HomeMy Public PortalAbout20180518 - Hopkinton Historic District Commission - Meeting MinutesTOWN OF HOPKINTON
HOPKINTON HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
Friday, May 18, 2018 at 10:30 AM
Hopkinton Public Library - Conference Room
13 Main St., Hopkinton, MA
MEETING MINUTES
Present: Amy Ritterbusch, Beth Watson, Jeanette Thomson, Mike Auen
Absent: Beth Kelly, Sandy Altamura, Melanie Smith
Guests Also Present:
● Christopher Skelly (MHC)
● Nancy Peters (WHDC)
● Mary Arnaut (Historical Society)
● Tina Berlad (WHDC)
● Denise Antaki (Resident)
● Claire Wright (BOS)
10:30 AM - Amy called the meeting to order and introduced the speaker:
"Establishing or Expanding Local Historic Districts” Talk by Christopher C. Skelly, Director of Local
Government Programs, Mass Historical Commission
Some notable items mentioned:
● Hopkinton Center Historic District is not listed in the National Register, but we could fill out the
paperwork and go thru the nomination process.
● If a district is registered only with National Register, then it is not protected, it is just an honorary
designation. Massachusetts Local Historic Districts have much stronger protections.
● A Certificate of Non-Applicability would have been better than a Certificate of Hardship for an
emergency roof repair like the one we recently authorized at 6 Park St.
● A Certificate of Hardship we be issued, for example, to add a fire escape to an old building if it was
necessary for safety or would be the only way to preserve the building.
● Landscaping is exempt from Historic District review, but structures like fences and walls are not
exempt.
● A Heritage Tree bylaw could be added to protect historic landscaping
● Design Guidelines - it makes HDC work easier to have written guidelines, it is also helpful for property
owners to have written guidelines, fewer surprises. Hopkinton could consider drafting some. We could
copy from other towns to get started, Chris could send us some samples. Guidelines can be created by
HDC without town meeting approval, but a Public Hearing is recommended. Guidelines could be
updated regularly to include new structures that are becoming more common, for example solar panels,
satellite dishes, mini-split a/c units, etc.
● Some towns have single-building Historic Districts (Somerville has hundreds) - requires 2/3rds vote at
Town Meeting,
● Another preservation option is adding a preservation restriction during the property sale (ie Elmwood
Farm), and it does not need a town meeting vote.
● Demolition by Neglect - this is not necessarily prevented by HDC bylaws. We could consider adding a
separate bylaw for the minimum maintenance of historic structures.
● Lots of towns have just 1 Historic District Commission that covers all districts in town, but has reps
from each area of town. Hopkinton is unusual in having two separate commissions.
● Chris wondered if the Woodville HDC would need to get involved with the expansion of Center HD? He
will look into this for us. It was something HHDC had not considered before.
● Prior to expanding our district, we must submit a COMPLETE Preliminary Study Report to MHC and to
the Planning Board. They don’t have to approve it, but it must be complete and submitted.
● Chris recommended we hold lots of listening sessions with the public before doing to much work on our
Preliminary Study report to make sure we are in tune with the public.
● Reading MA got a district approved in 6 months. They did lots of PR, such as yard signs. However, the
process usually takes much longer.
We lost our quorum at 12:00 PM, when Jeanette and Mike had to leave, so the official meeting was adjourned
at this point.
12:00 PM - Amy Ritterbusch, Beth Watson and members of the public continued informally on a Walking Tour
of the Hopkinton Center Historic District and neighboring streets with Chris Skelly.
1:00 PM - Amy Ritterbusch, Nancy Peters and Chris Skelly also informally toured part of the Woodville
Historic District.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Ritterbusch, Chair & Secretary
Approved on Date: 05-24-18