[MassHistPres] Greater Toxteth NCD

[Dennis De Witt]

All

The AG has now approved Brookline’s first multi-property Neighborhood Conservation District.  All things being equal, I would have preferred an LHD.  However this district  is an area that was originally within the boundaries of a proposed LHD, but it was excised on the way to town meeting because it didn’t show the approximately ±80% owner support that town meeting has come to use as a rough litmus test.

When this area backed out of the proposed LHD, there were concerns raised by its residents both that the LHD went too far and that it might not go far enough — for instance re protecting trees.  

Members of the area researched available NCD options and were involved in the drafting of brookline’s NCD bylaw — which has the potential to be stronger than an LHD.  e.g. it need not be limited to visibility from a public way and can address land forms and vegetation.

The neighborhood then experienced a traumatic mega addition to an existing house — one carefully crafted not to require even minor zoning relief (which is unusual in Brookline) and had avoided the demolition delay law’s partial demolition criteria.  In response, the neighborhood drafted an NCD bylaw amendment that addressed the issues that concerned them.

These were 
i) mega additions — scale and preserving the backyard viewshead down the centers of blocks were important

ii) moving facades closer to the street and filling in porches — maintaining streetscapes was important

The guidelines for the neighborhood has a number of design review exclusions, like those in 40c plus some others.  There are also no specific “stylistic” guidelines — although the commission could develop some in Rules & Regs.

For this neighborhood, the bylaw is NON-operative as long as: 

a) the cumulative affect of one or more expansions of the building envelope after the creation of the NCD does not increase the new habitable floor space within the expanded envelope by more than 15% or 

b) the front plane of the building is not advanced towards the street and/or a porch space between that front building plane and the street is not enclosed.

If either of those two “triggers" occurs, then very robust design review is possible with no "visible from a public way” restrictions — everything (except the standard exceptions) become reviewable.

The guidelines also effectively cap such expansion at a max. of 30% .

My guess is that, had this been in effect in Brookline’s two older LHDs over the course of their 30 year existence to date, it would have been triggered on average less than once a year.

It may be a useful anti-overdevelopment tool.  However, at least in this seldom invoked form, it is not preservation.  Such an NCD can never be equated with a 40c Historic District.  There are places where it would be OK.  The quality of the buildings in this neighborhood deserved better.

The advantage (and disadvantage) of a 40c district is that its guidelines are essentially “take it or leave it.”  If it passes, it is (or should be) a true preservation tool.  

The disadvantage of an NCD is that it can be whatever the neighborhood will accept, which will probably always mean lowest common denominator — or so it would seem with a town meeting process.

Dennis De Witt
Brookline