[MassHistPres] Demolition Request

[Anne Forbes]

And then a building official will sometimes use "either/or" language.  There
was a case in Acton recently in which the Building Inspector ordered that a
building either be demolished or the unsafe condition rectified within XX
days.  The owner, who had been neglecting the building, argued that was an
order to demolish, while the preservationists pointed out that the wording
also included "fix it"!   (The building was torn down).  
 
Anne Forbes,
Acton

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From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Tucker, Jonathan
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 11:42 AM
To: Marcia Starkey; 'Paul Bourdon'; cvwtc at aol.com; masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Demolition Request



All:

 

If the building was indeed deemed by the building commissioner to be
"structurally unsafe" under the building code and therefore a public safety
liability, then there's nothing to be done.  Public health and safety is the
foundation of law and trumps everything else.  Check out MGL Ch. 143,
Sections 6-10.

 

There may be a question as to whether the building official involved made a
decision based solely on the facts of the structure or their own personal
ideology about development, but changing that in the future either means
educating the building official or getting a new official.  I'm not aware of
any regulation that can overcome such a determination.

 

Jonathan Tucker

Planning Director

Amherst Planning Department

4 Boltwood Avenue, Town Hall

Amherst, MA  01002

(413) 259-3040

tuckerj at amherstma.gov    

 

 

 

From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Marcia Starkey
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 11:03 AM
To: 'Paul Bourdon'; cvwtc at aol.com; masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Demolition Request

 

Under a demolition delay bylaw should this building demolition had review?
Marcia Starkey, Greenfield HC

 

From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Paul Bourdon
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 3:12 PM
To: cvwtc at aol.com; masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Demolition Request

 

A good point may be to make sure the building inspector understands the
significance of the building and efforts being made to secure it.


On 1/26/11 3:00 PM, "cvwtc at aol.com" <cvwtc at aol.com> wrote:

Approving of their hardship would also teach others looking to rid
themselves of historic properties to defer on maintenance until a structure
becomes unsafe and needs to be torn down.

We've had a couple of examples of that happening in Beverly, most notably
the Washington-Beedle School.  Before preservationists even had a chance to
advocate for this city-owned property, it was suddenly determined to be
"structurally unsafe" so it was torn down almost overnight to make room for
a Walgreens.  Laws governing historic preservation can always be bypassed if
a structure is deemed unsafe and once a structure is gone, there's no way to
obtain a second opinion.  Your group needs to strongly oppose a demolition
hardship if the integrity of your district is to be maintained.  It would
also set the proper tone.

Has a community ever given the owners of an historic property a tax-break to
stimulate renovation?  It seems like many city councils have no problem
giving sustained and significant property tax reductions to wealthy
developers when they come before City Hall to pitch a project.

Matt Pujo     

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