[MassHistPres] Examples of CPA funds used for Historic Preservation of Privately Owned Property?

[Jim Wald]

The short answer is: we have begun to do it here--most recently, $ 
75,000 toward preservation of a historic barn that was an iconic part of 
the viewscape on a heavily traveled road.

There are at least two basic issues: fairness and practicality.

Obviously, one could imagine a situation in which many applicants came 
forward. We therefore apply something like the criteria of historic 
significance used in standard Dept. of Interior or other preservation 
work. There has to be some public interest in the preservation. This 
helps to establish a hierarchy, so that the process will stay manageable 
(though, truth be told, we have had relatively few such private requests.

In addition, of course, as a matter of both law and good practice, there 
has to be a quid pro quo: we give money to a private party for the 
public good, and in exchange, we demand a permanent public interest--in 
the form of a preservation restriction. Thus, for example, when we gave 
the Unitarian Meeting house funds to restore a Tiffany window in the 
last year, we required that the window be made available to the public 
through nighttime illumination and regular daytime interior visiting 
opportunities--and that the window remain in the building and the town. 
In the case of the barn, we received from the owners a preservation 
restriction on the house as well as the barn--so that a future owner 
could not come in and do a teardown of the residence or otherwise 
compromise the integrity of the historic landscape.

Occasionally, a private property owner has balked at the terms of the 
restriction (in fact, the Unitarians decided not to pursue a grant for 
work on the window several years ago for that very reason).  The 
requirement of a restriction seems to serve as a good winnowing and 
sifting mechanism.

Perhaps those examples help a little bit.

Jim Wald
Amherst Select Board liaison to the Historical Commission
Past Chair, Amherst Historical Commission



On 17/06/2014 16:24, Stacia Caplanson wrote:
>
> I received a query from a consultant who is working with a community 
> to gather  information on the use of CPA funds for historic 
> preservation/rehabilitation/restoration of privately owned (versus 
> publicly owned or non-profit owned) property.  They are interested  in 
> how other communities handle the issue and would like to assemble 
> information on the various issues involved -- 
> advantages/disadvantages, pros/cons, pitfalls, issues to pay 
> particular attention to, etc.
>
> My contact has reviewed the information on the Community Preservation 
> Coalition website and obtained useful information on the Cambridge 
> program.  Any other information you have to share about experiences in 
>  other communities will very helpful.
>
> My contact  would also like to contact some CPCs who have used CPA 
> funds for privately owned projects to get their firsthand account.
>
> Any information you have on this issue will be greatly appreciated. 
> Thank you.
>
> Stacia
>
> Stacia Caplanson
>
> Circuit Rider
>
> Preservation Massaschusetts
>
> 617-999-3256
>
> scaplanson at preservationmass.org <mailto:mpbarker at preservationmass.org>
>
> Preservation Massachusetts
>
> www.preservationmass.org <http://www.preservationmass.org/>
>
> Old City Hall
>
> 45 School Street
>
> Boston, MA 02108
>
>
>
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