Intent and purpose: The Demolition Delay bylaw is enacted for the purpose of preserving and protecting significant buildings within the Town of Plympton which are outside Local Historic Districts. Such buildings reflect distinctive features of the architectural, cultural, economic, political or social history of the Town, and their preservation promotes the public welfare by making the Town a more attractive and desirable place to live and work.

The intent of the bylaw is to provide an opportunity to develop preservation solutions for significant, preferably preserved properties threatened with demolition. The bylaw is intended to encourage owners and townspeople to seek out persons who might be willing to purchase, preserve, rehabilitate or restore such buildings rather than demolish them, and to limit the detrimental effect of demolition on the historical architectural resources of the Town. To achieve these purposes, the Plympton Historical Commission ("the Commission") is empowered to advise the Building Inspector with respect to the issuance of permits for demolition of significant buildings, and, where appropriate and consistent with the intent and purpose of this bylaw, to allow demolition under conditions designed to minimize the loss of distinctive features of significant buildings.