Council Learns about Town’s National Historic Districts

A discussion of the town’s National Historic districts, originally slated to be a topic of discussion at a Town Council meeting in early November, was a victim of a technical glitch that time. And though the glitches persisted Wednesday evening, Town Administrator Jamie Hellen opted to go it alone, providing a quick overview of the topic himself and encouraging councilors and the public to watch the 20 minute presentation
developed by Reference Librarian Vicki B. Earls.

“I think a lot of people in the community are unaware is that there are two nationally registered historic districts in the town of Franklin; the Franklin Common Historic District, recognized in 2005, and also the earlier Dean Junior College Historic District,” Hellen explained.

He went on to explain the significance of national recognition and compared Franklin’s historic areas to those in towns like Concord that are better known and more celebrated. He said a goal of the Community Preservation Committee has been to look into better signage so that people will become more aware of the districts.

Library Director Felicia Oti expanded on some of Hellen’s comments and noted the town’s rich history and cultural traditions as well as the way so many parts of town history – and the structures in the historic district – are linked. She said there have been many comments on the presentation from the public and expressions of interest in learning more.

Indeed, there was clearly interesting in the topic among the councilors, and individual members peppered Hellen, and library director Oti with questions. Some, which were of a more legal nature, were directed to the town’s legal counsel, Mark Cerel.

Much of the discussion centered on the limits of National Historic District recognition, which conveys prestige but offers very limited protection. In contrast, Cerel noted, a completely separate set of Massachusetts statutes allow for more protection of historic sites and structures, tailored to what a town wants.

Hellen cited an “extreme” example of Nantucket were even small changes to the exterior of a home must be approved by a town body because of the very strict local historic district. But other towns have crafted protections to keep valuable parts of their town intact, that are less strict, he noted.

Cerel noted that moving forward with local districts is fairly complicated, but the specific expressions of interest from members of the Council, notably Councilor Sheridan, made it seem plausible that the topic will be brought forward again in the future.