HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
NOVEMBER 6, 2019
Chairperson Alexa Silver called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. along with Commission members Owen Bailey, Charles Barton (arrived at 5:27 p.m.), Jeffrey Coomer, Ed Minch, Alice Ritchie and Kurt Smith, Kees de Mooy (Zoning Administrator) and guests.
Ms. Silver stated that the Chestertown Historic District Commission takes its authority from Chapter 93 of the Code of the Town of Chestertown and operates under the Historic District Design Guidelines that were adopted by the Mayor and Council of Chestertown on October 7, 2002 and revised March 7, 2012.
Ms. Silver welcomed Kurt Smith to the Commission.
Ms. Silver asked if there were any additions or corrections the minutes of the Historic District Commission meeting of October 2, 2019. Mr. Coomer moved to approve the October 2, 2019 minutes as amended, was seconded by Ms. Ritchie and carried unanimously.
The Consent Calendar consisted of the following items:
- BP2019-71 – Gilbert, 222 S. Front Street – Demolition/Grade and Seed;
- BP2019-144 – Van Name, 108 Spring Street – Hardscape and Landscape;
- BP2019-149 – Emmanuel Church, 101 N. Cross Street – Bat Eradication and Railing.
Mr. Coomer moved to approve the following applications as submitted as they are in keeping with the Historic District Commission Guidelines:
- BP2019-71 – Gilbert, 222 S. Front Street – Demolition/Grade and Seed;
- BP2019-144 – Van Name, 108 Spring Street – Hardscape and Landscape;
- BP2019-149 – Emmanuel Church, 101 N. Cross Street – Bat Eradication and Railing
The motion was seconded by Ms. Ritchie and carried unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was BP2018-06 from Melvin Porter at 225 Calvert Street for submission of materials for new construction. Mr. David of Eason of D&D Contracting was present for the application. Mr. Eason stated that all exterior building materials are presented today and are consistent with new construction in the Historic District. Mr. Eason stated that the building design was approved at an earlier meeting.
Mr. Coomer asked if the front railings were going to be fiberglass material. Mr. Eason stated that they are proposed as fiberglass and a bonding primer and paint would be applied after construction giving the appearance of a wooden railing. He said that the porch would also have full fiberglass posts and they were not using brick pillars as was shown in the original rendering of the house design. He said that the owners would like to have brick veneer on the façade of the porch with 8’ fiberglass columns and rails from post to post.
Mr. Coomer moved to approve the material submission list for BP2018-06 for new construction at 225 Calvert Street as presented, was seconded by Mr. Bailey and carried unanimously.
Ms. Silver stated that BP2019-51 from the Holdens at 209 N. Mill Street for railings was an update from the Zoning Administrator as requested at the last Historic District Commission meeting. Mr. de Mooy stated that the vinyl railings were removed, and the applicant will return with an application in the future.
The next item on the agenda was BP2019-140 from the Kent County Historical Society at 301 High Street for window replacement. Mr. Eric Guldbrandsen was present on behalf of the Historical Society. He said that the large plate glass windows would be removed and replaced with UV insulated divided windows as outlined in the application. He said that the windows proposed are the same that were approved at the Finishing Touch and Bad Alfred’s on High Street. Mr. Guldbrandsen stated that they may apply for additional façade improvements later, but today was just for the windows. Mr. Coomer moved to approve BP2019-140 for window replacement be approved as submitted for the Kent County Historical Society, was seconded by Ms. Ritchie and carried unanimously.
The next item on the application from BP2019-145 from Kent Attainable Housing at 204 N. College Avenue for new construction. Mr. Minch recused himself from the application due to a conflict of interest. Mr. Coomer stated that he was invited to serve on the committee that reviewed the qualifications of the applicants for housing, but he did not feel as though he had to recuse himself from this application as he had no personal interest in the project.
Mr. Bob Ingersoll presented the application for Kent Attainable Housing. Ms. Silver stated that the Historic District Commission reviewed a concept design for the proposed new construction and two (2) options were presented, showing the same house design facing different ways on the corner lot. Mr. Ingersoll stated that this was a modular house that will be brought in in sections by trailer and assembled on the corner lot facing College Avenue.
Mr. Coomer asked if the house was going to be fully constructed off-site. Mr. Ingersoll stated that parts will be constructed off-site and it will be put together on College Avenue. The house would be 1,160 sq.ft. Ms. Ritchie stated that she thought facing the house on College Avenue was the right decision. Mr. Coomer agreed.
Ms. Ritchie moved to approve BP2019-145 for new construction by Kent Attainable Housing at 204 N. College Avenue as it was in keeping with the Historic District Guidelines for new construction, was seconded by Mr. Bailey and carried with five (5) in favor, Mr. Minch recused.
The next item on the agenda was BP2019-146 from Kellstrom/Horsey at 212 W. Campus Avenue for window replacement. Mr. Gary Horsey was present for the application. He said that all windows fronting Campus Avenue and on the sides of the house would be replaced with Andersen 400 Series 6-over-6 vinyl-clad windows and a bay window in the front. Ms. Ritchie stated that this house was built in 1951. Mr. Bailey moved to approve BP2019-146 for window replacement at 212 W. Campus Avenue with Andersen 400 Series 6-over-6 vinyl clad windows, as this structure was built in 1951 and was in keeping with the Historic District Design Guidelines, was seconded by Mr. Minch and carried unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was BP2019-147 from Steve McWilliams at 114 N. Queen Street for a rear addition. Ms. Ritchie recused herself from the application as the house was directly adjacent to her residence.
