Statement on demolition of the Lamond Garden Pavilion designed by Daniel Chester French

By Patrick White, Chair, Stockbridge Board of Selectmen and Michael Canales, Town Administrator

Appropriate outrage has been voiced regarding the demolition of the Lamond Garden Pavilion by a private property owner on Prospect Hill Road. The pavilion was designed by renown local artist Daniel Chester French, and was one of dozens of Stockbridge structures listed in the Massachusetts Historical Commission's MACRIS database (Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System) .

We asked Town Counsel to review if any laws were broken with the regard to the demolition. We received this response:

The listing of the pavilion on the state MACRIS does not confer any protection on the structure. It is not in an historic district, which would require compliance with G.L. c. 40C. It did not require any federal or state funds for demolition. Therefore, if there is any recourse for its demolition, it would only be under Article XXII of the General Bylaws — the Historic Preservation and Demolition Delay bylaw. By its terms, the bylaw does not apply to this structure. My reasoning is as follows:

Purpose — The purpose of the bylaw is to provide advice to the Building Inspector with respect to the issuance of permits for historically significant buildings. The bylaw regulates the issuance of building or demolition permits. The demolition of the pavilion did not require any permit.

Procedure — The procedure for review by the Historic Preservation Commission is triggered by filing an application for a demolition or building permit. If the Commission determines that the structure is a Significant Historic Building, then the effect is to bar the Building Inspector from issuing a permit for 12 months. The Commission has no authority to preserve an historic structure; it can only delay the issuance of a permit by the Building Inspector. Again, when no permit is required, there is nothing that the bylaw can delay.

Based on our current understanding the structure was less than 200 SF, no demolition permit was required to be issued by the Building Inspector, and no permit was requested.

In hindsight, we wish the owners of the property in question had attempted to save this structure by either moving it to a different location on site, or by offering it for relocation to the town or another private property owner. We want to emphasize, however, that we had no mechanism to mandate such a course of action.

Many of us are saddened by the decision by the owner to demolish this structure. We encourage all owners of private property to review the MACRIS database by visiting this link:

https://maps.mhc-macris.net/maps.html

Our historic preservation bylaw requires a review of most of these properties before they are modified or demolished. We strongly encourage private property owners to familiarize themselves with this database, and to respect the long tradition of historic preservation that is central to the character of Stockbridge.

Illustration: Architect Paul Froncek