Why Declaring Your Neighborhood Historic Is a Bad Idea.
If you’ve ever returned to your childhood home after a long absence, you get a sense of how quickly Americans reinvent everything. Buildings that are only a few decades old are torn down, empty spaces are filled, entire neighborhoods are transformed , and familiar landmarks disappear. This kind of constant change is in many ways part of the American psyche, but it comes at the price of lost history.
This is why the concept of a historical name exists. If a building or area has real historical significance, it makes sense to install barriers to ensure it is not demolished or significantly altered. But the process of declaring an area a historic district is not always in the best interests of the homeowner and is sometimes used in nefarious ways that serve the interests of a small group of people while making your life much more difficult.
Historical disadvantages
If a few people in your charming, old neighborhood start talking about turning it into a historic district, you should pay attention to ” snob zoning “: an attempt to keep low-income people out by limiting the type of development that can be built. there. In some areas of the country, efforts to designate neighborhoods as historic are interpreted as a strategy to circumvent local zoning laws and exclude people from a neighborhood by banning certain types of multifamily or low-income housing, even though zoning laws allow or even require them. After all, historic neighborhoods tend to be wealthier and whiter (though this isn’t entirely due to exclusionary practices —historic homes tend to be located in white, wealthy neighborhoods for many reasons).
Even if you’re not bothered by the idea of banning certain types of development in your area, there’s another reason to resist any calls for historic designation: The same restrictions on development often result in higher costs and more difficult maintenance for homeowners. And while a historic designation tends to increase a property’s value , it can take longer to sell as buyers worry about the restrictions that come with it.
Backdoor HOA
If you’re not careful, your neighborhood could be designated a historic district against your wishes , even if the majority of people vote against it . In fact, your home may be designated as a historic site without your input. In some areas, all it takes is for a concerned neighbor to petition to have your property declared a landmark to start the process, and fighting it can be quite expensive—with no guarantee that you’ll win.
Historic designations are typically used to control what people can do with their private property, and can be a way to create a sort of “backroom” homeowners’ association. Some historic neighborhoods (many of which have dubious claims to that designation) across the country have HOA-like restrictions on renovations, renovations and even landscaping. And these restrictions may affect your ability to sell the property. For example, if you want to sell to a developer, you may be prevented from doing so because he cannot obtain permission to demolish the historic property.
Combat history
If you suspect someone in your neighborhood is thinking along the same lines—imposing historical designations on houses or entire areas to block development or exert control over their neighbors—you should probably get involved because historical recognition may be forthcoming. even if most of the region opposes it. There is no easy button here: the fight against proposed historical status is ruthless democracy in action. A few things to do:
-
Don’t assume that you will be asked for your opinion. Although local laws regarding the designation of historic places vary, at the federal level the National Register of Historic Places assumes that neighbors support the designation unless they object . That’s why one homeowner in Portland, Oregon, split ownership of his property into 1,000 individual trusts so he could object 1,000 times in an attempt to stop ongoing efforts to have his neighborhood declared a historic district.
-
Contact local authorities, including council members or other local representatives, and the historic landmarks agency. Find out when relevant public hearings are held. Then attend these meetings (with your neighbors if you can get them) and speak out against the proposal.
-
Connect with housing advocacy groups who are fighting the not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) maneuvers that make it difficult to build affordable or affordable housing. They may have resources and local knowledge that can be very effective. For example, Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) has chapters across the country and has many other resources on their website.
-
It doesn’t hurt to contact local journalists. Stories about NIMBY neighbors and stories about local drama are usually of great interest.