[MassHistPres] demolition delay bylaw question

[Craig Dalton]

Has any town experienced the following problem with demolition delay by-laws
and the associated permitting process:  A homeowner submits an application
for demolition to the town's building inspector. He/she forwards it to the
Historical Commission if it comes under the demo-delay by-law guidelines.
The Commission goes through the process, determining the building
historically significant, holding a hearing, and then determining that the
building not be preferably preserved.  A letter is sent to the building
inspector notifying him/her of the Commission's approval for the demolition.
The applicant does not pick up or pay for the application for months.  Once
picked up and "issued" they then have six months to start the demolition.
If they don't within that period they must request an extension from the
Building Inspector.  If they don't' the demolition permit is supposed to
become invalid after six months.   

By design applicants were to have six months to start the work, and if
nothing happened, they would have to reapply for a demo permit.  If some
historical fact that was unknown at time of the hearing came up, the
Commission could put a stop to the demolition after the original permit
expired.

By not picking up the permit immediately, the applicant effectively delays
the ability of the Commission to stop the demo should anything be found out
in the future.  We have noticed that most information comes out about a
demolition after the demolition has occurred, not before, at the public
hearing about it.  

So my questions are: 
When does the demolition approval from the Historic Commission start, and
when does it end? 
Does the six months to start demolition start with the Commission's approval
or the receipt of the permit from the Building Inspector?  
Is there a limit to how long an applicant has to receive the demolition
permit from the building inspector?  
How have other towns handled the "expiration times" of issued demolition
permits?  
Have you notified the applicants or had the Building Inspector notify them?

Thanks for your help.
Craig Dalton
Kingston Historical Commission