 I'll set thanks. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for Being in attendance for this kind of off-cycle meeting of the design review board It is October 6th 2023 my name is Erica Zekis, and I am the chair of the board Calling this meeting to order at 5 p.m The meeting is being recorded and will be made available via the town of Amherst YouTube channel minutes are being taken Pursuant to chapter 20 of the acts of 2021 and extended again by chapter 2 of the acts of 2023 This meeting will be conducted via remote means Members of the public who wish to access the meeting may do so via zoom or by telephone No in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted But every effort will be made to ensure the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time via technological means a Hyperlink to the hearing will be posted on the town's online calendar Board members, I'll take a roll call when I announce your name. Please answer affirmatively Catherine Porter Here Lindsay schnarr I see you're here Karen winter here And Erica Zekis here absent tonight is Pat off. She's not able to join us Board members if technical issues arise We may need to pause temporarily to fix the problem and then continue the meeting if the discussion needs to pause It will be noted in the minutes. Please use the raise hand function to ask a question or make a comment I will see your equipment call on you to speak and after speaking. Please remember to remute yourself The general public comment item is reserved for public comment regarding items that are not on tonight's agenda Please be aware the board will not respond to comments during the general public comment period Public comment could also be heard at other times during the meeting when determined appropriate Please indicate that you wish to make a comment by clicking the raise hand button When public comment is solicited if you've joined the zoom meeting using a telephone Please indicate that you wish to make a comment by pressing star nine on your phone When called on, please identify yourself by stating your full name and address and put yourself back into mute when finished speaking Residents can express their views for up to three minutes or at the discretion of the design report chair If a speaker does not comply with these guidelines or exceeds there a lot of time their participation will be discontinued from the meeting Tonight's agenda includes the following DRB FY 24 04 Debra noise from Botanica home There are no Meeting minutes yet to approve and then we'll have the general public comment period should anybody wish to join us Other business and then we'll wrap up. So let's get started. I see Ms. Noyes is here Thank you for coming back Could you unmute there we go? Thank you for coming back. We're happy to have you So you submitted a new render a rendered image and a new kind of Graphic and I'm happy to share those or you could share your screen. How would you like to do that? Do you mind? I I did not at all hear that. Thank you so much See if I can get the button to work Right, so there's the agenda. This is your new awning and then I have also this image that you shared Yeah, this is the actual logo with refinements But she did it the designer did it black on white just so you could see it because it would be white on white Otherwise, so picture the colors in the blue awning With this slightly modified and refined logo Okay, and then I did just for the sake of comparison pull up what you had proposed last time and So this is the new proposal Right, which is taking into consideration the comments from the board last time to make sure that the panel, you know stayed below the the ceiling line and you know Well, you have the note so I won't I won't repeat but Good comments and I think I hope that the designer was able to address those Yeah, it seems to me that you were we're thoughtful about taking into consideration our comments and like you mentioned we were interested in seeing that ridge line kind of changing the slope of the Of the awning and then also seeing this vertical panel at the front So that you'd have visibility from for your text for from people on the sidewalk so Shall I open it up to other members of the drb for comment? Well, sure, I'll Catherine go ahead. Yeah, I just wanted to say just looks wonderful you've listened and I think again, I I really love the colors and The blue and the white will stand out. It's fresh and you've been able to give The pastor by an idea of what you have home and gifts. I just think it's uh, Stunning so that's my comment Thank you Catherine and um, I saw Lindsay's hand flashed and Karen's is up now Karen. Would you like to Share a thought and then we'll go to Lindsay. Thank you. Just briefly I I agree with everything Catherine said I think it's so simple and elegant and beautiful and does all the things that We're talked about last time. So congratulations. Lovely I have two tiny Children that are very hungry and screeching. So I