WHC Minutes, January 5, 2009
Present
Member: Arlene Cloutier, Sharon Connors, Norma Judson, Jane Loos, Dora Millikin,
Alternate: none
Absent
Member: Jim Collins, Geraldine Millham,
Alternate: Anne (Pete) Baker, Bette DeVeuve, Tim Bryant, Chris Vezetinski
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chair Sharon Connors (SC) in the Town Hall basement. SC noted that there is a quorum, and enough potential votes to approve a Certificate. Others in attendance included:
Chip Gillespie 1634 Main Road, Westport
Joe Furtado 1813 Main Road, WPT
Ed Jackson 1806 Main Road, WPT
Jay McCarthy 1819 Main Road
John McDonough 1965 Main Road, WPT
William McKeon lawyer for 1813 Main Road, WPT
Lennard Roberts architect for 1998 Main Road, WPT
Nancy & Jonathan Paull 1384 Drift Road, Westport
Ron Flener 1798 Main Road, WPT
Len Potter 771 Drift Road, Westport
Ralph Souza Town Building Inspector
Garrett Stuck and Pamela Loravos 1998 Main Road, WPT
Brian Thomas 46 Hill Street, New Bedford
Richard & Dorothy Tongue 1660 Drift Road, Westport
Woody Underwood architect for 1813 Main Road, WPT
A. General Business.
1. Minutes of December 1, 2008. SC noted that several small corrections were made and circulated electronically today. Norma Judson (NKJ) moved and Dora Millikin (DM) seconded a motion to approve the draft minutes as revised. The vote in favor was unanimous.
2. Treasurer’s Report. Dora Millikin (DM) presented the January Treasurer’s report (Attachment 1). The expense budget balances are: WHC General Fund $801.04 and Town Farm $2816. Trust Fund balances are: WHC Trust $6,976.16, Town Farm Trust $12,582.70, and Wolf Pit School Trust $6,263.89. Hearing Income to date is $450. Jane Loos (JL) moved and Arlene Cloutier (AC) seconded a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report. The vote in favor was unanimous.
3. 2028 Main Road. At the December meeting, Geraldine Millham (GM) was asked to inquire of the owners when the approved work on the porch would be completed, and to report back to WHC. In GM’s absence this evening, SC explained that, as a direct abutter, she had seen the work on the porch. Her conclusion as an abutter is that the work on the railings and posts is complete to match the approved drawings. SC asked the monitors to confirm this, which would hopefully bring to a close this protracted struggle.
4. 165 Mouse Mill Road. SC introduced Mr. Brian Thomas, who is considering purchasing this property, which is on the Town’s Historic Inventory. Mr. Thomas inquired whether WHC considered it a preferably preferred property and what restrictions would be placed on the property if he wished to do interior remodeling and an addition to the main house. SC explained that properties on the Town’s Historic Inventory come under WHC purview only when a demolition is being contemplated. This is different from those properties in a Local Historic District. If WHC finds that the demolition would represent an important loss of architectural or historical assets, WHC can determine that the property is preferably preferred and invoke a delay in the demolition up to one year, in order to try to find other alternatives for the structure in question.
5. In this case, it was the consensus of the meeting that the property does not merit a preferably preferred status, and therefore WHC would not intervene. The meeting did note, and Mr. Thomas agreed, that the foundation of the barn is very fine and should be preserved. SC also advised Mr. Thomas that WHC would be glad to offer advice about ways an addition could be designed to be most successful in retaining the historic sense, noting that WHC guidelines call for additions to be designed so that they do not render the original house subservient to the addition, and that, in many cases, it is best to make a clear differentiation between the original and the new addition.
6. Mr. Thomas thanked WHC for its explanations and determination about the preferably preferred status.
7. Other Business.
(a) SC read to the meeting a December 24 letter from the office of the Board of Selectmen concerning prospective access to 2009 Community Development Grants and whether WHC has views about potential adverse impacts on Town historical, architectural or archeological assets. It was the sense of the meeting that, although the program seems admirable in principle, WHC could not express an opinion about potential impacts without knowing what was to be done on a specific property. It was agreed that SC should ask to see examples of past work funded by earlier programs, and from that, WHC could possibly develop some general principles to be followed by the program in future.
(b) SC confirmed that Jim Collins would chair the February 2, 2009 meeting, in her absence.
(c) SC informed that she will pass on a notice about potential State grants to Betty Slade, for her to investigate on behalf of WHC.
