[MassHistPres] demo delay property transfers

[Marisa Morra]

The Weston's Historical Commission's Rules for this:

	We went over this very thoroughly with our Building Inspector and our Town Counsel.  Our Demo Delay is to a specific owner, not the property, as it is tied to the Demolition application and permit. The Demolition application/permit has an expiration date/ legal time frame by which it must be acted on or expire, and therefore the demolition delay also has a  date by which is must be acted on by the person who applied for it or it expires.  Also, it specifically says a new owner must re-apply for demolition if it has not been completed by the previous owner.  This thwarts the  realtors who tell people  to just  apply to demo the house  before you list it so the potential buyer has options for the property as a lot without waiting.  They do not. 

From our WHC Rules and Regulations :

D. The Commission’s determination under Paragraph VII of Article XXVI Demolition Delay that a building shall be considered preferably preserved and, therefore, subject to a twelve-month demolition delay, shall result in the issuance of a “Demolition Certificate”. The Demolition Certificate is valid for one year after the 12 months has expired, unless the permit holder obtains and uses an active building permit, in accordance with 780 CMR State Building Code, in which case the Demolition Certificate runs coterminous with the building permit. The building permit and the Demolition Certificate are valid only for the person to whom it was issued. If the property is sold, and the work for which the building permit was granted has not been issued a final close out, the new owner must reapply. Approved by the Commission November 13, 2013

Marisa Morra
Weston Historical Commission Member




On Nov 17, 2016, at 2:47 PM, Katy Hax Holmes wrote:

> Hello Marilyn,
>  
> The City of Newton recently changed its ordinance to make the ownership of historic properties non-transferrable during demo delay periods.  The demo delay no longer transfers by address, and purchase-and-sale documents are no longer sufficient proof of ownership.  Having just passed this change in the spring, we are aware of the ‘opportunity’ allowed in the building code to transfer ownership of demolition permits once the demo delay expires.  Nevertheless, Newton’s primary objective was to strengthen the intent of the demolition delay by ensuring that property owners used the delay period to find alternatives to demolition.  Again, still early yet, but the changes have reduced the number of historic properties on our historical commission’s agenda for which demolition was never intended (e.g. a marketing tool to ‘start the clock’), and the Commission has more time to pursue protection measures for threatened historically significant structures. 
>  
> Katy Hax Holmes
> City of Newton
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