[MassHistPres] MassHistPres Digest, Vol 82, Issue 7

[Robert Mahowald]

Thanks Audrey. Since the law seems to be worded pretty clearly, I’m very curious what argument your legal counsel made, to state that the law basically should not be followed by Groton’s Planning board or building department? What was the rationale?

When you state below “building permit“ do you mean “demolition permit?” I think that’s the relevant part I’m asking about.

Thanks for any feedback. 
Robert 
Sent from my iPhone - blame Siri

Robert Mahowald
Mobile: 978-971-1801

> On Oct 14, 2024, at 2:22 PM, aubrey theall via MassHistPres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu> wrote:
> 
> We are going through this real time in Groton and have been advised by Town Counsel that at the end of the demo delay the building permit must be issued unless there is a reason (not related to historic preservation) that the Building Inspector otherwise would not.  The wording of our bylaw is somewhat different but the same in a general sense.
> 
> Aubrey Theall
> Groton Historical Commission
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Oct 14, 2024, at 12:00 PM, masshistpres-request at cs.umb.edu wrote:
>> 
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>> Today's Topics:
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>>  1. Dartmouth HC: Question about Demo By-law (robert at townisp.com)
>> 
>> 
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2024 10:08:32 -0400
>> From: <robert at townisp.com>
>> To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>> Subject: [MassHistPres] Dartmouth HC: Question about Demo By-law
>> Message-ID: <021a01db1cb0$38a1a0e0$a9e4e2a0$@townisp.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>> 
>> DHC demo by-law (and, I believe, boilerplate language for many communities
>> within Mass) reads:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> "Upon a determination by the Commission that any building which is the
>> subject of an application is a preferably preserved building, no building
>> permit for new construction or alterations on the premises shall be issued
>> for a period of up to six (6) months from the date of that determination
>> unless a shorter period is agreed to by a majority vote of the Commission.
>> No permit for demolition of a building determined to be a preferably
>> preserved building shall be granted until all plans for future use and
>> development of the site have been filed with the Building Commissioner and
>> have found to comply with all laws pertaining to the issuance of a building
>> permit or if for a parking lot, a certificate of occupancy for that site."
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dartmouth has a 6-month demo delay period, and (before my time) we at DHC
>> worked with a (willing) homeowner of an early 1700's farmhouse to get a demo
>> delay, to do 3D imaging, and some other interesting work with the help of
>> some architectural historians at URI and Roger Williams. The 6 months came
>> and went, and the demo permit is in front of the Dartmouth Building
>> Department.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The homeowner states that they do not have plans in hand for subsequent use
>> of the site. They will likely build a new home, but they do not wish to have
>> their hands forced (I am paraphrasing) by needing to have developed plans
>> ready to go, prior to demolition.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The by-law as written seems to allow DHC (or any town's historical
>> commission) to force action on the part of their Building Department - to
>> force them to deny issuance of a demo permit. I met with the Dartmouth
>> Building Department and they stated that if a demo application is found
>> acceptable for non-historical reasons (ie, no other reason than the DHC
>> bylaw), they were bound by state law to issue a demo permit - ie, they could
>> not act as the enforcer of the DHC by-law.
>> 
>> Have others encountered this situation? How was it resolved? We have
>> another, much larger site which has completed its 6-month delay, and we want
>> to make sure we don't set a poor precedent.  Thanks for any guidance!
>> 
>> Robert Mahowald
>> 
>> Chair, DHC
>> 
>> robert at townisp.com <mailto:robert at townisp.com>
>> 
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