Manchester looks at a demolition delay bylaw for older buildings; the commission takes up the details Dec. 2 and a vote could come at spring town meeting

Manchester-by-the-Sea has a historic district downtown, about 200 properties on the National Register of Historic Places and two homes with deed restrictions that protect them forever. What it does not have is a rule that makes anyone pause before tearing down an old building. The town's Historic District Commission is now looking at one.

That was the message at a public forum on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Town Hall, where about a dozen people in the room, commission members among them, and others on Zoom heard a consultant lay out the tools towns use to protect historic places. The commission meets again on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 6:30 p.m. to go through how a demolition delay bylaw would work. A proposal could go to town meeting in the spring of 2027.

What happened

• Jen Doherty, a preservation planner with Barrett Planning Group, told the forum a demolition delay bylaw is "the missing tool" in the commission's toolbox. More than 160 Massachusetts cities and towns have one.
• A delay does not stop a demolition. It gives the commission a set period to look for another way, such as a sale, a move or a new design.
• The town would have to pick two things: what triggers a review, often any building 50 years old or older, and how long the delay lasts. Delays in Massachusetts run from 30 days to two years, and 12 months is now the most common.
• No votes were taken. The commission will take up the details on Dec. 2 in Town Hall Room 5.

What the town has now

Doherty walked through five tools, from least to most strict.

Zoning is not a preservation rule, but it decides what can be built in place of an old building.

The National Register of Historic Places sounds strong but is mostly an honor. It only requires a review when a project needs a state or federal permit, license or money. A homeowner in Manchester can demolish a National Register listed house today with no historic review, once the building commissioner issues a demolition permit. About 200 Manchester properties are on the register, most of them inside the downtown district.

A demolition delay bylaw is the tool Manchester lacks. There is no state law for it; towns adopt their own under home rule.

A local historic district is set up by town meeting and gives the commission the power to review changes to the outside of a building that can be seen from the street. Manchester created its district in 1975. It covers much of downtown.

A preservation restriction is a deed restriction that lets a third party review changes, inside and out, forever. Two Manchester properties have one, on Harbor Street and on Summer Street.

The commission itself dates to 1975 and does two jobs: it is the town's historical commission, with no regulatory power of its own, and the historic district commission, which reviews work in the district. It became a Certified Local Government with the National Park Service in 2024 and has been updating its records of the town's historic buildings. A 2024 survey plan divides the town into about seven or eight sections. The first phase documented about 100 buildings on School Street and nearby blocks. This year's phase is Summer Street.

How a delay works

When a demolition delay bylaw is in place, an owner who asks the building department for a demolition permit on a building that meets the trigger is sent to the commission first. The commission then decides whether the building is significant and whether it should be preserved if possible. If so, the clock starts.

During the delay an owner can simply wait, Doherty said. More often the time is used to find another path: selling to someone who will fix the building up, splitting the lot so the old house keeps its own parcel, moving the building, or agreeing on a new design that fits the neighborhood. The commission can lift the delay early once an owner agrees to changes, and it can let a demolition go ahead at once if a building is not worth saving.

Two questions for Manchester

The trigger. The Massachusetts Historical Commission recommends 50 years, a rolling line that moves each year. Some towns use a fixed year or a list of buildings, which Doherty does not recommend. Brookline reviews every demolition, no matter the age.

The length. Six months used to be the most common delay. In the last five to ten years most towns have moved to 12 months, Doherty said, because developers can wait out a short delay. Milton and Watertown use two years. Lexington uses 18 months, and Salem uses 18 months for some properties.

What residents asked

Jack Burke, chair of the town's Community Preservation Committee, asked on Zoom whether anyone keeps a list of buildings saved or lost under demolition delay rules. No one collects that statewide, Doherty said, though some towns, Winchester among them, track their own demolitions.

Another resident asked whether a town can protect the look of a whole street, not just stop demolitions. That is what a local historic district does, Doherty said, along with zoning that matches the lot sizes already there. A demolition delay only covers tearing a building down.

A commission member said the downtown district is small and that owners mostly respect it, bringing in applications for certificates of appropriateness even for signs.

Adding or expanding a local historic district takes more steps: a study report reviewed by the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the Planning Board, a public hearing, and a two thirds vote of town meeting.

What was decided

• Nothing was voted on. The forum was for information and questions.
• The commission will work with its consultant on a draft demolition delay bylaw over the next few months.

What happens next

• Wednesday, Dec. 2, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall Room 5: the commission's second community meeting, on how a demolition delay bylaw would work, the review trigger and the delay period.
• Spring 2027: the earliest a bylaw could go to town meeting, which would need to approve it.
• The historic building survey continues on Summer Street this year.
• Questions about the project go to the commission's chair through the Historic District Commission page.

Where to find the records

• Meeting posting and agenda for Oct. 29.
• The recording on the town's channel, linked from the Agenda Center, where the town posts agendas, minutes and meeting videos.
• Historic District Commission page, with members.

Earlier coverage: Manchester planners release Cell Signaling's $250,000 site bond and set a Dec. 3 forum on the rest of the business district (Oct. 28), where the Planning Board began a study of the general district that borders the historic district.

How we did this: Cape Ann Current watched the forum online. No votes were taken. These are our meeting notes, not the commission's minutes.