[MassHistPres] historic commissions + burial grounds

[Dennis De Witt]

Surely they are "signs"

"Here lies ye body . . . "

Dennis De Witt



On Sep 8, 2011, at 11:24 AM, Chris Skelly wrote:

> Just to be clear, under MGL Chapter 40C, a regulated structure in a local
> historic district is a "combination of materials other than a building,
> including a sign, fence, wall, terrace, walk or driveway."
> 
> Are you hoping to convince your town counsel and/or your commission members
> that LHDCs around the state would consider these burial markers as
> structures?  It might be useful to hear from your town counsel on whether it
> would be useful for him/her to hear the broad range of structures LHDCs
> review - whether they are part of a burial ground or not.  Chris.
> 
> Christopher C. Skelly
> Director of Local Government Programs
> Massachusetts Historical Commission
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
> [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Roseanne Saalfield
> Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 10:10 AM
> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic commissions + burial grounds
> 
> 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
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