Framingham, MA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Chapter 284, Article II is Framingham's demolition-delay ordinance, and the Cultural Resources Inventory (CRI) is one of the ways a building qualifies for its protection. Section 284-9 defines a "historically or architecturally significant building" as any building at least 80 years old that either is listed on, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places, is "included in the Cultural Resources Inventory prepared by the Commission," or is separately found significant by a Commission vote. Section 284-12 authorizes the Historical Commission to "proactively develop and maintain a list of historically or architecturally significant buildings (the Cultural Resources Inventory)" and requires that buildings proposed for it be added "following a public hearing." Being on the CRI matters most at the demolition-permit stage: under § 284-10, an owner seeking to demolish a building at least 80 years old must file an application with the Historical Commission, including photographs, construction date documentation, and a $100 check that is only cashed if the Commission finds the building significant and schedules a public hearing.

If the Commission then votes to "preferentially preserve" a building already on the CRI, no demolition permit may issue for 12 months after that determination, longer than the standard six-month delay for a significant building not yet on the Inventory, unless the building has been listed less than 12 months, in which case the delay is capped at six months. The Building Commissioner can still authorize emergency demolition under § 284-13 regardless of CRI status if the building poses imminent danger to public safety. The Commission must also make its significance determination within 30 calendar days of the application, and hold any preservation hearing within 30 calendar days of that determination.