1. ARCH 5325 Conservation Policies
Chapter 4
Legal Basis for Preservation

2. COURT CASES Berman V. Parker
1954 upheld removal of a blighted building , negative aesthetic in area designated to remove blight
Historic Preservation Ordinance could be used to enforce beauty
Designation must be part of community planning including an inventory of historic structures—a historic resources survey
Beauty alone cannot be legislated, must be related to development—or more importantly health, safety and welfare

3. COURT CASES Figarsky V. Historic District Commission
1976 denied demolition permit for a non-contributing building due to it being part of a historic district and location blocked a view of unwanted development
Important that there was a Historic District Commission
What is the difference between Contributing and Non-Contributing structures?

4. COURT CASES
Penn Central Transportation Company V. City of New York--1978
Landmarks Preservation Commission denied the construction of a tower due to the historic designation of Grand Central Station
The Penn Central Company sought removal of the designation because it was a “taking” by government
Overturned by Appeals—partly on air rights transferred to neighbors
Supreme Court agreed—upheld the legitimacy of preservation ordinances

5. POWERS OF HISTORIC DISTRICTS
Consists of:
Exterior modifications—including roofing
Additions to structures
Demolition of “designated” historic structures
Changes within a historic district
Review and approval of new construction
Note: Based on aesthetics largely—unusual and often difficult to enforce
Paint colors
Materials
Design

6. Pennsylvania Station, NY
McKim, Mead, and White
1910
Demolished: 1963

7. “New” Penn Station

8. Secretary of Interior Standards
1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.
“PRESERVATION” means routine maintenance with no significant changes to the appearance or materials, no alteration. Changes represent its history and integrity.
Kevin Lynch believes that “static” preservation—exactly as original is only necessary in very significant buildings—Stonehenge. Others should show the changes due to time, renovation, addition, etc.
(Note Seattle Pike Street Market: insists that the neighborhood stay low income, single room occupancy. NO GENTRIFICATION: DESCRIBE.
Must take into account current needs, uses of the building, and technology.
“RESTORATION” returns a building to its condition AT A SPECIFIC TIME. Not always original look. St. Paul’s on the Plains. Alamo--parapet. United Way—sort of restoration, 1925 Fire Station
“RECONSTRUCTION” rebuilding of a historic structure with or without documentation—Williamsburg Governor’s Palace and other buildings, Gazebo on the courthouse lawn
“REHABILITATION” or ADAPTIVE USE (Not adaptive Reuse) Remodeling to adapt to a new use. Usually interior, but could be exterior. Odyssey Bookstore, Casa de Amistad (synagogue). Lofts downtown.
What is architectural integrity? Enough remains to have a sense of what is was. Not remodeled too much.

9. 2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

10. 3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.

11. 4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.

12. 5. Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.

13. 6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.

14. 7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.

15. 8. Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.

16. 9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.

17. 10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

18. Legal Means of Protection
Restrictive Covenants
A legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something.
These usually "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property.

19. Restrictive Covenants (continued)
Examples might be
to maintain a property in a reasonable state of repair
to preserve a sight-line for a neighboring property
not to run a business from a residence or
not to build on certain parts of the property.

20. 2. Real Estate Deed Restrictions
Are restrictions on the deed that place limitations on the use of the property.
Deed restrictions are usually initiated by developers - those who determined what the land would be used for, divided the land into plots, and built homes, office buildings, or commercial buildings on it.
Deed restrictions come with the property and usually can’t be changed or removed by subsequent owners.

21. 3. Preservation Easements
A preservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement that protects a significant historic, archaeological, or cultural resource.
Provides assurance to the owner of a historic or cultural property that the property's intrinsic values will be preserved through subsequent ownership.
The owner may obtain substantial tax benefits.

22. Preservation Easements (cont.)
Historic preservation easements are used to protect :
historic landscapes
Battlefields
traditional cultural places, or
archaeological sites.

23. Under the terms of an easement, a property owner grants a portion of, or interest in, her property rights to an organization whose mission includes historic preservation.
Once recorded, an easement becomes part of the property's chain of title and usually "runs with the land" in perpetuity, thus binding not only the owner who grants the easement but all future owners as well.