[MassHistPres] Demolition delay ordinances - running with specific properties

[Doherty, Jennifer (SEC)]

Hi Sandra,
The MHC does not recommend adopting a categorical-based demolition delay bylaw, like you describe here – Town-owned buildings, those listed on the National Register. This is very limiting and does not provide a lot of opportunity to preserve buildings in the community. In addition, there have been concerns raised in other states about due process challenges to using the National Register for local review, although these are usually around applying local historic district/design review standards to National Register-listed properties. Essentially, the National Register has no local control built into it, and applying local control to these properties is not what a property owner consented to when they consented to listing.

The MHC recommends an age-based bylaw; that is, all properties over 50 years old, or constructed before a certain date, are subject to review. The date used is the assessor’s date. The age-based date is flexible (communities across the state have 50 or 75 years, 1900, 1945, etc.), although as 50 years is a standard in the preservation field, that is often used and recommended. This allows for a wider application of the bylaw and, if you use a “years old” threshold, it automatically updates every turn of the calendar year, protecting a new group of properties.

If you have any additional questions, please let me know,
Jenn


Jennifer B. Doherty
Local Government Programs Coordinator
Massachusetts Historical Commission
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3314
Office: (617) 727-8470
Remote: (617) 807-0685
Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us<mailto:Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us>

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From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> On Behalf Of Sandra Fawn
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2022 12:47 PM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [MassHistPres] Demolition delay ordinances - running with specific properties

Hello everyone,

Our town, Orange, does not have a demolition delay ordinance and I was told by the town clerk that a demo delay article was "overwhelmingly voted down" in 2003.
The Historical Commission would like to prepare a new article for demo delay and the thought is to have it specific to town-owned properties. The reason for this is that the Town has demolished several town-owned properties in the recent past (wonderful historic properties!) and there was nothing the citizens or Historical Commission could do to delay or stop these demolitions.
In addition, if there was a demo delay ordinance specific to town-owned properties, then properties "taken" by the town that are of historical significance could be protected to some degree.

Questions - does anyone, any Town or City, have a demolition delay ordinance which is specific to certain areas of the town or to government-owned property?
We have a National Register District - does anyone have a demo delay ordinance that is specific to listed, National Register, properties?

I appreciate any input.

Thank you,

Sandra Fawn, Chair
Orange Historical Commission

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