[MassHistPres] Questions about individual commissioner conversations with potential COA applicants

[Young, Andrea]

Judy, as you said, a commission member who offers suggestions, albeit well-intended, can end up in the unfortunate position of  being out of tune with the rest of the commission.

The Chair  instructs new members at to outset to avoid talking to anyone, even a friend, about any project outside of the public forum.  Instead, we strongly encourage applicants to schedule an informal discussion with the commission, which takes place at a regularly scheduled meeting.  Applicants appear with conceptual drawings or sketches and get feedback on their projects from the commission.  It saves the applicants from investing in architectural plans that may have to be revised after a first hearing.  The commission benefits as well from having an opportunity to identify things that are unlikely to be approved.

This approach has worked well for us, pretty much eliminating misunderstandings and the aggravation it causes; and saving time and money.

Andrea Young

[Town of Hingham]<http://www.hingham-ma.gov/>


Andrea Young
Administrator
Hingham Historical Commission
Hingham Historic Districts Commission
Town of Hingham
210 Central Street
Hingham, MA 02043
Voice: (781) 741-1492
younga at hingham-ma.gov<mailto:younga at hingham-ma.gov>
www.hingham-ma.gov<http://www.hingham-ma.gov>

________________________________



From: MassHistPres [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Judy Neiswander
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2019 1:32 PM
To: MHC Preservation listserv <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: [MassHistPres] Questions about individual commissioner conversations with potential COA applicants

The Dedham HDC offers the following assistance to COA applicants on the town's website:

The HDC strongly encourages applicants to meet with its representatives to review their project prior to submitting an Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness. The Commission will gladly offer advice to those property owners who are considering making alterations to their historic properties.

In practice, what happens is that an individual commissioner may be contacted by a potential applicant, often a friend or neighbor, who asks for assistance with preparation of the COA application. When asked about appropriate materials, design, etc., the commissioner may offer in good faith an interpretation of the guidelines that they believe will be acceptable to the commission as a whole. When the completed application, based upon this advice, comes before the commission it can sometimes be rejected when the majority of members disagree with the interpretation, causing conflict within the commission and delays for the applicant. Have other commissions found ways of handling these requests for individual, pre-application consultation in a more standardized fashion? Is the consultation always offered by the commissioner with the most architectural expertise? Are the results of the commission's decision always sent in written form or are they sometimes shared in private conversations? Are there legal issues involved in these types of communications?

Many thanks,

Judy Neiswander
Commissioner
Dedham Historic Districts Commission/Historical Commission
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