City of Somerville, Massachusetts - File #: 192104

• File #: 192104
• Version: 1
• Type: Mayor's Request
• Status: Placed on File
• File created: 10/24/2011
• In control: City Council
• On agenda: 9/26/2013
• Final action: 9/26/2013
• Enactment date: N/A
• Enactment #: 192104
• Title: Requesting an amendment to the Local Historic District Map to create 1 new District (College Ave. Corridor of Faith) and add 1 property to that District, and to add 6 properties to the Hinckley-Magoun LHD, and 3 properties to the Winter Hill LHD (Group E remainder from #191744).
• Code sections: Ordinance Not Zoning -

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
9/26/2013	3	City Council	Placed on file
9/25/2013	2	Legislative Matters Committee	Work completed

Agenda Text
title
Requesting an amendment to the Local Historic District Map to create 1 new District (College Ave. Corridor of Faith) and add 1 property to that District, and to add 6 properties to the Hinckley-Magoun LHD, and 3 properties to the Winter Hill LHD (Group E remainder from #191744).

body
Official Text
To the Honorable Board:

Attached please find an ordinance adopting map amendments pursuant to the Historic District Ordinance, first adopted in 1985, which proposes to create 1 new District (College Ave. Corridor of Faith) and add 1 property to that District, and to add 6 properties to the Hinckley-Magoun LHD, and 3 properties to the Winter Hill LHD. These properties have been labeled as Group E: 1874-1890 Remainder for the purposes of review of the proposed expansion of LHDs.

The proposed map amendments fulfill an overriding goal of the municipal ordinance by offering critical protection to older buildings that are emblematic of our community’s cultural heritage. The overall purpose of designating local historic districts is to make Somerville a more attractive and desirable place to live, work, and visit. This can be promoted by officially recognizing the value of the City’s remaining historically and architecturally significant properties and helping to conserve them over the longer term. We must also capitalize on our rich architectural heritage and appreciate the great economic value it brings to the community. Preservation is a cornerstone of Smart Growth strategies and the Green Movement as it recognizes that it is better to save and enhance, rather than to demolish and build with cheaper and less durable materials.

The buildings in this fifth grouping of properties are noteworthy because they were predominantly built at the time when Somerville was growing as a newly incorporated city following the end of the Panic of 1873, and at a time when the community’s transportation network and commercial districts were expanding, and fue...