[MassHistPres] MassLand Digest, Vol 9, Issue 9

Tue Nov 13 09:45:16 EST 2007

The postings about CPA funding for cemetery work in Harvard and Town
Hall work in Grafton call for a reminder that historic preservation work
done with CPA funds must meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards
for the treatment of Historic Properties.  MGL Chapter 44B, in the
definition of "Rehabilitation" reads, "With respect to historic
resources, rehabilitation shall have the additional meaning of work to
comply with the Standards for Rehabilitation stated in the United States
Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic
Properties codified in 36 C.F.R. Part 68"
Here are the Standards
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/standguide/rehab/rehab_standards.htm

Here is a helpful interactive section on the Guidelines from the
National Park Service website.
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/rehabyes-no/index.htm

The Standards and the Guidelines remove guesswork and, in my opinion,
deflect accusations against Community Preservation Committees who are
trying to do the right thing.

Carol Kowalski AICP
Community Services Director/Town Planner
16 Lowell Street
Reading, MA 01867-2683
(781) 942-6612
ckowalski at ci.reading.ma.us

-----Original Message-----
From: massland-bounces at massland.org
[mailto:massland-bounces at massland.org] On Behalf Of
massland-request at massland.org
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 9:26 PM
To: massland at massland.org
Subject: MassLand Digest, Vol 9, Issue 9

Send MassLand mailing list submissions to
	massland at massland.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://lists.massland.org/mailman/listinfo/massland
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	massland-request at massland.org

You can reach the person managing the list at
	massland-owner at massland.org

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of MassLand digest..."

Today's Topics:

   1. Community Preservation Act fund uses (Ken Crater)
   2. Re: Community Preservation Act fund uses (Patrick Hughes)
   3. Re: Community Preservation Act fund uses (Harry LaCortiglia)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:15:34 -0500
From: "Ken Crater" <ken at control.com>
Subject: [MassLand] Community Preservation Act fund uses
To: <massland at massland.org>
Message-ID: <00b501c82560$663497b0$cc2d1e0c at control.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Hi all,
Although I initially hesitated to post this here, it seems like this is
a
topic which may well engage many of you, either currently or in the
future,
as open space preservation is pitted against other municipal needs.

I've seen somewhere (maybe here?) information that there has been some
evolving case law through which the permissible uses of CPA funds are
being
further delineated.  In light of the current state of affairs, whatever
that
may be, I'm wondering where the following circumstances might fit...

We have an historic town hall, no longer in use as such, but still owned
by
the town and rented out to various businesses.  The town has been told
that
it will cost approx. $2.5 million to make some necessary repairs and
bring
it up to current accessibility standards.  Amidst this dynamic, a local
nonprofit organization would like to gain the use of a large part of the
structure for a children's music program.

- There is great sentiment in town to retain ownership of the building
and
allow the nonprofit org to use it.  It's quite a wonderful building, and
the
program is quite a wonderful program.
- We have this pot of money "sitting there" - CPA funds.
- You can guess the rest.

There are many "opinions" floating about town about the uses to which
CPA
funds can or cannot be applied.  Fixing a roof, adding an elevator,
interior
renovations for a specific purpose, all seem to fit on a spectrum
between
prohibited "maintenance" and allowable "restoration" (or perhaps
"renovation" is the correct term).

Our CPA towns will seemingly be ever tempted to stretch the envelope of
CPA
fund uses.  Are there any clear, bright lines available that can be used
for
guidance in civic discussions about priorities?

I did see the following document on the Community Preservation Coalition
website:
http://www.communitypreservation.org/PotentialUses2.cfm#2.%20Historic%20
Pres
ervation

It's dated 2004, and interestingly, it cites both the prohibition
against
maintenance use AND the allowability of adaptive reuse of historic
structures.  If accurate, this would seem to allow many municipalities
to
raid CPA funds for standard municipal capital expenses, which I'm not
sure
was the original intent of CPA.  If a community's town hall is
"historic",
can CPA funds be used to replace its roof every 30 years?

Ken Crater
Grafton Land Trust
ken at graftonland.org

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:24:21 -0500
From: "Patrick Hughes" <phughesconsult at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [MassLand] Community Preservation Act fund uses
To: "Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition maillist"
	<massland at massland.org>,	massland at massland.org
Message-ID: <380-2200711112222421468 at earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Ken

 The best way to get  up to date info and clarifications is to call the
CPA
Coalition

 Kathy Roth 617 367 8998 is the assistant to the Executive Director and
can
direct you to the best source of  info.

Patrick Hughes
Ayer

> [Original Message]
> From: Ken Crater <ken at control.com>
> To: <massland at massland.org>
> Date: 11/12/2007 4:51:09 PM
> Subject: [MassLand] Community Preservation Act fund uses
>
> Hi all,
> Although I initially hesitated to post this here, it seems like this
is a
> topic which may well engage many of you, either currently or in the
future,
> as open space preservation is pitted against other municipal needs.
>
> I've seen somewhere (maybe here?) information that there has been some
> evolving case law through which the permissible uses of CPA funds are
being
> further delineated.  In light of the current state of affairs,
whatever
that
> may be, I'm wondering where the following circumstances might fit...
>
> We have an historic town hall, no longer in use as such, but still
owned
by
> the town and rented out to various businesses.  The town has been told
that
> it will cost approx. $2.5 million to make some necessary repairs and
bring
> it up to current accessibility standards.  Amidst this dynamic, a
local
> nonprofit organization would like to gain the use of a large part of
the
> structure for a children's music program.
>
> - There is great sentiment in town to retain ownership of the building
and
> allow the nonprofit org to use it.  It's quite a wonderful building,
and
the
> program is quite a wonderful program.
> - We have this pot of money "sitting there" - CPA funds.
> - You can guess the rest.
>
> There are many "opinions" floating about town about the uses to which
CPA
> funds can or cannot be applied.  Fixing a roof, adding an elevator,
interior
> renovations for a specific purpose, all seem to fit on a spectrum
between
> prohibited "maintenance" and allowable "restoration" (or perhaps
> "renovation" is the correct term).
>
> Our CPA towns will seemingly be ever tempted to stretch the envelope
of
CPA
> fund uses.  Are there any clear, bright lines available that can be
used
for
> guidance in civic discussions about priorities?
>
> I did see the following document on the Community Preservation
Coalition
> website:
>
http://www.communitypreservation.org/PotentialUses2.cfm#2.%20Historic%20
Pres
> ervation
>
> It's dated 2004, and interestingly, it cites both the prohibition
against
> maintenance use AND the allowability of adaptive reuse of historic
> structures.  If accurate, this would seem to allow many municipalities
to
> raid CPA funds for standard municipal capital expenses, which I'm not
sure
> was the original intent of CPA.  If a community's town hall is
"historic",
> can CPA funds be used to replace its roof every 30 years?
>
> Ken Crater
> Grafton Land Trust
> ken at graftonland.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> MassLand mailing list
> MassLand at massland.org
> http://lists.massland.org/mailman/listinfo/massland

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:20:24 -0500
From: Harry LaCortiglia <hlacortiglia at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [MassLand] Community Preservation Act fund uses
To: Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition maillist
	<massland at massland.org>
Message-ID: <4738EDC8.3010107 at comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
http://lists.massland.org/mailman/private/massland/attachments/20071112/
adbb58b3/attachment.htm 

------------------------------

_______________________________________________
MassLand mailing list
MassLand at massland.org
http://lists.massland.org/mailman/listinfo/massland

End of MassLand Digest, Vol 9, Issue 9
**************************************