Tiverton seeks 'teeth' in historic protection push

Preservationists consider historic commission to give town more power to protect historic properties

By Christian Silvia
Posted 1/28/25

Tiverton has no teeth to prevent historic homes from being demolished, they believe — but members of the Tiverton Historic Preservation Advisory Board want to change that.

On Saturday, …

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Tiverton seeks 'teeth' in historic protection push

Preservationists consider historic commission to give town more power to protect historic properties

Posted

Tiverton has no teeth to prevent historic homes from being demolished, they believe — but members of the Tiverton Historic Preservation Advisory Board want to change that.

On Saturday, board members said Tiverton needs to consider forming a historic preservation commission that would have more regulatory power than an advisory board, and would be better able to respond to situations like that which occurred last month, when the historic Lafayette House at 3118 was razed, seemingly with no warning, a week before Christmas.

“A historic preservation commission can deal with demolition by neglect better,” advisory board chairwoman Susan Anderson said. “As a commission, you have more teeth.”

As it stands, Tiverton has little on the books to prevent the demolition of historic properties. Though Section 18:67 of the town’s ordinances states that demolition permits cannot be issued until 90 days have elapsed from the time the original application was filed, board members said that ordinance was not followed in the Lafayette House case, nor when the Wingover Farm House was torn down in 2020.

Last year, board members proposed amending the ordinance to increase that “cooling off period” from 90 days to six months. It, and an accompanying ordinance change that would have required the building official to contact the board within 15 days of an application being filed, were recommended by the advisory board but were never reviewed by the town council.

Anderson said Tuesday that board members will keep those recommendations in place as they work to establish a historic commission.

Members also discussed other potential changes to town regs, including the ability to question historic property owners whether they have attempted to sell a home that was otherwise planned for demolition, and requiring that engineering reports be presented to the commission when a building is being eyed for demolition.

Anderson said board members are looking at other communities to help them shape the role of any future commission, and she said Pawtucket’s ordinance in particular is useful.

She acknowledged that attempts to establish historic zoning years ago were unpopular. But while she doesn’t believe historic districts such as Bristol’s are feasible or popular in Tiverton, a commission, while more modest in scope, can certainly help protect properties at imminent threat of destruction, she said.

Board members also talked about changing the town’s demolition ordinance — which as Anderson found out, is more complex than it sounds.

“If the town wants to change one of these ordinances, they have to put it through the General Assembly first to ask if they can do that,” Anderson said.

Board members are working on their proposal with Preserve Rhode Island, a statewide historic preservationist group that advocates for better protection of historic homes. A public workshop is planned for mid-February, with Preserve Rhode Island’s executive director Victoria Talmage.

According to Anderson, members plan on work with town council liaison Deborah Janick to develop strategies to update the town’s existing ordinances.

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