apologize if they make lots of noise. Um, I'll try to So I think it's all I don't have anything said My only thought is the a that's extra large in the middle kind of loses its Significance without the bird on top And I wonder if if there's If there's A possibility of continuing to iterate one more time I wonder if it actually went in the opposite direction such that the bird can still exist on top of the A and fit within that band Like if that middle a could shrink Just even a little more than the the other text like if you look at the a at the end I feel like it would only have to come down a little bit The bird would obviously have to get smaller but it could still sit on that a And it just feels it feels like having that a extra large doesn't really have a lot of Purpose now and so just in terms of design. I would I would consider That next round since the bird has moved off It could you bring that back in by Changing that the size of that a otherwise. I think it's beautiful and if you you know are done I'm so sorry If you're done, um, kind of like iterating on this I totally get it, but I do think that it could still work Um, if you yeah, I actually think the designer did try and you know She would have had to shrink the whole logo down because you know somewhat to get it to fit or the bird would be Folding over the back, but I see what you're saying about the larger a I just I think it might be um But I think that if you see the a at the end It doesn't have the little crossbar and I worry that you know It would become harder to read because of that. I guess that would be my only hesitation But it's I think it's a good idea. I just um, I I don't know Sorry, go ahead. Yeah Oh, now you're immutable Because I was telling them to be quiet. Um Yeah, I think the bird would have to fold over if it was the current size But if it I don't know how much smaller I think that with and still be you know Obvious what it is But if the bird shrank down and the a shrank down I would just be curious what that looks like and by no means so I want to hold you up and You know muddy any process, but um, I think that it's such a it's such a cool concept To have the the bird perch there that I feel like it would be It would it would be worth trying to see if it could work But that's my only solution. I think it looks great otherwise And the only thing that I would add to the to the conversation is that in this Render, I I don't know if it's my eyes are tricking me or not, but it looks like and gift is a different font than Yeah, that that's one of the refinements in there Okay, so the the the the text that's here In in this JPEG image Has everything in the home and gift in the same font and I'm gonna trust that that's your intention Yes, and then in in this version the bird is between The two texts, which is your Um, which is your intention the bird on the left in the in the middle I think I think it was for balance and also, you know, she As Lindsay pointed out the you know, the bird has lost its perch so to speak. So She added, you know, she added the The class. I don't know what you call them She added the talents and um Moved it in the middle the bird and yeah, the font is all the same The earlier Rendering with the blue that was me, you know, showing her what your comments were but I didn't know what font she had used So, you know, I was just estimating but she yeah, she refined it. Okay. So I think Board members Excuse me for very my throat. Um, we'll see Botanica on the left the bird in the center and then home and gift together on the right Um, and you know, if you do decide to say Have a vinyl with your hours on the door and you want to have the bird on the a Yeah, that might be a great place to bring that back. But um, that's a great idea And so I think what I'd ask of the board is can we Make an uh approve the sign as it's presented today with the suggestion that you continue it to explore but we would be happy to see this or As long as the text remains on that vertical panel set Yeah, I think the bird is really an important Yeah icon. Um It stands it sort of pops the whole Uh front so, uh, wouldn't want to look I wouldn't want it to see it get too small although it was really cute when it was perched but, um I just feel like, uh, it's really given a personality to that To the whole on Whatever you can do to keep it All right, sure and kind Yeah, I I also think I like the fact that the lettering isn't all the same size because that's kind of boring Um, but I agree. I think you play around with it. I'm sure it's going to be beautiful Whatever you come up with basically this vertical lettering is nice and the bird is beautiful Um, it it is too bad that it can't be on the perch. That was very cool but um, I I just think it's interesting like this even though it's there's no reason for the a to be big It's just more interesting than having the plain old Yeah, I agree I mean, it does that you you're you're modifying the the existing frame and not using