LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT STUDY COMMISSION SURVEY RESULTS

Survey Results: 199 responses between Jan 15 and April 5 Historic District Residents = 19 (9.5% of respondents)
th th

April 9, 2012

Do you live in the National Historic District? Yes Are you aware an NHD is a registration only? Total Are you aware the center of Bolton is registered Yes as an NHD? Total Are you aware there are significant differences between an NHD and a LHD? Total Yes No No Yes No 17 2 19 17 2 19 16 2 18 No 67 104 171 139 33 172 55 115 170 Total 84 106 190 156 35 191 71 117 188

Mean Responses Scale = 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) The center of Bolton (Main Street from 495 to Harvard Road) is historically significant. The external architectural features of historic structures in the proposed LHD, if visible from a public roadway, should be preserved. A committee with a by-law should be created to preserve the existing views of the structures in the proposed LHD district. Existing stone walls in the proposed LHD should be protected when reasonable. New owners of structures in the proposed LHD will maintain the historic character of their structures regardless of whether a committee and by-law exists. I would support a Bolton by-law to establish a Local Historic District. Historic preservation helps maintain property values throughout town. The character of Bolton is defined by the historic assets along Main Street.

Do you live in the Historic District? Yes 3.94 3.78 4.00 4.11 3.44 No 3.94 3.83 3.44 4.02 3.44 Total 3.94 3.82 3.50 4.03 3.44

3.78 3.67 3.89

3.54 3.61 3.52

3.56 3.61 3.56

LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT STUDY COMMISSION SURVEY RESULTS

April 9, 2012

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 The center of The external Bolton (Main architectural Street from 495 features of to Harvard Road) historic structures is historically in the proposed significant. LHD, if visible from a public roadway, should be preserved. A committee with Existing stone a by-law should walls in the be created to proposed LHD preserve the should be existing views of protected when the structures in reasonable. the proposed LHD district. Yes No Total

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 New owners of I would support a Historic preservation The character of structures in the Bolton by-law to helps maintain Bolton is defined by proposed LHD will establish a Local property values the historic assets maintain the historic Historic District. throughout town. along Main Street. character of their structures regardless of whether a committee and bylaw exists. Yes No Total

LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT STUDY COMMISSION SURVEY RESULTS

April 9, 2012

Yes If a LHD Committee were established, membership should include an Architect If a LHD Committee were established, membership should include an Historian If a LHD Committee were established, membership should include a Lawyer If a LHD Committee were established, membership should include a Realtor If a LHD Committee were established, membership should include a Historic District Resident 120 131 98 64 127

No 79 68 101 135 72

If a LHD Committee were established, who else should be included? ancient house owners not in district local developer any town member long term resident (30+ years) Arborist Long time resident of Boston archeologist, town planer No Developers artist, landscape architect, visionary No LHD Committee artist, landscape architect, visionary None Bolton non-district resident non-LHD resident Bolton Resident not in favor of such a committee Bolton resident (outside district) Opposition Boston Residents Perservation Contractor Builder Planning Board member Builder, non-historic district resident, Preservation Consultant agriculturist Preservationist Builders/contractors with knowledge of Property Tax Payers historic home construction Psychologist Business owners regular tax payers CFO Restoration expert Construction expert Retail and comercial Developer Selectmen only do not support Should not be created Don't need it, Shouldn't spend money on Silent Majority it!! some who isn't a conservation terrorist Engineer, Accountant, Volunteers and has common sense and reasonable General Citizen fiscal responsibility Homeowners someone who is none of the above but I am opposed but if anything it should a town resident only be peers in the same district someone who is not affected in any way interested citizens taxpayers land protection Taxpayers landscaper Taxpayers Local building constructor, or Citizen the Poor Bastards in teh LHD-NHD Local Business Owner

LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT STUDY COMMISSION SURVEY RESULTS

