I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1685

To establish in the Department of the Interior the Essex Heritage District

Commission, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 2, 1993

Mr. TORKILDSEN (for himself and Mr. MEEHAN) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish in the Department of the Interior the Essex

Heritage District Commission, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

5 (1) Essex County, Massachusetts was host to a

6 series of historic events that profoundly influenced

7 the course of the early settlement of the United

8 States of America, its emergence as a maritime

9 power and its subsequent industrial development;
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1 (2) Essex County’s North Shore and Merrimack

2 River valley contain many sites and buildings associ3 ated with the establishment of the maritime trade in

4 the United States of America, more examples of na5 tionally significant first-period architecture than any

6 place else in the Nation, significant Federal period

7 architecture, the site of the witchcraft trials of 1692,

8 and the establishment of the textile and leather in9 dustries in and around the cities of Peabody, Bev10 erly, Lawrence and Haverhill;

11 (3) Salem, Massachusetts has an uncommonly

12 rich heritage as one of the earliest landing sites of

13 the English colonists, the first major world harbor

14 for the United States of America, and a thriving hub

15 of American industries;

16 (4) the Salem Maritime Historic Site contains

17 nationally significant resources that explain how this

18 Nation was settled, its evolution into a maritime

19 power, and its development as a major industrial

20 force, and the story told at Salem National Historic

21 Site would be greatly enhanced through the interpre22 tation of significant theme related resources

23 throughout Essex County;

24 (5) partnerships between the private and public

25 sectors have been created and additional partner-
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1 ships will be encouraged to preserve the rich cultural

2 heritage of the region, which will stimulate cultural

3 awareness and preservation and economic develop4 ment through tourism; and

5 (6) the residents and business community of

6 the region have formed the Essex Heritage Ad Hoc

7 Commission for the preservation, interpretation, pro8 motion, and development of historic, cultural and

9 natural resources of the area and are investing sig10 nificant private funds and energy to develop a plan

11 to preserve Essex County’s nationally significant re12 sources.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—In furtherance of the findings set

14 forth in subsection (a), it is the purpose of this Act—

15 (1) to establish the Essex Heritage District and

16 the Essex Heritage District Commission represent17 ing all concerned levels of government to recognize,

18 preserve, promote, interpret, and make available for

19 the benefit of the public the historic, cultural, and

20 natural resources of the North Shore and lower

21 Merrimack River valley in Essex County, Massachu22 setts, which encompasses the three primary themes

23 of and associated with Salem Maritime National

24 Historic Site, including the histories of early settle-
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1 ment, maritime trade, and textile and leather indus2 tries;

3 (2) to implement, as appropriate, Preservation

4 and Interpretation Alternative 4, Countrywide/All

5 Themes/Secondary Centers in Lawrence and Haver6 hill, and to implement Management Alternative 3,

7 Federal Commission contained in the document enti8 tled ‘‘The Salem Project: A Study of Alternatives’’

9 dated January 1990, within the boundaries of the

10 Salem Project, as generally depicted on a map which

11 is numbered DSC/373/40017A and dated October

12 1989; and

13 (3) to provide a management framework to as14 sist the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its

15 units of local government in the development and

16 implementation of an integrated cultural, historical,

17 and land resource management program in order to

18 retain, enhance, and interpret the significant values

19 of the lands, waters, and structures located in the

20 District.

21 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

22 For the purposes of the Act—

23 (1) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Essex

24 Heritage District Commission established by section

25 201.
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1 (2) The term ‘‘District’’ means the Essex Her2 itage District established by section 101.

3 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

4 of the Interior.

5 TITLE I—ESSEX HERITAGE

6 DISTRICT

7 SEC. 101. DESIGNATION OF DISTRICT.

8 (a) DESIGNATION.—For the purpose of preserving

9 and interpreting for the educational and inspirational ben10 efit of present and future generations the unique signifi11 cant contributions to our national heritage of certain his12 toric and cultural lands, natural waterways and structures

13 within the County of Essex in the Commonwealth of Mas14 sachusetts, there is hereby established the Essex Heritage

15 District.

16 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the District

17 shall include those lands generally depicted on a map num18 bered DSC/373/40017A and dated October 1989. The

19 map shall be on file and available for public inspection

20 in the office of the Department of the Interior in Washing21 ton, District of Columbia, and the Massachusetts Depart22 ment of Environmental Management.

