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
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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.