Consultant Eric Dray briefs Weston Historical Commission on federal rehab standards

WESTON — May 30, 2019 — Weston Historical Commission gets a primer on the federal preservation standards governing its CPA reviews. Preservation consultant Eric Dray told a regional audience May 30 that the Secretary of the Interior's rehabilitation standard — written into Community Preservation Act Section 5 and into Weston's bylaw for publicly owned buildings — is the test local boards must apply to historic-resource applications. Co-Chair Phyllis Halpern noted Dray is currently writing four preservation deed restrictions for the town, including properties on Lexington and Summer. Dray argued CPA money should be used to demand in-kind material replacement rather than cheaper substitutes, citing the 1976 Tax Reform Act's 20 percent federal rehab tax credit as the original engine for the standards. He warned an unnamed Massachusetts town's CPA-funded work was so poor the Massachusetts Historical Commission said the building would be delisted: "The work actually did the opposite of preserving that building." No votes were taken.