Historical Commission

About the Wellfleet Historical Commission

The Wellfleet Historical Commission is composed of seven members appointed by the Wellfleet Selectboard. The Wellfleet Historical Commission meets on the first Wednesday of each month. All meetings are open to the public. Meeting dates and information—including meeting agendas and links to attend virtually via Zoom Video Conference or by phone—are posted on the Wellfleet Town Calendar and on the WHC Agendas page. Meeting Minutes for each meeting are posted following approval by the Wellfleet Historical Commission and are available on the WHC Minutes page.

Wellfleet Historical Commission Composition and Appointments

The Wellfleet Historical Commission is charged with implementing the Demolition Delay Bylaw and empowered to advise the Building Commissioner with respect to the issuance of demolition permits for historically significant buildings and structures.  The Wellfleet Historical Commission is appointed by the Selectboard.  It consists of seven (7) people chosen at large for their interest in and knowledge of historic buildings and structures.  The term of office shall initially be for one, two, and three years respectively, and for three years thereafter. Four (4) affirmative votes are required to adopt a motion.

Wellfleet Historical Commission Powers and Duties

The Wellfleet Historical Commission shall:

• Utilize the Wellfleet Survey Street Index, as updated from time to time (last updated June, 2022), to maintain a list or register of buildings and structures located within the town of Wellfleet which are potentially historically, culturally, or architecturally significant.

• Make the above referenced list available to the Town Clerk, Building Commissioner, Wellfleet Public Library, and Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum.

• Make use of Historic Inventories (Form Bs), as updated from time to time, to further determine whether buildings located within the town of Wellfleet are historically, culturally, or architecturally significant.

• Make the above referenced Inventories available to the public through the Wellfleet Public Library, the Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum, and the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s MACRIS database.

• Inform applicants of guidelines for alternatives to demolition such as preservation, renovation, rehabilitation, restoration, or relocation such as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and the Cape Cod Commission’s Technical Bulletin 96-001 Designing the Future to Honor the Past:  Design Guidelines for Cape Cod.

• Provide links to the above referenced guidelines on the town website.

• Review applications for demolition permits forwarded to the Commission by the Building Commissioner in order to determine if the building or structure involved is subject to the hearing process.

• Hold public hearings on demolition permit applications to determine if the intended demolition would be detrimental to the historical, cultural, or architectural heritage of the town, and explore alternatives to demolition.

• Impose demolition delays of up to eighteen (18) months on demolition permit applications as described in Wellfleet’s Demolition Delay Bylaw