Alan Wheelock
Special to the Express
Even by New England standards, Plympton is a very old town. Three hundred and fifteen years old, as a matter of fact. Back in the mid to late 1600’s, Plympton was a part of the Plymouth colony, and can clearly trace its beginnings to the Pilgrims. It was incorporated in 1707, and for its first 80 years or so, the families who settled here were subjects of the British king – in other words, they were not American citizens. And, of course, for thousands of years prior to the 17th century, members of the Wampanoag tribe lived on the land now described as Plympton.
A community with such a long history is bound to be blessed with a lot of old homes, and Plympton is fortunate to have many of them. Historic houses are scattered throughout the community, but significant clusters can be seen at the Town Green, Harrub’s Corner, Parsonage Road, and the neighborhood surrounding the Old Town House. These picturesque properties and their outbuildings are major contributors to the aesthetic “feel” and visual charm of the town. These aesthetics (and their preservation) are very important to Plympton residents, and thus the Demolition Delay By-law was born.
The rationale for the Demolition Delay By-law is clearly expressed in the opening paragraph of the law: “The Demolition Delay Bylaw is enacted for the purpose of preserving and protecting significant buildings within the Town of Plympton which are outside local historic districts. Such buildings reflect distinctive features of the architectural, cultural, economic, political or social history of the Town, and their preservation promotes the public welfare by making the Town a more attractive and desirable place to live and work.”
The Demolition Delay By-law is identified as Chapter 130 of our General By-laws. Residents can access it at the Town website under the tab labelled “Codified By-laws, General and Zoning.” Key features of this by-law include:
The Plympton Historical Commission is empowered, along with the town’s Building Inspector, to administrate and enforce the law.
Historically or architecturally significant buildings in Plympton, at least 75 years old, fall under the purview of the by-law.
Buildings that meet such criteria as historic importance (site of an historic event; former home of persons who had some influence on the development of the town, the state, or the nation; etc.), and architectural importance are all protected by this by-law.
Owners of one of these historic properties who intend to demolish or substantially alter the home, its barn, or other outbuildings are required to apply for a demolition permit. Working with the Building Inspector, the Historic Commission makes a determination as to whether the building is historically and/or architecturally significant. If it is determined that it is not historically or architecturally significant, the Building Inspector may issue a demolition permit. If it is determined that it is historically or architecturally significant, the Commission holds a public hearing to determine whether the building in question should be preferably preserved. After the hearing, if the consensus is that the structure should preferably be preserved, the Building Inspector may issue a demolition delay, preventing demolition for 18 months. Despite this action, the Building Inspector can still authorize demolition after the delay period if there is no likelihood that the owner or some other person or group is willing to restore the property.
Our own local HGTV stars, Mike Lemieux and Jen MacDonald, owners of Full Circle Homes and featured in the series entitled “Houses with History” are the embodiment of the values built into the Demolition Delay By-law. Mike and Jen have restored – and saved – numerous old houses in Plympton and the surrounding communities. To date, they have refurbished eight Plympton homes, the oldest of which was built in 1707. The majority of these homes were in very poor condition, but Full Circle Homes carefully restored them all, significantly increasing their value and in the process preserving the historic integrity of each neighborhood and the visual integrity of Plympton as a whole.
Imagine the beautiful red clapboard house at 39 Ring Road having been destroyed, or the handsome hip roof house at 4 Mayflower gone from the Green, or the unique twin chimney cape at the corner of Center and Main vanished – rather than preserved, and you get a sense of how important this work is to the Town of Plympton.
The Demolition Delay By-law exists to help encourage more of this sort of historic preservation. By so doing, it is helping to ensure that, in the future, Plympton will still have the bucolic charm that it has had for hundreds of years.