2022.08.08 Staff Report.pdf
To: Historical Commission
From: Sarah LaValley
Re: August 8 2022 Historical Commission Staff Report
5:30 PM: Public Hearing - Request for a Local Historic District Certificate of
Appropriateness pursuant to Section 195 of the Northampton Code for proposed replacement of existing wireless communications facility. St. John’s Episcopal Church/T-Mobile Northeast, 48 Elm Street, Map ID 31D-101.
The application proposes replacement and relocation of three existing pieces of cellular
transmission equipment on the building, for which the Commission issued a Certificate of
Appropriateness for the original installation in 2008. The existing facilities on the bell
tower will be removed, and replaced with six antennas of similar appearance on the tower
railings. The application indicates that these facilities are not able to be placed behind
structures and retain their functionality. They will be painted a like color to the current
antennas.
Recommendation:
The Design Standards provide guidelines for modern equipment such as cellular facilities:
Modern equipment shall, in general, be as small and inconspicuous as possible. All
modern equipment shall be installed in locations which (a) create the least disturbance to
the historical appearance of the building, (b) involve the fewest additional structural alterations and (c) are screened, hidden or otherwise shielded from view to the greatest
extent possible.
Modern equipment shall not be placed in front of the principal building on the site and
shall be screened adequately. If modern equipment is mounted on a roof, it shall be
located behind chimneys, sloped roofs and parapets, or placed in the central portion of
flat roofs behind sight lines as seen from the ground level or other portions of the roof
not visible from any public way. Flues and vents should be concealed in chimneys or
cupolas. Electrical wires and other cables shall be concealed to the extent feasible.
If the Commission finds that the work is compatible with the building, the district, and the
above standards, a certificate of appropriateness approving the relocated equipment. If the
Commission finds that the project is inappropriate, ), it shall consider whether a certificate of
hardship should be issued. The Ordinance specifies that a hardship can be issued if “owing to
conditions especially affecting the building or structures involved, but not affecting the historic
district generally, failure to approve an application will involve a substantial hardship, financial
or otherwise, to the applicant and whether such application may be approved without
substantial detriment to the public welfare and without substantial derogation from the intent
and purposes of the Historic District Ordinance.
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Request for Support of CPA Application – Former St. John Cantius Church, 10
Hawley Street
The owner of the structure is requesting $500,000 in CPA funding for rehabilitation work to
the exterior of the building. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places and does not require the Commission to find that it is significant in the history of
Northampton in order to apply for CPA funding, but the Community Preservation
Committee requested both that the applicant obtain Historical Commission support for the
application, and prepare an Historic Structures Report to inform future work and
demonstrate compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of
Historic Properties. The Commission should discuss whether it supports the work for
which CPA funds are requested, and also whether it supports the Historic Preservation
Restriction which will be required as a condition of the CPA funding if recommended by
the CPC and approved by City Council.
The CPA award will enable the applicant to secure the envelope and proceed with
development plans - the Commission does not need to review the full scope of work
beyond that proposed in the CPA application, but should understand generally what the
work will be. Details of the restriction will be finalized with the applicant and
MassHistoric, but much of the exterior work identified in plansets may be specifically
allowed. Future work will be subject to the terms of the restriction, and ‘major’ work
will need to be approved pursuant to the restriction. The exterior design has not been
fully finalized and may change, but a recent draft with some exterior modifications,
including a ramp for accessibility, is available here.