Simsbury, CT - Design Review Board Minutes

Chairman Dahlquist called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices. The following members were present: Kevin Gray, Charles Stephenson, John Carroll, Richard Schoenhardt, Anthony Drapelick, William Gardner, Mark Naccarato and Rita Bond. Also present were Mr. Hiram Peck, Director of Planning, Mr. Howard Beach, Conservation Officer, and Alison Sturgeon, Commission Clerk.

Regarding the landscape plan, Mr. Linden stated they will be planting small trees on the outside of the traffic loop between the pavement and the play area. Across the front of the building, there are currently nice shrubs and grasses; the edge of pavement will be approximately 8’ further away from the building so they will be adding to that already existing landscape.

Peter Chow stated that they would be constructing 9 additional parking spaces in the front of the building. Currently, all of the spaces are taken up during the drop-off and pick-up times. These new parking spaces will allow parents to park versus blocking traffic during these times.

Regarding the architecture, Mr. Chow stated that there are three pieces of the existing building. There is a 1925 2-story building, a 1955 1-story addition in the back, and a 1997 addition for more classrooms. They are proposing to add a wing to the front of the building, moving the front entrance, which will also alleviate security issues. Mr. Chow stated that the addition essentially consists of what was in the lower level of the 1925 building. There will be a new kitchen, new cafeteria, the Main office will be moved, there will be a new teacher space and additional bathrooms. They will then renovate that existing portion into classrooms. They will also be replacing all of the windows in the 1925 and 1955 buildings. The windows will be replaced with large double-hung windows, trying to bring the look of the building back to its original look. This new addition will be made of brick, with double-hung windows. In the existing building, there is a band of limestone running along the top of the upper floor. He stated that the front entrance will be constructed of more glass with a separate look from the 1925 building.

Although, it is very hard to match materials from the existing 1925 building, Mr. Chow stated that they have found a brick, which comes very close. He stated that they have submitted this design plan to the Connecticut Historic Commission, in which they returned that they did not have any comments.

Commissioner Carroll questioned how many school buses would be there during drop-off and pick-up times. Mr. Holden stated that the buses would not be there all at once, but there might be 5-6 buses at any given time. Commissioner Stephenson questioned if he was comfortable with the radius of the loop. Mr. Linden stated that the radius is designed to allow a bus to go around. There is currently enough space for three stationary buses and to allow the

parent cut through to still work. This is a very small site. He stated that during the morning drop-off time, the buses do not come in all at once, so there is a good flow. In the afternoon, there is the potential to have five buses at once sitting and waiting for the students, although, this is only a period of approximately 10 minutes. He stated that they feel that this is the best solution for a limited site.

Commissioner Stephenson questioned if it would be the school’s policy to use a payloader to push the snow during winter months. Mr. Holden stated that it would depend upon the size of the storm. He stated that they do have the capability to handle the snow with a pick-up truck or large dump truck or payloader.

Commissioner Gray questioned what would happen with the current front door. Mr. Chow stated that it will remain as an exit only door. Commissioner Gray also questioned what they were using to block the HVAC unit. Mr. Chow stated that they are proposing a metal grill, which is a white rectangle grill, 1 ½ “ deep. This will serve as two functions; it will serve as a mechanical screen and also as a sunshade.

Regarding the windows, Mr. Chow stated that the windows will be tinted and the frame will be aluminum and painted off-white. Commissioner Stephenson stated that the addition would look much different than what is shown on the plan. Mr. Chow stated that they have reviewed the plans with teachers and got their input.

Commissioner Carroll questioned what the red line across the window on the addition was. Mr. Chow stated that it is the edge of an overhang. Commissioner Carroll stated that he is questioning this because the limestone and brick were carried over from the existing building, but the overhang is proposed to be red. He stated that Tariffville is very special to this community for a number of reasons. He complimented the applicant on this plan.

Commissioner Gray stated that with all of the changes to the 1925 building, he questioned if there needs to be access to the second floor by elevator. Mr. Holden stated that they are renovating Tariffville school and there are other schools in Town that are fully accessible that could accommodate a handicapped student. Commissioner Gray questioned what they would do if a student had a temporary disability. Mr. Holden stated they would do what was necessary.