Mr. McWilliams stated that this was a simple 15’ x 24’8” rear addition that will not be visible from the street. The materials proposed are wood clapboard siding, standing seam metal roofing, wooden shutters, and wooden casement windows and doors. The existing rear porch which will be removed and extended by approximately 9’ to accommodate the addition. All other work on the front porch and to the shutters is repair in kind.
Mr. Coomer moved to approve BP2019-147 for a rear addition at 114 N. Queen Street be approved as submitted as it was in keeping with the Historic District Guidelines, was seconded by Mr. Minch and carried with five (5) in favor, Ms. Ritchie recused.
The next item on the agenda was BP2019-148 from Thomas and Dawn Reilly at 216 Mount Vernon Ave for siding. Mr. John Hutchison, architect, was present for the application. He said that the existing siding was in terrible condition and that he submitted pictures for the record. Mr. Hutchison stated that the replacing it with true cedar siding was cost prohibitive and the adjacent house at 218 Mount Vernon was permitted to use cementitious siding in 2009. Mr. Hutchison stated that his clients are suggesting the same type of cementitious siding on the sides of the house and keeping the original shingles on the front of the house, but if they could not color match the existing siding on the front of the house they would purchase wood shingles to color match the cementitious siding for the front facade. Mr. Minch stated that he thought the shadow line thickness should match. Mr. Hutchison agreed.
Ms. Ritchie stated that she would be in favor of this since one of the Commission members has gone to the site and testified that he cannot distinguish the difference between the wood and cementitious siding on the neighboring house. Mr. Minch added that the application has agreed to keep the original siding on the front of the house. Ms. Silver stated that the arrangement of keeping the original siding on the front façade and using cementitious siding on the sides has been approved in other instances throughout the Historic District.
Mr. Coomer moved to approve BP2019-148 for siding at 216 Mount Vernon Avenue be approved as submitted as it was in keeping with the Historic District Design Guidelines, was seconded by Mr. Minch and carried unanimously.
The last item on the agenda was from KRM for a concept plan for the houses at Maiden Lot Farm (along the 400 block of Cannon Street). Chris Holmes of KRM Construction and John Hutchison, architect, were present to discuss the plan. Mr. Holmes stated that the idea for this development was to build custom homes and propose the way they envision the development heading. Mr. Holmes stated that the corner lot (lot 1) was designed to mirror the construction that was approved for 416 Cannon Street (lot 5), with the only differences being a modified porch and a front door. He said that lot 1 was a smaller house and he showed conceptual renderings which are part of the file. Mr. Holmes stated that the setbacks are different on lots 2, 3 and 4 and smaller size houses were planned for them in a Craftsman style.
Ms. Ritchie asked if KRM was only selling the lots. Mr. Holmes stated that KRM was selling the lots and building the houses and would try to guide the purchaser in the exterior design. He said that the houses were custom within strict guidelines. He said that his experience in trying to market was that it was better to try to guide someone that have someone come forth with a plan that would not fit in the development.
Ms. Silver asked how they came up with the design for the streetscape. Mr. Hutchison stated that Cannon Street had Craftsman style homes on the 500 and 600 block of Cannon Street. He said that Chestertown’s streetscapes are design is different in that homes vary in design along all the blocks, with houses from multiple centuries.
Ms. Silver stated that she liked that the front of each house had some variations. Mr. Barton stated that he thought the trees brought down the massing and he appreciated those details on the plans.
Mr. Coomer stated that Lot 2 showed a long unbroken roofline before the garage and he thought that could be reworked. He said that there was a dormer on the other craftsman style house, and he thought that worked much better. Mr. Coomer stated that he also appreciated the widths and lots of the houses and allowing trees to be planted fronting Cannon Street because there were not enough trees in this section of Town.
Mr. Hutchison stated that Lot 2 was the most constricting of the lots and the house adjacent to the Terpeluk house has a driveway allowing breathing room between the houses. He said that it made sense to use the dormers there because they weren’t looking right at another house, whereas lot 2 is sandwiched between two houses with little breathing room so he added skylights instead of dormers for lighting.
Mr. Hutchison stated that there were garages in the backs of each of the proposed houses. Each house had a first-floor master suite.
Mr. Coomer asked how many feet are in between the houses. Mr. Hutchison stated that there was approximately 19’ roughly between each house. The housing sizes ranged from 2,100 to 2,500 sq.ft.
The Commission thanked the applicants for coming in and giving a preview of things to come. Mr. Holmes stated that the concept may help a buyer realize what they want in a house.
Mr. Minch stated that he was looking forward to a discussion from Mr. Ingersoll on solar arrays.
There being no further business, Mr. Coomer moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:00 p.m., was seconded by Ms. Ritchie and carried unanimously.
Submitted by: Approved by:
Jennifer Mulligan Alexa Silver
Town Clerk Chair