[MassHistPres] Demo Delay

[Dennis De Witt]

I agree, inspection by the Commissioner should not be a regular part of the process.  

If someone makes a claim that a building is unsound then surely it is the Building Commissioner’s obligation to investigate.  

I know such claims are occasionally made but I do not recall ever encountering one in Brookline.  

That said, there have been a handful of cases where the Commission has asserted Demolition by neglect and the Building Commissioner has then inspected the property at the Commission’s request and, as needed, required work.

Having a demo by neglect clause, might suit your purpose.  Then if someone says the building is unsound you can invoke that clause.

Lastly, this doesn’t exactly fit your situation but could be made to do so —  Brookline’s Rules and Regs for LHDs include this clause:
For alterations, construction, or demolitions subject to Commission review and which require a building permit, the Building Commissioner is the de facto next line of enforcement of Commission rules and regulations, guidelines and decisions. Just as the Building Commissioner cooperates with and coordinates with the Board of Health and the Conservation Commission to ensure that proposed plans are acceptable to those Town bodies, the Building Commissioner ensures that no building permit is issued in an Historic District for plans that have not received a Certificate from the Commission. In addition the Building Inspector must be attentive to the approved design and must notify the Commission Staff in the event of any variations observed between the approved design and the as-built project. 

And this
If there is no satisfactory response from the owner within that time period or if the proposed plan (as it may be modified during the discussion at the Commission meeting) is found inadequate, the Commission may declare the situation on the site to be illegal under MGL. 40C §6 and request that the Town apply the available remedies under MGL. 40C §13. The Commission may also refer the matter to the Building Inspector for enforcement of the conditions of the building permit or to remedy the absence of a permit if that is the case. 

And, the Commissioner is built into the R&Rs under Demo by Neglect:
In furtherance of determining its condition, the Commission may, at any time, request an inspection of the building by the Building Commissioner.

And

In the event that the Commission and the Building Commissioner both determine that they are not able to negotiate such an agreement with the owner, for any reason, or that the owner has agreed to undertake but has failed to satisfactorily complete such repairs in a timely manner, then the Commission and the Building Commissioner may take such action as is permitted under Sections 5.3.13 and/or 5.3.15, and/or without limit the Building Code, including seeking a court order that specific repairs be undertaken to secure the building against the elements, vandals, and vermin, to halt further deterioration, and to stabilize it structurally.

d) Upon completion of all repairs that have been agreed upon between the owner and the Commission and Building Commissioner or that have been ordered by the Building Commissioner, or that have been ordered by the court, and upon certification to the Commission by the Building Commissioner that said repairs have been completed and that the building has no current Building Code violations, the Commission shall certify that the building is no longer undergoing Demolition by Neglect. 

And under Demolition by Misadventure

In the event that the Commission and the Building Commissioner both determine that they are not able to negotiate such an agreement with the owner, for any reason, or that the owner has agreed to undertake but has failed to satisfactorily complete such repairs in a timely manner, then the Commission and the Building Commissioner may take such action as is permitted under Sections 5.3.13 and/or 5.3.15, and/or without limit the Building Code, including seeking a court order that specific repairs be undertaken to secure the building against the elements, vandals, and vermin, to halt further deterioration, and to stabilize it structurally.

d) Upon completion of all repairs that have been agreed upon between the owner and the Commission and Building Commissioner or that have been ordered by the Building Commissioner, or that have been ordered by the court, and upon certification to the Commission by the Building Commissioner that said repairs have been completed and that the building has no current Building Code violations, the Commission shall certify that the building is no longer undergoing Demolition by Neglect.

Dennis De Witt

Brookline

> On May 22, 2020, at 10:46 AM, Diane Gilbert <d.m.gilbert51 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> That seems like a slippery slope to me. Eager to see what others think.
> 
> Diane Gilbert
> Dartmouth Historical Commission 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On May 22, 2020, at 10:31 AM, Eric Dray <ericedray at gmail.com <mailto:ericedray at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Hamilton is looking to update their procedure for demo delay review. A question has arisen about whether the Commission can require/ask the Building Inspector to make an assessment of a building’s condition, especially when an assessment has been submitted by the applicant which may be suspect. Do any other towns have experience with this? Does that process need to be embedded in the bylaw?
>> Thank you… Eric
>>  
>> Eric E. Dray, MA JD  
>> Eric Dray Consulting
>> 71 Prentiss Street     
>> Cambridge, MA 02140        
>> 508.566.3797 
>> www.EricDrayConsulting.com <http://www.ericdrayconsulting.com/>
>>  
>>  
>> _______________________________________________
>> MassHistPres mailing list
>> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu <mailto:MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu>
>> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/listinfo/masshistpres <http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/listinfo/masshistpres>
> _______________________________________________
> MassHistPres mailing list
> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu <mailto:MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu>
> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/listinfo/masshistpres <http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/listinfo/masshistpres>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/pipermail/masshistpres/attachments/20200522/56b1f810/attachment.html>