[MassHistPres] Compliance Reporting (Chris Milford)

Barbara Kurze bkurze at newtonma.gov
Fri Sep 1 12:33:29 EDT 2017


Hello Andrew,

In Newton, Historic Preservation staff has to sign off on the project before the building inspectors will do the final inspection. Not every project requires a building permit and a final inspection, but this process helps us catch and resolve issues with bigger projects especially when there is a Certificate of Occupancy on the line. Insubstantial changes can be handled administratively. Major deviations have to go back to the Commission for review and either approval if deemed appropriate or plan to correct if not appropriate. If the final project does not comply with the CofA and the owner does not come back in front of the Commission after receiving a letter of violation, our ordinance allows the Commission to refuse to review all future applications for that property until the matter is resolved and for the building department to refuse to issue permits until the violation is cleared. The ordinance also allows for $300/day fine.

Best,


Barbara Kurze
Senior Preservation Planner
City of Newton Planning and Development Department
Phone:(617) 796-1129  Fax: (617) 796-1086




-----Original Message-----
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Chris Milford
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2017 10:58 AM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [MassHistPres] Compliance Reporting (Chris Milford)

In Natick we are similar to Arlington.  We assign a "resource person" to each application primarily to provide the applicant with an easy resource when they need to make minor changes during construction.  This works well for most applicants but it relies on voluntary compliance.  The building department enforces the building code and zoning regulations, but generally is not looking for compliance with the CofA.  We are pursuing Town approval for a HDC sign-off on the building permit to ensure compliance .  We know of two other towns that have implemented this .  You might also want to look at Rockport's Rules, Procedures, and Regulations for their detailed Compliance Violation Resolution Process.
Chris Milford
Natick Historic District Commission

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Subject: MassHistPres Digest, Vol 139, Issue 1

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Today's Topics:

   1. compliance reporting (John Worden)
   2. Historic house demo in swampscott (Richard Smith)


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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 11:29:10 -0400
From: "John Worden" <jworden at swwalaw.com>
Subject: [MassHistPres] compliance reporting
To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Message-ID: <003601d3226d$e4a87020$adf95060$@swwalaw.com>
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In Arlington, every time a certificate is issued for a project in one of our
7 historic districts, we appoint one of our members as the "monitor" for that project.  He/she becomes the contact person for the property owner.  If issues come up, the monitor resolves them, or, in difficult cases, refers them to the HDC's next meeting for guidance.  If it's a large or complicate project, we may appoint 2 monitors, one of whom has architectural experience.  When the project is completed, the monitor is supposed to so report to the commission, so that it can be taken off the very long list of open certificates which accompanies the agenda of each monthly  meeting.

John Worden
Arlington HDC

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Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2017 9:31 AM
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Subject: MassHistPres Digest, Vol 138, Issue 13

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Today's Topics:

   1. Compliance Self-Reporting (Andrew Shveda)
   2. Re: Compliance Self-Reporting (Nancy Miller)
   3. Re: Compliance Self-Reporting (Patricia Kelleher)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2017 08:53:56 -0400
From: Andrew Shveda <ashveda at gmail.com>
Subject: [MassHistPres] Compliance Self-Reporting
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Message-ID:
<CAC7ttronDpmEjfR+qK8PuMfzm02OJMxjX4neasgToX7TLQ7DFw at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

The Worcester Historical Commission is currently working on revising and updating the rules and regulations pertaining to the three Local Historic Districts found in the city, Massachusetts Avenue, Montvale and Crown Hill.
One item we have been struggling with is how to ascertain compliance with issued Certificates of Appropriateness. We currently have one dedicated Historic Preservationist on staff, and that is a new development which we are very grateful for. But asking this person to be responsible for compliance checks and fulfill all the other duties of the role is not possible. Especially since we will hopefully soon be reevaluating our Demolition Delay Bylaws and making some changes with regards to compliance as well.

