The owner of a historically significant home in Harvard that is outside the town’s two protected historic districts may tear it down at will. To deter this from happening, the Historical Commission has placed a demolition delay bylaw on the warrant for the May 3 Town Meeting. Its purpose is to retain important historical structures that are more than 75 years old and thus limit the detrimental effect of demolition on the character of the town.
The bylaw states that an owner wishing to demolish more than 50% of a structure that meets the commission’s criteria of “significant” and “preferably preserved” would have to wait two years while alternatives to demolition are explored. The bylaw needs to pass by a majority vote to be adopted. There is no financial impact.
George Triantaris, chair of the Historical Commission, presented the proposed bylaw to the board members of the Historical Society March 18, and he plans to hold informational sessions for other town organizations in the coming weeks. He told the society board members that bringing the bylaw to Town Meeting has been on the commission’s agenda for more than 20 years. “Harvard is behind,” he said, noting that 150 towns in Massachusetts have such a bylaw, and he added that Harvard is at the top of the state’s list of towns that should have a demolition delay bylaw because of its number of historical buildings. (See “Local Register” at historicharvard.wordpress.com.)
The commonwealth drew up a template for towns to use in creating their own demolition delay bylaw. Triantaris used this and his findings from several other towns to draw up a bylaw for Harvard. He concluded that using 50% as a threshold for triggering the bylaw was reasonable, and that specifying a wait time of two years would allow time to thoroughly explore options.
Without this bylaw protection, Triantaris said, there is the risk that an owner could demolish a historical home. It’s already happened in Harvard, he said, citing one example where a barn on Ayer Road was left behind after a house was torn down. Some of the earliest homes in town are vulnerable, many in Still River, said Triantaris, noting the Whipping Tree house just past West Bare Hill Road on Still River Road. There’s also a 17th-century home on Old Littleton Road that was moved to Harvard and restored.
There have been success stories, like the Great Elms barn on Stow Road that was moved to South Shaker Road and meticulously restored. But there are other historically significant structures that are at risk without a provision to protect them. “The historic districts are small; anything outside them is fair game,” said Triantaris.
Triantaris described the advantages of having the bylaw for the community as a whole. A demolition delay bylaw provides an opportunity to come up with ways the building might be saved—by sale and removal, repurposing, or incorporation into another development, as was done with the old Bromfield School when the new library was built. Such a bylaw shows the town cares about its historical homes, a point that might discourage developers, he said.
The proposed bylaw specifies the steps an owner would be required to take when applying to the building inspector to demolish a building that is more than 75 years old. The first step is for the commission to determine whether the building is “significant,” meeting one or more of the following criteria:
It is on, or eligible for, the national or state Register of Historic Places.
It is associated with historical persons or events or with distinctive features of the architectural, cultural, economic, political, or social history of the town.
It is associated with a historical or architectural period in style and building method, or with a recognized architect.
If the building meets any of those standards, the delay process takes effect.
The second step is for the commission to decide if the building is “preferably preserved.” For this, the commission will hold a public hearing for community input, do further research, and consider the condition of the building.
If the commission determines the building is not “preferably preserved,” demolition can proceed; but if the commission decides the building should be preserved, the demolition is delayed for two years while options are explored.
If after two years no alternative has been found, the structure can be torn down. In that case, the commission will photograph and record the details and history of the house, and the information will be kept on file at the Historical Society. Town-owned structures would also be subject to all the provisions of the bylaw.
“It is imperative that the town adopt the bylaw now,” Triantaris said. “Pressure for development is only going to increase. We should put protections in place before it’s too late.”
Carlene Phillips is a member of the Historical Society.
