Updated Design Guidelines now available!
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Historical Commission Design Guidelines Update
With support from a grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the City completed a full update of the Salem Historical Commission’s Guidelines Notebook (Guidelines), which was first created in 1984. This update was long overdue - the majority of the Guidelines were 35 years old with minimal to no guidance in some instances, including: no guidance for the design of new dormers and additions; a Mechanical Equipment chapter that lacks guidelines for exterior changes required for contemporary heating and cooling systems; and limited references to the sustainability benefits of historic buildings. In addition, the only visuals provided were photographs inserted into the notebook. The Historical Commission relies on these Guidelines for historic district administration in the City’s four local historic districts, which protect more than 600 historic buildings. Since the City updated its Historic Preservation Plan in 2015, the Commission has witnessed an increasing number of applications for changes that are not covered in the Guidelines, including requests for alternative building materials. In addition, other municipal staff and boards frequently reference the Guidelines during their review of projects affecting historic resources in Salem.
This multi-phase project was led by Easton Architects, a preservation architectural firm who worked closely with the Historical Commission, the City’s Preservation Planner, and other City staff and the public to update the Guidelines and make them more user-friendly by incorporating graphic presentations and clear illustrative examples. The Updated Guidelines serve as the primary resource for the Historical Commission and property owners undertaking reconstruction, rehabilitation or restoration in the historic districts. The Guidelines also provides guidance for other municipal review boards as well as staff engaged in management of municipally-owned historic properties and private owners of historic properties. The newly updated Guidelines is a user-friendly handbook that includes new and existing design objectives and guidelines, diagrams, photographs and other information necessary to clearly illustrate appropriate design principles for historic properties.
The update includes the following:
New introduction on Salem’s historic districts and architectural styles and a new Glossary section
Revisions to the Commission’s procedures and policies to include policies for administrative review and projects that qualify under minor change category
Expansion of specific chapters to incorporate information on the appropriateness of modern materials, changes required for new technology, and the sustainability benefits of historic building fabric
New Chapters, including Dormers and Additions
Graphic illustrations for material covered in the existing Guidelines
For more information, please contact Patti Kelleher at pkelleher@salem.com
This project is supported in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, through the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin, Chairman.