The question is, how to other communities' HC's and LHC's  handle compliance checks as well as penalties for failure to comply with the issued certificates?

One idea that was passed around was to ask the applicant to submit a self-report form with a detailed narrative supported with photographic evidence describing how the specific points of the Certificate of Appropriateness was adhered to. We could then sign off on them either administratively or as a commission and then close out he application.

If this where to be successful we would think about applying this to Demo-Delay applications as well since we see many more of those than Certificates of Appropriateness applications in LHD's.


I would be grateful for any input on what your community does to enforce compliance and thoughts on this particular idea in general.

Best Regards,


Andrew Shveda, AIA NCARB
Chairman
Worcester Historical Commission
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Message: 2
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2017 16:50:13 -0400
From: Nancy Miller <nancyjoymiller at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Compliance Self-Reporting
To: Andrew Shveda <ashveda at gmail.com>
Cc: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Message-ID:
<CAJrvgZoYmucBMu-CxDftryDxu_fXzLfX9Xwh4W8puKaONpWefA at mail.gmail.com>
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Hi Andrew
I think it's critical that you develop a solid working relationship with the city's Building Inspector.  Their department would be the final sign off for any conditions with the building permit. Wareham gives the Town Clerk and the Building Inspector the Order of Conditions for any Certificate of Appropriateness  involving properties that fall under the purview of the Commission. The more information the Inspector's office has,such as your revised rules and regulations, maps, or information on previous projects, the better/ easier the process Wishing you well Nan Miller Wareham

On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 8:53 AM, Andrew Shveda <ashveda at gmail.com> wrote:

> The Worcester Historical Commission is currently working on revising
> and updating the rules and regulations pertaining to the three Local
> Historic Districts found in the city, Massachusetts Avenue, Montvale
> and
Crown Hill.
> One item we have been struggling with is how to ascertain compliance
> with issued Certificates of Appropriateness. We currently have one
> dedicated Historic Preservationist on staff, and that is a new
> development which we are very grateful for. But asking this person to
> be responsible for compliance checks and fulfill all the other duties
> of the role is not possible. Especially since we will hopefully soon
> be reevaluating our Demolition Delay Bylaws and making some changes
> with regards to compliance as well.
>
> The question is, how to other communities' HC's and LHC's  handle
> compliance checks as well as penalties for failure to comply with the
> issued certificates?
>
> One idea that was passed around was to ask the applicant to submit a
> self-report form with a detailed narrative supported with photographic
> evidence describing how the specific points of the Certificate of
> Appropriateness was adhered to. We could then sign off on them either
> administratively or as a commission and then close out he application.
>
> If this where to be successful we would think about applying this to
> Demo-Delay applications as well since we see many more of those than
> Certificates of Appropriateness applications in LHD's.
>
>
> I would be grateful for any input on what your community does to
> enforce compliance and thoughts on this particular idea in general.
>
> Best Regards,
>
>
> Andrew Shveda, AIA NCARB
> Chairman
> Worcester Historical Commission
>
>
> ******************************
> For administrative questions regarding this list, please contact
> Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us directly.  PLEASE DO NOT "REPLY" TO THE
> WHOLE LIST.
> MassHistPres mailing list
> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/mailman/listinfo/masshistpres
> ********************************
>
>
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 12:45:58 +0000
From: Patricia Kelleher <pkelleher at Salem.com>
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Compliance Self-Reporting
To: Andrew Shveda <ashveda at gmail.com>, "masshistpres at cs.umb.edu"
<masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Message-ID:

<CY4PR16MB1749A1BD87BF20E13B3BF0B8A79D0 at CY4PR16MB1749.namprd16.prod.outlook.
com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Hi Andrew,

The Salem Historical Commission has been experiencing the same challenge with ensuring that work completed in the City?s historic districts complies with the approved certificate. This is particularly difficult to monitor since many property owners do not start work immediately after receiving approval from the Commission and may wait until up to one year to complete the work. In several recent cases, the Commission discovered after the fact that the work completed was in violation of the approved design.  I contacted other historic district commission staff to learn more about their local processes and can send you this information.  Based on this research, the Salem Historical Commission has now added the following language to Certificates of Appropriateness:

?Upon completion of work, please notify Historical Commission staff for final review and sign-off of Certificate.?

