Historical Commission Explains Proposed Simple Changes to Demolition Delay Bylaw

To the Editor:

Article 23 of the warrant for Medfield’s Town Meeting has very long text – it quotes virtually all of the town’s existing Demolition Delay bylaw.  The bylaw was adopted in 1994; for 2013 we are now just proposing a few simple changes to clarify and enhance it.

Surveys all show people move to Medfield because of the excellent schools and for the mixture of old and new that define our town’s character. The purpose of the demolition delay bylaw is to protect our old buildings - a non-renewable historical resource – by giving the owner or developer more time to consider preserving all or part of buildings that the historical commission, following due process, deems historically significant and preferably preserved.

The existing bylaw is the only tool the Historical Commission has to protect the historic nature of our town.  Since the bylaw was passed at Town Meeting in 1994, we have imposed a delay on only a small fraction of properties which have come before us, and in most of those delayed cases, we lifted the delay after a short period of negotiation so that construction could go forward.

In addition to tightening up language loopholes, we are also proposing to increase the demolition delay period from 12 months to 18 months… a standard more and more towns are adopting.  We feel strongly that this additional time will offer us and builders more opportunity to find a solution which protects both the property owner’s rights and the needs of Medfield to preserve and protect its historical heritage.

Daniel Bibel

David Temple

Co-Chairs, Historical Commission