[MassHistPres] Authority of Historical Commission/HDC under Chapter 40C

[Suzanne W Pelton]

Does "incongruous to the historic aspects or the architectural  
characteristics of the surroundings" mean the rest of the town, not  
just the Historic District?

Suzanne W. Pelton
Lenox Historical Commission

On Dec 9, 2010, at 9:48 AM, Chris Skelly wrote:

> Betty, I think you mean Chapter 40C, Section 7 where it states:
>
> The commission shall not make any recommendation or requirement  
> except for the purpose of preventing developments incongruous to  
> the historic aspects or the architectural characteristics of the  
> surroundings and of the historic district.
>
> The previous part of Section 7 states:
>
> In passing upon matters before it the commission shall consider,  
> among other things, the historic and architectural value and  
> significance of the site, building or structure, the general  
> design, arrangement, texture, material and color of the features  
> involved, and the relation of such features to similar features of  
> buildings and structures in the surrounding area. In the case of  
> new construction or additions to existing buildings or structures  
> the commission shall consider the appropriateness of the size and  
> shape of the building or structure both in relation to the land  
> area upon which the building or structure is situated and to  
> buildings and structures in the vicinity, and the commission may in  
> appropriate cases impose dimensional and set-back requirements in  
> addition to those required by applicable ordinance or by-law.
>
> The Section 2-Purpose of MGL Chapter 40C states:
>
> The purpose of this chapter is to promote the educational,  
> cultural, economic and general welfare of the public through the  
> preservation and protection of the distinctive characteristics of  
> buildings and places significant in the history of the commonwealth  
> and its cities and towns or their architecture, and through the  
> maintenance and improvement of settings for such buildings and  
> places and the encouragement of design compatible therewith.
>
>
>
> I don’t see a distinction between incongruous and inappropriate.   
> So, if the commission considers Chapter 40C in its entirety, you  
> are performing your duty by denying applications that are  
> determined inappropriate or incongruous to the district.
>
>
>
> I think you would be in hot water if you were making any  
> requirements on the applicant for reasons OTHER than preventing  
> incongruous developments.
>
>
>
> Christopher C. Skelly
>
> Director of Local Government Programs
>
> Massachusetts Historical Commission
>
> 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125
>
> Ph: (617) 727-8470 / Fax: (617) 727-5128
>
> Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us
>
> http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcidx.htm
>
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>
> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres- 
> bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Dcolebslade at aol.com
> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 10:02 AM
> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> Subject: [MassHistPres] Authority of Historical Commission/HDC  
> under Chapter 40C
>
>
>
> An applicant, a lawyer, applied for a certificate of  
> appropriateness for an addition to a very small building sited very  
> close to the Main Road.  She also wanted to put clad windows and  
> artificial materials on the new addition.  The commission believed  
> it was not an appropriate addition and did not approve of  the  
> artificial materials.  The published guidelines so state.  The  
> applicant had two preliminary reviews where it was clearly stated  
> that the size of addition she was contemplating was not appropriate.
>
>
>
> At the first preliminary review before presenting her plans she  
> noted she was a lawyer, that the courts did not favor historical  
> commissions/HDCs and so on.  She suggested that if the historical  
> commission/HDC did not approve her plans she could take the  
> commission to court.  However she did come back with a smaller  
> addition in the second preliminary and then a different, but  
> similar size addition for the public hearing.  Her application has  
> been denied.
>
>
>
> Her argument was that the legislature had added the lines of  
> Article 7, 19-22, to curtail or limit the authority of the  
> historical commission in their considerations which are described  
> in Article 7, lines 1-18.  She argued her plans were not  
> incongruous because there were so many different "styles" in the  
> historic district and that in the past, former commissions had   
> allowed larger additions behind buildings. She seemed to be stating  
> that the word "incongruous" outweighs "appropriateness".
>
>
>
> I would very much appreciate hearing from the MHC and from you your  
> opinions on if, and if so, how much, the authority of the  
> Historical Commission/HDCs can be interpreted to be "limited" by  
> Article 7, 19-22.
>
>
>
> Thank you,
>
>
>
> Betty Slade
>
> Westport
>
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