(d) SC informed that drawings for the porch addition to 1973 Main Road, amended to reflect the changes approved at the December 1, 2008 meeting, are available for signing. Members reviewed the plans, signed and dated them, and SC and JL signed off on the Certificate of Appropriateness. SC named JL and DM as monitors.
(e) Westport Persons of the Year. SC read into the record the announcement by the Standard Times of their choice for Westport Persons of the Year. They selected Betty Slade and David Cole, for their outstanding contributions to the preservation of Westport’s history and natural resources. (Attachment 2)
B. Continuation of December 1, 2008 Public Hearing for Certificate of Appropriateness for 2048 Main Road
1. Mr. Lenny Potter, engineer and contractor, presented revised proposals for the placement and topography of the septic system and repositioning the boat shed 12 feet closer to the river. Mr. Chip Gillespie apologized for not having available revised architectural drawings to show how the shed would be supported in its new location, but explained that the shed would be no higher off the ground than it currently is. The applicants confirmed that, if approved by WHC, these new plans would need to reviewed/approved by both the Board of Health and the Conservation Commission.
2. SC read to the meeting an email from David Cole, in which he supports the proposal to build a raised septic field for flood protection purposes, but reaffirms his view that a superior technology could be used for the drain field (Attachment 3).
3. NKJ moved that the proposed site plan with relocation of the shed and the redesigned shed be approved, and AC seconded the motion to bring it to a vote. The motion failed, with the following votes:
Votes For: 2 SC, NKJ
Votes Against: 3 AC, JL, DM
Abstain: 0
4. AC moved and NKJ Judson seconded a motion to approve the moving of the shed and to wait on a decision about the added deck until plans were presented showing the two alternatives --- with and without the proposed deck at the new location. The motion was approved, with the following votes:
Votes For: 3 AC, SC, NKJ
Votes Against: 2 JL, DM
Abstain: 0
5. The applicants agreed to bring the revised drawings to the WHC Special Meeting next week. SC announced that the ongoing public hearing for work at 2048 Main Road would be continued until 8:00pm on February 12, 2009. No Certificate of Appropriateness will be granted until the decision about the deck is determined (and a vote of at least 4 member in favor is achieved).
C. Continuation of December 1, 2008 Public Hearing for Certificate of Appropriateness for 1998 Main Road.
1. Lennard Roberts represented the owners Garret Stuck and Pamela Coravos. SC reminded that WHC had already approved on December 1, 2008 the proposed plans for the house (small sky lights in the roof of the main house and extending the back ell as a porch). Tonight’s meeting would address the proposal to move/expand the “sugar shack cottage,” and build a new garden shed. No decisions will be made tonight about the paint scheme, which awaits a specific proposal from the applicants.
2. The sense of the meeting was that the proposed redesign of the cottage is a significant improvement --- lowering the proposed profile of the remodeled structure essentially to what is there now and simplifying the new roof profile. Most of the discussion time related to the shed location.
3. SC read into the record a communication from Chris Vezetinski, abutter to the north (Attachment 4). SC then shared with the meeting the photographs that Ms. Vezetinksi had arranged to have taken from her property to show the visibility of the proposed shed. Mr. Roberts presented aerial photos of the site, as well as photographs of the proposed shed location from various public ways, to facilitate the discussion about the proposed location. Mr. Roberts also explained that the shed’s proposed length of 20 feet was required to store the owner’s 17-foot canoe. He also noted that the shed’s design had been revised to lower the height to about 10 feet high on the east and 9 feet high on the west, and to add windows to the north so that the northern abutter would not face a blank wall.
4. NKJ moved and AC seconded a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the plans as submitted for the cottage. The motion was approved unanimously with all five members voting.
5. AC moved and NKJ seconded a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the proposed location and plans as submitted for the garden shed. The motion was approved unanimously with all five members voting.
6. SC explained that WHC would now issue one consolidated Certificate of Appropriateness for the plans dated January 5, 2009 for the cottage and the shed, the November 10, 2008 plans for the main house which were approved at the December 1, 2008 meeting, and the list of materials submitted for the December 1, 2008 meeting. SC named AC and SC as monitors.
