[MassHistPres] Developer using 40B to advance development in LHD

[Ward Hamilton]

Thanks, again, to all who've weighed in. It looks like we've identified
some legal questions:

• What will happen once the building is done being erected in the LHD? Does
it then fall under the purview of the HDC? This seems farcical, but it's a
legitimate question;

• Where is funding coming from? Shouldn't the developer be required to
divulge the  information? If it's from the feds, or through the state but
originates at HUD, this building is in an NRHP district and Section 106
review should be triggered; and,

• There's a disconnect here that we can't quite put our finger on. If 40B
reduces all regulatory commissions in a municipality to an advisory
capacity, then no building is safe in a 40C local historic district. That
can't possibly be right in Massachusetts, can it?

I think the next step is to confer with counsel on this. Can anyone
recommend an attorney with a background in historic preservation legal
issues and challenges in the Commonwealth? Thanks.



Ward Hamilton
Chairman
Melrose Historical Commission

On Thu, Jan 21, 2021, 12:46 PM sally milne <urbanosally at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Ward thanks for the answers.
>     Most you probably know , Attend all the meetings with a group of your
> supporters , the larger the better.   We recently faced the demolition of a
> historic Sea Captains Home in an area that  we had been working on to
> preserve.  The demolition of the home would have  made room for a 7000 sq
> ft  Dollar General store.  Our ZBA was flooded with letters and we attended
> every meeting once armed with signs indicating our point of view.   We won
> that round.
>      In regards to 40b : In the same area mentioned above we worked to
> save another Historic Captains' Home that had plans for demolition to make
> way for a 40B Habitat for Humanity project . .  We attended every meeting
> as the project worked its way through the process.We flooded social media
> with letters to the local  press, letters to our board of Selectmen  and
> facebook postings.  The project ended up morphing .The  front portion of
> the property with the historic home  was sold in a complicated transaction.
> ; and  habitat retained the land in the back to  build their six homes.
>  We found it helpful to hire a lawyer, though mostly not helpful to turn
> down 40B it was helpful to keep an eye on procedures. One mistake on
> procedure  in the application process can put a 40b in jeopardy.
> I realize not exactly the same, but always ideas for the process have
> helped me. Wish you much luck
> Sally Urbano
> Harwich
>
> > On Jan 21, 2021, at 11:50 AM, Russel Feldman <RFeldman at tbaarchitects.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > TBA designed a friendly 40B in Newton, which involved moving an historic
> house on the same site, converting it to affordable housing, and
> constructing two other buildings with multiple units.  We submitted the
> designs for Historic Commission review and received strong support.
> > We never attempted to avoid the historic review so I can't say that it
> was required under the statute.  The project received CPC funding and the
> requirement was a condition of the funding.
> >
> > Russel Feldman, AIA, NCARB | Principal Emeritus | TBA Architects, Inc.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> On Behalf Of sally
> milne
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2021 1:56 PM
> > To: Ward Hamilton <melrosehistcomm at gmail.com>
> > Cc: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> > Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Developer using 40B to advance development
> in LHD
> >
> > Hi.  Ward,
> >   So the developer is no longer talking of demolition correct? He wants
> to use the building for affordable housing through the 40B process?   Is
> that correct?   I’d be curious. 40B overrides all the local zoning true,
> but wondering if the building is in the LHD then I assume the outside of
> the building must be maintained following the rules of the Historic
> district. Can anyone comment on that?
> >
> > Sally Urbano
> > Harwich,Mass,
> > Individually
> >
> >> On Jan 19, 2021, at 6:14 PM, Ward Hamilton <melrosehistcomm at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> In 2019, the Melrose Historical Commission led a coalition of concerned
> residents that opposed the demolition of the oldest commercial building
> (ca. 1875) in the downtown local historic district. The Historic District
> Commission unanimously rejected the application and all was well for the
> moment.
> >>
> >> Since then, the developer has filed a 40B application and has a hearing
> before the Melrose zoning board of appeals next Wednesday night, January
> 27th.  What can be done at this point? Anything? I'm guessing that they
> still need to acquire permission from the ZBA for certain variances, is
> that the only bargaining chip left?
> >>
> >> The mayor, city planner and city councilor (whose ward this is in) all
> support the project.  So there's no support to be found there.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Ward Hamilton
> >> Chairman
> >> Melrose Historical Commission
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
> >> http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/listinfo/masshistpres
> >
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