I received this email and put it out there for discussion. Historic preservation easements sound like an interesting option.
Dear Mr. Belanger,
I stumbled across the Middleboro CPA webpage by accident, and am interested in learning about what the CPA is doing. I grew up in Middleboro (I am a member of the MHS class of ’97), and now live and work in Washington, D.C. I work for a small nonprofit historic preservation organization (The Trust for Architectural Easements – www.architecturaltrust.org) that manages over 800 historic preservation easements in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Illinois. Historic preservation easements preserve historic architecture forever; similarly, land and open-space easements preserve land and open space in perpetuity.
I was wondering if the idea of using historic preservation and open-space easement donations to protect Middleboro’s open land and historic sites has been considered – either instead of, or in addition to, the proposed property tax increase. Easement donations are voluntary, and are made by property owners in the form of preservation restriction agreements recorded against their properties. Property owners agree to restrict their properties from further development, and are eligible to receive federal tax deductions based on the appraised value of the restricted property. The restrictions are permanent, and run with the land in perpetuity; future owners of restricted property must abide by the restrictions.
For a building to be protected by a historic preservation easement, it must be located in a National Register Historic District, or be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Middleborough Center Historic District is in a National Register Historic District, and therefore, many of its buildings are eligible for protection by historic preservation easements through the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Program. And, Middleboro’s buildings individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places (the Peter Pierce Store [now, I believe the police station], the Tom Thumb House, and the U. S. Post Office Building) are similarly eligible. (The C. P. Washburn Grain Mill had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places – and is, in fact, still listed on the Register; had it been protected by a historic preservation easement, it could not have been torn down.) Other historic buildings in Middleboro located outside of the historic district might be added to the National Register through a nomination process.
I’d be more than happy to discuss the historic preservation program with you over the phone if you think that there might be an interest in the program by historic and open-space property owners. I don’t like to think about the over-development of Middleboro’s open space, or of the loss of historic buildings that Middleboro is facing. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you with your cause.
Best wishes,
Laura Thornton
888-831-2107 ext. 12
lthornton@architecturaltrust.org>lthornton[at]architecturaltrust.org