Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/04/2017

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Protecting Value Through Historic Preservation Regulations By Lane Kendig Most communities recognize the need to protect historic and cultural sites, buildings, or neighborhoods, yet many qualifying places remain vulnerable across the country. Clearly, the preservation of a community's historic assets enhances the community's attractiveness as a place to live and work and assists in providing a unique character that differentiates it from its neighbors. As with any new regulation, though, historic preserva- tion regulations can raise fears. For example, landowners commonly fear that these regula- tions may adversely affect property values and destroy their freedom to do as they wish with their property. While such fears are largely groundless, it is important in developing regu- lations to seek to address these concerns. The landowner's fears are best addressed by recognizing that preservation may require continued investment that needs to be offset by an enhanced propertyvalue. PLANNING Ideally, each jurisdiction would have a historic preservation chapter in its comprehensive plan that links preservation to community character and economic development. Where such plans do not exist, there needs to be a significant planning effort in coordination with historic zoning updates. In cities, planning generally focuses on historic neighborhoods or streets. In counties, the focus is more commonly on individual historic structures or historically or archaeologically significant sites. These present different challenges for zoning, as they may involve preserving land in its current agricultural or natural state as welt as protecting buildings, With sites that are subject to development, it is more important to recognize owner concerns about economic value. The traditional goal of historic preser- vation planning has been to add candidate buildings, sites, or districts to national or state historic registers. There are two distinct advantages of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. First, Section io6 of the National Historic Preservation Act re- quires federal agencies to consider the effects of federally funded projects on historic proper- ties. Second, commercial properties on the register are eligible for 20 percent federal tax credits. Meanwhile, state statues may provide additional incentives for historic preservation. .The research, planning, and public par- ticipation associated with adding properties to national or state registers is often time consuming and costly. Buildings must be carefully analyzed for age, style, or other his- toric elements. The federal rules are not that onerous, but historic preservation planning requires design or architectural expertise. This is not quickly learned on the job, so planners without this expertise need professional con- sultants or volunteer assistance. For historic districts, additional work is necessary to define boundaries. With most zoning districts, boundaries follow differences in land use or lot size. Meanwhile, historic preservation focuses on individual properties meeting the historic guidelines. In practice, there are difficult choices to make about in- cluding non -historic buildings or vacant land in order to minimize having very irregular dis- trict boundaries. Inclusion can trigger property owners' fears and result in opponents. Too irregular a district reduces the protection on the edge of the district. Advocates for a purist approach to historic preservation can make this worse by stoking landowner fears that the regulations will be overly strict. LANDOWNER CONCERNS The primary concern of landowners is that his- toric preservation regulations will adversely affect the value of their property. The owners of non -historic buildings within a proposed historic district often fear regulations will impose major burdens on their property. For historic buildings one problem is that the interior may be unsuited to modern use. An- other is that the building's maintenance costs may exceed economic returns. Outside of urban areas, preservation of historic farms or estates typically requires the preservation of some surrounding land — which would otherwise be suitable for sub- division —and this can greatly alter property -value. A means of preserving without reducing value is needed. Old homes may be expensive to heat or cool, or to reconfigure for modern living needs. Large dwellings may be under pressure to convert to multiple residences because they have too much space for a single family. Small, older homes often require extensive remodeling or additions to adapt to modern lifestyles. Without regulatory protections, teardowns are common. Old buildings of stone, brick, log, or wood frame may be very expensive to main- tain. Landowners may be fearful that these costs cannot be offset by enhanced value under a historic designation. If these con- cerns are not addressed, owners will fight the designation and ultimately seek demolition. Individual historic structures scattered in urban areas raise additional concerns. Com- mercial historic buildings are typically rela- tively small. When historic buildings are small in comparison to the size of the building that could be built if they were torn down, there may be considerable redevelopment pressure. For commercial historic buildings located in ZONINGPRACTICE 4.17 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 2