E. Public Hearing for Certificate of Appropriateness for 1813-1815 Main Road
1. SC read into the record a letter from the Town Building Inspector, Mr. Ralph Souza, to Mr. Steven Bogle, engineer for the applicant (Attachment 5), which rescheduled the cleanup and protection work mandated by the terms of the agreed Stipulation. SC read into the record a second letter from Mr. Souza, to Mr. Joe Furtado, dated December 17, 2008 (Attachment 6). This letter confirmed that the tarping of the building at that time was acceptable, but also noted several agreed steps that still needed to be accomplished -- protection of saved materials and putting the demolished roofing materials into the dumpster. SC asked Mr. Souza to provide any update on the current status. Mr. Souza confirmed that he had checked the site this afternoon, and found that the tarping has held up quite well, considering the snow storms, but is now leaking in some parts under a heavy snow load. He advised that this snow be removed and the tarps adjusted/repaired accordingly. He also noted that the steps to protect the saved materials and cleanup of roof materials have not yet been done. SC thanked Mr. Souza for his careful attention to this project.
2. Woody Underwood, architect, and William McKeon, lawyer, represented the owner, A. C. Furtado and her agent, Mr. Joe Furtado. Mr. Underwood explained that the current plans include revisions made in response to concerns expressed at the preliminary review – including moving the dormer in on the sides and up into the roof to ensure it looks like a dormer and not a full second story, increasing the pitch of the dormer roof and using combined header and plate above the dormer windows to gain more height, relocating the garage back into alignment with the corn crib, reducing the size and scale of the proposed garage to close to that of the existing, and formulating a design to appear like a one-car garage with a stepped back shed addition for the second bay (keeping the roof line in the same spirit as the existing garage.) In response to a question from the audience, Mr. Underwood confirmed that the chimneys would all be made from the same kind of bricks as existed before the demolition (molded, not cut).
3. AC confirmed that she had corrected the list of materials during the meeting to represent the current proposals. Essentially the buildings would all be shingled with natural (unpainted) cedar, roofs would be asphalt, trim would be white and doors a dark green/black, windows would be true divided light, six over sixes.
4. NKJ moved and AC seconded a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the main house as presented in drawings dated December 5, 2008, the garage as shown in plans dated December 6, 2008, the corn crib as shown in drawings dated November 10, 2008, and the list of materials dated January 5, 2009. The motion was approved unanimously, with all five members voting. SC reminded that the monitors are GM and JL.
5. JL moved and AC seconded a motion to approve the application for demolition of the existing garage. The motion was approved unanimously, with all five members voting.
6. Mr. Souza explained that the previously issued building permits for the main house and the corn crib had been put on hold by a Cease and Desist order issued on account of the illegal demolitions. He advised the applicant to provide the revised drawings as approved by WHC and complete structural drawings for his review, to clear the way to lift the Cease and Desist order. Mr. Souza noted that the applicant also would need to submit a separate application for a building permit for the new garage, based on drawings approved by WHC and complete structural drawings. He reminded that the request for the new garage should also include an explicit request to demolish the existing garage. Mr. Souza confirmed that issuing of building permits could be done only after all necessary approvals are given by all other relevant regulatory bodies (e.g., Board of Health and Conservation Commission).
7. In response to a question about when the approved work would commence, Mr. Furtado explained that the project still must pass through approval processes with the Board of Health for the new septic and the Conservation Commission for the relocated garage. Mr. Furtado confirmed his expectation that the septic would not involve a mounded system. SC advised that if a raised system were used, it would need to come to WHC for its approval as well, because it is considered a structure under MGL 40c and WHC guidelines.
8. An abutter from the south inquired about how work on the corncrib would proceed, given that it sits right on the property line. Of particular concern is the foundation work, Not only has the illegal demolition of the original foundation caused a collapse of soil from the southern abutter’s property, but the new foundation work appears to require access to, if not permanent encroachment on, the southern abutter’s property. Mr. Furtado explained that he hopes to work with the abutters and the Building Inspector to find solutions acceptable to all concerned.
9. Mr. McKeon inquired about how the pending litigation on this property brought by the Town would be handled, now that the proposed plans are approved. He was concerned that under the injunction and agreed stipulations negotiated by the Town Counsel, no other work may be done beyond protection. SC responded that she would consult with Town Counsel, noting that there is a report due to the Court on January 12, 2009.
Adjournment. The next meeting will be January 12, 2009. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.
