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Charlestown council weighs expansion of Historic Overlay District after Reconstruction-era testimony
Summary
Council members heard residents and the Historic Landmarks Commission on expanding the Historic Overlay District to include Reconstruction-era sites and asked staff and HLC for a clearer, consolidated process; staff will return with a redline and recommendations at the next meeting.
Charlestown city councilors spent a lengthy portion of Monday’s meeting discussing whether to expand the city’s Historic Overlay District to include additional properties and a broader period of significance.
Linda Ballard, who said she had been asked to provide input, urged the council to consider including properties tied to the Reconstruction era (she recommended 1865–1877), citing deeds and tax records that show formerly enslaved families purchased lots and built dwellings in the West End after the Civil War. “I am suggesting be taken into consideration is 1865 through 1877,” Ballard said, outlining property owners she wants preserved and calling for care as traffic projects move forward in that area.
The Historic Landmarks Commission’s Amanda Updike described what overlay designation does — it creates design-review requirements for exterior changes and a certificate-of-appropriateness process — and clarified that being on the National Register alone does not impose local design-review protections. She said some grant programs and tax-credit opportunities are available for historic properties but that the overlay creates local regulatory protections. The city attorney and planning staff explained two avenues for adding properties: a zoning-ordinance amendment route and the historic-landmarks ordinance route. The zoning route uses a class-1 legal ad process; the HLC process uses a class-2 ad and includes an owner-notice/opt-out window for added territory.
Council members asked staff and the HLC to work together to (a) clarify which procedural path the city should use, (b) prepare a redlined ordinance that aligns the zoning and HLC procedures, and (c) report back with capacity estimates for the HLC to manage any expanded district. City staff said they would return with a draft and more information at the next meeting so the council could make a more concrete decision.
What happens next: staff will draft a consolidated approach and consult with the Historic Landmarks Commission, then bring back a redline and recommendation for council consideration.