23 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The District shall be admin24 istered in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
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1 TITLE II—ESSEX HERITAGE

2 DISTRICT COMMISSION

3 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purpose of this

5 Act there is hereby established in the Department of the

6 Interior the Essex Heritage District Commission. The

7 Commission shall exercise the responsibilities and authori8 ties conferred on the Commission by this title with respect

9 to the District. The Commission shall consist of 33 mem10 bers (including ex officio members), appointed by the Sec11 retary, as follows:

12 (1) Four members appointed from rec13 ommendations submitted by the Governor of Massa14 chusetts of which one shall represent the interests of

15 the Massachusetts Historical Commission, one shall

16 represent the Executive Office of Environmental Af17 fairs, one shall represent the Massachusetts Execu18 tive Office of Transportation and Construction/Mas19 sachusetts Highways Department, and one shall rep20 resent the Massachusetts Department of Economic

21 Affairs.

22 (2) Eleven members representing the local in23 terests of local government, appointed from rec24 ommendations as follows: one each submitted by the

25 mayors of the cities of Peabody, Salem, Lynn, Law-
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1 rence, Haverhill, Newburyport, Beverly and Glouces2 ter, and three representing the towns of Essex

3 County submitted by the Essex County Commission.

4 (3) Eight members representing local business,

5 nonprofit organizations, and other nongovernmental

6 groups appointed from recommendations submitted

7 as follows: two shall be appointed from recommenda8 tions by the Salem Partnership, one each from the

9 recommendations of the Lynn Partnership, the Ha10 verhill Partnership, the Gloucester Chamber of Com11 merce (until such time as the Gloucester Partnership

12 is incorporated), the Lawrence Chamber of Com13 merce, one from the North Shore Chamber of Com14 merce and one from the Society for the Preservation

15 of New England Antiquities.

16 (4) Three members representing nonprofit orga17 nizations with significant interests and resources lo18 cated in the District of which one shall be rec19 ommended by the Peabody and Essex Museum to

20 represent the interests of major museums, one shall

21 be recommended by the Essex County Greenbelt As22 sociation to represent the interests of the natural re23 sources of the District, and one shall be rec24 ommended by the President of Salem State College
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1 to represent the interests of institutions of higher

2 education.

3 (5) The Director of the National Park Service,

4 ex officio, or the delegate of the Director, the super5 intendent of the Salem Maritime Historic Site, ex

6 officio, or the delegate of the superintendent, and

7 the superintendent of the Saugus Ironworks Na8 tional Historic Site, ex officio, or the delegate of the

9 superintendent.

10 (6) Two members recommended by the Rep11 resentative in Congress from the Fifth Congressional

12 District.

13 (7) Two members recommended by the Rep14 resentative in Congress from the Sixth Congressional

15 District.

16 (b) TERMS.—The term of appointed members of the

17 Commission shall be 3 years.

18 (c) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall elect a

19 chairman or chairwoman from among its members. The

20 term of the chairperson shall be 2 years.

21 (d) VACANCY.—Any member of the Commission ap22 pointed for a definite term may serve after the expiration

23 of his term until his successor is appointed. Any vacancy

24 in the Commission shall be filled in the same manner in

25 which the original appointment was made. Any member
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1 appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remainder

2 of the term for which the member’s predecessor was ap3 pointed.

4 (e) QUORUM.—A simple majority of Commission

5 members shall constitute a quorum.

6 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at least

7 quarterly or at the call of the chairman or a majority of

8 its members.

9 (g) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission

10 shall serve without compensation as such. Members shall

11 be entitled to travel expenses under section 5703, title 5,

12 United States Code, when engaged in Commission busi13 ness, including per diem in lieu of subsistence in the same

14 manner as persons employed intermittently.

