Historical District Commisson Meeting

Demolition by Neglect

Historical District Commission meets to discuss starting enforcement of zoning ordinance

By Brian Ward

Durham- “Good morning” Henry Smith said, walking in from the 7 p.m. darkness. Everyone in the room smiled wryly as the Vice- Chair of the Durham Historical District Commission (HDC) took his seat at the meeting table. The meeting started a few minutes later, with only four of the six members of the commission in attendance and one other person in the audience.

“I didn’t send out a reminder” said Leslie Schwartz, the Chair of the HDC. 

The HDC met last Thu. to talk about the issue of demolition by neglect section of the town zoning ordinance. Schwartz defined demolition by neglect as when “historic buildings become dilapidated due to lack of upkeep.”

The demolition by neglect section has previously existed in the Durham Zoning Ordinance, but has not been enforced. While the HDC doesn’t have the authority to enforce its ordinances, it can bring up violations to the Code Enforcement Office, who can enforce them. The Historical District Commission is making plans to work with the Code Enforcement Office to have property owners and renters in the Historic Overlay District comply with the ordinance.

If a building in the Historic Overlay District meets the requirements of demolition by neglect, the owner or renter has 60 days to fix the problem. If they don’t, the town will make the owner pay to cover the costs of the repairs. The ordinance gives owners 30 days to appeal to the HDC if they want to argue with the decision, and does make some allowances for people in suffering financial hardships. However, the HDC want to find less drastic ways of enforcing the ordinance.

“Largely what we do, is take proactive measures rather than reactive. Rather than enforce the ordinance, reach out to property owners and show what they can do to retain property value and historical value.” Schwartz said.

Andrea Bodo, the commission’s secretary, brought up the idea of holding workshops for people in the Historic District, teaching them about how to maintain their home’s property and historical value. She pointed out that many renters are unaware that there are tax incentives for doing things like painting a home that they rent. The sole other audience member briefly jumped in and suggested starting a mailing people in the Historical District with information on the ordinance and ways to maintain their homes.

Much of the time spent between Schwartz and Town Council Representative Peter Stanhope, debating about how the ordinance defined demolition by neglect and at what point a building be considered to be deteriorated enough to require action by the Code Enforcement Office.

Stanhope repeatedly brought up the fact that the ordinance didn’t define deteriorated, and that it wasn’t clear what conditions were. The point that was mentioned was whether the ordinance was about safety or aesthetics, and if it took some peeled paint or for the house need to be condemned to meet the standard of neglect.

“It feels subjective” Stanhope said

“Everything we do (here) is subjective.” Schwartz said.

“I hate subjectivity” Stanhope replied, taking a second to add “In the hands of power.”

Work Cited

Bodo, Andrea. "HDC Meeting." Personal interview. 3 Nov. 2011.

Schwartz, Leslie. "HDC Meeting." Telephone interview. 11 Nov. 2011.

Stanhope, Peter. "HDC Meeting." Personal interview. 3 Nov. 2011.

Town of Durham, NH Official Web Site. 2008. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://ci.durham.nh.us/>.

Lambert, George. "Tax Deductions For Rental Property Owners." Investopedia.com - Your Source For Investing Education. 13 Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/06/rentalowner.asp>.

Zoning Ordinance for the Town of Durham. New Hampshire. Durham, NH, 2006. Print.