The Beacon Hill Architectural Commission gave the green light for the proposed installation of two new security cameras and replacement of four existing security cameras at the Charles Street Meeting House during the commission’s monthly public hearing held virtually on Thursday, May 15.
The two proposed new cameras would be installed “back-to-back” on the building’s River Street façade to allow for a 180-degree view along the street and the back alley, said Beth Colt, the owner’s representative for the property, while four other existing cameras would be replaced with new devices.
BHAC staff (Nicholas Armata) noted he met with the building team to determine the best locations for the cameras, and that the team had followed his recommendations based on several options discussed at that time.
Mark Kiefer, committee chair, also noted the commission had granted a similar request at its monthly public hearing held virtually on Feb. 20, when it unanimously approved an application to install five new security cameras at 74 Joy St. – a building owned by Hill House which is also home to the offices of both the Beacon Hill Civic Association and Beacon Hill Nursery School.
The motion to approve this design review application as submitted, put forth by Chair Kiefer, was unanimously approved by himself, Vice Chair Arian Allen, and Commissioners Annette Given, Ralph Jackson, and Sandra Steele.
This determination came with several provisos, including that the two cameras on the River Street façade be located together in the middle of the pilaster adjacent to and at the same height as an existing gas lamppost; that the two cameras on River Street be painted black; that the two cameras on Mt. Vernon Street be painted to match the trim of the front façade; and that an unapproved camera be removed from the doorframe of Tatte Bakery & Cafe facing Mt. Vernon Street. (Tatte is a ground-level tenant of the Meeting House.)
Armata suggested the ‘friendly amendment’ regarding the removal of the Tatte camera but said they could return to the commission to apply for a similar-sized camera, “which might be approved.”
The commission also unanimously approved a design review application for 116 Myrtle St. to install two new Luma security cameras (both measuring approximately 3.2-by-3.7 inches and black in color) on protruding, fourth-floor, non-original windows, along with the installation of a brass-covered DoorBird intercom system.
Chair Kiefer called the proposed intercom system a “reasonable” request, adding that the proposed DoorBird model was in line with the commission’s de facto standard for new intercom systems.
This determination came with several provisos, including that the new intercom system be mounted to door on the right side and be as close to flush mounted as possible.
In another matter, the commission unanimously approved a design review application for a new blade sign for Élevée – a pop-up women’s clothing boutique occupying the former Ouimillie space at 126 Charles St. through August.
The applicant and business proprietor, Ocean Otte, described the proposed new store sign as an 18-inch circular sign made of wood and painted white, with the store name in carved wood letters painted black. The new sign would also use existing hardware, she said.
Chair Kiefer noted this building, like the Charles Street Meeting House, is home to multiple ground-floor businesses, so more than one blade sign is allowed there per guidelines for the Beacon Hill Historic District.
Vice Chair Allen made a motion to approve this application as submitted, which was unanimously supported.
In another matter, the commission unanimously approved as submitted a revised design review application for 94 Mt. Vernon St., entailing the addition of a roofdeck, with a new hatch, as well as the removal of an existing front hatch.
In making his motion to approve the application as submitted in its revised form, Chair Kiefer noted the applicant’s effort to reduce and sink the roofdcek; and to reduce and pull back the railing. He also noted that the revised iteration had eliminated visibility of the roofdeck from Pinckney Street while only a small section of the deck would be visible from Mt. Vernon Street.
Furthermore, Chair Kiefer noted that other existing decks and their railings were at least as visible as this along the same stretch of Mt. Vernon Street or on an adjacent street, and that in some instances, these existing roofscapes were visible against “open sky.”
In another matter, the commission reviewed a design review application to modify an existing rear greenhouse at 56 Pinckney St. by changing its existing plastic frame to a wood frame with an EPDM membrane roof, with a slight slope to drain. (Brigid Williams, the project architect, said the existing greenhouse was prone to constant leaking, which the proposed modification intends to remedy.)
The proposed work also included replacing single-glazed glass with double-glazed glass in an existing greenhouse skylight.
Chair Kiefer noted that visibility of the greenhouse is ‘de minimis’ and only then from a dead-end alley. The proposed work would also retain most of the non-historic structure from the 1970s, he said.
The motion to approve the application as submitted, put forth by Chair Kiefer, was supported by himself, Vice Chair Allen, and Commissioners Given and Steele, while Commissioner Jackson abstained from voting on this matter.
The commission also unanimously approved a design review application to install a new light fixture at the front door of 141 Revere St.; this determination came with provisos that the taller, more rectangular lighting fixture of the two options presented be used, and that the new light fixture be installed along the same vertical line as the small windows flanking the doorway.
Meanwhile, three other scheduled design review applications for 6 Louisburg Square, 20 Louisburg Square, and 127 Mt. Vernon St., respectively, were all moved to administrative review.