April 9, 2012

A local historic district designation will increase home values. thanks A wonderful idea - thank you for volunteering your time on this! Allow any non legal immagrants to be arrested and deported! Although I feel that preserving a historical area and architecture, I also feel that the Bolton taxes are too high and we need to attract quality businesses to alleviate the tax burden. Although NHD is of enourmous value it shouldnt be mistaken with the old, badly looking part of Bolton center which miss baric infrastructure & maintainence. The latter is "must" for Bolton & shouldnt be postponed under the excuses of NHD. Before spending ime & effort to create LHD committee I suggest to have a look in a number of europeans cities where NHD. culture, architecture, modern infrastructure & maintainence are so well done and could score as a "good example" for Bolton on the road "Where it shoud be...." As you can see I am in favor of preservation of out historic town center. However then should also be an area (east of 495?) for light commerce to meet the needs of the community and to enlarge the tax base. Before Bolton, I lived where an LHD was slam-dunked on us owners. I suggest you have 80%+ approval of LHD owners first. bolton does not need nor can support yet another committee and bureacratic arm Bolton homeowners don't need any more legislation/restrictions Budgets are tight. Don't spend any time money on this. Comuter traffic needs to be regulated.Bolton is a conduit for getting to and from 495 Consider moving the eastern boundary of the proposed local district to a point just west of Delta and the senior housing (ie exclude all buildgins from 495 to and including Delta on the north side of 117 and Bolton Country Manor on the south side. Politiclly more palatable, probably. Every taxpayer should be able to do with their property what they wish unless the NHD or LHD pays their tax bill. Look at the library, not needed, what a joke, ugly. What about our seniors. police station should be in center on Smith Property. How absrd! What about the contamination at Fire House. I know better. From Salt Box and Kendall Froman House to Harvard Road, maybe. But you are not telling me 495 area section is even the least historically significant!! Just because the structure has survived 90 years does not make it historical. Go back to where you came from Good luck with this major effort. Great idea Hey Iris, Keep up the good (rewarding) work. Throw a piece of termite in tested word at me (and other happy memories), Soul Bede. Hi Iris, It was somewhat difficult & time consuming to locate this on-line survey when starting with the paper survey. You may wish to make the "Survey Link" on the web page much larger. Historic maybe, but currently not very attractive. How about restoration and a fresh paint? We'd rather see a bakery or grocery store in town... historic nature of bolton is represented by this proposed LHD and other properties and the scenic byways I am concerned that the effort to create the LHD is solely in the interest of those in the LHD and the then established district will not allow reasonable improvements to take place in the establishment of a 'town center or green". Today we are a 'traffic lane for access to 495. We offer no services or open space to residents. I certainly hope the Salt Box property will be developed and offer stores, a restaurant and small grocery or farm store. I voted in facor of the Smith Property purchase and I am gla to learn that the Conservation committe has purchased the proprty. I hope a plan to develop the site moves forward and that the LHD process does not stand in the way of progress. I am very concerned with the proposal to redevelope the Saltbox and the disposition of the Smiths property. I also think we need a strong historical aesthetic in the design review guide lines for the center of town

LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT STUDY COMMISSION SURVEY RESULTS

April 9, 2012

I definately think Historic Structures should be preserved but I also think homeowner's should be required not to let them deterioriate. I see several structures along this stretch of the road that need some serious upkeep. Just because a building is consdered "Historic" doesnt mean it should be allowed to be an "eyesore" when driving through town. I do not support this at all. Old is not historic and the town should not attempt to gain control of personal property. I guess one might argue that including from the Saltbox to 495 is excessive but there exist business examples of how to deploy buildings, parking, etc. that establish the way to fit in well. I guess one might argue that including from the Saltbox to 495 is excessive but there exist business examples of how to deploy buildings, parking, etc. that establish the way to fit in well. I have an old home. I want to preserve its historic appeal and have tried to do so when renovating it. However, I don't feel it is appropriate for a town board to tell homeowners what they can or can't do to their home. Frankly, it would be a reason I ould not purchase a home in a district wit such a bylaw. I have experience dealing with mitigating Brownstone sites like the Smith property. You are fools for purchasing the Smith property. I like the idea of historic district, but this town is too conservative to make it to coexist with commercial properties. As a result, what we have is a town center that looks like a ghost town. Look at other towns which successfully incorporated commerial properties into historic area. Making it only more historical is not going to help the town survive in the future. I really hope the Historic District canbe established, we all enjoy the towns with historic districts and hardly notice most without. I support allowing more businesses to thrive here while keeping the historic charm of Bolton a priority. I think the addition of the LHD designation will hurt new businesses from coming in to main street. If we want to unburden residential tax payers with commercial tax payers, we shouldn't make it harder for new businesses. I would hope that this proposed district would be able to strike a balance between preservation and excessive restrictions, whatever that means. I would like to see properties in general kept tidy. If you run a business that is also your home it should not be unsightly! I believe there is already a bylaw that states that. There is a property on Wattaquadock Hill Road that looks awful from the rad! Junk! We need to keep "the town" looking clean and tidy especially as we have some lovely properties in town. I would like to see something be done with the old Smitch property / garage + rundown buildings in that area. It is an "eye sore" and devalues the town. I would like to see the old post office restored to a P.O. annex and be able to mail from there. In order to do anything with "unsightly mail holes" I would strongly suggest a walking mail person who could deliver mail to LHD door mailboxes. The old P.O. ould be a drop off area, and for P.O. boxes and supplies. I'd like to better understand how an LHD differs from a NHD. I realize a NHD is basically a national register. If we are to preserve the look and feel of a historic district in the center of town, then we should tear down the Smith property garage and build something more fitting to the surroundings. I'm so very pleased this is happening It is important to preserve the character of the town yet property that are beyond repair should be replaces with buildings that maintain the town character. "Not the Salt Box". Look at the junk store still a mess ten years out. Im sorry but I dont have tme to devote to this effort in order to be effected. It would be great to improve many of the structures on Main St. in Bolton ! Some small business and shops with proper signage, etc. would be best. It would have been helpful if the differences between NHD+LHD had been listed; maybe in the common. It's all interesting. Perhaps some of these old photos could be copied and made available for sale to raise $. I feel LHD would enhance the community however, I am not in favor of granting property tax credits, etc to these property owners. Its important to distinguish between 'old' and historic. Just because a structure has been around for a long time doesnt mean it is necessarily historically signficant. It may or may not be. Additionally, in some cases, costs to maintain and/or update structure may prove prohibitive to the homeowner.

LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT STUDY COMMISSION SURVEY RESULTS

April 9, 2012

might consider Bolton Pan as well Must not add to RE taxes as they are too high already! My addition might not have happened under a by-law. I dont want any problems getting new storm windows. The center is in far better condition than when I moved here. All the owners have worked to improve the center. 670 Main might not have happened. my residence is over 180 years old and well preserved. Character of it's citizens. New owners cannot be mandated by Historical Commitee to do this if property is privately owned. I think the NHd registration is adequate. The LHD gives far too much contrast to a small committee. My observation of living in Bolton is there is a lach of baance in pursuing the rural historical character of Bolton + having a reason for allowing some businesses to exist with the established rural character. I think co-existence is a good thing. I fear that possibly LHD will "take all you can" no No home owner should be told what they can & cannot do in maintaining their property, regardless of their residential address in Bolton No longer looks or acts as it did so many years ago. Bolton was a great friendly place to live, afforadable, taxes were low. Now taxes are so high! So much its almost unaffordable. NO MORE ANTI DEVELOPMENT RULES Original stone walls should be protected in entire town Preservation is a worthy thing but it's impact is diminished if there is no way to appreciate it besides driving down 117. There needs to be a legit center with businesses and activities people from out of town will want to stop at. Preservation is particularly important now because of development pressures. Property owners should be allowed to do as they wish with their property. Pretty soon private ownership will be taken away and that would not be a good thing in my opinion. Question 5 of the 2nd part is poorly stated so we gave a neutral rating Regarding question 3 in the second section "a committee...should be created to preserve the existing views..": really it is the Owners of the buildings in question who will preserve the existing views. The committee can only set guidelines and penalties the committee doesn't pay for the upkeep! Regarding the last question in section 2: the historic assets along Main Street are part of the character of Bolton. Certainly our orchards, fields and conservation land contribute to town character, as does 2acre (snob) zoning! General Comments: would like to know how a LHD affects homeowners--are they allowed to replace old windows with energy-efficient models? can a garage be built? must a house with an old slate roof replace the shingles with real slte (expensive) or can synthetic slate or asphalt shingles be used? Turning a stretch of 117 into Sturbridge Village could be cost prohibitive to homeowners. Would houses, such as the 3 across from First Parish/Town Hall have to "undo" any of their renovtion work because it is not considered "authentic"? I think the owners of those homes have done a nice job renovating. See paper. Stop spending money we don't have Stop wasting money! How about giving residences who have no kids something for their tax dollars. My property taxes are approaching 10k. How about spending some money widening the roads and cutting down dead damaged trees before they fall on somebody or bing down the power lines. Thank you for your intrest in "Our town"! Thanks for your time, effort and interest The character of the town was a major draw for us in deciding to move here. I don't know if we would stay if it changed significantly. The speed limit on 117 should slow to 30 prior to St. Francis - people entering the NHD must be going 30 mph (or less) - the intersection of Harvard/Manor+117 should have reduced speeds to respect the NHD of LHD. The town government should stay out of property rights. I note the chair person will not be affected by any restrictions on the Main street, How easy it is to spend other people's money! The value of this town lies in its historic and idyllic character. Without these, Bolton will be indestinguishable from any other American suburb.

LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT STUDY COMMISSION SURVEY RESULTS

April 9, 2012

There is not enough information here to determine good answers. What has happened to the plan for the Town Green? What about allowing some retail to help defray taxes? This is important and needs be kept in the balance for burden for homeowners in the LHD We do not support establishing a LHD if it means raising our taxes. We must be careful not to over restrict what residents in the LHD can do to their property. We or Government do not have the right to tell a home owner how to maintain the house, what color to paint house, what windows to put on house, or expansion of house - Stop the madness. We should not be telling people what to do with their property. Freedom! Liberty! Property rights! What about east of 495. There are other historic homes there too What if any are the costs to the taxpayer of establishing an LHD? While preserving the integrity of homes in the HD is important, it can be very costly for owners. It would be good if we could offer them some relief of some kind, perhaps some tax relief? Will this historical destination impede any development in the town (LHD)? The town needs new businesses to enter and any designations that would halt development would be a negative in our eyes. Yes, We need to preserve historic district but only within reason. So as not to hamper or damper new/existing local businesses on Main Street. Local Businesses are encouranged to help to thrive in the community. Also, improvements in traffic patterns mustbe made for safety of the community now i.e. left arrow light from main street to sugar and double passing lane at Wattayuddock with appropriate walk signal lights. You have my full support You're on the right track