Thanks for Supporting Article 9: Abolish the Historic District Commission - on Tuesday, March 9, 2010, we were successful!

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We now have 8 video clips from HDC meetings up on Youtube, here.

If you are thinking that it would be desirable to retain the current HDC and attempt to work with them, please watch these videos. And please bear in mind that most of those of us now working for the removal of the HDC supported the HDC last year. The HDC changed our minds.

Here's a video clip from the HDC meeting of January 21, 2010, in which Selectman Sarah Silk talks about the "ignorance" of those who are distressed by the way the Commission has been treating applicants:

For a statement made to the selectmen regarding this and other things said at this meeting, see the Video page.

Another video is here. To visit the Youtube channel where all the video clips are hosted (including those we may not have linked to this site yet), click here.

Q: Is there a Historic District in downtown Wolfeboro?

A: No. The Historic Districts are both in an area about 5 to 7 miles north of downtown Wolfeboro.

Where are the Historic Districts that are overseen by the HDC in Wolfeboro located?

A: The Historic Districts are located along a number of back roads, including Pork Hill Road, North Wolfeboro Road, Trask Mountain Road, Stoddard Road, Cowper Road , College Road, Haines Hill Road, Chick Road, Bickford Road, Cotton Valley Road, Jenness Farm Road, Stoneham Road, and North Wakefield Road. The Historic District, where it is present, extends 250 feet from the road.

Q: What is wrong with the current HDC?

A: Under current leadership, the Historic District Commission (HDC) has become a detriment to the community based on:
a. Depriving property owners the ability to control and enjoy their homes by imposing undocumented and artificially restrictive limitations on property improvements.
b. Imposing unreasonably long and involved approval procedures for simple changes.
c. Abusing their power by cutting off discussion of dissenting views within the commission and disrespectful treatment of property owners appearing before the commission.
d. Causing a decline in the reputation and desirability of property within the district. This has been validated by local Realtors in discussions with potential home buyers.

Q: What's the history of the Wolfeboro HDC and what has changed recently?

A: The district was created in 1977 by local residents in order to help preserve the historic and agricultural character of North Wolfeboro. For about 30 years, the HDC provided guidance to the residents, and limited control of building improvements or new construction. As of today, the district has a highly varied character with many miles of roadways and a mix of about 50% historic and 50% newer homes. In contrast, other historic districts are typically in downtown areas with a high density of historically significant buildings. In these towns, commissions have adopted fairly strict guidelines for what building alterations are allowed and the level of review required for approval.
Recent members of the Wolfeboro HDC have modeled their approach around cities like Exeter when defining and enforcing what constitutes acceptable historic appearance. This has increased the paperwork, number of meetings and time required for approval of even simple changes. While this approach may be suitable for downtown Exeter, most residents feel that the process has become overly bureaucratic for a rural district with such varying architecture.

To read the HDC's current draft of proposed guidelines, in PDF format, click here. If you want to know what the HDC has in mind for your property, this is a must read!

Q: Aren't rules necessary to preserve historic homes?

A: Any HDC will impose some additional level of control over how we can use and enjoy our property. Most residents are willing to live with reasonable restrictions in order to maintain the overall character of the neighborhood. Recently, however, most residents feel that commission members are imposing their own personal definition of what should be regulated, rather than listening to what level of control residents are willing to live with. The commission has imposed their standards and required Public Hearings even for minor issues such as screen doors and small wood sheds. They even made a resident remove a beautiful iron gate from his property ­ in spite of the fact that this was a gift from his son and had been in place for three years with no complaints.

While strict rules may be appropriate near a national historic site, the recent approach of the HDC is not appropriate for North Wolfeboro. The level of control being exercised is an intrusion on our rights as property owners.

Q: I've heard that the HDC is working on written standards, isn't this a good thing?

A: Under the right circumstances, this would be a good move. Prior board members were also criticized for not having written guidelines. The difference is that prior board members were much more reasonable in terms of listening to residents and applying good judgment.

What's truly frightening is that the current majority on the HDC is documenting highly restrictive rules that are totally inappropriate for our community. They can, by majority vote of the HDC, impose whatever rules they want on the residents. The commission will claim that this is an open process since they will hold a public review session before the vote. This public session, however, has no binding impact on the HDC. They have routinely dismissed and ignored public input both during HDC meetings and when they held a public review of proposed rules of procedure. There is no way to hold them accountable to the will of the people, and they have routinely demonstrated their arrogance - imposing their own opinions on the community.

Q: I've heard that personality and behavior are part of the problem?