15 SEC. 202. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION.

16 (a) STAFF.—(1) The Commission shall have the

17 power to appoint and fix the compensation of such staff

18 as may be necessary to carry out its duties.

19 (2) Staff appointed by the Commission—

20 (A) shall be appointed subject to the provisions

21 of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint22 ments in the competitive services; and

23 (B) shall be paid in accordance with the provi24 sions of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi25 fication and General Schedule pay rates.
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1 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Subject to such

2 rules as may be adopted by the Commission, the Commis3 sion may procure services of experts and consultants to

4 the same extent as is authorized by section 3109(b) of title

5 5, United States Code, but at rates determined by the

6 Commission to be reasonable.

7 (c) STAFF AND OTHER AGENCIES.—(1) Upon re8 quest of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency

9 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel

10 of such agency to the Commission to assist the Commis11 sion in carrying out the Commission’s duties.

12 (2) The Commission may accept the services of per13 sonnel detailed from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

14 (and any political subdivision thereof) and may reimburse

15 the commonwealth or political subdivision for those serv16 ices.

17 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Administrator

18 of the General Services Administration shall provide such

19 administrative support services as the Commission may re20 quest, on a reimbursable basis.

21 SEC. 203. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may for the pur23 pose of carrying out this title hold such hearings, sit and

24 act at such times and places, take such testimony, and
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1 receive such evidence, as the Commission may deem advis2 able.

3 (b) BYLAWS.—The Commission may make such by4 laws, rules and regulations, consistent with this Act, as

5 it considers necessary to carry out its functions under this

6 title.

7 (c) DELEGATION.—When so authorized by the Com8 mission, any member or agent of the Commission may

9 take any action which the Commission is authorized to

10 take by the section.

11 (d) TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUPS.—The Commis12 sion may establish and appoint one or more technical advi13 sory groups and subcommittees to provide technical advice

14 in financing, historic preservation, natural resource pres15 ervation, recreation, tourism, and intergovernmental co16 ordination.

17 (e) GIFTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

18 law, the Commission may seek and accept, and dispose

19 of donations of funds, property, or services from individ20 uals, foundations, corporations, and other private entities

21 and from public entities, for the purpose of carrying out

22 its duties.

23 (f) FUNDS FROM OTHER SOURCES.—The Commis24 sion may use its funds to obtain money from any source

25 under any program or law requiring the recipient of such
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1 money to make a contribution in order to receive such

2 money.

3 (g) MAIL.—The Commission may use the United

4 States mails in the same manner and upon the same con5 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

6 States.

7 (h) OBTAINING PROPERTY, FACILITIES AND SERV8 ICES.—The Commission may obtain by purchase, rental,

9 donation or otherwise, such property, facilities, and serv10 ices as may be needed to carry out its duties. The Commis11 sion may acquire real property, or interests in real prop12 erty, in the District by gift, by rental or by purchase from

13 a willing seller with money which was given, bequeathed

14 or appropriated to the Commission on the condition that

15 such money would be used to purchase real property, or

16 interests in real property in the District.

17 (i) ADVISORY GROUPS.—The Commission may estab18 lish such advisory groups as the Commission deems nec19 essary to ensure open communication with, and assistance

20 from, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, political sub21 divisions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and in22 terested persons.

23 (j) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Commission

24 may enter into cooperative agreements with the Secretary,
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1 the State of Massachusetts, with any political subdivision

2 of the State or with any person.

3 SEC. 204. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission is authorized

5 to—

6 (1) coordinate activities of and establish cooper7 ative agreements with Federal, State, and local gov8 ernments and private businesses and organizations

9 in order to further historic preservation, cultural

10 conservation, natural area protection and compatible

11 revitalization;

12 (2) establish guidelines and standards for

13 projects and prepare programs and exhibits, consist14 ent with standards established by the National Park

15 Service for preservation of historic properties includ16 ing interpretive methods, that will further the rec17 ognition, preservation, promotion, interpretation and

18 economic revitalization of the historic and natural

19 resources in the District;

