01/28/1999 HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION Minutes

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The first thing the Committee is charged to do is evaluate whether it is appropriate to have a historic district.The Committee needs to think about what areas in town have this kind of concentration of historic resources and the kind of distinctive character that you would like to preserve. Then,the Committee should think about whether regulation to limit changes in that area would really help to protect it. Some other things to think about are that zoning plays a big part in the type of development that can go forward. While a historic district can keep people from changing architectural details on their house or maybe putting a structure on a historic site,it doesn't regulate the kind of use that somebody can have. If zoning allows commercial use of a Dunkin Donuts,a historic district would not be able to say no fast food facilities are allowed, You would have to pair up regulation with historic district with some changes in zoning to try to prevent that kind of development. If it is decided establishing a historic district,the Committee would need to draft an ordinance or draft a by- law. That would look at the types of things you would want to regulate. Do you want to regulate any kind of exterior alteration or just certain types of exterior alterations? The issue that always comes up is,do you want to regulate paint color? Ms. Korjeff stated that most historic districts do not regulate paint color, The philosophy behind that is that paint color is easily changed. She did say that the Committee should think about regulating changes to historic materials themselves,whether it is historic architectural details on a building or whether its protecting archeological sites that you don't want to have disturbed or important landscapes that you don't want to have disturbed. Ms. Korjeff stated that Jessica Rocroft from the Mass. Historical Commission has come down and worked with Rosemary Burns doing some inventory work. She is not sure how far along she is right now but Ms, Kodeff believes she worked with Eric Smith when he put together a list of historic properties in the local comprehensive plan. She believes they focused on buildings. They may not have thought about some significant open landscapes or sites where there used to be important historical buildings. The Committee has a good start;however,there arc probably more properties that the Committee or other people may be aware of that should also be inventoried. Once the Committee has that information,you can identify an area that has a concentration of historic resources that they want to protect.You need to justify the boundaries that they choose. You need to think about whether you are trying to include as many of the oldest structures in town or whether you are trying to include all of an area that had a certain historic significance. The Committee can use assessor's maps or zoning maps that show geographical land forms. Sometimes historic districts are defined by rivers or just by age of roads. One thing that is important to recognize is when you create a historic district and you are identifying the boundaries,you don't have to try to keep out every single modern structure there is. Almost any historic district you go to on the Cape,you are going to find some properties that have been built in the sixties, seventies, etc,within this area. The point is that in your district,you are going to have enough of these historic resources, They are really the character defining feature,not these modern structures. Once you have defined your area and define the boundaries of it,you move on to drafting the ordinance and the by-law. You need to think about what you want to review, criteria for making decisions so that when you have a Historic District Commission they will sit down like a planning board and review specific proposals. They need to have a specific process to follow. A lot of this is spelled out in the State Act that is set up so that towns can create these districts. So you can either choose to use the language that the State already put together or you can modify it to meet your own needs. Mr. Fudalla posed the question of what is the role of the architect? He stated we do not have an architect now. Ms.Korjeff stated that she thought we could get around it. She thought the way the law is written that they want an architect on board because they think that person would be an important resource when you are thinking about reviewing buildings. She thinks the idea of having an architect would be helpful. She doesn't believe it is required. The idea was then put forth that if there wasn't an architect,there would be a seat open that Jack Magee could possibly fill. 2