[MassHistPres] Architectural Conservation District

[Dennis De Witt]

You have mentioned two different things.  Are you asking about bylaw language or guidelines?  The guidelines should be in your rules & regs not your bylaw. Otherwise every time you want to change the guidelines you have to go back to Town Meeting.

I’m assuming you want to do this by home rule and not zoning.  If you are looking for bylaw language, Cambridge’s is very good, although it might need to be adjusted for a town.  Be aware that some town’s NCD (ACD) bylaws are the proverbial horse designed by a committee.

If you want guidelines then surely you will have to write them to suit the setting.  Nothing off the shelf it going to be just right.  Cambridge has them from "LHD very lite" to "LHD very strong” (Harvard Sq.).  You could also adapt guidelines from an LHD but without the limitation of being restricted to visibility from a public way.

Brookline had NCDs before its bylaw was overturned because of a conflict with zoning case law.  It’s guidelines for the Hancock Village NCD were simple — everything was reviewable with no public way restriction.

Dennis De Witt
Brookline

> On May 5, 2021, at 7:52 AM, jlennerton at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> does anyone have access to the sample municipal bylaw that creates an Architectural Conservation District?
> 
> The town of Leicester is going to town meeting with a proposed district, but we do not have the sample text of the design guidelines that go with the bylaw
> 
> Becker College closed permanently and is the single largest owner of historical properties in Leicester (and Worcester) so we're trying to act fast to put some protections in place as these properties are sold off.
> 
> Thank you
> Joseph Lennerton
> L:icester Historical Commission
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