Historical Commission Meeting
The commission voted to preferably preserve the principal house at 230 Main St (excluding the detached rear garage), recognized 80 Haverhill Rd as historically significant to enable a Historic Preservation Special Permit, and endorsed Bill 2024-133 to surplus 5 School St and 9 School St for future sale and restoration.
The Amesbury Historical Commission met on November 7, 2024 and focused on several property-specific preservation matters. For 230 Main Street, the commission reviewed a peer-review report from Structures North and voted 6-0 that the principal historic house (Georgian and Victorian sections) should be preferably preserved; the vote explicitly excluded the freestanding garage at the rear due to its condition. The commission also reviewed a Historic Preservation Special Permit application for 80 Haverhill Road, heard design and historic-context presentations from the applicant and architect, and voted 6-0 to recognize the property as historically significant, enabling the Planning Board to proceed with the preservation permit review.
The commission considered city-sponsored Bill 2024-133 to surplus two city-owned historic properties (5 School St and 9 School St) for private sale and restoration; after discussion about the properties' conditions and the city’s interest in preservation and minimizing demolition costs, the AHC voted 6-0 to support the bill and will send a letter of support. The commission also voted 6-0 to support drafting a letter of intent to apply to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for FY2025 survey funding covering Clarks Pond/Congress Street and the Lake Attitash cottages areas. Other items included informational correspondence (a weigh-station notice and a local restoration concern for 142 Main St) and a volunteer offer to represent the commission on the newly forming Community Preservation Act committee.