[MassHistPres] historic commissions + burial grounds

[Roseanne Saalfield]

The town of Harvard's Historic Commission is seeking to craft a by-law change (for ATM 2012 in April) which would allow our commission oversight over the actions of Cemetery Commissioners in our two historic burial grounds. (Our action is prompted by the hotly disputed decision of the Cemetery Commission (CC) to chemically strip hundreds of years of paint from the hundreds of rare cast iron markers in our Shaker Burial Ground and to re-apply paint by powder coating. Sparing you the ugly and probably very boring details we have locked horns with CC since the spring when we discovered they had begun this 'restoration' project in earnest. Town Counsel, to our surprise and disappointment, judges the markers not structures and so says Historic has no jurisdiction in this decision. 

Our next best effort to protect the markers - and require CC to include a review by Historic in their restoration plan - is a by law change. A small minority of our commissioners would like to see proof that other towns' historic commissions are so involved.

To that end, I'm seeking to learn the scope of your historic commission's review of historic cemeteries and burial grounds and, if possible, the wording of your enabling legislation.

Thank  you
Roseanne Saalfield
Chair, Harvard Historic Commission