At our busy June meeting, the house at 130 Boston Avenue was voted to be Preferably Preserved.

Whenever a building is found to be “preferably preserved” an 18-month delay of demolition is imposed, to give the applicant time to consider sale, renovation, reuse, relocation and other alternatives to demolition. However, the demolition delay may be lifted before the 18-month period, if a plan is developed that addresses the concerns of the public and the commission. The applicant is always invited to return to the Commission’s upcoming public meetings to present plans and alternatives and to discuss the preservation concerns that their neighbors and the commission have; often the applicant works directly with a subcommittee that can help them develop appropriate plans.

Both the carriage house at 20 Otis Street and the home at 76 Sharon Street were found to be historically significant. Public hearings, and votes, will be taken at next month’s meeting to determine if they are also preferably preserved.

The house at 136 Boston Avenue and the Bertucci’s building, at 4045 Mystic Valley Parkway, were determined to be NOT historically significant.

We also voted to lift the demo delay on both 17 Edward Street, in South Medford, and 78 Cotting Street, in Hillside. Both these properties were found to be Preferably Preserved earlier in the year.

We also reviewed the submission of applications for demolition permits from 4 properties: 10 Newcomb Street, 85 Fern Road, 50 Winthrop Street and 2-4 Capen Street. We will determine historical significance for these properties next month.

The owners at 43 Wright Avenue, who also submitted a demo application, were allowed to go ahead with their plans without further review, as the plans were determined to be minor renovations, not demolition. The owners at 80 Canal Street had requested to be on the agenda, but were not present.

Phew. Thanks to all who joined us, especially those who stayed til the very end ; )