[MassHistPres] Preservation Restrictions for town-owned historic properties funded with CPA

[Diane Gilbert]

Greetings All,

Has anyone ever encountered the following situation?

1) publicly-owned historic property;  2) the recipient of CPA funds; 3) CPC
with approval by Town Meeting has stipulated that a HPR in perpetuity was
necessary to protect the Town¹s interests and investment; and 4) town
counsel intervened to express an opinion that a single, albeit qualified and
authorized, non-profit entity [grantee] cannot both hold and monitor the
preservation restriction for the Town [grantor]?  The non-profit entity
happens to be the Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust [DHPT].

This is the first that I¹ve ever heard of a a proposal that would grant the
responsibilities of a PR [to have and to hold and monitor] to two different
entities, one to hold and the other to monitor.  PRs can be very complicated
and there¹s also the matter of the endowment and enforcement.

Apparently there is case law that supports town counsel¹s position.   The
Community Preservation Coalition typically defers to the local town counsels
on any decisions made at the local level.  This one seems to be an
over-reach, doesn¹t make any sense to me as a non-lawyer, and begs the
question, how does this sort of arrangement work in the real world?

In the interest of full disclosure, DHPT is at the finish line with the Town
to hold and monitor the PR for another town-owned building.  During the many
meetings and draft agreements we¹ve reviewed with the Town, including Town
Counsel, this issue never came up.  In fact in that case, CPC and Town
Meeting approved that DHPT would hold and monitor that preservation
restriction. I fail to see the distinction.

Perhaps someone out there can enlighten me.

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Diane Gilbert, President
Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust, Inc.
Dartmouth, MA



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