Concord HDC continues Mickelson wall and gate proposal; site visit and stakes ordered
March 06, 2024 | Town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
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The Town of Concord Historic Districts Commission voted to continue the Mickelson application for 462 Lexington Road to the next meeting and scheduled a site visit so commissioners could see stakeouts of the proposed wall, gate and driveway alignment.
Kate Notman of Blade of Grass presented revisions to the Mickelson plan, including removal of a proposed circular driveway, shifting the stone wall farther from the road to avoid damaging trees, aligning a narrow cobble strip with the gate, closing the gap between fence and wall, and providing elevation drawings and sample materials on request. Notman offered to build a small sample wall or place stakes and tape to show exact wall placement before the next hearing.
Commissioners raised concerns about scale, materials and precedent on Lexington Road. Bill questioned whether the stone pier/post sizes were out of scale for the American‑Mile era and asked the applicants to consider smaller posts. Walter and other members pressed for elevations and a clearer sense of setback from the road; Walter also expressed concern about the granite border and potential precedent for cobblestones on driveways. Several commissioners emphasized bike safety when discussing the use of small aggregate in chip‑seal driveways.
Applicants agreed to: remove cobblestones from the proposal, stake out the proposed wall location and provide photos/addresses of existing Concord walls as exemplars. Commissioners volunteered to visit the property at 8:00 a.m. on March 27 for a site visit; the motion to continue the application pending that site visit carried on a recorded roll call of five 'Aye' votes.
Because the item was continued, the commission requested that the applicants return with stakeouts, a brief sample wall if feasible, elevations showing gate and post heights (applicants noted gate height of 4 feet and wall height of about 30 inches in the presentation) and clearer material callouts for stone type and post scale.
Kate Notman of Blade of Grass presented revisions to the Mickelson plan, including removal of a proposed circular driveway, shifting the stone wall farther from the road to avoid damaging trees, aligning a narrow cobble strip with the gate, closing the gap between fence and wall, and providing elevation drawings and sample materials on request. Notman offered to build a small sample wall or place stakes and tape to show exact wall placement before the next hearing.
Commissioners raised concerns about scale, materials and precedent on Lexington Road. Bill questioned whether the stone pier/post sizes were out of scale for the American‑Mile era and asked the applicants to consider smaller posts. Walter and other members pressed for elevations and a clearer sense of setback from the road; Walter also expressed concern about the granite border and potential precedent for cobblestones on driveways. Several commissioners emphasized bike safety when discussing the use of small aggregate in chip‑seal driveways.
Applicants agreed to: remove cobblestones from the proposal, stake out the proposed wall location and provide photos/addresses of existing Concord walls as exemplars. Commissioners volunteered to visit the property at 8:00 a.m. on March 27 for a site visit; the motion to continue the application pending that site visit carried on a recorded roll call of five 'Aye' votes.
Because the item was continued, the commission requested that the applicants return with stakeouts, a brief sample wall if feasible, elevations showing gate and post heights (applicants noted gate height of 4 feet and wall height of about 30 inches in the presentation) and clearer material callouts for stone type and post scale.
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