Word: historicization
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The Historic District Study Committee--strongly supported by then-mayor Francis H. Duehay '55--met 52 times in less than three years. But when its proposal for a Harvard Square Historic District came before the City Council last June, it was flat-out rejected.
The Council worried about the bureaucratic nature of the state statute which mandates that even minor building changes be approved by the entire historic district commission. It also considered property owners concerns that private anti-development groups--such as the Harvard Square Defense Fund (HSDF).--would have too much power...
"The Historic Commission has done a good job of working with all the constituencies," Nathans says.
While the differences between a historic and a conservation district are small, they were significant enough to win over the Council--and the property-owners in the Square. Minor building changes can be approved by the director of the Historical Commission--no lengthy process is necessary. And the power of...
For preservationists, little was lost in the move from a historic to a conservation district.