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Elm Street Historic District Answers Elm Street Historic District Commission CPA Grant Proposal CPC Questions and Answers 1) Is there a regulation/requirement to print 500 copies of the new regulations? There is no required quantity of the handbook. There are close to 50 private property owners, not counting Smith College who owns a considerable number of buildings. There are realtors who we hope will each receive a copy; as of now, many do not make prospective buyers in the District privy to the fact that they are buying in a historic district. We would like them available to contractors who receive permits to work in the District. We would like to have copies in public places. We must account for new future property owners and some new properties in the expanded area. The compilation and the layout, etc. is the greater part of the expense. We suggested reducing the number of copies to 300, but PVPC said that while there was not enough time prior to Mar 1 to get an exact price reduction from the printing company, there are economies in larger numbers and we should not anticipate a reduction any greater than around $100. We can opt for the reduced printing cost of paper noted on the application. Can you post the regulations online and send postcards? Most historic district guidelines are posted online; however, they are also available in hardcopy. Not everyone has access to the Internet, particularly seniors. Online access is, unfortunately, not an effective substitute for a user- friendly attractive illustrated handbook that can not only be used as a reference tool for homeowners, but can be shown to prospective property owners, rather than telling them to go online (which they would be less likely to do). The Commission seeks to give the property owners the greatest advantage when applying to the Commission. The more information the applicant has access to, the more favorable their applications will be and this will expedite the application process. Contractors, upon receiving permits to work in the district, would sign, acknowledging receipt of a handbook. It will also be a welcoming and impressive presentation on the history and architecture of the District, available to the community, visitors and prospective real estate buyers, available in Forbes & Lilly libraries, Nielson Library, Chamber of Commerce, Registry of Deeds, City Hall and other appropriate public places. 2) What is a Certified Local Government Applicant? It seems this designation would be very helpful in applying, because the CPC could then apply matching funds. Without this ability, funding may have to wait until the next fiscal year. A certified local government applicant is one who is part of the certified local government program. This program is a unique partnership that provides for a close integration of federal, state, and local historic preservation activities. It is recognition that a community's municipal historic preservation program meets certain state and federal standards. The certified local government program, developed by the Secretary of the Interior, National Park Service, is administered in Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. It allows the MHC to formally recognize the maturity of some of the local historic preservation programs while strengthening others. This is a lengthy application process for which we are not sure we meet the requirements. Even if we receive such status, we cannot be assured of receiving funding as funds are limited in general. We would probably have a better chance at becoming part of this program if we already had this handbook in place. 3) What about providing a match from District property owners? If CPA funds are used, the property owners are already paying with their tax money. They would be matching their own funding if we asked them to match CPA monies The funding offered us by the Office of Planning and Development is only on the table until the end of this year and must be appropriated by then. 4) Would MHC potentially fund this project? We applied to MHC for a Survey and Planning Grant but our eligibility application was rejected along with 51 out of 57 other applications. While MHC has funded such projects like this in the past (ex. Methuen) they are apparently so short of funds that they appropriated only $75,000 out of the $754,718 requested. Also, their funding requires a local match. 5) If CPA funds are used for Part I, how does this iimpact the project’s educational and regulatory benefits? It would have 100% impact on educational and regulatory benefits. We, as stewards of the historic district, have a responsibility to be fair in the decision process, and the design standards handbook would greatly facilitate this process by equipping owners with the tool to know what they are dealing with and thus enable them to make more favorable applications. This in turn, would expedite the review and approval process. Time is often a great concern whether it is due to weather, contractor availability, or a detrimental architectural situation. It would educate contractors and architects, and thus also expedite the process. It would provide suggestions for green alternatives to alterations with clear do’s and don’ts of appropriate restoration and/or alteration or new construction. In addition, the handbook serves are a guide to other areas of historic architecture in the community, and educates the community at large to the special architectural and historical significance of the Northampton Elm Street Historic District. And of great importance, Part I would allow for the necessary inventory and creation of Form B’s of property in the proposed expansion, without which the Commission cannot propose an expansion. While Part II would enhance the project, it is not essential to the project and can be undertaken at a later time. 6) What was the reasoning not including the Cudnohufsky proposal, which suggested the firm would work hand-in-hand with PVPC for an additional $7,880? We chose not to include Cudnohufsky & Associates, Inc. because, according to the City’s procurement officer Joe Cook, we understood that we were compelled to take the lowest bid. Cudnohufsky & Associate’s working together with PVPC would only increase the cost of the project that could be satisfactorily completed by PVPC alone. Furthermore, we felt that some of their suggestions were out of our jurisdiction to regulate. 