Loading...
2024.12.23 Staff Report To: Historical Commission From: Sarah LaValley Re: December 23 2024 Historical Commission Staff Report 5:30 PM – Request for a Local Historic District Certificate of Appropriateness pursuant to Section 195 of the Northampton Code for construction of a 3 building mixed-use development on the site of an existing parking lot. Sunwood Builders, 3 Elm Street, Parcel 31D-103. HIS-24-7 Overview: The application proposes construction of three mixed-use buildings on the site of an existing surface parking lot, and construction of a pocket park. Buildings will vary in height and stories with a maximum 5-story height, will have flat or low-sloping roofs. Elm Street and State Street elevations are proposed to have brick cladding and pre-cast lintels. Building materials include brick, pre-cast lintels, fiber cement or composite panel horizontal and board siding, and metal siding. The parcel also includes the former St. Mary’s church (1881 Victorian Gothic) and the 1888 Queen-Anne style parsonage, and is included in the downtown National Register district. No work is proposed to the existing buildings on the parcel as part of this application. The entirety of the parcel is within the boundaries of the Elm Street Local Historic District; and new work visible from any public way (both Elm and State) is subject to the Ordinance and Design Standards. The work will also require a special permit with major site plan approval by the Planning Board which will uses, trip generation an zoning; the Historic District review is limited to the design and architectural review provided by the Local Historic District Ordinance and MGL C40C. Recommendation: The Commission should review the design standards, specifically those for new construction, pages 30-34. If the Commission can find that the work is compatible with the district after considering significance of the site, the general design, building alignment, setback, height, articulation, texture, material and features involved, and the relation of such features to similar features of buildings and structures in the surrounding area, a Certificate of Appropriateness could be issued. Demolition Without Building Permits – 60 Laurel Park The Building Commissioner was notified in October that 60 Laurel Park (circa 1900, photos from last listing available here) was in the process of being razed, and found the building completed demolished upon a site visit. No required building permits had been filed for or obtained for this work, and therefore review under the Demolition Ordinance for consideration of significance and preferably preserved status was not able to take `2 place prior to demolition. An after-the-fact building permit, with a doubled fee was required. The Demolition Ordinance provides that “if a building… is demolished without first obtaining a building permit for demolition, no building permit shall be issued for a period of two years from the date of the demolition on the subject parcel of land unless otherwise agreed to by the Commission” The owner is requesting that the Commission lift the enforcement delay. Laurel Park is an historic resource, and further documentation was listed as a critical recommendation of the Preservation Plan. Laurel Park’s small cottages offer some unique affordable ownership opportunities in Northampton. However, deferred maintenance and desire for larger homes has resulted in the loss of several cottages over the past decade, and more are at-risk.