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2002 was another very busy year for the Belmont Historic District Commission as it continued its work to (1) help the Town rehabilitate and restore the buildings and grounds of the Town Hall Complex, (2) protect the historic resources on the McLean Hospital campus in cooperation with the Hospital and its three developers, (3) recommend pertinent changes in the plans for the reconstruction of Pleasant Street, especially for the section within the Historic District, and (4) aid Historic District residents in preserving the historic character of their houses and landscapes and in
making appropriate alterations and additions when necessary.
After the Board of Selectmen voted on September 20, 2001, to renovate and restore the Town Hall Annex and the School Administration Building and to complete the renovations of the Town Hall, concerned citizens formed the Committee to Rehabilitate the Town Hall Complex in order to persuade Belmont's voters to support the Debt Exclusion that was needed to enable the Town to save and reinvigorate the Annex and the School Administration Building for more efficient and fully accessible municipal service. The Exclusion was passed during the Town Election on April 1, 2002 by a clear majority.
The Commission wishes to express its gratitude to the many individuals who contributed time, energy, expertise and funds to the campaign, but above all, the Commission wants to thank every voter who studied the pros and cons and decided it was worth the money to make the Town Hall Complex totally accessible and to preserve it as a proud symbol of Belmont's civic, cultural and social heritage.
As a result of the "Yes" vote, a new Town Hall Complex Building Committee was formed to hire an architect, develop the designs and oversee construction. Joel Mooney was selected as Chair and Michael Smith was appointed as the Commission's representative on the Committee. Ably assisted by Commission members Paul Bell and Arleyn Levee, Michael Smith has worked tirelessly with the other members of the Building Committee to ensure that the renovations to the three buildings in the Complex and the relandscaping of the surrounding site will be thoughtfully and appropriately conceived and handsomely executed. The final stage of the rehabilitation of the Town Hall - finishing out the top floor - got underway in December 2002, and construction work on the Town Hall Annex and the School Administration Building is
scheduled to begin in May 2003.
In accordance with its responsibility to implement the Historic Preservation Agreement that the Town reached with McLean Hospital as part of the Memorandum of Agreement for developing specific zones within the existing campus, the Commission oversaw the preparation of the nomination of the McLean campus to the National Register of Historic Places by Candace Jenkins and Shary Page Berg. Upon completion, the nomination was presented to the public at the Commission's meeting of August 7, 2002, by Betsy Friedberg, National Register Director for the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Ann Lattinville, Architectural Historian from the MHC, and Candace Jenkins. The nomination was subsequently voted to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register by the State Review Board of the Massachusetts Historical Commission on September
11, 2002, and is now awaiting final approval by the National Register Office of the National Park Service in Washington, DC.
With regard to the protection of the historic resources that will remain within the McLean Hospital zone, the cooperative working relationship between the Hospital and the Commission that developed as a result of the Historic Preservation Agreement continues, with the Hospital consulting with the designated sub-committee from the Commission before making any changes to the exterior of the buildings listed in the National Register nomination or to the landscapes that surround them.
The Commission also continues to work with McLean to develop a Supplementary Preservation Agreement that will specify: (1) how the Pleasant Street Lodge will be protected during construction to create the new access drive and to widen Pleasant Street between this drive and Trapelo Road and how the impact of this construction upon the Lodge, its setting, and the stone wall along Pleasant Street will be mitigated, (2) how the Pleasant Street Lodge and the Mill Street Lodge will be renovated by McLean for reuse by the Hospital, and (3) how the edges of the Bowl will be relandscaped in the affected zones after the underground water retention tank has been installed. The Commission expects to complete this Supplementary Preservation Agreement prior to the commencement of any construction within the development zones.
When construction drawings are ready for the various developments, the Commission will review the drawings before they are submitted for a building permit to see that all design considerations contained and approved in the Design Review Agreements are properly reflected. The Commission will also monitor construction for compliance with the Agreements, as called for in Paragraph C under Additional Understandings in each Agreement. In addition, member Richard Pichette is currently serving as the Commission's representative on the Land Management Committee established by the Memorandum of Agreement.
As requested by the Massachusetts Historical Commission in its response to the Final Environmental Impact Report for the McLean Hospital Development, the Commission helped McLean to explore the possibility of saving five of the buildings slated for demolition - Hope, Ledge, North and West Cottages and the former Superintendent's Residence - by making them available to any outside party who would be willing to pay the cost of moving any or all of them to an off-campus location. The Commission developed a list of seven recommendations for advertising the availability of the buildings and discussed this list with McLean at its public meeting of September 12, 2002.
With regard to the proposed reconstruction of Pleasant Street, in particular that section of the street that runs through the Pleasant Street Historic District, the Commission studied and discussed the plans and responded to comments from the public at five meetings during the latter half of the year. As a consequence of these discussions, the Commission developed a list of recommendations for alterations in various aspects of the plans (stone walls, guard rails, street lighting, paving materials, sidewalks, curbing, signage, wiring and tree removal and replanting) that were incorporated by member Sharon Vanderslice in a letter to the Selectmen that was submitted to the Board on November 11, 2002. The Selectmen then passed the recommendations on to Town Engineer Tom Gatzunis for his comments. The Commission hopes to be
able to review his response in early February 2003. The Commission is also exploring the feasibility of burying all of the wires that currently pass through the Historic District on poles.
Numerous public hearings were also held during the year to discuss and/or review applications for additions and/or alterations to the exteriors of houses or outbuildings within the Pleasant Street Historic District. The Commission greatly appreciates the cooperative spirit of the citizens who came before it since only a joint effort between the Commission and the residents can succeed in preserving the architectural integrity of the District's buildings and the open, rural character of its surviving landscapes.
The Commission would like to thank Joella Baird for her fine service as a member and wishes her well as she moves to another community where she will undoubtedly embellish its public spaces with flowers, shrubs and trees. In her stead, the Board of Selectmen has appointed Sharon Vanderslice, a resident of the Pleasant Street Historic District whose proven journalistic skills will be most welcome.
Looking to the future, the Commission would like to pursue these additional goals: (1) to place Belmont's fire stations on the National Register of Historic Places, a listing that will be advantageous to the Town if it retains the buildings or to any private owner who intends to renovate the buildings for commercial use, (2) to compile and publish a set of Design Guidelines for distribution to the residents of the Pleasant Street Historic District, (3) to join with the Belmont Historical Society in identifying other historic buildings and landscapes within the Town that are worthy of listing on the National Register and to work with their owners to nominate the properties to the Register, and (4) to find a new home for the library that was saved from Bellmont (the 1836-40 residence on the Cushing estate) before its destruction in 1927 and
that is currently stored in a garage on Concord Avenue.
As always, the Commission looks to Belmont's citizens for suggestions and assistance in recognizing and preserving the Town's historic resources.
Respectfully submitted,
Richard Cheek, Co-Chair
Lydia Phippen Ogilby, Co-Chair
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