Drafted by Jane Loos, approved February 2, 2009
Attachments:
1. December Treasurer’s Report
2. Standard Times Article on Westport Persons of the Year
3. David Cole December 22, 2008 email concerning 2048 Main
4. Chris Vezetinski January 5, 2009 email concerning 1998 Main
5. Building Inspector December 2, 2008 letter to Mr. Bogle
6. Building Inspector December 17, 2008 letter to Mr. Furtado
Member: Arlene Cloutier, Sharon Connors, Norma Judson, Jane Loos, Dora Millikin,
Alternate: none
Absent
Member: Jim Collins, Geraldine Millham,
Alternate: Anne (Pete) Baker, Bette DeVeuve, Tim Bryant, Chris Vezetinski
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chair Sharon Connors (SC) in the Town Hall basement. SC noted that there is a quorum, and enough potential votes to approve a Certificate. Others in attendance included:
Chip Gillespie 1634 Main Road, Westport
Joe Furtado 1813 Main Road, WPT
Ed Jackson 1806 Main Road, WPT
Jay McCarthy 1819 Main Road
John McDonough 1965 Main Road, WPT
William McKeon lawyer for 1813 Main Road, WPT
Lennard Roberts architect for 1998 Main Road, WPT
Nancy & Jonathan Paull 1384 Drift Road, Westport
Ron Flener 1798 Main Road, WPT
Len Potter 771 Drift Road, Westport
Ralph Souza Town Building Inspector
Garrett Stuck and Pamela Loravos 1998 Main Road, WPT
Brian Thomas 46 Hill Street, New Bedford
Richard & Dorothy Tongue 1660 Drift Road, Westport
Woody Underwood architect for 1813 Main Road, WPT
A. General Business.
1. Minutes of December 1, 2008. SC noted that several small corrections were made and circulated electronically today. Norma Judson (NKJ) moved and Dora Millikin (DM) seconded a motion to approve the draft minutes as revised. The vote in favor was unanimous.
2. Treasurer’s Report. Dora Millikin (DM) presented the January Treasurer’s report (Attachment 1). The expense budget balances are: WHC General Fund $801.04 and Town Farm $2816. Trust Fund balances are: WHC Trust $6,976.16, Town Farm Trust $12,582.70, and Wolf Pit School Trust $6,263.89. Hearing Income to date is $450. Jane Loos (JL) moved and Arlene Cloutier (AC) seconded a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report. The vote in favor was unanimous.
3. 2028 Main Road. At the December meeting, Geraldine Millham (GM) was asked to inquire of the owners when the approved work on the porch would be completed, and to report back to WHC. In GM’s absence this evening, SC explained that, as a direct abutter, she had seen the work on the porch. Her conclusion as an abutter is that the work on the railings and posts is complete to match the approved drawings. SC asked the monitors to confirm this, which would hopefully bring to a close this protracted struggle.
4. 165 Mouse Mill Road. SC introduced Mr. Brian Thomas, who is considering purchasing this property, which is on the Town’s Historic Inventory. Mr. Thomas inquired whether WHC considered it a preferably preferred property and what restrictions would be placed on the property if he wished to do interior remodeling and an addition to the main house. SC explained that properties on the Town’s Historic Inventory come under WHC purview only when a demolition is being contemplated. This is different from those properties in a Local Historic District. If WHC finds that the demolition would represent an important loss of architectural or historical assets, WHC can determine that the property is preferably preferred and invoke a delay in the demolition up to one year, in order to try to find other alternatives for the structure in question.
5. In this case, it was the consensus of the meeting that the property does not merit a preferably preferred status, and therefore WHC would not intervene. The meeting did note, and Mr. Thomas agreed, that the foundation of the barn is very fine and should be preserved. SC also advised Mr. Thomas that WHC would be glad to offer advice about ways an addition could be designed to be most successful in retaining the historic sense, noting that WHC guidelines call for additions to be designed so that they do not render the original house subservient to the addition, and that, in many cases, it is best to make a clear differentiation between the original and the new addition.
6. Mr. Thomas thanked WHC for its explanations and determination about the preferably preferred status.
7. Other Business.
(a) SC read to the meeting a December 24 letter from the office of the Board of Selectmen concerning prospective access to 2009 Community Development Grants and whether WHC has views about potential adverse impacts on Town historical, architectural or archeological assets. It was the sense of the meeting that, although the program seems admirable in principle, WHC could not express an opinion about potential impacts without knowing what was to be done on a specific property. It was agreed that SC should ask to see examples of past work funded by earlier programs, and from that, WHC could possibly develop some general principles to be followed by the program in future.
(b) SC confirmed that Jim Collins would chair the February 2, 2009 meeting, in her absence.
(c) SC informed that she will pass on a notice about potential State grants to Betty Slade, for her to investigate on behalf of WHC.
