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

Chapter 273 of the Taunton Code creates the Taunton Historic District under MGL c. 40C, with the stated purpose in Section 273-2 of protecting the educational, cultural, economic and general welfare of the public through preservation of buildings and places significant to the City's history or architecture. A seven-member Historic District Commission, plus three alternates drawn from the Old Colony Historical Society, the Boston Society Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the North Bristol County Board of Realtors, controls new construction, reconstruction, alteration, relocation and demolition of any building or structure visible from a public way inside the district; no building permit or subdivision plan can be approved there without the Commission's prior sign-off.

Article II, the Demolition Delay article added May 7, 1996, reaches beyond the mapped district: Section 273-11 applies to any building or structure at least 50 years old that is listed or eligible for the National Register, significantly associated with the City's history, architecturally significant, or within 150 feet of a historic district boundary. Section 273-10 defines a HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT BUILDING OR STRUCTURE by that same association-with-history or architectural-significance test, and a PREFERABLY PRESERVED BUILDING as one the Commission finds important to the City's historical and/or cultural resources and worth saving.

Under Section 273-12, once the Commission determines a building is both historically significant and preferably preserved, the Zoning Enforcement Officer must withhold the demolition permit for six months from that determination, unless the owner shows a bona fide unsuccessful effort to find a preservation buyer or agrees to Commission conditions.