[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Ipswich 4-6-1987 ATM, approved by Attorney General 8-24-1987 (Ch. XVI of the 1973 Bylaws).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
§ 138-1 Intent and purpose.
§ 138-2 Definitions.
§ 138-3 Procedure.
§ 138-4 Enforcement and remedies.
§ 138-5 Ordinary maintenance.
§ 138-6 Portions of significant buildings.
§ 138-7 Severability.
§ 138-1 Intent and purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is the preserving and protecting
of significant buildings within the Town which constitute or reflect
distinctive features of the architectural, cultural, political, economic,
and/or social history of the Town; to encourage owners of such buildings
to seek out persons who might be willing to purchase, preserve, rehabilitate,
or restore such buildings rather than demolish them; and by furthering
these purposes, to promote the public welfare, to protect the resources
of the Town, and to preserve the Town as an attractive and desirable
place in which to live. To achieve these purposes, the Ipswich Historical
Commission (the "Commission") is empowered to advise the Building
Inspector with respect to the issuance of permits for demolition of
significant buildings. The issuance of demolition permits for significant
buildings is regulated as provided in this bylaw.
§ 138-2 Definitions.
A.
Building - as defined in "SECTION III." of The Protective Zoning
Bylaw of the Town of Ipswich.
B.
Demolition - any act of pulling down, destroying, removing, or razing
a building, or any substantial exterior portion thereof, or commencing
the work of total or substantial destruction, with the intent of completing
the same.
C.
Significant Building - any building or portion thereof which:
(1)
Is in whole or in part 75 or more years old;
(2)
Is listed on, or is within an area listed on, the National Register
of Historical Places, or is the subject of a pending application for
listing on said National Register;
(3)
Is protected by a Preservation Agreement with the Commission or the
Heritage Trust; or
(4)
Is determined by a majority of the Commission to be historically
or architecturally significant in terms of period, style, method of
building construction, or association with a famous architect, or
builder, or other historically significant person, event or process
either by itself or in the context of a group of buildings. The Commission
shall make such a determination within 10 days of receiving a request,
in hand or by certified mail, from the Building Inspector.
(5)
Preferably-Preserved Significant Building - any significant building which the Commission determines, as provided in § 138-3, is in the public interest to be preserved or rehabilitated, rather than to be demolished.
(6)
Commission - the Ipswich Historical Commission.
§ 138-3 Procedure.
A.
Upon receipt of an application for a demolition permit, the Building
Inspector shall date-stamp the application and forward a copy to the
Chairman of the Commission within four days. No demolition permit
shall be issued at that time.
B.
The Commission shall within 10 days of the date of receipt of an
application determine whether the building is a significant building.
If the building is determined not to be significant, the Commission
shall notify the Building Inspector and the owner, in hand or by certified
mail, within 14 days of the date of application, that a demolition
permit may be issued.
C.
If the Commission determines that the building, for which a demolition
permit has been applied, is a significant building, the Chairman of
the Commission shall notify the Building Inspector and the owner of
the building, in hand or by certified mail, within 14 days of the
date of the receipt of the application for a demolition permit. The
demolition permit shall be denied at this time, and the Commission
shall advise the owner of the building of the procedure to be followed
to determine whether a permit to demolish a significant building may
be issued.
D.
Before approval or disapproval of the application for the demolition
of a significant building, a public hearing shall be held by the Commission,
within 45 days of the submission of the application. Notice of the
time and place of such hearing shall be given by the Board at the
expense of the applicant by advertisement in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Town of Ipswich, once in each of two successive
weeks, the first publication being not less than 14 days before the
day of the hearing. A copy of said notice shall be mailed to the applicant
and to all owners of land abutting upon and/or within 300 feet of
the lot on which the significant building is located, as appearing
in the most recent tax list.
E.
If, after such hearing, the Commission determines that the demolition
of the significant building would not be detrimental to the historical
or architectural heritage or resources of the Town or is an imminent
threat to public health and safety, the Commission shall so notify
the Building Inspector and the owner, in hand or by certified mail,
within 21 days after the public hearing. Upon receipt of such notification,
or after the expiration of 21 days from the conduct of the hearing,
if the Building Inspector and the owner have not received notification
from the commission, the Building Inspector may, subject to the requirements
of the state building code and other applicable laws, bylaws, rules
and regulations, issue the demolition permit.
F.
If the Commission determines that the demolition of the significant
building would be detrimental to the historical or architectural heritage
or resources of the Town, such building shall be considered a preferably-preserved
significant building. In making such a determination, the Commission
may consider any hardships associated with the property.
G.
Upon such determination by the Commission, the Commission shall so advise the applicant and the Building Inspector, in hand or by certified mail, within 21 days of the conduct of the hearing, and no demolition permit may be issued until 12 months after the date of such determination by the Commission, except under the conditions of Subsection H of this section.
[Amended 4-5-2004 ATM,
approved by Attorney General 5-3-2004]
H.
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the Building Inspector may
issue a demolition permit for a preferably-preserved significant building
after receipt of written advice from the Commission to the effect
that either:
(1)
The Commission is satisfied at any time after the conduct of the
hearing that there is no reasonable likelihood either the owner or
some other person or group is willing to purchase, preserve, rehabilitate
or restore such building; or
(2)
The Commission is satisfied that, for at least six months, the owner
has made continuing, bona fide, and reasonable efforts to locate a
purchaser to preserve, rehabilitate, and restore the subject building,
and that such efforts have been unsuccessful. These efforts would
include listing the building with a realtor or realtors for the six
months, advertising in local general circulation newspapers, and advertising
in one Boston general circulation newspaper.
§ 138-4 Enforcement and remedies.
A.
The Commission and/or the Building Inspector are each authorized
to institute any and all proceedings, in law or equity, as either
deems necessary and/or appropriate to obtain compliance with the requirements
of this bylaw, and/or to prevent any violation thereof.
B.
No building permit shall be issued with respect to any premises upon
which a significant building has been voluntarily demolished in violation
of this bylaw for a period of two years after the date of the completion
of such demolition as determined by the Building Inspector and documented
in a letter to the Commission. As used herein, "premises" includes
the parcel of land upon which the demolished significant building
was located.
C.
Upon a determination by the Commission that a building is a preferably-preserved significant building, the owner shall be responsible for properly securing the building, if vacant, to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector. Should the owner fail so to secure the building, and as a result, such building is lost through fire or other cause, this shall be considered voluntary demolition for the purposes of § 138-2.
§ 138-5 Ordinary maintenance.
Nothing in this bylaw shall be construed to prevent the ordinary
maintenance, repair, or replacement of any exterior architectural
feature.
§ 138-6 Portions of significant buildings.
Nothing in this bylaw shall be construed to prevent the demolition
of those portions of significant buildings which are not in themselves
significant. In such cases, the Historical Commission shall notify
the Building Inspector within 14 days of the date of application that
a demolition permit may be issued.
§ 138-7 Severability.
If any section, paragraph, or part of this bylaw is for any
reason declared invalid or unconstitutional by any court, every other
section, paragraph, and part shall continue in full force and effect.