About Us
Bennington Historic Preservation Commission
The Bennington Vermont Historic Preservation Commission's main role is planning and advocating for the protection and appreciation of Bennington's historic and architecturally significant resources. Our primary tasks involve reviewing applications for signage and facade changes within the Downtown Historic District. We also provide technical assistance, education and guidance as needed in planning and preserving all historic resources within Bennington. The HPC serves as an advisory commission to the Development Review Board, Planning Commission and Select Board.
Bennington's Ordinance and Town Plan
Both the Bennington Town Plan 
and the Bennington Land Use and Development Regulations support the preservation ethic of Bennington.
Section 4.4 of the Bennington Town Plan lays out Bennington's commitment to managing Bennington's historic resources. Section 4.5 details Bennington's Historic Preservation Policies. View or download the full text of these sections .
Sections 3.1-3.4 of Town of Bennington Land Use and Development Regulations (2004) establishes the Historic Bennington Design Review District (page 26-28) . The purpose of the district is to "protect historic resources within a defined area of downtown Bennington, and to encourage new construction which will reinforce the best qualities of the existing character within Bennington's core through both traditions and innovative design approaches." (page 64) Details of the Historic Central Bennington Design Review District are spelled out in Table 3.19 (Pages 64-67) .
Historic Preservation Commission Members
Currently there are five historic preservation commissioners. All positions are appointed by the selectboard with the exception of the Ex Officio position held by Director of Economic and Community Development for the Town of Bennington. All commissioners serve four year terms.Anne Bugbee
Retiring after 30 years of Secondary teaching and administration work, Anne has found a second career as a docent and teacher at the Bennington Museum and staff person at the Bennington Monument. Both positions make the most of Anne's depth of knowledge of American History, especially local history: how our forbearers lived, played and built their communities. When Anne came to Bennington in the late fifties many of the lovely Queen Anne mansions — now gone — still lined North and South Streets. Anne views her role on HPC to preserve what is left of Bennington's historic buildings in the downtown and surrounding areas. Anne also serves on the Board of Oldcastle Theater and CAT-TV, Bennington's local access television station. She holds a BA Degree in Social Science from Bennington College, studied American History at Boston College and has a Master's degree in Organizational Management from Antioch/New England.Meg Campbell, Chair
Meg Campbell works for the Preservation Trust of Vermont as the Easement Program Director and Bennington County Field Service Representative. Prior to working for PTV she worked as an independent historic preservation consultant throughout the state. She holds an undergraduate degree in Art History from Williams College and a Masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont. She has served on the Historic Preservation Commission for five years and has volunteered with several community organizations including the Better Bennington Corporation and the Citizens for a Greater Bennington. She lives in Bennington on Furnace Grove, a National Register Historic District, with her husband, two daughters and extended family.Jeffrey Goldstone
Jeff Goldstone is an architect with the firm of BMA Architects and Planners in their downtown Bennington office. Through work in Vermont and New York State and several projects in Bennington including the Drysdale Building, the Bennington Train Station, the Putnam building and the Bennington Brush Building, Jeff has gained extensive experience applying preservations standards to historic buildings. Paramount to his architectural ethic is the integration of responsible building technologies and principles of sustainable development in the consideration of historic preservation and development within historic districts. Jeff has a BA from Oberlin College and a Masters in Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University. He has served on the board of Hubbard Hall Projects and is a founding board member of the Cambridge Valley Community Development and Preservation Partnership.Laura Gresh
Before moving to Bennington, Laura Gresh worked in the Boston area as a high school art teacher and graphics instructor. She also was employed as a consumer products packaging designer for The Gillette Company and Bausch and Lomb. Laura is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a B.A. in Fine Art and has an M.S. in Building Conservation from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture. She recently worked for the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation Downtown Program and now provides historic preservation consulting services. She has a passion for downtown revival and historic architecture. Laura and her husband Sean live in Bennington.Scott Murphy
Scott Murphy is the Director of Economic and Community Development for the Town of Bennington and serves as the staff liaison on the Historic Preservation Commission. He joined the Bennington HPC three years ago and has written and administered several Certified Local Government grants through the Vermont Community Development Block Grant Program. Prior to joining the Town, Scott owned a Main Street business for 16 years and was also a commercial lender for Chittenden Bank. He has served on many local non-profit boards and is currently active with several community groups including the Better Bennington Corporation. Scott and his wife Wendy have lived in Bennington for twenty-four years and have raised four children.
Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Schedule
The Historic Preservation Commission typically meets two Wednesday afternoons per month at 2:30 pm in the conference room at the Bennington Town Offices. All meetings are open to the public. If you wish to attend, please call the Town Offices at 442-1037 to confirm the meeting time and date.
The upcoming Agenda is warned here and also posted on the bulletin board in the town offices.
Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes
Minutes from all past meetings are available for public viewing. Past meeting minutes are posted here:
http://www.bennington.com/government/archive.pl?h
Interested in Getting Involved?
We welcome volunteer contributions. If you are interested in getting involved with historic preservation in Bennington, please contact:
Scott Murphy
Economic Development Director
Town of Bennington
Bennington, VT 05201
(802) 442-1037
smurphy@bennington.com
Files on the site marked with this symbol are in Adobe Reader pdf format.