(d) SC informed that drawings for the porch addition to 1973 Main Road, amended to reflect the changes approved at the December 1, 2008 meeting, are available for signing. Members reviewed the plans, signed and dated them, and SC and JL signed off on the Certificate of Appropriateness. SC named JL and DM as monitors.
(e) Westport Persons of the Year. SC read into the record the announcement by the Standard Times of their choice for Westport Persons of the Year. They selected Betty Slade and David Cole, for their outstanding contributions to the preservation of Westport’s history and natural resources. (Attachment 2)
B. Continuation of December 1, 2008 Public Hearing for Certificate of Appropriateness for 2048 Main Road
1. Mr. Lenny Potter, engineer and contractor, presented revised proposals for the placement and topography of the septic system and repositioning the boat shed 12 feet closer to the river. Mr. Chip Gillespie apologized for not having available revised architectural drawings to show how the shed would be supported in its new location, but explained that the shed would be no higher off the ground than it currently is. The applicants confirmed that, if approved by WHC, these new plans would need to reviewed/approved by both the Board of Health and the Conservation Commission.
2. SC read to the meeting an email from David Cole, in which he supports the proposal to build a raised septic field for flood protection purposes, but reaffirms his view that a superior technology could be used for the drain field (Attachment 3).
3. NKJ moved that the proposed site plan with relocation of the shed and the redesigned shed be approved, and AC seconded the motion to bring it to a vote. The motion failed, with the following votes:
Votes For: 2 SC, NKJ
Votes Against: 3 AC, JL, DM
Abstain: 0
4. AC moved and NKJ Judson seconded a motion to approve the moving of the shed and to wait on a decision about the added deck until plans were presented showing the two alternatives --- with and without the proposed deck at the new location. The motion was approved, with the following votes:
Votes For: 3 AC, SC, NKJ
Votes Against: 2 JL, DM
Abstain: 0
5. The applicants agreed to bring the revised drawings to the WHC Special Meeting next week. SC announced that the ongoing public hearing for work at 2048 Main Road would be continued until 8:00pm on February 12, 2009. No Certificate of Appropriateness will be granted until the decision about the deck is determined (and a vote of at least 4 member in favor is achieved).
C. Continuation of December 1, 2008 Public Hearing for Certificate of Appropriateness for 1998 Main Road.
1. Lennard Roberts represented the owners Garret Stuck and Pamela Coravos. SC reminded that WHC had already approved on December 1, 2008 the proposed plans for the house (small sky lights in the roof of the main house and extending the back ell as a porch). Tonight’s meeting would address the proposal to move/expand the “sugar shack cottage,” and build a new garden shed. No decisions will be made tonight about the paint scheme, which awaits a specific proposal from the applicants.
2. The sense of the meeting was that the proposed redesign of the cottage is a significant improvement --- lowering the proposed profile of the remodeled structure essentially to what is there now and simplifying the new roof profile. Most of the discussion time related to the shed location.
3. SC read into the record a communication from Chris Vezetinski, abutter to the north (Attachment 4). SC then shared with the meeting the photographs that Ms. Vezetinksi had arranged to have taken from her property to show the visibility of the proposed shed. Mr. Roberts presented aerial photos of the site, as well as photographs of the proposed shed location from various public ways, to facilitate the discussion about the proposed location. Mr. Roberts also explained that the shed’s proposed length of 20 feet was required to store the owner’s 17-foot canoe. He also noted that the shed’s design had been revised to lower the height to about 10 feet high on the east and 9 feet high on the west, and to add windows to the north so that the northern abutter would not face a blank wall.
4. NKJ moved and AC seconded a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the plans as submitted for the cottage. The motion was approved unanimously with all five members voting.
5. AC moved and NKJ seconded a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the proposed location and plans as submitted for the garden shed. The motion was approved unanimously with all five members voting.
6. SC explained that WHC would now issue one consolidated Certificate of Appropriateness for the plans dated January 5, 2009 for the cottage and the shed, the November 10, 2008 plans for the main house which were approved at the December 1, 2008 meeting, and the list of materials submitted for the December 1, 2008 meeting. SC named AC and SC as monitors.
