(July 20, 2017) Berlin Historic District Chairwoman Carol Rose wants to see the district expanded, albeit only slightly, to include homes built in the 1800s and early 1900s.
She said if that was done, it would be with input from the homeowners and with the goal of preserving historic homes — not imposing a series of prohibitive rules.
Commission Vice Chairman Robert Poli said during a meeting on July 5 that he wanted to include more than a dozen streets and to expand the district proportionally as the town expands, including homes built as recently as the 1960s.
Rose recently discussed that and several other issues with Town Administrator Laura Allen, in what she called a productive meeting.
“What I would like to see is the homes on down North Main Street, and there are a few on Vine Street and Bay Street that are really, really old [included in the Historic District],” Rose said. “I’d like to see anything that was built in the 1800s to the early 1900s to be in there, because there’s nothing right now to prevent someone from tearing those down.
“It would be strictly for preservation, and not telling you that you have to keep your front door white,” she added.
Rose said about 15 years ago town officials considered expanding the district.
“People were upset because they felt they couldn’t paint their doors or their shutters – we’ve never done that,” she said. “Sometime maybe this winter when things are a little bit calmer and everybody is done with their company, maybe we can sit down and talk about it and present it. We really need to find out whether the mayor and council would be in favor of expanding it.
“I would hate to see something torn down. You don’t think somebody would do that, but you never know,” Rose added. “We would certainly want to sit down with all the homeowners and discuss it. And if people really weren’t interested, that’s fine. It’s not anything I would want somebody to feel like they were pressured into doing.”
Allen had similar ideas about what a historic district expansion could look like.
“Typically, the historic district is used to protect buildings of historical significance in the community, and in some cases, they get them registered, but not in all cases,” she said. “It really depends on what the local community feels most strongly about.”
She agreed a previous attempt to expand the borders was “not well received.”
“My recommendation to the commission, if they wanted to pursue that, would be have a more detailed discussion about it and weigh the pros and cons, and give some thought to the areas they feel are historic or should be protected, but aren’t in the district.”
She said if the commission put together a formal recommendation and voted to approve it, an expansion would be considered by the Town Council.
“My sense is there’s not a lot of receptivity to significant change,” Allen said.
She said if that was done, it would be with input from the homeowners and with the goal of preserving historic homes — not imposing a series of prohibitive rules.
Commission Vice Chairman Robert Poli said during a meeting on July 5 that he wanted to include more than a dozen streets and to expand the district proportionally as the town expands, including homes built as recently as the 1960s.
Rose recently discussed that and several other issues with Town Administrator Laura Allen, in what she called a productive meeting.
“What I would like to see is the homes on down North Main Street, and there are a few on Vine Street and Bay Street that are really, really old [included in the Historic District],” Rose said. “I’d like to see anything that was built in the 1800s to the early 1900s to be in there, because there’s nothing right now to prevent someone from tearing those down.
“It would be strictly for preservation, and not telling you that you have to keep your front door white,” she added.
Rose said about 15 years ago town officials considered expanding the district.
“People were upset because they felt they couldn’t paint their doors or their shutters – we’ve never done that,” she said. “Sometime maybe this winter when things are a little bit calmer and everybody is done with their company, maybe we can sit down and talk about it and present it. We really need to find out whether the mayor and council would be in favor of expanding it.
“I would hate to see something torn down. You don’t think somebody would do that, but you never know,” Rose added. “We would certainly want to sit down with all the homeowners and discuss it. And if people really weren’t interested, that’s fine. It’s not anything I would want somebody to feel like they were pressured into doing.”
Allen had similar ideas about what a historic district expansion could look like.
“Typically, the historic district is used to protect buildings of historical significance in the community, and in some cases, they get them registered, but not in all cases,” she said. “It really depends on what the local community feels most strongly about.”
She agreed a previous attempt to expand the borders was “not well received.”
“My recommendation to the commission, if they wanted to pursue that, would be have a more detailed discussion about it and weigh the pros and cons, and give some thought to the areas they feel are historic or should be protected, but aren’t in the district.”
She said if the commission put together a formal recommendation and voted to approve it, an expansion would be considered by the Town Council.
“My sense is there’s not a lot of receptivity to significant change,” Allen said.