20 (3) provide advice and assistance in preparation

21 of loan or grant applications to the Commission and

22 applications for loan or grants from the Federal or

23 non-Federal sources in furtherance of the purposes

24 of this title;
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1 (4) make loans and grants, from funds appro2 priated for that purpose from funds donated or oth3 erwise made available to the Commission, for the

4 purpose of conserving and protecting sites, buildings,

5 resources and objects which are included or eligible

6 for inclusion on the National Register of Historic

7 Places or for the purposes of providing educational

8 and cultural programs which encourage appreciation

9 of the resources of the District; and

10 (5) prepare and implement a study report

11 which shall incorporate in whole or in part the plan

12 prepared by the Essex Heritage Ad Hoc Commission

13 and shall present a unified historic preservation and

14 interpretive plan for the District. The report shall

15 include an analysis of the methods and means of

16 inventorying, preserving, and interpreting the histor17 ical, cultural and natural resources of the District

18 along with recommendations concerning utilization

19 of these resources and coordination of activities

20 within the District.

21 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Commission shall sub22 mit an annual report to the Secretary setting forth its ex23 penses and income and the entities to which any loans and

24 grants were made during the year for which the report

25 is made. The Secretary shall submit an annual report to
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1 the Congress describing the loans, grants, and technical

2 assistance provided under this Act. Such report shall

3 specify the amount, recipient, and purpose of any loan,

4 grant, or technical assistance so provided, and shall in5 clude an analysis of the adequacy of actions taken during

6 the previous year to preserve, protect, and interpret the

7 significant sites, buildings and objects within the area; as

8 well as the anticipated funds and personnel to be made

9 available by the Secretary during the next fiscal year to

10 implement the provisions of this Act.

11 (c) COST ESTIMATES.—Prior to making any grant or

12 loan the Commission shall require detailed cost estimates

13 to be prepared for the project to be funded. Within 1 year

14 from the date of enactment, the Commission shall submit

15 to the appropriate committees of the Congress detailed

16 cost estimates for the projects identified in the action plan

17 referred to in section 204(a)(5).

18 SEC. 205. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes of this

20 Act, the Secretary shall assist the Commission in prepar21 ing the study report referred to in section 204(a)(5) and

22 in implementing its recommendations. The Secretary is

23 authorized to enter into agreements with the Commission

24 or with any owner of property with national, historic or

25 cultural significance within the District for the purpose
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1 of facilitating public use and enjoyment of such resources

2 or to otherwise further the objectives of the Commission.

3 Such agreements shall provide whenever appropriate

4 that—

5 (1) the public may have access to such re6 sources at specified, reasonable times for the pur7 pose of viewing the property or the exhibits or at8 tending programs or the other activities as may be

9 appropriate;

10 (2) the Secretary may make improvements to

11 such resources as the Commission or the Secretary

12 deem necessary to enhance the public use and enjoy13 ment, or to render such property usable by the Sec14 retary, the Commission or any person for the pur15 poses established by this Act; and

16 (3) the Secretary may occupy, utilize, acquire

17 easements or leasehold interests in such resources as

18 required to implement the programs and purposes of

19 this Act.

20 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

21 provide, upon request, technical assistance to the Commis22 sion to assist the Commission in the performance of its

23 powers and functions as authorized under this Act. The

24 Secretary may provide to any owner of property within

25 the District, to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to
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1 the City of Salem and other participating municipalities,

2 or to any other Federal or State entity, or to any institu3 tion, or to any person such technical assistance as the Sec4 retary considers appropriate to carry out the purposes of

5 this Act.

6 SEC. 206. EXPIRATION.

7 The Commission shall cease to exist 10 years after

8 the date of enactment of this Act. The Commission shall

9 assist, if appropriate, in the establishment of a nonprofit

10 management entity, exempt from income taxes under sec11 tion 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to

12 continue as necessary the functions of the Commission and

13 the management of the District upon the expiration of the

14 Commission. Any property or funds of the Commission re15 maining upon the expiration of the Commission to this pri16 vate nonprofit organization, or to the United States, as

17 a State or local government agency, or to any combination

18 of the foregoing.

19 SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the

21 Commission such funds as may be necessary to carry out

22 the purposes of this title.

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