[MassHistPres] Local Preservation Update E-Newsletter-July 27, 2009

[Skelly, Christopher @ SEC]

LOCAL PRESERVATION UPDATE E-NEWSLETTER

Published by the Massachusetts Historical Commission

July 27, 2009

 

This e-newsletter from the Massachusetts Historical Commission
Preservation Planning Division has been prepared for local historical
commissions, historic district commissions and others interested in
historic preservation activities around the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.  It is published roughly every other week.  If you have
suggestions or items of interest for this newsletter, please contact
Chris Skelly at the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us <mailto:Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us> 

 

THE OPEN MEETING LAW

As governmental bodies, both local historical commissions and historic
district commissions are subject to the Open Meeting Law.  The Open
Meeting Law includes requirements for public meeting notices,
maintaining minutes, access by the public to the meeting and when
executive session meetings are allowed.  

 

Among the requirements of the open meeting law is that a notice of each
commission meeting must be filed with the city or town clerk and the
notice must be posted forty-eight hours before the meeting in the office
of the town clerk or on the principal official bulletin board.   Your
commission can post a schedule of future meetings at one time so long as
the day, time and place of each meeting is listed.  If you hold a
regularly scheduled meeting, this can negate the need for a separate
notice for each meeting.  

 

If you are a local historic district commission, public hearings held by
local historic district commissions under Mass General Law Chapter 40C
have additional requirements for posting hearing notices beyond those of
the open meeting law.  Rather than the 48 hours required under the Open
Meeting Law, local historic district public hearings must be posted 14
days in advance.  

 

An easy to understand guidebook on the Open Meeting Law for
Massachusetts can be found at

http://www.mass.gov/Cago/docs/Government/openmtgguide.pdf
<http://www.mass.gov/Cago/docs/Government/openmtgguide.pdf> 

 

HISTORIC PLACES FOR HISTORIC PARTIES

Please submit your suggestions by August 7th and thanks to those of you
that have sent in your ideas so far.  

The Massachusetts Historical Commission is currently updating and
revising Historic Places for Historic Parties, a not-for-profit
publication that provides the public with an extensive listing of
historic venues in the Commonwealth available for function rentals. If
you are aware of a property in your community that should be included in
the next edition, please contact Kate Danckert at the MHC at
617-727-8470 or by email at Kate.Danckert at state.ma.us.   

 

NEW LISTINGS ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Chesterfield, Gate Cemetery

Chesterfield, Ireland Street Cemetery

Haverhill, Merrimack Associates Building

Middleborough, South Middleborough Historic District

West Stockbridge, Town Hall

 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS AND DATES TO REMEMBER

July 31, 2009 

Preservation Massachusetts Most Endangered Nomination Deadline 

August 7, 2009

Deadline for Boston Foundation for Architecture Grants

August 26, 2009 

MHC Workshop on Establishing Local Historic Districts, Duxbury

For more information, email Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us
<mailto:Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us> 

September 17, 2009 

MHC Workshop on Demolition Delay Bylaws, Wareham

For more information, email Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us
<mailto:Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us> 

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Please forward this newsletter on to others that may be interested.  If
you are receiving this as a forwarded message and would like to receive
it directly, please contact the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
The Massachusetts Historical Commission also has a listserve, known as
masshistpres, specifically for historic preservation.  You can join this
listserve by visiting
http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
<http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres> .  This
newsletter is posted on masshistpres directly and sent to local
commission members.  We welcome your thoughts on what you would like to
see in this newsletter.  The website for the Massachusetts Historical
Commission is http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcidx.htm
<http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcidx.htm> 

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