[MassHistPres] Historic Districts & 40B Reform
Chris Walsh
arcwalsh at rcn.com
Fri May 29 08:29:45 EDT 2009
40B is so flawed in so many ways that putting patches on it will not
solve this problem- however I think that if these "patches" are all that
the legislature has the stomach for then they should be ardently
supported by all groups that care about the physical fabric of our
communities.
I will bring support of #772 up to the Legislative Affairs Committee of
Massachusetts AIA. I hope we can agree on a letter of support.
In a similar vein, the expansion of Framingham State College ( State
Property -thereby exempt from any local input) into a beautiful
neighborhood by the demolition of several really fine properties
designed by Architect George Marlowe(circa 1924- Marlowe designed Babson
College among other things.)
The College never met with any community groups or even abutters until
it it was "to late" to change the plan. I _was _told that they held a
charrette with the students- none of whom apparently have any historic
or architectural background - but they neglected to invite the community
to participate or even comment.
The local Historic Commission could not invoke our demolition delay
by-law because State properties are exempt and the MHC apparently
wouldn't back up the local Commission.
My point is that there are many "loopholes" that need to be closed. This
link is to photos of the properties headed to the abattoir.
http://frambors.syslang.net/album/FSAdamsSt/
Chris Walsh, AIA
Chair, Framingham Historic District Commission
Dcolebslade at aol.com wrote:
> *Michael Rodrigues, representative for Westport, had let me know he
> will support Bill no. 772. *
> **
> *Betty Slade*
> *Westport*
>
> In a message dated 5/28/2009 11:04:15 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> jworden at swwalaw.com writes:
>
> The timing when it was before the Committee on Municipalities was
> the end of May, but now that the bill has been transferred to the
> Committee on Housing, I am told that "within the next month"
> should be OK.
>
> John Worden
> Arlington HDC
>
>
> **********
>
> This transmittal is intended only for the use of the named recipient,
> and may contain information that is privileged, confidential,
> and/or exempt from disclosure. If the reader of this transmittal is
> not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any
> dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is
> strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in
> error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all
> copies of this message and any attachments. Thank you.
>
> To ensure compliance with IRS requirements, we inform you that any
> U.S. tax advice contained in this communication is not intended to
> be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of
> avoiding U.S. tax penalties.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Boston Affiliates <mailto:BostonAffiliates at verizon.net>
> *To:* Anne Forbes <mailto:AnneForbes at verizon.net> ; John
> Worden <mailto:jworden at swwalaw.com> ; masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> <mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 27, 2009 3:26 PM
> *Subject:* [SPAM] Re: [MassHistPres] Historic Districts & 40B
> Reform
>
> Can you tell us what the timing is on this bill?
>
> Polly Harrell
>
> At 11:50 AM 5/27/2009, Anne Forbes wrote:
>> Many thanks to John for sending the message below.
>>
>> While we have the subject of 40Bs and historic districts in
>> mind, it might be timely to ask the question of how HDCs are
>> treating proposed /changes/ to established 40B developments
>> within their districts. As owners begin to modify the
>> buildings, are commissions reviewing the alterations and
>> requiring Certificates of Appropriateness in the normal way?
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: John Worden <mailto:jworden at swwalaw.com>
>> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu <mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 11:31 AM
>> Subject: [MassHistPres] Historic Districts & 40B Reform
>>
>> HISTORIC DISTRICTS & 40B REFORM
>>
>> Historic District Commissions (HDCs) can protect their
>> districts against inappropriate change from everything
>> except 40B developers. But, if a developer of
>> “affordable housing” comes along, he can go to the Zoning
>> Board of Appeals (ZBA) and obtain a “comprehensive
>> permit” overriding historic district (HD) protection. In
>> some cases, developers use the threat of 40B to force
>> HDCs to approve not-very-good projects for the fear of
>> getting something worse. Legislation now pending in the
>> State Senate (Bill No. 772) would preserve HD protection
>> while still allowing affordable housing projects, but
>> requiring HDC participation and conditions in the
>> permitting process and eliminating “uneconomic condition”
>> as a basis for appeal to the Housing Appeals Committee.
>>
>> After all, residents in an “affordable” project are just
>> as entitled to live in an HD as anyone else – and to have
>> a preserved historic environment for their neighborhood.
>> If you agree that our HDs need this protection, please
>> write to the Joint Committee on Housing, Room 424, State
>> House, Boston, Mass. 02133, and contact your local
>> senators and representatives, in both cases urging them
>> to support Senate Bill No. 772, the text of which is as
>> follows:
>>
>> "Section 21 of chapter 40B of the Massachusetts General
>> Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
>> paragraph: Applications to built low and moderate income
>> housing in an historic district as defined in MGL Chapter
>> 40C must obtain a certificate of appropriateness as
>> outlined in Section 6 of Chapter 40C. The local historic
>> [district] commission shall hold its hearing concurrently
>> with the local zoning board and have its conditions
>> included in the permit. None of the conditions may be
>> appealed to the housing appeals committee as an
>> uneconomic condition. An application may not be denied
>> based upon its location within an historic district."
>>
>> Time is of the essence.
>>
>> John Worden
>>
>> Arlington Historic District Commissions
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> **********
>>
>>
>> This transmittal is intended only for the use of the
>> named recipient,
>> and may contain information that is privileged,
>> confidential,
>> and/or exempt from disclosure. If the reader of this
>> transmittal is
>> not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any
>> dissemination, distribution, or copying of this
>> communication is
>> strictly prohibited. If you have received this
>> communication in
>> error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and
>> destroy all
>> copies of this message and any attachments. Thank you.
>>
>>
>> To ensure compliance with IRS requirements, we inform you
>> that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication
>> is not intended to be used, and cannot be used by any
>> taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax penalties.
>>
>>
>> ******************************
>> For administrative questions regarding this list, please
>> contact Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us directly. PLEASE DO
>> NOT "REPLY" TO THE WHOLE LIST.
>> MassHistPres mailing list
>> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
>> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
>> ********************************
>
>
> Pauline Chase-Harrell, President
> Boston Affiliates, Inc.
> 156 Milk Street
> Boston, MA 02109
> 617-451-9450
> (f)617-451-6475
> BostonAffiliates at verizon.net
> (c)617-909-3016
>
>
>
> ******************************
> For administrative questions regarding this list, please contact
> Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us directly. PLEASE DO NOT "REPLY" TO
> THE WHOLE LIST.
> MassHistPres mailing list
> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
> ********************************
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Cooking Dinner For Two? Sign Up & Get Immediate Member-Only Savings.
> <http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222652750x1201460983/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fclk%3B215225797%3B37274671%3Bq%3Fhttp:%2F%2Frecipes.cookingfor2.pillsbury.com%2F%3FESRC%3D934>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ******************************
> For administrative questions regarding this list, please contact Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us directly. PLEASE DO NOT "REPLY" TO THE WHOLE LIST.
> MassHistPres mailing list
> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
> ********************************
>
More information about the MassHistPres
mailing list