[Massplanners] Properties in a Historic District

[Doherty, Jennifer (SEC)]

Hi Paige,
As part of the legal process for establishing a local historic district, the districts must be recorded at the Registry of Deeds. However, for older districts these were often simply maps in the plans department, and they were often not indexed to all the properties by address, or noted in the deed section. For new districts we now recommend communities also record a list of properties in the deed section, so the district is more fully indexed by property.

Some communities do yearly mailings to remind property owners, but I have heard concerns about doing that – “oh we didn’t receive the notice, how were we supposed to know?!” Plus, you presumably don’t mail something to owners in all land use zones reminding them of their zoning district every year! Signage, educating realtors, and making the information prominent on your Town website/GIS are often the best ways to go. Some communities will also keep an eye on Zillow, or if there is a realtor on the HDC, MLS, to flag when properties come up for sale and reach out to the agents.

Thank you,
Jenn


Jennifer B. Doherty
Local Government Programs Coordinator
Massachusetts Historical Commission
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3314
Office: (617) 727-8470
Remote: (617) 807-0685
Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us<mailto:Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us>

Sign up for the MassHistPres email listserv<https://mailman.cs.umb.edu/listinfo/masshistpres>  |  Register for virtual workshops<https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcotr/otridx.htm>

From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of Paige via MassPlanners
Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2022 10:52 AM
To: Massplanners Listserv (MassPlanners at masscptc.org) <MassPlanners at masscptc.org>
Subject: [Massplanners] Properties in a Historic District

All,

Looking to see if anyone has suggestions regarding properties in a Historic District. Basically a property in our District was sold and the owners were unaware it was in a HD. Through a series of errors, they were allowed to build a structure without review by the HD Commission.

We know the Building Dept needs to catch these things but by the time they would have gone to Building, they already owned the property in a HD. We are hoping to make sure folks are notified during the pre-sale due diligence (or to make sure out of town realtors are aware and disclose).

I have been asked to see if there are any ways to ensure folks are informed a property is in a HD up front. I know sign posting is one way but beyond that ...

Does anyone know of a way to do a single filing at the registry that would flag the properties in the HD when deed research is being done?  Any other ideas or techniques?

The other issue is making sure residents are reminded every so often. We will likely recommend the HD Commission send out an annual mailing covering the key points of being in a HD but wonder if other communities have come up against this issue and if they have any ideas or thoughts.

Thank you in advance for any advice/input.

~Paige

--



*****************************
Paige E. Duncan, AICP, Director of Land Use and Economic Development
Foxborough Town Hall, 40 South Street
Foxborough, Massachusetts 02035
Ph: 508-543-1250

pduncan at foxboroughma.gov<mailto:pduncan at foxboroughma.gov>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://masscptc.org/pipermail/massplanners_masscptc.org/attachments/20221110/f4fdf9ce/attachment.htm>