Historic Commission Approves Midland Avenue Addition Over Lone No Vote, Sends Highland Avenue Pool House Back for Rework

At its August 3, 2022 meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission approved Nicole Rizzuto's one-story rear addition at 190 Midland Avenue -- which also removes a non-historic addition from a house with a distinctive red slate roof -- conditioned on double-hung windows with traditional sills and a more prominent parapet cap. The vote was not unanimous: Commissioner Joaquin Stearns voted no after unsuccessfully pushing for the addition's window and roof details to more closely match the main house.

At 77 Highland Avenue, the commission unanimously approved a one-story rear addition for Paul and Kimberly Colahan, but did not vote on the accompanying detached garage and pool house presented the same evening. Members including Nicholas Colello, In Koo Kim, Christine Yewaisis, and Dan McMahon raised concerns that the pool house was too large and long relative to the main house, questioned visible solar panels and deck details that didn't match the house's character, and required the owners to return the following month with a full 3D rendering addressing those concerns before any vote could be taken.

Separately, Peter Stopp's application for a side entrance and mud room at 5 Sherman Avenue was withdrawn after the commission found the submitted materials -- renderings without proper elevations, and blurry photos of existing conditions -- too inconsistent to evaluate; the owner said he would form a subcommittee to work out the details before returning.

Other applications were approved unanimously with routine conditions: a second-story addition at 24 Ridgewood Avenue for John Patrick and Elizabeth McSweeney; a second story over a rear extension at 83 Forest Avenue for Melissa Martinez and David Armstrong; a two-story mudroom and bathroom addition at 94 Sunset Avenue for Lora and Todd Perlow; and a sun shelter at Central School (180 Hillside Avenue), which the commission asked to be painted a monochrome dark green. The commission also voted unanimously to look into capping the number of applications per meeting agenda at six and adding a pre-application completeness review, after members said recent meetings had been running long.

What to watch

• 77 Highland Avenue's garage and pool house needs a 3D rendering and revised design before it returns for a vote.
• The commission is investigating a cap on applications per meeting agenda and a possible pre-application review step.