7) Time sensitivity: How imminent are Smith College’s expansion plans into the District? While Smith has told us that they have no plans to expand in the District in the near future, they do speak of expansion in general in other conversations. Our project is of vital importance because we want to be ready; that is why the City Council requested that we work with “expedience” to revise the guidelines. We awoke one morning to find 50 mature trees felled in preparation for a Campus Center that had not nearly received approval. That is how Smith works. And, according to our present guidelines, there was absolutely nothing we could have done to prevent that. As of now, because of the Dover Amendment, Smith can demolish a building in preparation for new construction farther down the road. Without incorporating expanded streets into the Historic District, we would be unable to regulate such an action. Giving them this capacity, we leave ourselves wide open for the college to take action. 8) Could Smith College Student center be built under new regulations? No, because we will have defined stricter regulations on design standards of new construction, the removal of mature trees, demolition of existing buildings, as well as alterations of and any additions to existing buildings. As stated above, by expanding the District, we will safeguard against inappropriate demolition, construction and alteration of buildings on the side streets off of Elm Street. A high-rise dorm on streets like Bedford Terrace or Prospect St. would impact on the Elm Street Corridor cityscape as well as disrupt the sense of space and place with inappropriate size and setback. 9) Explain how this project will relate to the Education Use Overlay District. The relationship is not direct, but this project is necessary to ensure good design along Elm Street because of the Education Use Overlay AND because of state law (Dover Amendment). Under the state zoning enabling act, Dover Amendment, the ability to regulate educational uses is severely limited. As a result, given that our zoning was not that strong in the first place, City Council agreed to create the Education Use Overlay to provide Smith College with a clear set of rules and to avoid the potential for litigation to the city. At the time, the discussion was that we can’t regulate “design” through zoning but we can through historic districts (which are not limited by the Dover Amendment). What further action on the historic district (ordinances, etc.) will be required for this project to have impact? The ordinance revisions need to be approved; the handbook completed, and the regulated public notified. The Commission is poised to present ordinance revisions at an open hearing next month. Again, these revisions were requested by Council and the Mayor and are supported by the Office of Planning and Development. 10) Could placing limits on the height of buildings constructed by Smith result in less vertical and more horizontal expansion, thereby negatively impacting more neighborhoods? While height is stipulated by zoning and design is not, both are stipulated by historic commissions in historic districts. Therefore, placing limits on the height of buildings constructed by Smith could not result in less vertical and more horizontal expansion because according to the new proposed regulations on new construction, all aspects of all new construction, whether of entire buildings or alterations or additions to existing buildings, shall be designed to harmonize with the predominant characteristics of the district in height, mass, fenestration, setback, rhythm, scale, proportions, location, land coverage, and materials. Massing of large new construction in an area of mixed residential and institutional buildings must be articulated into a composition of manageable pieces, i.e., wings, ells, garages equivalent to the neighboring structures. New construction must also respect the existing historic streetscape. The historic relationship of buildings to the street, including setbacks and open spaces must be maintained. 11) What is/will be exempt from Commission review? The following is a list of alterations “exempt” from Commission review: ?? Temporary ramps involving no permanent alteration to existing physical structure, and in existence for 6 months or less. ?? Repointing of chimneys with like materials and matching mortar color to existing mortar. ?? Repair of fences with identical material. ?? Planting, pruning, trimming or removal of small or hazardous trees, shrubs, flowers and other plants. ?? Motion-activated lighting for driveways or walkways. ?? Mailboxes. ?? Masonry and stucco repairs using like materials and color. ?? Painting color. ?? Repairs to driveways, walkways, siding, roofs and minor repairs to foundations, when using like materials and color. ?? Signs indicating address and/or approximate age of structure, approximately 8”x12” in size and with design compatible to building style. 12) Do or will the affected sites have preservation restrictions applied to them? No. 13) Could the work requested here apply to other historic district in the city? This project provides information on alterations, a glossary of architecture terms, pictorial account of architectural history, style and design concepts, architectural concepts, illustrated do’s and don’ts of restoration and alteration, and green suggestion for alterations and restoration that can easily be applied to other historic districts in the city. In addition, the handbook serves as a model for any future handbooks.