[MassHistPres] owner request to demolish property based on condition

[Nancy Dole]

Hi everyone.

We have had an owner application for a certificate of hardship to allow 
them t o demolish a house they own in the district. I will just copy 
here the minutes from the meeting this evening, and ask for comments.


Applicant came to discuss the situation with the family homestead, she 
and her brother are the current owners, as of 1998. They want to 
demolish the house and build a new house in the same location, and would 
begin that process by requesting a certificate of hardship, based on the 
age and condition of the existing structure. The original house is a 
cape circa 1630, built by Josiah Standish, one of the original settlers 
of West Tisbury, and the son of Miles Standish, a well known figure in 
American history. The additions to the original structure were built in 
1865 by applicant's great great grandfather. The house has great 
significance in the town’s history, and is a town and island landmark. 
But it is in severe disrepair, and the current owners are not able to do 
the work needed to preserve it. Demolishing it and building a new home 
would be their preferred solution.

It is not clear if a hardship that is unique to the property and is not 
applicable to the rest of the district, which is required by our bylaw, 
could be that it is older than any other structure in the district and 
is in such disrepair that it is not worth fixing.

One of our members suggested we do some research to see how other 
districts have handled the issue of a house that is of great historic 
value to a district, but is beyond repair and/or too costly for the 
owners to repair. We decided to contact the Mass Historic Commission 
Mail Server List, and raise the issue.

There was discussion by the members as to whether the original 1630 cape 
was more historic than the 1875 additions, which were add-ons, and if 
those add-ons could be demolished and not replaced, while the original 
cape could also be demolished, but be replaced by a replica.

The decision was made to schedule a site visit for Saturday the 29th at 
10:30 am. The members of the Historic Commission as well as any other 
interested parties are welcome to attend.

Another meeting will be scheduled for February 7th.

So I am doing as requested, and writing to ask if any of the other 
districts have had applications like this, and how they were resolved.

Thanks,

Nancy Dole
West Tisbury Historic District Commission