To the editor:

This concerns the historic district and environs review for the proposed hotel at Ninth and New Hampshire streets. Cultural heritage and authenticity are some of the attributes of a historic neighborhood. The review standards for impacts upon a historic district/environs review include (text edited for brevity):

1. The character of a historic property’s environs should be retained and preserved. Removal or alteration of distinctive buildings, structures, landscape features, spatial relationships that characterize the environs should be avoided.

2. The environs of a property should be used as it has been historically or allow the inclusion of new uses that require minimal change to the environs’ distinctive materials, features and spatial relationships.

3. The environs of each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place and use.

4. Demolition of character-defining buildings, structures, landscape features, etc. in a historic environs should be avoided.

5. Archeological resources will be protected and preserved in place.

6. Infill construction, or related new construction should not destroy character-defining features or spatial relationships that characterize the environs of a property. The new work shall be compatible with the historic materials, character-defining features, size, scale and proportion, and massing of the environs.