Avon Hill Neighborhood Conservation District

REVIEW CRITERIA:

Neighborhood conservation districts are groups of buildings that are architecturally and historically distinctive. Each NCD is administered by its own Commission, which is empowered to approve any new construction, demolition, or alteration that is visible from a public way. The establishment of an NCD recognizes the particular design and architectural qualities of special neighborhoods in Cambridge and encourages their protection and maintenance for the benefit of the entire city.

The Avon Hill Neighborhood Conservation District contains approximately 220 properties in an area bounded by Linnaean Street, Raymond Street, Upland Road, and the zoning boundary of the BA-2 and C-2 zones along Massachusetts Avenue. The review authority of the district is structured as follows.

A. Binding Determinations

The determinations of the Com-mission shall be binding with regard to applications:

• to construct a new building, as defined in the zoning ordinance then in effect;
• to construct an accessory building, as defined in the zoning ordinance then in effect;
• to construct a parking lot as a principal use;
• to construct an addition to an existing structure that would increase its gross floor area by more than 750 square feet in the A-2 zone or more than 500 square feet in the B and C-1 zones;
• to construct an addition to an existing structure that would increase the total lot coverage on the property to 30% or more in the A-2 zone or to 40% or more in the B and C-1 zones;
• to demolish an existing structure not originally used to garage automobiles and if a demolition permit is required;
• to alter the exterior architectural features of a building listed on or determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places;
• to alter the exterior architectural features of a structure that requires a variance or special permit under the zoning ordinance then in effect; or
• to alter the exterior architectural features of a publicly-owned structure or of a structure containing a use established or continued by variance or special permit, or proposed to contain or continue a use that would require a variance or special permit under the zoning ordinance then in effect.

B. Non-binding Determinations

In all other cases than those listed in Sections A. or C., the determinations of the Commission shall be advisory only and not binding on the applicant. 

C. Exemptions

The authority of the Commission shall not extend to the following categories of structures or exterior architectural features and such structures or features may be constructed or altered without review by the Commission.

1. The alteration of exterior architectural features on the premises of a property in the District in a manner that does not increase or diminish the existing building envelope and that does not require the removal, enclosure, or addition of any cornice, fascia, soffit, bay, porch, hood, cornerboard, window sash, window or door casing, or any other decorative element, including historic shingled siding, wood or copper gutters and downspouts, and copper, slate, or wood shingle roofing, and that does not alter the shape of a roof.
   
2. The construction of terraces, walks, driveways, sidewalks, and similar structures that do not involve a change in grade level and that are not to be used for parking between the principal front wall plane of a building, or the principal front and side wall planes of a building that occupies a corner property, and the street.
   
3. The construction of walls and fences less than four feet high as measured from the sidewalk or existing immediately adjacent grade and located between the principal front wall plane of a building, or the principal front and side walls of a building that occupies a corner property, and the street. Walls and fences less than six feet high elsewhere on the property shall not be subject to review.
   
4. Signs, temporary structures, lawn statuary, or recreational equipment, subject to such conditions as duration of use, dimension, location, lighting, removal and similar matters as the Commission may reasonably specify.
   
5. Storm doors and windows, screens, and window air conditioners.

A  Certificate of Non-Applicability   will be issued for work done in kind (work which matches existing conditions exactly), interior alterations, alterations not visible from any public way, and any other work which does not require review by the neighborhood conservation district commission (see regulations above). These certificates are generally issued by the Historical Commission staff on-the-spot.

A  Certificate of Appropriateness   will be issued for reviewable alterations which the neighborhood conservation district commission deems not incongruous to the character of the property in question.

Occasionally, a  Certificate of Hardship  will be issued for work which is not otherwise appropriate if the Commission determines that failure to approve an application would entail a substantial hardship, financial or otherwise, and that the work would not be a significant detriment to the district.

One of these certificates is always necessary to obtain a building permit for work in a neighborhood conservation district.   All of the Commission's regulatory approvals have a life of six months. This means that the owner of the property has six months, from the date a certificate is issued, to obtain a building permit. Upon written request, the chair of the Commission may issue a six-month extension. If an extension is not issued, the owner must resubmit the Application for Certificate for the Commission's review.