[MassHistPres] How is demolition defined in your city/town?

[Lgieselincoln]

The Town of Lincoln's Demolition Delay by-law includes this definition of demolition:

Demolition:  any act of puling down destroying, removing, burning by arson, dismantling, or razing a building or structure, or any substantial portion thereof, or commencing the work of total or substantial destruction with the intent of completion of the same  Substantial portion is defined as twenty-five percent (25%) of the  volume of the building or structure, or twenty-five  percent (25%) of the roof structure."

Lucretia Giese
Chair, Lincoln Historical Commission 


-----Original Message-----
From: Roughan, Michael <Michael.Roughan at hdrinc.com>
To: David Temple <davidftemple at yahoo.com>; Masshistpres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Mon, Jun 25, 2018 9:58 am
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] How is demolition defined in your city/town?

David,
 
Hopkinton had no clear definition of demolition and after a developer demolished all but the front door of a 100 year old house without the appropriate permit we adopted the following language.
 
DEMOLITION PERMIT -- Any permit, including, without limitation, a demolition, alteration or building permit issued by the Director of Municipal Inspections, as required by the State Building Code, that authorizes the demolition of a structure or component thereof, with or without the intent to replace the structure or component so affected; but excluding, however, the demolition of only the nonstructural portions of the exterior  and / or all interior components.
 
This definition excludes siding / window and other cosmetic renovations from requiring a demolition permit but requires a demo permit for any changes to the underlying structure and has made for clear dialogue between the Applicant, Historical Commission and the Inspectional Services Department.
 
….Mike
 
Michael Roughan, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP, ACHA
Chairman - Hopkinton Historical Commission
 
Town of Hopkinton
18 Main Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748

D 617.357.7725 M 617.784.6463


 
From: MassHistPres [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of David Temple
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2018 11:05 PM
To: Masshistpres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: [MassHistPres] How is demolition defined in your city/town?
 
On the Medfield Historical Commission, when we consider demolition applications, our mantra has always been, "when in doubt, err on the side of preservation." So we hold hearings on all demolition applications.  This occasionally leads to situations like last night's, where we held hearings on proposals to demolish part of the roofs of three houses (built between 1962 and 1965) so the owners could expand upwards.  The hearings lasted a total of about 10 minutes, and we released all three for partial demolition.
 
The eighth state building code defined demolition as "the removal or dismantling of existing construction in whole or in part."  That suggested we were doing the right thing by requiring demo permits in cases like the above...even though common sense suggests there's nothing historic there. 
 
Though it seems strange to me, I've been told demolition is no longer defined in the state building code. I looked but couldn't find a definition of demolition in the ninth, which was effective 10/20/2017. 
 
I'd like to know how you define demolition in your city or town, where you draw the line when it comes to requiring a demo application, and any other thoughts you have on this subject.
 
In your reply, please include my original message. 

David F. Temple 
President, Medfield Historical Society
Co-chair, Medfield Historical Commission
300 South Street 
Medfield, MA 02052 
H-508-359-2915 
M-508-613-6606 
 
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