Historical Commission Chair George Triantaris told his fellow commissioners last week that new evidence had convinced him the schools did not fall under their jurisdiction. That change of opinion seems to end any chance that the commission would seek to delay—or even undo—the installation of solar panels on the new Hildreth Elementary School.
At the Sept. 8 meeting, Triantaris said Joe Theriault, a former commission chair, had explained in an email that the original map of the Harvard Common Historic District had been drawn specifically to exclude the old Brown School building, and the intent was to exclude all school buildings from the district’s requirements.
The issue arose because, at a special meeting Aug. 26, members of the Historical Commission had argued that the project to put solar panels on the new elementary school should have come to them for approval. (See “Historical Commission seeks jurisdiction over elementary school,” Harvard Press, Sept. 3.)
Theriault had looked into the background of the Common historic district when he converted the original, hand-drawn map to digital form about six years ago. “The intent was that the district not include the schools,” he told the Press in a brief phone call, reiterating the message he had sent by email to the commission.
“I personally believe we should step away from this issue,” Triantaris said at the recent commission meeting, “because the intent [of the town] was to exclude school buildings. … It is not for us to decide.” Other commission members concurred, with Richard Cabelus saying, “It’s time to move past this issue.”
Triantaris recommended the commission send a letter to the town administrator stating that schools are excluded from the commission’s jurisdiction, making it clear the commissioners agree the matter is officially settled for the future.
