[MassHistPres] FW: How Heavy to Play It

[Jane Guy]

Jonathan,

Salem has successfully denied inappropriate windows that were replaced without prior approval and required their replacement with appropriate windows, without being taken to court.  We have a written process for addressing violations (http://salem.com/Pages/SalemMA_Historic/Guidelines.pdf) that includes filing a "Clerk's Certificate as to Violation" against the deed at the Registry of Deeds.  Banks tend not to lend funds when there is a glitch on the deed and this usually encourages the owner to solve the problem... at the very least it prevents a prospective buyer from buying into a violation unaware.  Having clear written guidelines, a written process for addressing violations and the willingness to defend your decisions is very educational to those who might think about skirting the process or making inappropriate alterations.

If you allow inappropriate windows to remain, the cliché that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission will permeate your districts and you will be encouraging more violations.  Our policy is to look at any applications that come after the fact as though the work has not yet been done. We do compromise at times, and some of our members give a lot of free design advice in order to come up with a win-win scenario.

In any case, I would be very confident that the Salem Historical Commission would win if any of their decisions were challenged in court.  They would never approve anything in order to avoid being sued.  Historic districts and commissions are allowed by law and judges can only follow the law in their decisions, so if you have guidelines, violation procedures and well written decisions, your Commission should prevail if challenged.  It also does not hurt to have an attorney as a Commission member, as we always do.

Feel free to call me :)
 
 
Jane A. Guy
Assistant Community Development Director
City of Salem
Department of Planning & Community Development
120 Washington St., 3rd Floor
Salem, MA  01970
978-619-5685
(F) 978-740-0404
jguy at salem.com
www.salem.com
 

Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 01:07:03 +0000 (UTC)
From: artsywoman at comcast.net

Dear How to Play It, 

As a realtor, a member of the Swampscott Historical Commission?and therefore one who appreciates the beauty of original construction, I know what you are up against. I would say that the most effective thing you can do is to send a message to the people of Harvard -- using your local newespaper and web site as the messenger -- telling?people in the community what that developer did, how it will affect the value of that property, and why they should never replace original windows with faux plastic. The developer will not like being outed like that, and you will have made a powerful statement. I certainly don't think it's worth a court fight,? -- you will end up losing the battle -- a pyrrhic victory, really. Folks need to be educated, and education is powerful! 

Sylvia Belkin, Swampscott Historical Commission




Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:32:13 -0500 
From: Shantia Anderheggen <Shantia_Anderheggen at nthp.org> 
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] How Heavy to Play It 
 
Jonathan: 

This happened (numerous times) when I was the historic preservation planner in Newport RI. You might want to ask a few questions about the windows that were removed before making any decisions--are they still around (probably not, but it's worth asking), were they historic, are they repairable, etc? Allowing him to retain inappropriate replacements is a precedent you'll be addressing at almost every future window replacement request, I'm sure. 

Shanti 
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 
Shantia Anderheggen | Easement Administrator | Law Department 
National Trust for Historic Preservation | 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20036 
Phone: 202.588.6159 | Fax: 202.588.6272 | Email: shantia_anderheggen at nthp.org 


-----Original Message----- 
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Jonathan Feist 
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 11:21 AM 
To: MHC MHC listserve 
Subject: [MassHistPres] How Heavy to Play It 

Hello, 

A developer bought two houses in Harvard Common historical district ? 
and replaced all the original windows without an application. The new ? 
windows are your usual crappy contemporary window, with plastic ? 
stripes instead of muntins. 

We sent a "cease and desist" type of letter when we saw this, and told ? 
him we needed an application. He claimed ignorance, though he actually ? 
went through the process once before, but said he was copying another ? 
window he saw used in the district (possible, but done long ago). He's ? 
submitting an application after the fact. 

So, how heavy to play it? Insist that he replace the new windows with ? 
windows that we approve? That would be an extremely major expense, and ? 
he'd likely sue us over it. Let it go, just taking our lumps, and ? 
accepting that the damage is done? That sets a bad precedent. 

Wondering about your thoughts. 

Jonathan Feist, Chair 
Harvard Historical Commission