109 North Street Staff Memo to ZBA
DOMINICK PANGALLO
MAYOR
TOM DANIEL, AICP
DIRECTOR
CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
98 WASHINGTON STREET ♦ SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970
TELE: 978-619-5685
TO: Robyn Lee, Staff Planner to Zoning Board of Appeals
FROM: Patti Kelleher, Preservation Planner
DATE: February 5, 2025
RE: 109 North Street – Request for Variance
The William Batchelder House at 109 North Street (SAL.1410) is an exceptionally well-preserved Federal Style house
constructed between 1827 and 1831. The house features historic wood windows, clapboards and decorative cornice
trim as well as a Greek Revival style entry with sidelights, pilasters and an entablature. It is one of the last remaining
intact historic buildings on this section of North Street and was the subject of an historic building report by Historic
Salem, Inc. Based on interior images shown in the recent real estate listing, the building’s interior appears to be in good
condition with only cosmetic improvements needed.
Currently there are no local historic districts or National Register Districts in this area of North Salem. The proposal to
demolish the building’s two-story west ell requires review by the Historical Commission under the City’s demolition
delay ordinance. To date, the applicant has not submitted an application to waive the demolition delay. During the
demolition delay waiver review, the Commission would apply a two-factor review: 1) Is the building historically
significant? and, if so, 2) Is the building preferably preserved? Since the building has been documented on an historic
inventory form, it meets the definition of historically significant. To make a determination on preferably preserved, the
Commission would consider whether the proposal complies with the Secretary of the Interior Standards for
Rehabilitation for new additions:
#9) New additions should be differentiated from the old and be compatible with historic materials, features,
size, scale and proportion, and massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment; and
#10) New additions be undertaken in a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of
historic property would be unimpaired.
Salem has a long tradition of residential building expansion though the construction of small scale rear and side
additions in the 19th century tradition of “big house, little house, back house, barn” – the four essential components of
connected farm buildings in rural New England - similar to the existing addition at the subject property. The proposed
new addition at 109 North Street, which exceeds the scale, massing and size of the original house, is out of character
with this tradition and threatens the historic integrity of one of North Salem’s best preserved historic homes. In
particular, the 4-unit addition is more than double the footprint of the main house, is taller and a full story higher, and
projects forward of the façade of the historic house. I strongly encourage the preservation of this historic house through
the design of an historically appropriate addition that is subordinate to the original building, smaller in scale, and more
compatible with the building’s historic features, which would also be more consistent with the requirements of the
property’s B1 zoning.
Preservation Planner Memo to Zoning Board of Appeals
109 North Street – William Batchelder House, ca. 1830
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Preservation Planner Memo to Zoning Board of Appeals
109 North Street – William Batchelder House, ca. 1830
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