[MassHistPres] Commission nominations (was: Appointing Body question)

[Carissa Demore]

All,
Historic New England has the responsibility of nominating members to a variety of commissions, including to historic district study committees in the absence of nominees from the local historical society. It’s a responsibility we take seriously and, when asked, we carefully consider who we nominate. As Ralph suggested, unfortunately we are not always able to identify an appropriate person among our network, although our work extends well beyond Boston. We are in no way disinterested in our responsibilities, however.

Please know that we are very committed to historic preservation across the region, which we know depends so much on the work of local governing bodies, and you are welcome to contact me if you are seeking nominees by Historic New England.

Thanks,
Carissa Demore
(she/her/hers)
Team Leader for Preservation Services
Historic New England
185 Lyman Street, Waltham, Mass. 02452
617.994.6641 CDemore at HistoricNewEngland.org


From: MassHistPres [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Dennis De Witt
Sent: Thursday, October 7, 2021 9:53 AM
To: Ralph Slate <slater at alum.rpi.edu>; MHC MHC listserve <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Commission nominations (was: Appointing Body question)

I would agree that the BSA and HNE might feel ambivalent about making such nominations.  I could also imagine that, in some locations, asking a local Real Estate Board might occasionally produce a problematic result.  Others may be able to speak knowledgeably to these issues.

I only know Brookline first hand.  Here, having a combined commission bypasses those issues, as noted in bold below.  Brookline has never had a problem about having architects, historians, or very supportive brokers on the commission.  The requirement for an attorney, if possible, has at times required some recruiting but for many years has been fulfilled.  However, whereas originally a high percentage of commission members were LHD residents, for some years none have volunteered.  That may reflect changing demographics.

Dennis De Witt
Brookline


On Oct 6, 2021, at 10:57 AM, Ralph Slate <slater at alum.rpi.edu<mailto:slater at alum.rpi.edu>> wrote:

On 10/6/2021 9:46 AM, Dennis De Witt wrote:

40c does have a provision in section four for the nomination of commission members by certain outside organizations (not by the commission itself), which It’s my impression often (mostly?) does not happen.

This is a little confusing in MGL 40C, because it first talks about a "historic district study committee". This uses the word shall, which means it is not optional:

An historic district study committee may be established in any city or town by vote of the city council or board of selectmen for the purpose of making an investigation of the desirability of establishing an historic district or districts therein. The study committee shall consist of not less than three nor more than seven members appointed in a city by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the city council, or in a town by the board of selectmen, including one member from two nominees submitted by the local historical society or, in the absence thereof, by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, one member from two nominees submitted by the chapter of the American Institute of Architects covering the area, and one member from two nominees of the board of realtors, if any, covering the area. If within thirty days after submission of a written request for nominees to any of the organizations herein named no such nominations have been made the appointing body may proceed to appoint the study committee without nominations by such organization.

Then, when describing the historic district committees, it says this:

Whenever an historic district is established as provided in section three an historic district commission shall be established which shall consist of not less than three nor more than seven members. An historic district commission shall be appointed in a city by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the city council, or in a town by the board of selectmen, in the same manner as an historic district study committee unless (a) the report recommending its establishment recommends alternate or additional organizations to submit nominees for membership and states reasons why such alternate or additional organizations would be appropriate or more appropriate for the particular city or town, the Massachusetts historical commission does not recommend otherwise prior to the public hearing on the establishment of the district, and the ordinance or by-law so provides; or (b) there is an existing historic district commission in the city or town which the report recommends should administer the new district, and the ordinance or by-law so provides.

If your historic district study committee did not recommend otherwise, then the composition is supposed to be the same as the study committee. However I believe it would depend on your local HD ordinance.

Springfield, with a unified HC, generally follows this provision (nominations from the Realtors, American Institute of Architects, and local historical society/Society for Preservation of New England Antiquities[SPNEA]), and we actually amended our LHD ordinance to require a fourth nomination from the Springfield Preservation Trust, a non-profit organization that actively advocates for historic preservation. The problem with the outside organization nomination process is that in general, the outside organizations are not interested in nominating persons, and they are very disconnected from the city and don't even know who to nominate. For example, SPNEA has changed its name to Historic New England, and they are based in Boston. I don't think most cities and towns have ever heard of them, nevermind that they have changed their name.

What happens is that the appointing entity may  send a request to those organizations, but they will just not respond. Or that entity may just ignore the process (which, I would argue, is not proper).

However I think that it is very important to have that diversity of opinion on a local historical commission - a realtor, an architect/builder, and a historian. Their expertise is usually very valuable.

Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA
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