Due to the heavy rain and high winds which are pummeling Cambridge, many of the properties in the Historic District will sustain damage to houses, fences and out buildings. The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) wants to make sure that those of you who sustain damage in the Historic District should do what is required to protect your property from additional water or structural damage without worrying about permits.

Repairs of less than 25 percent of a feature (such as a fence, windows in a house or a roof) do not require HPC approval or a building permit. If you have sustained more significant storm related damage, the HPC working with the Cambridge Department of Public Works can issue emergency Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) approvals almost immediately upon receiving an email and photos documenting the damage. Building permits, if required will then be processed by DPW.  Send the email to the HPC liaison Herve Hamon at hhamon@choosecambridge.com.  Mr. Hamon will send any appropriate HPC or city forms back and distribute the emergency requests to the Chair and Vice Chair of the HPC for approval.

If there are issues with obtaining permissions or additional concerns, please contact Cambridge Association of Neighborhoods (CAN ) at CambridgeCan@yahoo.com. They will forward the comments directly to the HPC Chair or Vice Chair.

Hopefully the emergency approvals will not have to be issued, but in case of damage we want you to know that there is a streamlined process available.