[MassHistPres] Demolition of a Newton Local Landmark

[Roughan, Michael]

Laura,

A few questions for clarification.

  1.  Is the property in a Historic District? If no Certificate of Appropriateness ws issued you have legal recourse to stop the work.
  2.  Was the property under the jurisdiction of a demolition delay (MGL Chapter 40) as is Hopkinton which has the following bylaw
[cid:image003.png at 01D74024.D8289EA0]

  1.  Was a demolition permit issued by the Building Department? If not you can have a stop work order issued.
  2.  If none of the above applies, you might not have much recourse to restore the original structure.

.....Mike

Michael Roughan, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP
Chairman
Hopkinton Historical Commission
18 Main St
Hopkinton, Ma. 01748
M +1.617.784.6463
Historychair at hopkintonma.gov<mailto:Historychair at hopkintonma.gov>

From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> On Behalf Of WN Hill Preservation
Sent: Sunday, May 2, 2021 7:05 AM
To: MHC MHC listserve <MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: [MassHistPres] Demolition of a Newton Local Landmark

CAUTION: [EXTERNAL] This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

We discovered last week that a builder has demolished an 18th century farmhouse, one of Newton's 24 Local Landmarks<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newtonma.gov%2Fgovernment%2Fplanning%2Fhistoric-preservation%2Fnewton-city-landmarks&data=04%7C01%7Cmichael.roughan%40hdrinc.com%7C616fd4089d0843a0f5f908d90dc31c4a%7C3667e201cbdc48b39b425d2d3f16e2a9%7C0%7C1%7C637555953919212460%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=KKJPyZWUMHe0noisyY9LH6xfQZRucaRyKqMMa%2Fa5ZBA%3D&reserved=0>.  This took place 3 months after the sale to a developer, despite very specific preservation measures discussed at length and agreed with the Historical Commission, and a stop work order from the inspectional department.

The farmhouse in our Oak Hill neighborhood originally belonged to the Hyde family, ancestors of the first mayor when the city was incorporated,James F. C. Hyde<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FJames_F._C._Hyde&data=04%7C01%7Cmichael.roughan%40hdrinc.com%7C616fd4089d0843a0f5f908d90dc31c4a%7C3667e201cbdc48b39b425d2d3f16e2a9%7C0%7C1%7C637555953919222424%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=rjrAJIdxX2eyAsXSlHQEl%2BCSq1HvbW2pOWMaAxr4l2w%3D&reserved=0>.

We are interested to learn from others if you have had something like this occur and how it was handled, including penalties. There is a strong concern that if this builder gets away with a light penalty that gives a green light to others.

Another note is that the property was listed by the realtor<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.realtor.com%2Frealestateandhomes-detail%2F29-Greenwood-St_Newton_MA_02459_M36199-25165&data=04%7C01%7Cmichael.roughan%40hdrinc.com%7C616fd4089d0843a0f5f908d90dc31c4a%7C3667e201cbdc48b39b425d2d3f16e2a9%7C0%7C1%7C637555953919222424%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=2Z4DDolrsI1Zsfi2t6geKgx5FMG75R1VlTZLTil8ExU%3D&reserved=0> as "shovel ready" ... "get to work with your backhoe on day one."

Laura Foote
West Newton Hill Preservation Initiative


[https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1icwkTbeX7YuTy0mErK98NGa1gTakY0wn&revid=0ByjOZq27h0WqZ1JyWkxBV2FKZmpabHdOK0VpR3lFUFFtbDI0PQ]
wnhpreservation at gmail.com<mailto:wnhpreservation at gmail.com>

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