[MassHistPres] seasonal visibility in local historic districts

[Sarah White]

Somerville also does not consider vegetation as something that blocks a view from a public way. We also disregard fencing as well as we see them as non-permanent


Sarah White

Senior Planner

Zoning & Historic Preservation

________________________________
From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> on behalf of Ralph Slate <slater at alum.rpi.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2020 5:24 PM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] seasonal visibility in local historic districts

When I was on the Springfield Historical Commission, we did *not* consider non-controlled screenings to determine visibility (and thus control). We only considered screenings which were themselves controlled (such as another house).

In other words, you couldn't put up tall screen planting (which, I believe, there is a court case in the state of Massachusetts that says that screen plantings are not a feature that a historical commission can control), demolish your house, and then remove the screen planting and have no house - on the basis that the screen planting rendered your house "non-controlled due to it not being visible from the public way".

Another example of this would be, if your district does not control screen doors, to allow someone to put up a solid screen door, and then replace their historic door, and then remove the screen door.Â

We also would sometimes grant things under hardship *provided* that something that is otherwise not controlled be put into place. For example, allowing an electric meter on the front of a house *as long as* there is a bush planted in front of it. Those conditions are hard to perpetually control though.

We didn't have a legal opinion on this, it was just how we operated based on what appears to be a reasonable approach.

Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA

On 12/16/2020 5:16 PM, Patricia Kelleher wrote:

Hello,

Â

I have a local historic district question - Has anyone experienced a situation where a Commission found a proposed project to be not visible when an application was submitted only to discover several months later that the proposed work area is highly visible after surrounding trees have lost their leaves? If so, did the Commission have any recourse? Â

Â

Thank you,

Â

Patti

Â

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

Patti Kelleher

Preservation Planner, City of Salem

Department of Planning & Community Development

98 Washington Street, 2nd Floor

Salem, MA 01970

Phone: 978-619-5685

www.salem.com<http://www.salem.com>

www.preservingsalem.com<http://www.preservingsalem.com>

pkelleher at salem.com<mailto:pkelleher at salem.com>

Â



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