Gloucester's Historical Commission hunts for money for a Lanesville historic district; the Human Rights Commission wants a second student member

Two Gloucester boards met at the same hour on Monday, Oct. 26, and neither took a vote that changes anything for residents yet. Here is what they talked about.

What happened

• The Historical Commission has no grant yet for a National Register district in Lanesville. A state grant has a $15,000 minimum and a 40 percent match, more than the roughly $7,000 job needs, so the commission will look at Community Preservation Act money next.
• Three more old Gloucester houses now carry permanent preservation restrictions: the Riggs House at 27 Vine St., the William Haskell House and the Tucker Hayden Cottage.
• The DPW will pay for and install the Lane's Cove historical plaque, with a granite compass rose paid for by the Lanes Cove Historical Association, likely in the spring.
• The Human Rights Commission approved a posting for a second non voting student member, open to any Gloucester resident in grades 9 to 12, up to age 22, including GED students.
• The city's briefing on ADA compliance at City Hall did not happen because the official did not attend. The commission will try again in January. It does not meet in November or December.

Historical Commission

Members met at the Rose Baker Senior Center, with some on Zoom. The chair reported that the demolition delay ordinance, in force since May, has drawn no applications, and the commission's website now explains it with links to the ordinance, the list of covered buildings and the council vote.

The commission counted a busy year for protection. Owners of three houses from the 1600s and 1700s, the Riggs House on Vine Street, the William Haskell House and the Tucker Hayden Cottage, recorded preservation restrictions with the Massachusetts Historical Commission. A restriction is written into the deed and never expires. The chair said a fifth owner of a 1700s house had come to the commission that night asking how to protect it, as construction goes up around it. She also gave the new owner of the Sailor Stan's building on Rocky Neck a certificate of historical significance so he can ask the building department for the historic exclusion from federal flood rules, which otherwise would require raising the building more than 4 feet.

On the Lanesville National Register district, the member leading the effort said the state's survey and planning grant does not fit: the minimum award is $15,000, the work needs about $7,000, and the town would have to pay everything up front and wait for a 60 percent reimbursement. A Daughters of the American Revolution grant looked like a fit but closes this week and would have to go through the Lanes Cove Historical Association, so the commission will try for it next year. The next step is a conversation with the commission's representative on the Community Preservation Committee.

Also at the meeting: the 2027 Preservation Awards are set for May 20, 6:30 to 8 p.m., with nominations open through the winter; new historic house plaques are going up on Washington Street, Wiley Street, Summer Street and Pirates Lane; the city's register of historic buildings is still being designed, with research on Rocky Neck houses first; and a member offered to look into a new local historic district for a street of well kept older homes. The next meetings are Monday, Nov. 30, and Monday, Jan. 4.

Human Rights Commission

The commission spent most of its hour editing a one page posting to recruit a second student member, since its current student is a senior. The posting says the commission has seven voting members and two non voting student seats, meets on the last Monday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m., and takes letters of interest with a resume to the mayor's office. Members changed the opening to say the commission supports the community "in calling out injustice in all forms" after one member objected to the word hate appearing twice. The chair will send the final version to the high school principal, the Action Inc. GED program and the Unity drop in center on Elm Street.

The chair said the ADA briefing grew out of a complaint about the chairlift at City Hall, which worked but no one knew how to operate, and an overgrown sign at the accessible entrance. She will invite the city's assistant director of operations again for January, along with the new police chief once one is named. The next meeting is Monday, Jan. 25, 2027.

What was decided

• Historical Commission: minutes of Sept. 28 approved, from the meeting video. No other votes.
• Human Rights Commission: minutes of July 27 approved, and the student member posting approved with the changes made at the meeting, from the meeting video.

What happens next

• Lanesville district funding: the Historical Commission talks with its Community Preservation Committee representative. The CPC is hearing its last funding presentation in November and decides over the winter.
• Student member: the posting goes to the high school, the GED program and the city website. A student could be sworn in early in 2027.
• Monday, Nov. 30, 6:30 p.m.: Historical Commission, Rose Baker Senior Center.
• Monday, Jan. 25, 2027, 6 p.m.: Human Rights Commission.

Where to find the records

• Historical Commission agenda, Oct. 26 and Human Rights Commission agenda, Oct. 26.
• October 2026 Past Meetings, where the city posts both Zoom recordings. Minutes will be posted in the Archive Center.
• Historical Commission and Human Rights Commission pages, with members.

Earlier coverage: Monday on Cape Ann (Oct. 23), the agendas for both meetings.

How we did this: Cape Ann Current watched both meetings online on the city's recordings. Votes are as heard on the recordings and are labeled from the meeting video until minutes confirm them. These are our meeting notes, not the boards' minutes.