Historic Districts Commission approves mailbox, splits 3-2 on utility box screening at Confidence Way

SUDBURY -- February 1, 2024, Sudbury Historic Districts Commission splits 3-2 on Confidence Way utility box, defers windows and deck. The commission worked through six items on Merrick Mizoraki's after-the-fact application for 4 Confidence Way at its Feb. 1 meeting, approving the mailbox unanimously and a painted-and-shrub-screened utility box 3-2, with members Christopher Hagger and Jordan dissenting in favor of a structural enclosure. Chair Anuraj Shah said the homeowner's claimed financial hardship did not apply because the commission was only requiring corrections to unauthorized changes from the 2021 certificate. The windows, installed with grids between the glass rather than the approved simulated divided light, were continued to March 7 while Shah contacts Marvin about retrofit exterior grids; Shah called grids between the glass inappropriate "in any historic district." The deck underside, patio doors and front door were also continued. The commission unanimously approved replacement composite windows at 29 Massasoit Avenue (a non-historic home half-inside the district), a rear addition at 137 Dutton Road, and two 48-inch granite benches for Grinnell Park donated by the Thursday Garden Club.