Transitioning to the new Historic District Commission Questions? Contact Deputy Community Development Director Mark Latour at 508.487.7000 x527
Read the text of the By-law Html version; PDF file	More about Historic Provincetown
See the map of affected properties
Historic District Study Committee's Preliminary Study Report for the proposed Provincetown Historic District.

The Historic District Commission replaces the Historical Commission as the body charged with regulatory review of historic structures in Provincetown.

The General By-law amendment to establish a Local Historic District was passed by Provincetown voters at the April 2003 Annual Town Meeting, and approved by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office in August 2003. Per this General By-law amendment, nominations for appointments to the Historic District Commission are originally to be made by the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce, the Provincetown Business Guild, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, the Provincetown Historical Commission, and the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum.

Based upon nominations from these groups, the Provincetown Board of Selectmen voted on September 8, 2003 to appoint Paul Church, John Dowd and Thomas Boland as members of the Historic District Commission, and also to appoint Roger Keene as an Alternate member of the Historic District Commission. Additional members are still being sought, and applications should be submitted to the office of the Board of Selectmen by Thursday, September 18, 2003.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission has issued a comprehensive Guidebook for Historic District Commissions in Massachusetts and copies of this guidebook are being given to the new appointees for their perusal. The new Historic District Commission supersedes the authority of the Town's long serving Historical Commission regarding matters related to the preservation of historic buildings in Provincetown.

In addition, the General By-law amendment which created the Local Historic District in April 2003 specified in considerable detail the powers and duties of the Historic District Commission, their procedures for review of applications, their criteria for making determinations, as well as detailed guidelines specific to Provincetown regarding exemptions from review, limits of jurisdiction, windows, entrances and doors, roof cladding, dormer alterations and additions, chimneys, skylights, roofs, decks, porches, commercial storefronts, fences, siding, outside stairs, demolition, new construction and additions, etc. These guidelines are available on the Town website at: http://www.provincetowngov.org/historic/HistoricDistrictBy-law.pdf

Eric Dray, Chair of the Historic District Study Committee (the group which spearheaded the creation of the Historic District Commission) will conduct a workshop for the new Historic District Commission members discussing application and review procedures, the duties of the new Commission, criteria for making determinations, and other relevant items. The first training workshop for the new Commission members will take place in the Judge Welch Room on Wednesday, September 17, 2003 at 10:00 am.

The first meeting of the Historic District Commission to review and make determinations on applications will take place on September 24, 2003 in the Judge Welch Room at 6:00 pm. Applications under review at this meeting relate to 45 Commercial Street Unit #2, 101 Bradford Street, 242 Commercial Street, and 12 Washington Avenue. The public is welcome to attend.

The Historic District Commission is expected to elect a Chair, Vice-Chair and Clerk at one of its September meetings, and will discuss whether there are any additional procedures they wish to put into place, which are not already specified in the Historic District By-law which was passed at the April 2003 Annual Town Meeting.

Existing applications are being accepted using the forms of the Town's Historical Commission. Based upon sample forms from other Towns whose Local Historic Districts are already in operation, the Historic District Commission is expected to adopt at an upcoming meeting, its own forms including a Certificate Appropriateness, a Certificate of Non-Applicability, a Certificate of Hardship, and a set of application instructions.

Staff liaison to the new Historic District Commission is Deputy Community Development Director Mark Latour. Permit Coordinator Maxine Notaro will help explain the application process to property owners and contractors.

Historic Preservation Consultants Kise, Straw & Kolodner have been contracted by the Town to further develop the inventory of historic properties in the district, and are reviewing earlier partial inventories compiled by Josephine DelDeo in the late 1970's and by Tom Boland in 1994. Kise, Straw and Kolodner is also working with Town Staff to develop a handbook for the public (including property owners and builders) explaining how the historic preservation process works.

Per a vote of the Board of Selectmen on September 8, 2003, the Historic District Commission has also been designated as the advisory body for referrals under the Cape Cod Commission Act for historic properties outside the recently established 40C local historic district.

In addition, the Town's Demolition Delay By-law was passed by Provincetown voters in April 2002 to protect historically significant buildings which reflect the Town's historical, cultural and architectural heritage from unnecessary demolition. Under the wording of this by-law, the Historic District Commission has now become the body which reviews such demolition applications.

Additional questions about the Historic District may be directed to Deputy Community Development Director Mark Latour at 508 487-7000 x 527 or to Permit Coordinator Maxine Notaro at 508 487-7020.