LETTER: Vote Yes On Article #31 At May 3 Town Meeting, Support A Demolition Delay Bylaw To Preserve Historic Properties In Wilmington

Hi neighbors!

Last June (2024) I sent a survey to gather information about public interest in various approaches to historic preservation around town, with so much building and demolition going on recently. There were 63 responses to the survey, and here are some observations, and a proposal for our next steps as a community:

1. 78% of respondents said age/historical significance should play a factor in what alterations/building permits/demolition permits should be approved, and that the decision should be made as a town/owner partnership.
2. 67% said Wilmington has properties that should have preservation restrictions via historic easement, and another 27% were on the fence (maybe).
3. 91% said the Historic Districts should have protections against demolition or redevelopment to protect the integrity of historic properties within the districts.
4. 65% said a bylaw should be proposed to allow for protective covenants and style guidelines for exterior alterations.
5. 78% said a bylaw should include demolition delay where the owner should demonstrate reasonable effort to locate a purchaser who would preserve the building.
6. 84% said that Wilmington should consider participating in the Community Preservation Coalition (est. 2000), where Wilmington residents would designate between 1-3% real estate tax levy to establish a local fund, which can be matched from the state CPA trust fund to issue local grants for maintaining historic homes and open spaces, create affordable housing, and develop outdoor recreational facilities.

As a member of the Historical Commission, I worked with Town Counsel to draft a Demolition Delay Bylaw to address #1, #3 and #5 above, since those items were met with such strong support and are fairly straightforward to implement.

Preserving the historic resources of the Town make Wilmington a more attractive and desirable place to live. Please VOTE YES on Article #31 at Saturday’s town meeting!

Thank you,

Joseph Jackson
Wilmington Historical Commission

**For those wondering, we are down to 126 listed buildings on our historic home inventory. In 1990, there were 140. We lost homes in each of the age brackets

(year built: number still standing)
pre-1730: 10 buildings (existed when Wilmington was chartered!)
1731-1780: 8 buildings (by the time of the American Revolution!)
1781-1830: 16 buildings
1831-1880: 38 buildings
1881-1924: 54 buildings

Caption: Note that Wilmington has lost homes from each of the time brackets in the last 35 years. Our 18 Colonial era homes are perhaps the most vulnerable, since they are now so few in number.

Caption: c1720 Butters-Avery House (165 Chestnut St) was rescued by the town using municipal funds in 2006 because it was at risk of demolition. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places as a First Period Building of Eastern Massachusetts, and has explicit protections.

Caption: c1756 Boutell-Hathorn House, (Wheelgate Farm) 280 Woburn Street, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Wheelgate Farm is a private home, with a preservation restriction held by Historic New England since 2010. These two properties are the only ones with explicit historic preservation restrictions in Wilmington.