Regarding the planting plan, Commissioner Bond questioned if the butterfly garden would be getting moved. Mr. Chow stated that they will not be near this area. Regarding the traffic island, Commissioner Bond stated that they are proposing Junipers, which she does not care for. Mr. Linden stated they are proposing Junipers to try and keep people on the sidewalk and crossing at the crosswalk, as opposed to cutting through.

Commissioner Naccarato questioned if the applicant has considered future expansions to this site. Mr. Chow stated that he does not believe there is room for future expansion to this site. He stated that down the road, they will not have a big enough library or gym. If an expansion to the school is necessary in the future, they will need to think about expanding these facilities. This would probably only work if the Town acquired more property to add to the site.

Mr. Beach stated that they will be relocating the existing playground; the applicant will need to pay close attention to the residential property near the new location and keep that property owner in their considerations. Mr. Chow stated that they will be trying to push the playground back away from the neighbor as much as possible. Mr. Chow showed the Commission where the children would be exiting the building to use the playground; there is a walkway from the building to the playground.

Commissioner Drapelick stated that, although he likes the darker colors around the windows, he would like white frames around the new windows because historically, this is what they have had. Chairman Dahlquist questioned the other Commission members regarding their feelings of the white frames. Commissioner Gardner stated that historically, this building had light windows. He would not want to see a dark color but not a stark white color either. Commissioner Bond stated that an off-white window would tie into the limestone band very nicely. Chairman Dahlquist stated that this Commission usually gets samples from the applicant; they are absent in this presentation, which makes this process more

difficult. Mr. Chow stated that could not get samples because they do not know which manufacturer’s windows they will be using until the bids come in. Chairman Dahlquist stated that he understood, but some color samples would have been helpful. Mr. Chow stated that he would try to match the brick as closely as possible. Commissioner Schoenhardt stated that since the Connecticut Historic Commission has reviewed this, if they tried to change to a dark window, they might have a problem with that. He would like to see an off-white instead of a bright white.

Regarding the new paved play area, Commissioner Gray questioned if that area would become auxiliary parking. Mr. Chow stated that the Fire Marshal has asked them to look at off hours during school functions. That area would probably become back up parking on busy nights. That area will not be lit; the Fire Marshal did not feel that would be necessary.

Commissioner Stephenson stated that had this application come before the Design Review Board at the appropriate time, he would have probably suggested that they come back and resubmit to give this Commission an accurate presentation of what the school will look like, although, at this late stage, that would not be the right thing to do. They will just need to accept the judgment of the architect.

Commissioner Naccarato stated his concerns regarding not having samples from the applicant. He stated that the motion should not give a favorable recommendation but should make comments on what has been presented to this Commission so that information will be carried forward.

Commissioner Gardner motioned that the Design Review Board finds this application to be consistent with the Design Guidelines with the following comments. The applicant should consider an alternative planting material on the parking island. The brick selection should be consistent with previous Connecticut Historic Commission’s decision to match as closely as possible with the brick on the existing building. Also, that all of the windows should be tinted on both the original and new buildings and that the frames will be aluminum frames of an off-white color. There were no samples made available to the Design Review Board for final approval. Commissioner Schoenhardt seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.

Regarding a question regarding the LED illumination of the sign, a representative from Advantage Sign stated that LED illumination is the safe alternative to neon illumination. There will be a reflection off of the wall, which is consistent with most of the signage currently on the building. Regarding the mounting of the sign, they are proposing the letters mounted to deep rails because this is a requirement of the landlord. All of the current signs on the building are mounting this way.

Commissioner Naccarato stated that he feels the size of the sign is fine. In response to another question regarding the LED illumination, the representative from Advantage Sign stated that LED is not a continuous circuit, the way neon is. He stated that they use Sloan LED. If one module were to go out, they are wired so that only that module will go out and everything else will continue to function normally.

Commissioner Gray made a motion to make the following recommendation to the Zoning Commission. The Design Review Board finds this application to be generally consistent with the Guidelines and recommends approval by the Zoning Commission based on the presentation made. Commissioner Gardner seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.