We are also working with the Building Inspector and IT to develop a notification system on our ViewPermit software to alert SHC staff when an owner in an historic district applies for a building permit so that we are aware when work starts. We are also working to develop a departmental process that requires final review and approval by SHC staff before a building permit can be signed-off by the Building Inspector.

Please feel free to give me a call if you would like more information.

Best,

Patti

-----------------------------
Patti Kelleher
Preservation Planner, City of Salem
Department of Planning & Community Development
120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor
Salem, MA 01970
Phone: 978-619-5685/ Fax: 978-740-0404
pkelleher at salem.com<mailto:pkelleher at salem.com>
www.salem.com<http://www.salem.com/>





From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Andrew Shveda
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2017 8:54 AM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [MassHistPres] Compliance Self-Reporting

The Worcester Historical Commission is currently working on revising and updating the rules and regulations pertaining to the three Local Historic Districts found in the city, Massachusetts Avenue, Montvale and Crown Hill.
One item we have been struggling with is how to ascertain compliance with issued Certificates of Appropriateness. We currently have one dedicated Historic Preservationist on staff, and that is a new development which we are very grateful for. But asking this person to be responsible for compliance checks and fulfill all the other duties of the role is not possible. Especially since we will hopefully soon be reevaluating our Demolition Delay Bylaws and making some changes with regards to compliance as well.

The question is, how to other communities' HC's and LHC's  handle compliance checks as well as penalties for failure to comply with the issued certificates?

One idea that was passed around was to ask the applicant to submit a self-report form with a detailed narrative supported with photographic evidence describing how the specific points of the Certificate of Appropriateness was adhered to. We could then sign off on them either administratively or as a commission and then close out he application.

If this where to be successful we would think about applying this to Demo-Delay applications as well since we see many more of those than Certificates of Appropriateness applications in LHD's.


I would be grateful for any input on what your community does to enforce compliance and thoughts on this particular idea in general.

Best Regards,


Andrew Shveda, AIA NCARB
Chairman
Worcester Historical Commission

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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2017 21:21:20 -0400
From: "Richard Smith" <rcsmitharch at verizon.net>
Subject: [MassHistPres] Historic house demo in swampscott
To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Message-ID: <00de01d322c0$9ed34ef0$dc79ecd0$@verizon.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

We are looking at a developing situation here in Swampscott.  133 Puritan Road, a waterfront house from 1913, faces a development proposal that would entirely remove the buildings and vegetation to construct 3 condo buildings with 16 units on a 1.06 acre site.  The property, which is inventoried under SWA 494 and 1620, is a Classical Revival summer home on the water.  Our researcher, Lisa Mausolf, identifies this as National Register eligible and potentially an element of a small historic district with several nearby houses.  The house and its grounds are the backdrop to Swampscott harbor as seen from Fisherman's Beach and an important survivor of the summer estates era in Swampscott.  The town does not have a local historic district in place here at this point.  The town will be looking at the usual zoning, public safety, traffic and FEMA flood zone issues, but the Historical Commission is charged with protecting Town historic resources.

The developer has applied to MassHousing for a 40B approval, allowing them to override the zoning requirements for this area.  They propose to make 4 units affordable, and they anticipate a total sale revenue for the 16 units of $17 million.  Have other communities faced similar situations in which significant historic properties were threatened by 40B development?  Has any community successfully argued with MassHousing that significant historic sites should not be considered suitable for this type of development?  The town does have areas that have been identified in our new master plan as appropriate for affordable housing.  But not here.


Richard Smith
Swampscott Historic Commission

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