the This the the arched Place where the the the globe for the blue marble currently fits That would be an option for Finding a way to include the bird on the perch, but Again, it's like I don't I don't think it would line up because the you know the on the The circular thing is over to the left. So botanica would have to fit there and yeah, I don't think it could work, but All right, any last comments before I ask for a motion to approve with As is but also making some suggestions Right. Yeah Karen Um Oh, I'm sorry. I I didn't know my hand was up. Sorry Okay I move that we uh, accept that the rendering of this awning uh with um possible tweaks, but as is If that's the way it has to be and a little Sort of a muddled motion, but I think is that sort of the essence Actually, I'm just looking at it now and I see that the designer actually did Um Reduce the a and make it in with the other a so Yeah, you know the only you know, I think now the only You know the the sad thing is that the bird can't be up there, but I think you know logistically I I don't think it would work. So I think that she's Addressed at least half of Lindsay's comment there by reducing that a down Uh-huh. I liked it big too. Um, as you said, Karen Do I have I like I liked it too. I like the you know the size being a little bit bigger, but I you know, I guess There there are arguments either way. So I think um, it feels more It just feels more uniform for that very thin bar that we have. Um You know, but Because it's so uniform and the bar is so sleek and elegant and simple It's nice to have the lettering be a little interesting. Yeah. Yeah Yeah, and I think are we uh, you're gonna you do have an interesting part. Well, we have um, uh, we have a motion on the on the table. It's um Maybe I should we We I think we could clarify it, but maybe rob could let us know what he typed out All right. Yeah, let's do that. So, I mean the way that I'm thinking And this is the interpretation I'm getting from the board that you're just gonna prove to accept it as is But off the record, you're gonna suggest a you know, maybe down the future you could try Put in the bird above the egg and see what it looks like. Yeah, but you know when I submit a memo to the building department I'm gonna say um, they like it as is so they can You know get their building or get the awning permit Yep, so the it's the a it's the first a Uh, is that just we're just gonna leave that to the final Yeah, Catherine this this what's on the screen now And sorry, there's just a little band at the bottom that I can't seem to get rid of Um, the the version that's on the bottom is what will be appearing on the blue band All right, but we're hearing that there could be Karen and I would have liked the big array I don't want to get in a big thing about this, but uh Is there a decision or we're gonna Yeah, well, I think the if I could if I could clarify. I think the motion that you made was to approve What we see on the screen as with and then but with some recommendations that Other noise continues to work with her designer to Refine include the bird perched on the a etc But should that not be able to happen we can approve what we see here today Oh, I don't think that's what I was thinking. No, okay I don't I don't know that the bird will fit on top of the a we don't want to I don't want to see a tiny bird. I think but uh I'm thinking about the big a the Seemed to be at least two of us to sort of like the a the bigger a and seems like Two of you are thinking let's leave it that way Uh, yeah, I'm just I'm just cautious about redesigning somebody's logo. I think we're we're here for the Kind of like the architecture and how it fits into the streetscape and Mindful of okay. Well the blue one threw me then. Okay, so this is the one we really should be looking at. All right fine okay Okay, that's my motion So I'm just gonna just for the record because I want to make sure that we're yeah Okay, your your words. I just want to say that the the the motion on the table is to approve the The design as presented this evening Um And but like rob said kind of off the record. We have some suggestions From his voice to continue to design. Yeah Okay, may I have this may I ask for a second? Second Great. Thank you and um Rob, I forgot to ask if any members of the public were in attendance this evening Uh, I can't help but let me look Do not see any members of the public attendance. All right. Great. Could I ask for a vote then? All those in favor, please? Raise your hand That's a unanimous Thank you very much appreciate it. Yeah, we appreciate your um willingness to hear us out and um, we're excited to Come shopping. Yeah. Yay. Me too. I'm excited to have you come. Thank you very much. Sure. Have a good year Thanks. You too. Bye. Bye. Thanks And uh drb folks nice to see you all. I hope you have a lovely weekend and thank you for kicking it off. Um With the meeting. Okay Thank you. Good night. Bye everybody. Thank you rob You're welcome. See you