Town of Wellesley, Massachusetts

Mr. Francis Avila came before the Board for review of a replacement wall sign to be located at 443 Worcester Street. The proposed wall sign would be similar in dimensions to the existing sign with a variation in wording, color and the addition of a logo. The sign would measure 10’ wide by 2’ high, would be composed of aluminum and would have white 6” letters that would read “First Line Fitness”. Below the words “First Line Fitness” would be a red swoosh with the letters “Personal Training”, measuring approximately 2” in height. There would be no illumination of the sign. The applicant informed the Board that he would remove existing window signs from the previous business.

Mr. H. Withnow came before the Board for review of a roof sign to be located at 200 Linden Street and seeking approval for a blade sign that was installed without approval. The proposal includes the installation of a sign on a pre-built support mechanism and the acceptance of a blade sign in conformance with the Linden Square signage plan. The roof sign is proposed on the front canopy. The sign would measure 2’, 4” high and 13’, 6” wide, would have a red background with the word “Hercules” in 1’ (height) letters and words “Dry Cleaners” in 1’, 2” (height) letters. In addition, the applicant sought acceptance of a 2’ by 4’ blade sign with the words “Hercules Dry Cleaners” in white on a red background (same design as the roof sign).

The Board, after a brief discussion, expressed that they would prefer the word “Hercules” to be more prominent on the wall sign than the words “Dry Cleaning”. The Board felt that reducing the size of the font would result in a sign that reads better. The Board concluded that they would approve the sign if the height of the letter in the words “Hercules” was 12” and the letters in the words “Dry Cleaners” were reduced to 8”. The Board, after a brief discussion, established the proposed signs meet the by right requirements of the Sign Bylaw and Design Guidelines and moved, seconded and voted unanimously to:

“Recommend the Building Inspector approve the two signs to be located at 200 Linden Street to read “Hercules Dry Cleaners” conditioned on the changes requested by the Board and the submittal of a picture of the blade sign and scaled drawings of the dimensions of the wall sign demonstrating the changes.”

Fardad Farahmand and Pakizeh Motiee from Panoply Day Spa came before the Board for review of a proposed awning sign for their business to be located at 165 Linden Street. The proposal is to maintain the size and shape of the existing awning sign (Hair West) and replace the existing fabric with a brown fabric. The awning would measure 20’ wide by 5’, 10” high with a 2’ valance. The word “Panoply” (in white), partially enclosed in a white box, and the words “Day Spa” (blue), beneath the box, would appear on the valance. The entire logo with text would measure 21” high by 24” wide and would be centered on the awning.

The Board began the review and noted the logo could be reduced to fit on the valance. The Board was concerned that the logo as presented would not fit; however, it was learned that the valance would be 24” and the logo and text as presented would indeed fit. The Board determined that the letter height of 9 and ¾” would be treated as if it were a wall sign and would therefore not exceed the 8” maximum letter height pertaining to awning signs.

The Board recommended deleting the words “A Complete Approach to Health” proposed for the two wall signs, leaving the words “Visions Medical Center”. In addition, the Board recommended the applicant reduce the 4’ by 4’ sign on the side of the building at 170 Worcester Street so that it is the same size as the “Pella Windows & Doors” sign below.

Mr. Dean Behrend returned to the Board with revisions to the design for the proposed house at 169 Grove St. The Board last reviewed the proposed dwelling on August 16, 2008 and recommended the site be enhanced by proposing a smaller house at 169 Grove St. and by minimizing the alley effect of the easement driveway that would have been caused by the proposed fencing. The Board felt the amount of impervious cover in the form of driveways on the site could be reduced. The Board also felt attempts should be made to retain as many trees as possible along the Ingraham properties to add screening for the abutters.

Mr. Behrend gave a brief presentation on September 10, 2008 stating the proposed house now has a TLAG of 4,480 square feet, reduced from the original proposal of 5,800 square feet. Mr. Behrend noted the reduced height of the roof in the front to 34 feet, in the middle section to 20 feet and in the garage section to 18 feet, thus minimizing the appearance of the roof line for the neighbors on Ingraham Rd. Mr. Behrend also noted that there is one story over the garage rather than two. The saltbox style in the rear brings the roof down and the rooms forward. A narrowing of the width of the main portion of the house and reducing hallway widths also contributes to the reduction in square footage. Mr. Behrend noted that he is keeping the horizontal and vertical siding to soften the visual impact of the house.

Mr. Hand and Ms. Carls questioned whether the reduction in the width and height of the front section of the house increased the busy appearance from Grove St. Mr. Hand questioned how far the porch projected from the house. Mr. Behrend responded that the porch projected 5 feet from the house.

Mr. Skolnick asked Mr. Behrend about the status of the easement belonging to the Friends Meeting House. Mr. Behrend commented that he is communicating with them and subsequently explained the proposed changes to the easement screening in response to the concerns and questions expressed at the August 16, 2008 meeting. Mr. Behrend explained the proposed installation of a hedge composed of 6’ arborvitae inside the easement abutting the proposed residence at 169 Grove. Toward Ingraham, abutting the hedge, Mr. Behrend proposes to install a 4’ split-rail fence for safety. He added that for additional safety he could install a screen so that children could not slip through the fence.

Mr. Hand noted that he was cognizant of the concerns of the neighbors, which were expressed at the previous meeting. Mr. Behrend commented that the current proposal addresses the concerns. In particular, the plan proposes a smaller and more compact house, a site lowered two feet to disguise the house, a hydrangea fence to the south side of the property, and a lot coverage less than most of the nearby properties (18.16%).

The Board, after discussion, acknowledged that the house is considerably smaller than the original proposal. Reducing the rooflines, reducing hallways on the second floor and reducing the width of the front portion of the house achieved a reduction in square footage and visual impact. Moreover, landscape design changes corrected the alley effect of the driveway easement that had previously concerned the Board.