[MassHistPres] Demolition Delay Municipal Properties

[Anne Forbes]

John's reply certainly strikes a chord this spring in Acton.  The demolition of an early 1930s barn, a principal building on the town's last intact Depression-era farmstead, is a key part of a proposed $2.8 milliion CPA project.  The farm is owned by the town, and the CPA application has received the support of the Selectmen, Community Preservation Committee, and other key town boards--this in spite of the fact that MHC has found the farm and its standing historic resources eligible for the National Register.  

So good luck to the Belmont HC if municipally-owned properties are not included in the upcoming demolition-delay bylaw.  I hope it doesn't get written that way.  In the meantime, does anyone on this list have experience with funded CPA projects that have included demolition of historic resources?

Anne Forbes
Acton  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: John Worden 
  To: 'Michael Smith' ; MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 10:47 AM
  Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Demolition Delay Municipal Properties


  It seems to me that if a building is worthy of being put on the list - as are several municipal buildings in Arlington - then the Town and any developer interested in buying it should be concerned not with how quickly it can be torn it down but how well it can adapted & restored.  It is just possible that the Historical Commission may have to protect Belmont's historic resources in the future not just from the greed of developers but from the, shall we say, insensitivities of municipal officials.

   

  John Worden

  Arlington HDC

   

  From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Michael Smith
  Sent: Monday, March 25, 2013 3:42 PM
  To: MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
  Subject: [MassHistPres] Demolition Delay Municipal Properties

   

  Hello,

   

  The Belmont Historical Commission is proposing a demolition delay bylaw with a list of historic properties.  Historic municipal buildings are included on the list; however, concerns have been raised that the result of having demolition delay would inhibit the ability of the Town to effectively market municipal properties it might wish to sell.  The logic is that proposed buyers/developers would want to know the status prior to submitting bids.  How do other communities handle this concern?

   

  Thank You,

   

  Michael Smith, Co-Chair                   

  Belmont Historical Commission 

   



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