[MassHistPres] Local Historic Commission Guidelines

[slater at alum.rpi.edu]

> The Acton Historic District Guidelines are available
> on the town website, at www.Acton-ma.gov.

Hi Anne --

Those are great guidelines. Very informative.

I have a question. Is the language deliberately vague with respect to
things that are probably considered inappropriate? For example:

"The most common window type within the districts are doublehung units
with true divided lites, and are therefore, preferred to the more modern
awning or casement types."

If I was a homeowner reading this, my expectation would be "Hey, they
want double-hung, but they'll accept awning windows". And I'd be mad if
your commission said "no, awning windows are not appropriate", because
the guidelines imply that they might be.

We are writing guidelines in Springfield, and are trying to be very
clear in our message so that homeowners know exactly what to expect. Our
guidelines will outline what is considered under "appropriateness", and
anything less than that will need to fall under "hardship". In order to
qualify for hardship, there must be a particular problem with the
structure that does not affect the district in general (in other words,
lower energy efficiency of older windows is not a hardship).

Thanks,

Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA