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MINUTES
DESIGN REVIEW BOARD
SPECIAL MEETING
AUGUST 21, 2001
I. CALL TO ORDER
The special meeting of the Design Review Board was called to order at 5:45 P.M. in the lower conference room of the Simsbury Town Offices. Present were Chairman Emil Dahlquist, Board Members William Gardner, Kevin Gray, Linda Kennedy, Matt Koch, Steve Ossias, Victoria Rogers. Charles Stephenson, John Stewart, Town Planner Len Tolisano and Graphic Designer Ken Mason
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II. GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNITY DESIGN
Chairman Dahlquist and Victoria Rogers met with Mr. Mason last week and discussed with him the general purpose of the document and how the board anticipates using it in so far as this information would relate to the layout of the document The readability, usefulness, portability, incorporating text with graphic illustrations, delineations and photographs in combination to do one of two things: Define character areas, or to be specific vignettes, or illustrative examples of specific bulleted items in the text were discussed. The document is to be a working document, a workbook, and Mr. Mason was asked to take all of these things into consideration in developing his design.
Mr.Mason made a presentation to the board stating that he is glad to be a part of the project and that the design challenge is not as great as the time frame challenge. Mr. Mason distributed several design samples demonstrating paper size, use of the illustrations and photographs and the use of two-color printing. The time frame dictated by the terms of the project's grant were discussed and Mr. Mason felt that his part of the project could be completed to meet those conditions. Mr. Mason requested that the drawings, photographs etc. be in his hands one week from today.
Chairman Dahlquist met with Hunter Neal, the professional photographer for the project and discussed ideas including the use of aerial photographs to distinguish topographical features, the relationship of the river to the center of town, etc.
The board members discussed the various layouts presented by Mr. Mason and the appropriate use of photographs and illustrations, variety in the document layout to improve readability and how the finished product affects the credence and user confidence. The options for binding the document were discussed and whether or not consideration should be given to being able to update the document. Len Tolisano told the committee that allowing for inserting and removing pages from a document in an effort to keep it current has in the past and could with this particular document compromise its integrity. The board requested that Mr. Mason have samples of bindings and cover stock to present at next Tuesday's special meeting.
MINUTES
DESIGN REVIEW BOARD
AUGUST 21, 2001
PAGE 2
After lengthy discussions on the layout of the document the following suggestions were made: That the paper size should be 8 1/2 x 11 portrait layout, text on one side with graphics on the other, increasing the width of the text, use of bullets as opposed to numbers, that the text carries significantly more weight than the illustrations, photos, etc.
The quantity needed and related pricing were discussed and Mr. Mason will work out pricing for quantity and binding options and present them at the August 28th meeting.
Chairman Dahlquist and Steve Ossias met earlier this week and selected the bulleted items which they would like to see illustrated by Dean Johnson's sketches. Mr. Koch discussed the use of historic photographs and current photographs to demonstrate the "then" and "now" concept. The Hartford Insurance Company site was discussed as possibly illustrating relationship to the natural environment since it is an excellent example of preserving the scenic views, maintaining privacy, the idea of construction or development that incorporates natural features such as water, rock, etc. and screening parking from the street. Chairman Dahlquist and Ms. Kennedy will photograph additional sites relevant to the document and have the photos for next week's meeting. It was suggested that
professional photographer Hunter Neal's photos be used to define character areas. The Ethel Walker property was cited as an example of incorporating historical cultural landmarks, old stone walls, etc. Of particular note is the old stone pillar holding the sign at the entrance. Rosedale Farm Stand with old houses in the background was cited as a good example of mix of uses. Several sites integrating handicap ramps with historical structures were discussed. The public areas of the Simsbury Town Shops, Iron Horse Boulevard, Rails and Trails, and Curtis Park were examples of public spaces and incorporating recreation. Landscape and street trees are demonstrated in the historic photograph of Hopmeadow Street. Chairman Dahlquist asked the board to help decide on sites demonstrating site design, streetscape components, i.e. benches, low walls, etc., relationship of architecture to site, scale massing and proportion, rooflines, facades,
entrances, canopies, stairs, columns, materials, color and surface texture and signage.
Chairman Dahlquist asked the board members to have any final comments/suggestions on the document to him by the end of this week.
III. ADJOURMENT
On a motion made by Ms. Ossias and seconded by Mr. Gray, the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
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Kevin Gray
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