A group of Ballardvale residents is hoping Annual Town Meeting will repeal the neighborhood’s historic district, arguing the commission overseeing it has strayed from the original intent when it was created in 1996.
“We really feel that the [Ballardvale Historic District Commission] is not right for Ballardvale and has been so poorly run, for so long, that it is no longer serving the residents of Ballardvale,” said Max Saccoccio, who led the petition drive to get Article 31 on the warrant. “The BVHDC has accumulated a vast majority of members that are totally detached from life in this working class neighborhood, and has become totally unmoored from their original by-law, which was designed to prevent large development projects, not make it impossible to maintain homes.”
In August, Saccoccio went before the select board and alleged Town officials were complicit in intimidation and ethics violations by his neighbor when he went before the BVHDC in February 2023 with an application to construct a fence on his property. Saccoccio shares a driveway with Ronald Abraham, owner of Elm Street Towing and a former commission member.
Abraham recused himself from the hearings in March and July 2023, but Saccoccio claimed he influenced the denial of his application. He also claimed Abraham used his connections in Town to intimidate Saccoccio and his family. The select board took no action on his complaint, saying it did not fall under their oversight.
Town Manager Andrew Flanagan appoints the commission’s seven members and two alternates, and those appointments are approved by the select board. The commission reviews most exterior design changes, additions, new construction, and demolition, with the aim of preserving the historic character of the district. The commission meets monthly.
According to a description of BVHDC on Andover Historic Preservation’s Website, “Historic District Commissions do not prevent changes from occurring, nor do they prevent new construction. Their purpose is to ensure that changes and additions are harmonious, and to prevent changes that might detract from the aesthetic and historic values of the district.”
This month, Andover News is previewing key warrant articles in the 2025 Annual Town Meeting, which begins April 29 and continues nightly until all of the articles have been deliberated.
Key Dates For Town Meeting
April 15: Deadline to publish and post warrant.
April 19: Deadline to register to vote for town meeting.
April 19: Finance Committee Report due.
April 29, 30, and May 1, 7 pm: 2025 Annual Town Meeting
A two-thirds majority of Town Meeting would have to vote in favor of the article to repeal the historic district. At its March 31 meeting, the select board voted 5-0 to recommend Town Meeting not approve the repeal.
Several members, however, said the issue should be revisited if the district survives the Town Meeting vote. They said they could look to amend some of the regulations to make them less burdensome for homeowners.
“I’m personally not willing to throw it out,” Chair Laura Gregory said. “To me, it would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But I do think, given what I’ve heard from a number of sources, that there are some concerns about several things that have happened with the commission that we need to take a look at.”
Saccoccio said BVHDC decided to revisit the fence violation days after he submitted the petition for the warrant article to the Town Clerk’s office. Saccoccio’s application was before the commission again in February, and he provided a video of the meeting that showed Chair Joanna Reck, who was participating remotely, drinking what appeared to be a glass of white wine. The commission also continued to discuss Saccoccio’s application after the public had been dismissed from the meeting, with member Diane Derby calling his family “nasty” and other members making disparaging comments about his home. At one point, Reck called his fence an “Indian enclosure.”
In a voicemail, Reck said the drink seen in the video is peach juice and that she does not drink during the week.
As far as the fence goes, the two sides may have reached a resolution. BVHDC recommended Saccoccio apply for a certificate of hardship, which would exempt his fence from the rules. The commission was scheduled to deliberate and approve his application at its monthly meeting Wednesday evening. At the February meeting, Reck said she wished the commission didn’t have to regulate fences, while acknowledging other commission members felt differently.
“I’m like, fences are the biggest pain in the ass ever,” she said. “I feel like fences are just more headache than they’re worth to try to regulate. But, again, it’s in our by laws so we have to. But sometimes I just feel like it’s the worst of the things that we have to regulate. For me, it’s the least important thing.”