BUILDING INSPECTOR The person occupying the office of Building Inspector or otherwise authorized to issue demolition permits.
BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES Any combination of materials forming a shelter for persons, animals, or property that constitute the historic built environment of the Town.
COMMISSION The Southborough Historical Commission.
DEMOLITION Any act of pulling down, destroying, removing or razing a building or commencing the work of total or substantial exterior destruction with the intent of completing the same.
DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT A process of ongoing damage to the features, viability and/or functionability of an unoccupied building leading towards and/or causing its eventual demolition due to decay and/or structural failure and/or severe degradation over a period of time as a result of a general lack of maintenance, and/or failure to secure the building from pests or vandals, and/or failure to take reasonable measures to prevent the ingress of water, snow, ice, and wind through the roof, walls, or apertures.
DEMOLITION PERMIT The permit issued by the Building Inspector for a demolition, substantial demolition or removal of a building, excluding a demolition permit issued solely for the demolition of the interior of a building.
HISTORICALLY OR ARCHITECTURALLY SIGNIFICANT BUILDING Any building, in whole or in part, which was constructed prior to 1925 and is included in the Southborough Massachusetts Historic Properties Survey prepared by the Commission in 2000 (with revisions and updates in 2015) on file with the Town Clerk's office.
PREFERENTIALLY PRESERVED Any historically or architecturally significant building which the Commission determines is in the public interest to be preserved or rehabilitated rather than to be demolished.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner of record or his designee to assist in the facilitation of the above process by providing information, allowing access to the property and securing the premises; for participating in the investigation of preservation options; and for actively cooperating in seeking alternatives with the Commission and any interested parties.
Nothing in this bylaw shall prohibit the Building Inspector from immediately ordering the demolition of any building in the event of imminent danger to the safety of the public pursuant to the applicable standards under the State Building Code.
The Building Inspector is specifically authorized to institute any and all actions and proceedings, in law or equity, as he or she may deem necessary and appropriate to obtain compliance with the requirements of this bylaw or to prevent a threatened violation thereof. No building permit shall be issued with respect to any premises upon which a significant building has been voluntarily demolished in violation of this bylaw for a period of two years after the date of the completion of such demolition. As used herein, "premises" refers to the parcel of land upon which the demolished significant building was located and all adjoining parcels of land under common ownership or control.
Nothing in this bylaw shall be deemed to conflict with the provisions of the Historic Districts Act, MGL c. 40C. If any of the provisions of this bylaw do so conflict, that Act shall prevail.
The Historical Commission is authorized to promulgate from time to time rules and regulations it deems necessary to administer the bylaw that are not inconsistent with applicable state law.
If any provision, section, paragraph, sentence or word or other part of the bylaw provisions, for any reason, is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unenforceable or unconstitutional, then it is the intent of this bylaw for Home Rule purposes that the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.