[MassHistPres] Private Markers on Public Land

[Chris Skelly]

The text below is from the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Terra
Firma series. 

Terra Firma #6 Common Wealth: The Past and Future of Town Commons 

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/histland/terra_firma6.pdf

 

NEWTON - DEVELOPING A MEMORIALS POLICY

In 2006, Newton finalized the Newton City Hall and War Memorial

Grounds Historic Landscape Master Plan. In this plan, the city outlined

the issue of non-compatible memorials and the need for a formal policy

on the historic Olmsted-designed landscape. A series of memorialization

guidelines were developed to ensure that the grounds be respected,
preserved,

and maintained as an irreplaceable cultural resource essential to

Newton's heritage. The following is an adaptation of those guidelines.

 

Declare a Moratorium - The appropriate town department can

declare a moratorium on future installations of commemorative

markers, monuments, or other non-historic additions to the common

until guidelines specific to the historic landscape can be

developed.

 

Develop Donation/Memorial Guidelines - Some cities and towns

have donation policies in place for gifts from the public, but they

often do not directly address their placement on town commons.

Guidelines should focus on retaining the historic integrity of the

common as its primary consideration for evaluating proposals.

Public hearing and decision-making protocols should be delineated

to include the local Historical Commission and/or Local

Historic District Commission in addition to the Board of

Selectmen or other agency.

Define Proposals - All projects that propose the addition of

features on a common should include the following information:

1) a Memorial Definition of what or who exactly is being memorialized

including the reasons for the memorial, 2) an Impact

Report that describes the current and future impacts the memorial

will have on the historic character of the common, 3) an Existing

Conditions Site Plan fully outlining all current features in addition

to the extent of the proposed memorial impacts, 4) a Preliminary

Design Plan that fully identifies all alterations within the proposed

affected area and includes design details for the memorial itself,

and 5) Construction and Maintenance Cost Estimates should also

be included.

 

Christopher C. Skelly

Director of Local Government Programs

Massachusetts Historical Commission

From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Suzanne W. Pelton
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 9:10 AM
To: MassHistPres MA
Subject: [MassHistPres] Private Markers on Public Land

 

Dear Fellow Preservationists,

 

Do any of you have guidelines, policies or bylaws governing the placement of
private names, markers, or installations on public land?

 

At this time I am thinking of private memorials rather than historic names,
though I would be interested in what you have on either subject. The issue
has recently come up in Lenox and we have no standards to guide us.

 

Thank you for your soonest reply,

 

Suzanne W Pelton

Lenox Historical Commission, Chair

 

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