A meeting of the Stowe Historic Preservation Commission (SHPC) was held on Wednesday, February 13, 2010 in the Akeley Memorial Building starting at approximately 5:15 pm.

Members Present: Sam Scofield (Chair), Chris Carey, Gordon Dixon, Tim Meehan, Sarah McLane, and Cindy McKechnie

Members Absent: Barbara Baraw

Staff Present: Richard Baker, Zoning Director

Project 4156: Owner: Roy & Patricia Schwartz, 344 Mountain Road, Installation of Awning

Roy Schwartz was present to discuss constructing an awning over the rear door. The awning will include signage to indicate the entrance to the store. The building is considered historic and is within the SHOD. The Commission found that awning had no visibility from Mountain Road and was in compliance with Section 10.12.

Mr. Meehan moved to recommend approval as submitted and to classify the project as a minor modification. The motion was approved 6-0.

Preliminary Discussion: Owner: 1250 Waterbury Road LLC, 1250 Waterbury Road, Partial or complete demolition of historic building

Robert Bauman was present to discuss the possibility of demolishing the building at 1250 Waterbury Road. The brick portion of the building is historic. Dr. Bauman said the inside of the building needed to be completely gutted and renovated. He said the HVAC system needed to be replaced. He presented photographs of the inside and outside of the building. He did not present any evidence of structural damage. The Commission discussed the criteria for demolition with Dr. Bauman and reviewed other cases where demolition was approved. The Commission members were in agreement that the original brick section had historic significance and that the building did not appear to be deteriorated to such a degree that rehabilitation and use of the building was not feasible based upon the information submitted.  The consensus of the Commission was that newer sections could be demolished, but the original brick section should be preserved based upon the demolition criteria in Section 10.8.

Dr. Bauman asked if he could return with additional information regarding the existing conditions based upon further investigations. He was told that the Commission was willing to review additional information and recommended that he do some minor demolition in order to better evaluate the existing conditions. Dr. Bauman asked if he could reconstruct the brick building section to match the existing historic building. He was told that this would normally only be allowed if the building was deteriorated to such a degree that rehabilitation and use of the building was not feasible. No official action was taken on this item.

Project 4157: Owner: Rolan LLC, 172 Thomas Lane, Installation of Monopole and Dish Antennas

Rich Baker said that he just received an application from Stowe Cablevision to install two dish antennas and a 60-foot monopole behind the Stowe Cablevision building. The application was scheduled to be discussed at the next meeting, but Mr. Baker wanted to get a preliminary review. The parcel, which is just inside the SHOD, includes modern industrial-style buildings. Fifty-foot trees are located between the proposed pole and antenna locations and Route 100. The Commission requested that a balloon be flown at 60 feet on the day of the next meeting in order to help evaluate the visual the  impact of the pole from other SHOD parcels and Route 100.

Mr. Baker will contact the applicant to have the balloon installed. No official action was taken on this application.

Discussion of continued design review on parcels where historic buildings are demolished

Members discussed the pros and cons of having jurisdiction over design review where historic buildings outside of the SHOD are approved for demolition. Currently, there is no design review once a historic building outside of the SHOD is demolished. It was also suggested that maybe the SHOD be expanded further south on Route 100. It was the consensus of the Commission to meet with the Planning Commission to further discuss this matter for a possible zoning amendment. The Chair will set up a time for the meeting.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 6:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Richard Baker, Zoning Director