[MassHistPres] Question on municipal buildings in local historic districts

[Ralph Slate]

Don't forget the loophole that at least one municipality (Springfield) uses, which is MGL 40C, Section 9:

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to  ... prevent the meeting of requirements certified by a duly authorized public officer to be necessary for public safety because of an unsafe or dangerous condition, nor construed to prevent any construction or alteration under a permit duly issued prior to the effective date of the applicable historic district ordinance or by-law. 

Springfield's building code enforcement department will take a blighted property to court, get the court to declare that the property is a "danger" to the public, and, if the commission does not allow demolition, will just a notice to the commission saying they are going to do it anyway on the order of the building inspector and the courts. 

In one case, the building inspector refused to allow the potential redevelopment of a property by declaring that no one could legally enter the structure to repair it due to public safety danger.



Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA


On Wed, 23 Mar, 2016 at 2:15 PM, Skelly, Christopher (SEC) <christopher.skelly at state.ma.us> wrote:
 

To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu

Unless specifically exempt within the wording of your bylaw, municipal properties are not exempt from a local historic district.  It is standard practice statewide for the municipality to submit an application for a certificate for changes to exterior architectural features in a local historic district, just like all other property owners.  Chris.









Christopher C. Skelly
Director of Local Government Programs
Massachusetts Historical Commission
Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us<mailto:Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us>



From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] on behalf of Leo Greene [lgreene868 at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2016 12:45 PM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [MassHistPres] Question on municipal buildings in local historic districts




Looking for input from those with knowledge/experience with demolition issues around town-owned buildings in local historic districts (those districts established by MGL Ch. 40C)
Looking for a confirmation about the ability to stop demolition of municipal buildings in LHDs. Our understanding is that said municipal buildings are afforded the same protection as private homes in LHDs, but input on possible loopholes and experience would be helpful.
Many thanks in advance,
Leo Greene
Ballardvale Historic District Commission 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/private/masshistpres/attachments/20160323/a6b271f3/attachment.htm>