Historical Resources

“Historic resources” for CP purposes is defined in G.L. c. 44B, § 2 as a “building, structure, vessel real property, document or artifact that is listed on the state register of historic places or has been determined by the local historic preservation commission to be significant in the history, archeology, architecture or culture of a city or town.”

• Rehabilitation and Restoration - Funding is allowable for the rehabilitation of a historically significant municipally-owned building listed on the state register of historic places, provided the expenditure falls within the CPA definition of “rehabilitation,” is not within the CPA definition of “maintenance” and the work complies with the Standards for Rehabilitation stated in the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. G.L. c. 44B, § 2.

• Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Restoration - Funding is allowable for rehabilitation of the exterior of a building designed by H.H. Richardson, located on Main Street, owned by a nonprofit, is much-photographed and a prominent feature of the downtown and has been determined by the local historic preservation commission to be “significant in the history, archaeology, architecture or culture” of the city or town, in exchange for the municipality’s receipt of a historic preservation restriction from the nonprofit, provided the expenditure falls within the CPA definition of “rehabilitation,” is not “maintenance” and the work complies with the Standards for Rehabilitation stated in the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and provided the grant does not violate the Anti-aid Amendment. (See IGR Section V-C-5 above for information regarding the Anti-aid Amendment. See also IGR Section V-B-2-e above, for information on grant agreements.)

• Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Restoration – Funding to restore or rehabilitate religious-content stained glass windows of an active church building (within the CPA definition of historic resource) in exchange for conveyance of a historic preservation restriction to the municipality is not allowable because such funding is in violation of the Anti-aid Amendment. Caplan v. Acton, 479 Mass. 69 (2018). In applying the three-part test, the court determined: (i) the stated purpose of the proposed grant was for historic preservation and there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate a hidden purpose to aid the church; (ii) the effect of the grant would be to substantially aid the church; and (iii) the grant would not avoid the political and economic abuses which prompted the passage of the Anti-aid Amendment. After weighing and balancing the three factors, the court concluded that even if the sole motivating purpose of the grant was to preserve historic resources, “the other factors in our analysis – especially 56 the third factor, to which we accord special weight – still compel the conclusion that the stained glass grant runs afoul of the anti-aid amendment.” Caplan, 479 Mass at 95-96. Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Restoration - Funding for a loan program established by by-law or ordinance to fund rehabilitation work on privately-owned historically significant buildings (falling within the CPA definition of “historic resources”) in exchange for the city/town’s receipt of a historic preservation restriction on the property is allowable provided the loan does not violate the Anti-aid Amendment. (See IGR Section V-C5 above, for information regarding the Anti-aid Amendment.) The loan repayments must be credited to the CP Fund. G.L. c. 44B, § 7(iii). And, at the end of the fiscal year, the loan repayments will become part of the CP Fund Balance which will be available as a financing source for appropriation after the accounting officer closes the municipal accounts for the previous fiscal year and determines the amount of the CP Fund Balance. (Municipalities should seek advice from their local counsel regarding the documentation needed to implement such a program.)

• Rehabilitation - Painting that is an integral part of a larger, eligible rehabilitation or restoration project, i.e., painting after extraordinary repairs or restoration of walls, woodwork, trim or siding (etc.) is allowable. However, periodic painting or repainting of a historic building on a recurring basis would be in the nature of “maintenance” and not be eligible for CPA funding.

• Restoration – Painting to restore a historic building to its original historic color is allowable. For example, a historic building originally painted yellow was painted purple in the 1970s. In this case, restoring the building to its historic yellow color is not periodic or recurring painting and is not "maintenance." However, repainting the building yellow in a few years after its original painting would be “maintenance” and is not allowable.

• Preservation - Funding to move a historic lighthouse, within the CPA definition of “historic resource,” away from the edge of an ocean bluff that is eroding due to ocean wave and storm action such that the lighthouse is in danger of falling into the ocean, is an allowable CPA expenditure for the purpose of “preservation.” “Preservation” is defined narrowly in G.L. c. 44B, § 2 as “protection of personal or real property from injury, harm or destruction.” If the lighthouse is owned by a nonprofit, legal counsel should be consulted to ensure that the Anti-aid Amendment is not violated. (See IGR Section V-C-5 above, for information regarding the Anti-aid Amendment.) A historic preservation restriction running to the municipality should be required to ensure the continued preservation of the lighthouse which was the purpose of the CPA expenditure.

• Funding for an inventory of historic buildings within the municipality is not allowable as a CP project expenditure because an inventory is not a “historic resource” under the CPA definition. However, preparing the 57 inventory may be fundable, in whole or in part, under the CPC’s administrative and operating budget if the inventory will assist the CPC in performing its statutory duties, including reviewing the community’s community preservation “needs, possibilities and resources.” G.L. c. 44B, § 5(b)(1). (See IGR Section V-B-1 above, Community Preservation Fund Expenditures, Annual Administrative and Operating Expenses of the CPC, for more information.)

• A document on file at the municipal clerk’s office is not a historic resource under the CPA unless the document has been determined by vote of the local historic preservation commission to be “significant in the history, archeology, architecture or culture of a city or town.” G.L. c. 44B, § 2. For example, the birth record of Benjamin Franklin or the municipality’s original charter could be determined by the local historic preservation commission to be “significant in the history, archeology, architecture or culture of a city or town.”

• If a municipal document is determined by vote of the local historic preservation commission to be “significant in the history, archeology, architecture or culture of a city or town,” then CP funding is allowable for the “acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation and restoration” of the physical document. For example, CPA funding could be used to de-acidify the paper, repair tears, remove harmful films and residues and encase the document in protective mylar. These expenditures would be allowable as “restoration” or “preservation” of the historic resource – the document.

• Funding for cataloguing, indexing, scanning, digitizing, transcribing or otherwise preserving the information content of municipal documents rather than preserving or restoring the physical historic resource itself, is not allowable. The historic document is the “historic resource.”

• Funding for the codification of a municipality’s by-laws or ordinances is not allowable because the expenditure does not acquire, preserve, rehabilitate or restore a “historic resource” under the CPA definition.

• Funding to research and write a history of the municipality is not an allowable expenditure because the expenditure does not acquire, preserve, rehabilitate or restore a “historic resource” under the CPA definition.

• Funding for the acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation or restoration of replicas of historic resources is not allowable because “replicas” are not within the CPA definition of historic resource.

Departments

Boards & Committees

Find Us Fast:

Local Links:

Public Safety:

Resources:

More Find It Fast...