Many thoughtful commenters, upon hearing of the unequal treatment given the Peoria Park District by the City of Peoria, have led me to ask this question: Should there be an Historical Preservation Commission (HPC) at all? Is it fair for the City to limit property owners’ rights when their property is deemed historic?
The City of Peoria’s municipal code gives the following rationale for their historic preservation policy (§16-1):
It is hereby found and declared by the city council that it is required in the interest of the public’s health, safety and general welfare and is necessary to sound urban planning that those properties and improvements having special historical, architectural, community or aesthetic significance be preserved, enhanced and continued in or restored to use; it being further found and declared that the city’s economic vitality and tax base cannot be maintained and enhanced without regard for the city’s heritage and older neighborhoods.
On the other hand, Libertarians decry such preservation as nothing more than government encroachment on private property rights. “Essentially, preservationists are taking an extremist position, demanding control over other people’s land without having to buy it themselves,” explains Lawrence Samuels, vice chairman of the Libertarian Party of Monterey County, California. Samuels doesn’t have much use for zoning or land-use laws either.
What do you think? Should the HPC be abolished? Is it okay as is? Is it okay, but should be more limited? What is the proper role and limit of an HPC?
If the form based code is written correctly and in sufficient detail, then the HPC becomes redundant. Under the current code, you need the HPC because without it, owners can do pretty much whatever they want. Remuddling is bad.
Now… newer neighborhoods have kind of sidestepped all of this by impossing various restrictions and whatnot onto the deeds of the homes and through neighborhood associations. Example: might not be able to hang your laundry outside, thus no laundry poles allowed.
I would think some of that would be of dubious legal merit but I have read the courts have upheld such restrictions.
There is nothing really wrong with the city code. The problem is in implementing it correctly. I beleive state / federal historical commissions have [and adhere to] stricter guidelines. Who is Samuels calling an extremist? Perhaps the only positive side of govt is the fact that certain commissions are in place to regulate: pollution, natural resources, basic services, historic preservation…. the list goes on. My opinion? The Peoria HP does not pick/choose its battles appropriately. They had better be willing to step in and “preserve” what really needs preserving.
I cannot wait until the HPC tries to tell a farmer that his 100 year old barn must be preserved and not modified. Guess what – as the city keeps annexing land in the rural parts of the county, this could happen sooner than you think.
the historic preservation issue is a very difficult one because it does impinge on a property owner’s rights, and, at the same time, there is no question that the preservation of historic structures benefits the community in numerous ways. The crux of the problem is that the government subsidizes the destruction of property in a multitude of ways, which skews the economics of development against preservation, leading the the government to selectively force preservation. There is no perfect solution, but a more balanced appoach that will “level the playing field” would help – ie. more subsidies for preservation and less for destruction (I would suggest eliminating all subsidies, but no government is going to have the courage to do that, so why make such a suggestion?).
How often has the “property owner” purchased the property knowing the status of said property? This is part of the chance you take when you buy property that is/has the potential to become historically significant.
Again, I say that the problem is not having a [city] Hist Pres Commission, it is with the members, organization, aims, etc of the commission. Politics in Peoria anyone?