Preservation Commission
Meeting Minutes for August 12, 2013
5) Minutes
Minutes of June 24, 2013:
The minutes of June 24U' were reviewed . Smith asked for a motion to accept the minutes.
A motion was made to accept the minutes of June 24, 2013 as written.
MOVED: Philbrick
SECONDED: Larrabee
DISCUSSION: None
MODS: None
VOTE: All in favor, the motion carried.
The minutes of June 24°i require the following signatures: Raiter.
• Minutes of June 10, 2013:
The minutes of June I & were signed by : Chappell.
• Minutes of May 13, 2013:
The minutes of May 13O' were signed by: Weaver.
6) New/Old Business
• New Business •
1 . Election of Officers.
Smith asked the Board if anyone had a slate of Officers they would like to nominate.
A nomination was made for Frances Smith to serve as Chairperson.
MOVED: Chappell
SECONDED: Orr
DISCUSSION: None
VOTE: All in favor, the motion carried.
A nomination was made for Maureen Weaver to serve as Vice-Chairperson.
MOVED: Philbrick
SECONDED: Weaver
DISCUSSION: None
VOTE: All in favor, the motive► carried l
Frederic Trexler, Recording Secretary Page 5 of 7
Town of Kennebunk Historic Preservation Commission
Meeting Minutes for August 12, 2013
2. Reappointment of Historic Preservation Commission members.
Smith announced the following reappointments of Historic Preservation Commission members:
• Maureen Weaver - reappointed as a Regular Member, 3 year term
• Terry Philbrick - reappointed as an Alternate Member, 1 year term
• Patrick Orr - reappointed as an Alternate Member, 1 year term
3. Code Enforcement Officer request for HPC statement regarding maintenance repairs.
Smith asked for an explanation of this request.
Trexler (Recording Secretary) explained that the CEO has requested a formal HPC statement
that he can use to explain the HPC review process to potential applicants regarding "repairs-in-
kind" . The statement should read, "Repairs4n-kind do not require an application, Certificate of
Appropriateness, or UPC approval", and the statement should appear on the formal application
form.
Weaver suggested a statement more specific than the CEO' s request.
A discussion developed regarding specific item to include in the statement. The items addressed
included the following:
Exact color match;
Exact replica match;
• Roof shingle style and color;
Repairs in kind that do not change material, color, and style;
• Plantings must follow the guideline of the UPC;
Structural repairs in kind that do not change material, color, or style; and
• Driveways are considered as repairs in kind.
The Commissioners agreed to modify the Certificate of Appropriateness application by placing
the statement "Please Note: Structural repairs in bind that do NOT change material, color, or
style, do not require Historic Preservation Commission approval". They further agreed to
position the statement under the document title and review a sample at the next meeting.
• Old Business :
1 . Mtg 8/27/12 — New owner welcome letter.
Subject: Consider creating a "new owner welcome letter ", determine how to identify new
owners in a timely manner, and decide how the letter should be delivered.
This issue was referred to the next meeting.
2. Mta 3/11/13 — Town Committees Consolidation ,
Subject: Discuss results of Board ofSelectnnen 's meeting of Tuesday, danuaty 15, 2013 per the
agenda. Ref FS entail of]/]6113.
This issue was referred to the next meeting.
Frederic Trexler, Recording Secretary Page 6 of 7
Town of Kennebunk Historic Preservation Commission
Meeting Minutes for August 12, 2013
3. Mtg 3/25/13 — Historic District Expansion.
Subject: Discuss possible ways to expand the Historic District to include all of Main Street and
portions of Fletcher, Starer, Pleasant, Dane, and Park Streets.
This issue was referred to the next meeting.
7) Adjournment
Smith asked for a motion to adjourn.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 8: 17 p.m.
MOVED * Chappell
SECONDED : Weaver
DISCUSSION: None
VOTE: All in favor, the motion carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 26th, 2013, at 7030 PM, Room 306
Date signed: — y�
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Maureen Weav
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Terry Phil rick
Frances Smith
Frederic Trexler, Recording Secretary Page 7 of 7