E. Public Hearing for Certificate of Appropriateness for 1813-1815 Main Road
1. SC read into the record a letter from the Town Building Inspector, Mr. Ralph Souza, to Mr. Steven Bogle, engineer for the applicant (Attachment 5), which rescheduled the cleanup and protection work mandated by the terms of the agreed Stipulation. SC read into the record a second letter from Mr. Souza, to Mr. Joe Furtado, dated December 17, 2008 (Attachment 6). This letter confirmed that the tarping of the building at that time was acceptable, but also noted several agreed steps that still needed to be accomplished -- protection of saved materials and putting the demolished roofing materials into the dumpster. SC asked Mr. Souza to provide any update on the current status. Mr. Souza confirmed that he had checked the site this afternoon, and found that the tarping has held up quite well, considering the snow storms, but is now leaking in some parts under a heavy snow load. He advised that this snow be removed and the tarps adjusted/repaired accordingly. He also noted that the steps to protect the saved materials and cleanup of roof materials have not yet been done. SC thanked Mr. Souza for his careful attention to this project.
2. Woody Underwood, architect, and William McKeon, lawyer, represented the owner, A. C. Furtado and her agent, Mr. Joe Furtado. Mr. Underwood explained that the current plans include revisions made in response to concerns expressed at the preliminary review – including moving the dormer in on the sides and up into the roof to ensure it looks like a dormer and not a full second story, increasing the pitch of the dormer roof and using combined header and plate above the dormer windows to gain more height, relocating the garage back into alignment with the corn crib, reducing the size and scale of the proposed garage to close to that of the existing, and formulating a design to appear like a one-car garage with a stepped back shed addition for the second bay (keeping the roof line in the same spirit as the existing garage.) In response to a question from the audience, Mr. Underwood confirmed that the chimneys would all be made from the same kind of bricks as existed before the demolition (molded, not cut).
3. AC confirmed that she had corrected the list of materials during the meeting to represent the current proposals. Essentially the buildings would all be shingled with natural (unpainted) cedar, roofs would be asphalt, trim would be white and doors a dark green/black, windows would be true divided light, six over sixes.
4. NKJ moved and AC seconded a motion to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the main house as presented in drawings dated December 5, 2008, the garage as shown in plans dated December 6, 2008, the corn crib as shown in drawings dated November 10, 2008, and the list of materials dated January 5, 2009. The motion was approved unanimously, with all five members voting. SC reminded that the monitors are GM and JL.
5. JL moved and AC seconded a motion to approve the application for demolition of the existing garage. The motion was approved unanimously, with all five members voting.
6. Mr. Souza explained that the previously issued building permits for the main house and the corn crib had been put on hold by a Cease and Desist order issued on account of the illegal demolitions. He advised the applicant to provide the revised drawings as approved by WHC and complete structural drawings for his review, to clear the way to lift the Cease and Desist order. Mr. Souza noted that the applicant also would need to submit a separate application for a building permit for the new garage, based on drawings approved by WHC and complete structural drawings. He reminded that the request for the new garage should also include an explicit request to demolish the existing garage. Mr. Souza confirmed that issuing of building permits could be done only after all necessary approvals are given by all other relevant regulatory bodies (e.g., Board of Health and Conservation Commission).
7. In response to a question about when the approved work would commence, Mr. Furtado explained that the project still must pass through approval processes with the Board of Health for the new septic and the Conservation Commission for the relocated garage. Mr. Furtado confirmed his expectation that the septic would not involve a mounded system. SC advised that if a raised system were used, it would need to come to WHC for its approval as well, because it is considered a structure under MGL 40c and WHC guidelines.
8. An abutter from the south inquired about how work on the corncrib would proceed, given that it sits right on the property line. Of particular concern is the foundation work, Not only has the illegal demolition of the original foundation caused a collapse of soil from the southern abutter’s property, but the new foundation work appears to require access to, if not permanent encroachment on, the southern abutter’s property. Mr. Furtado explained that he hopes to work with the abutters and the Building Inspector to find solutions acceptable to all concerned.
9. Mr. McKeon inquired about how the pending litigation on this property brought by the Town would be handled, now that the proposed plans are approved. He was concerned that under the injunction and agreed stipulations negotiated by the Town Counsel, no other work may be done beyond protection. SC responded that she would consult with Town Counsel, noting that there is a report due to the Court on January 12, 2009.
Adjournment. The next meeting will be January 12, 2009. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.
Drafted by Jane Loos, approved February 2, 2009
Attachments:
1. December Treasurer’s Report
2. Standard Times Article on Westport Persons of the Year
3. David Cole December 22, 2008 email concerning 2048 Main
4. Chris Vezetinski January 5, 2009 email concerning 1998 Main
5. Building Inspector December 2, 2008 letter to Mr. Bogle
6. Building Inspector December 17, 2008 letter to Mr. Furtado
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