HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
The Belmont Historic District Commission's efforts to preserve Belmont's historic resources - its character-defining older buildings, its traditional landscapes and open spaces and its archaeological assets - continued unabated in 2005.
The foremost objective of the year was to work with the Board of Selectmen and other Town boards and agencies to preserve and rehabilitate Belmont's three historic fire stations as they are consecutively retired from use by the Fire Department. The Waverley Fire Station was the first to be made available by the Town Meeting for adaptive reuse following the Secretary of Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. Thanks to the cooperative spirit of the developer selected by the Board of Selectmen - Engine One Trapelo LLC - a voluntary Design Review Agreement between Engine One and the Commission was negotiated and signed that included the nomination of the Fire Station to the National Register of Historic Places and the establishment of a preservation restriction on the exterior of the building after the
renovations are completed.
The Belmont Center Fire Station is next in line for adaptive reuse, with an RFP about to be published that will again call for the application of the Secretary of Interior's Standards and Guidelines during the rehabilitation process.
Within the Pleasant Street Historic District, the Commission continued to be involved in four major activities. First was the successful completion of the rehabilitation of the Town Hall Complex. The Commission will assist the Building Committee in planning the Dedication Ceremony for the complex in spring, 2006.
Second, the Commission monitored the work of the first phase of the Pleasant Street Reconstruction Project to ensure that the agreed-upon specifications for the appropriate reconstruction of historic stone walls would be followed in those sections where the road has to be widened. In November, a letter was sent to the Board of Selectmen, alerting them to flaws in the methods used for reconstructing walls near the junction with Snake Hill Road and stressing that the rebuilding of the walls using the same stones and following the original masonry pattern is crucial for the maintenance of the historic character of the roadway, especially where the street passes through the Historic District and along the perimeter of the McLean Hospital campus.
The Commission was also heavily engaged in fulfilling its core responsibility with the Historic District: assisting residents in preserving the historic character of their houses and landscapes and in making appropriate alterations and additions when necessary. Numerous public hearings were held during the year to discuss and/or review plans for changes and additions to exteriors of nine houses or outbuildings in the District and to cite historical precedents that might assist owners in designing these improvements. The Commission greatly appreciates cooperation of the citizens who came before it since only a joint effort between the Commission and the residents can succeed in preserving the Town's architectural and scenic heritage.
To better serve these residents, the Commission continued its work in developing a revised, clearly defined set of guidelines for them to follow in maintaining and improving their houses. Several special Saturday public sessions were devoted to compiling the guidelines, but other commitments delayed their final completion. Future sessions will be necessary to ensure that the guidelines will be published and distributed in 2006.
Beyond the limits of the Pleasant Street Historic District, the Historic District Commission acted in its capacity as Belmont's historical commission, responsible for identifying historic resources throughout the Town and for working with the Board of Selectmen, the Planning Board and Town departments to plan for their protection. To that end, the Commission was involved in the following activities (in addition to helping to preserve the fire stations, as already mentioned):
First, the Commission continued to implement the Historic Preservation Agreement that the Town reached with McLean Hospital for developing specific zones within the existing campus by continuing its review of the final drawings for the first phase of building construction within Zone 1A and for roadway construction within Zone 1B. Representatives of Northland Residential Corporation worked with the designated subcommittee of the Commission - Arleyn Levee and Michael Smith - to make refinements in the designs that satisfied all remaining conditions attached to the Commission's approval of the drawings on September 10, 2003. Construction of this first phase is now underway and will be monitored by the Commission in accordance with Section VI.C of the Design Review Agreement.
Second, the Commission remained involved in the planning process for the Trapelo Road Corridor Project, but the loss of Associate Members Matt Genta and Caroline Darbyshire (who moved out of town) has hampered the Commission's ability to contribute by identifying those buildings of historic or architectural significance that are worth preserving, to assess the possibilities for those buildings, and to share its findings with the other Town committees and citizen groups that are concerned with the area's revival. To accomplish these objectives, not just for the Trapelo Road corridor with its two squares but for Belmont Center as well, the Commission will seek the assistance of a survey team of graduate students from the Preservation Studies Program at Boston University. If sufficient funding can be found for the project, they would be asked
to expand the inventory that a similar BU team helped the Commission to compile for its 1984 book, Belmont: The Architecture and Development of the Town of Homes.
In response to requests from the Massachusetts Historical Commission for review and comment, the Commission examined two proposed projects for new telecommunications installations (20 Church Street and on Belmont Hill adjacent to Concord Ave.) and made recommendations for changes that might help the installations to blend in more effectively with their surroundings. The Commission subsequently concurred to a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the telecommunications tower along Concord Avenue that was signed by the FCC, Gridcom and the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
A fifth involvement was to begin planning for the preservation and rehabilitation of Our Lady of Mercy Church and its Rectory, both of which have been determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. If and when the Boston Archdiocese decides to shut down all four buildings in the church complex and to sell all four plots of land, including the parking lot, the Commission hopes to work in concert with the Board of Selectmen, other Town boards and agencies, neighborhood groups, the Archdiocese and the eventual developer(s) to achieve this goal.The Commission would like to assist in the development of a re-use plan that would preserve the Church and the Rectory and that would call for new buildings that would be compatible in size and scale with the retained church
buildings and with existing residences in the surrounding neighborhood.
Architect member Paul Bell completed service as the Commission's representative on the Site Planning Committee for the new Public Library building when that committee made the decision to reuse the existing site.
Because of the large number of recent, sudden demolitions of houses and other buildings in Belmont which have occurred without notice to the immediate neighborhood, the Commission began to draw up a demolition delay bylaw at the request of concerned citizens and of Tim Higgins, Senior Town Planner, to be presented to the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen for their consideration.~ However, due to the departure of Associate Member Matt Genta who was spearheading the project, momentum on this objective has been temporarily lost. The Commission is actively seeking volunteers with town planning experience to join the Commission as Associate Members to help with this initiative.
In a related effort, the Commission has been helping a citizen group to draft a Town bylaw amendment that would allow special permits to be granted for the adaptive reuse of historic accessory buildings in Belmont. The proposed bylaw is currently being revised by the group for resubmission to the Planning Board.
And finally, in order to increase awareness of both the practical and intellectual advantages of protecting the Town's man-made and natural heritage, the Commission continued to compose a series of articles on preservation issues and measures that will be periodically submitted for publication in the Belmont Citizen-Herald.
With regard to the Commission's membership, Linn Hobbs and Michael Smith were reappointed by the Board of Selectmen. After three years of hard work for the Commission, Sharon Vanderslice had to resign because of competing commitments, and historian/educator and Historic District resident Peter Gunness was appointed to the Commission in her stead.
The Commission wishes to express its profound gratitude to the many citizens who have helped to preserve Belmont's rich heritage of fine buildings, beautiful landscapes and other historic resources during 2005. We would greatly appreciate your continued advice and assistance in 2006.
Respectfully submitted,
Richard Cheek & Lydia Phippen Ogilby Co-Chairmen
Paul Bell, Peter Gunness, Lisa Harrington, Linn Hobbs, Arleyn Levee, Richard Pichette, Nancy Richards, Michael Smith
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