A: The personal views and behavior of recent commission members is the central issue. We have tried to put this in the most objective light possible in a recent letter to the Planning Board where we stated:

"Most of us are good people and good neighbors but not all of us are comfortable being in the public spotlight. When anyone takes an official position to review and potentially limit another person's property rights, there is naturally some tension and potential for disagreement. One approach is to exercise tight control and become very impersonal and authoritative. While this may be appropriate in a court of law, it doesn't support good relationships between a commission and residents who are all neighbors. Unfortunately, several of the current HDC members have taken just such an approach ­ effectively treating residents like second class citizens. You need only review a portion of the video tape meeting records to get a flavor for this problem.
We all recognize that meetings require some discipline ­ but this can be done while treating everyone with respect. Meetings can be kept efficient yet still allow residents to present their case and commission members to have an honest debate."

We invite everyone to check out the meeting video tapes - you will be shocked by how residents and dissenting HDC members are treated. They are on Community Television sometimes; you will soon be able to see excerpts of the videos on our website here at www.openvoices.com.

Q: Is the HDC wasting taxpayer funds?

A: Yes, they had a budget of $500 in 2009 but actually spent over $6000. They also convinced the town to engage in a lawsuit over a violation that has cost the town many thousands of dollars. The net result of the all the legal fees - the suit was settled by agreement to add a fake chimney to the house in question ­ something previously offered by the homeowner but rejected by the HDC. In addition, the Selectmen have spent $2300 for a consultant to assess problems within the HDC.

We have every reason to believe that this waste of taxpayer funds will only get worse in the future. Some district residents have publicly stated that they will refuse to deal with the HDC on any future issues based on how they were treated. This will be a direct challenge to HDC authority and will likely result in more wasted meetings and expensive lawsuits. In addition, the HDC has asked for mediation to help them get along with each other ­ yet another huge waste of taxpayer money.

Q: Why can't this be resolved without dissolving the HDC?

A: Many attempts have been made to do this, including talking to the current leaders, contacting the Board of Selectmen, speaking out in the newspaper and speaking out at public meetings. The only action taken so far is that the Selectmen have appointed a consultant to review the problem. Most recently, a group of concerned property owners within the district have formally asked for the resignation of the HDC Chairman and Vice Chairman so that we can avoid dissolving the HDC.

Q: Why can't we wait for the consultant appointed by the Selectmen? Why do this now?

A: After many weeks, the consultant finally issued a report that makes a few observations but does NOT address the key issues of appropriate building guidelines and respectful treatment of applicants. Further consulting or mediation is very unlikely to change the attitudes and behavior of the current HDC majority. The opportunity to dissolve the HDC only occurs during a town election and it is essential that we resolve this issue before additional damage is done to the community and additional taxpayer dollars wasted.

Q: Why did the North Wolfeboro Area Association (NWAA) oppose a similar warrant article last year?

A: At that time, the group was hoping for resolution by pushing for changes within the HDC and with the Selectmen. Nothing, however, has been done and abuses of power by the HDC continue. In addition, the last warrant article called for the dissolution of the Historic District rather than just removing the commission. Most people who live in the district would like to see it preserved.

Q: Is the NWAA supporting this warrant article?

A: This warrant article is being pursued by a group of concerned district property owners and is not the work of the NWAA.

Q: What is the impact of dissolving the HDC?

A: By taking this action, there will be no commission to enforce the rules within the Historic District. We believe there is minimal risk to the historic character of the neighborhood since:
a. People who own historic properties are generally very interesting in maintaining their character.
b. We are still protected by the zoning within the agricultural district ­ things like the 5 acre minimum.
c. Given the nature of our district ­ many miles of mostly open roads with clusters of historic homes ­ most people feel that even if someone constructs a contemporary home within the district it would not detract from the existing historic homes.

In addition, removing the Commission while preserving the District gives us the option of reinstating the Commission at a future date if we believe it's necessary to enforce Historic District guidelines.

Q: Why are you willing to risk losing enforcement provided by the HDC?

A: It basically boils down to protecting the rights of property owners. The current HDC leadership is taking a very hard line on rules and procedures in direct opposition to the wishes of property owners and despite the fact that there is no codified set of architectural standards in place. Thus every decision made within the rigid framework of rules which they impose is based only on the preferences or whims of a voting majority of the Commission.

They have been asked to show some flexibility given the large and diverse area the Wolfeboro Historic District covers, and the range of different dates of construction of the homes and buildings in the district. The Commission appears to believe that it need not consider the wishes of the citizens in these matters. We view the loss of enforcement as vastly preferable to the overly restrictive rulings and the arbitrary, capricious and disrespectful behavior of the current commission.

Q: Why has the Planning Board recommended a no vote on Article 9?

A: The Planning Board is not responsible for HDC member selection or the details of HDC property rules or business processes. Their recommendation is based solely on the fact that without an HDC, there is no enforcement arm within the district. Although district property owners generally support the concept of a Historic District, they are willing to forego enforcement by the HDC given the inappropriate rules, delays caused by overzealous use of Public Hearings and the terrible behavior of the majority of HDC members.

The HDC's current draft of proposed guidelines, in PDF format, is here.

Coming very shortly to this space will be more information on the HDC and the effort to abolish it. Please check back in the next few days for video from HDC meetings and other information.