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HDC holds proposed guest cottage at 59 Baxter for revisions over height and dormer design
Summary
After hearing concerns that a proposed guest cottage’s height, steep roof pitch and large dormers did not relate well to the main house, the commission held the application for revisions and asked for a west elevation showing the cottage, the shed and the main house in the same frame.
The Nantucket Historic District Commission on March 24 held a proposal for a new guest cottage at 59 Baxter and asked the applicant to return with revised massing, lower first‑floor height and reduced dormer scale so the small building better harmonizes with the main house.
Commissioners said the cottage’s tall eave and steep gable read as vertical and out of scale with the main house’s low‑sloped hip roofs. Commissioner Abby said the cottage “doesn’t relate that well to the main building” and urged the applicant to set dormers farther back and reduce the overall height. Joe, who reviewed the application on consent, recommended shaving several inches from first‑floor ceiling heights and clipping gable peaks to better match the main house.
The board’s request: provide a west elevation that shows, in one drawing, the approved shed, the proposed cottage and the main house so commissioners can compare scale; reduce dormer size and set dormers back from the dormer face; lower the first‑floor head height if needed and consider less‑steep roof pitches.
The commission voted to hold the guest cottage application for revision. The main house additions at the same address were considered separately and addressed earlier in the packet.
Why it matters: Commissioners framed the requested changes as proportion and context corrections intended to keep the new building subordinate and sympathetic to the existing main house and the neighborhood’s architectural character.
