[MassHistPres] Facade easments

[slater at alum.rpi.edu]

> Does this suggest that individual buildings can't be
> added to a LHD? or that its not feasible in this case?

It's more the political impact than anything.

We have a number of significant buildings in Springfield that are not
near other significant buildings. Although it is always possible to
create a single-property historic district, there is virtually no
benefit to that property owner, and the restrictions would be a
drawback.

Multi-structure districts are palatable because of the shared
responsibility -- I can't close in my porch and put up ugly siding, but
neither can any of my neighbors.

I envision a facade easement as a way to bring a number of significant
buildings into the fold. At this point, many are being neglected, or
worse yet, "modernized" or demolished. 

I could see running a campaign, sending letters to significant
properties, saying "we will help you through this process; if you agree
to an external preservation restriction, you will be able to deduct
11-15% of the value of your house from your taxes this year since this
is a charitable contribution. 

While there will surely be people who say "no way, that will reduce the
value of my house too much when I sell it", others might say "Hmm. My
house is worth $200k, if I deduct $30k from my taxable income I will
reduce my bill by $9k. That's worth it!

Now imagine the city going to such a homeowner and saying "we've decided
that your house is historically or architecturally significant, so we've
passed a law that says you can't change anything on the exterior. And by
the way, you're the only one we did this to". I would expect the
reaction to be nothing short of outrage.

Another approach would be for the city to grant monies to restore
significant buildings in exchange for preservation restrictions, but
that would be a lot less abstract, and would probably anger homeowners
already in districts who feel encumbered by the guidelines and see
others getting direct money. A tax break is more abstract, and less
likely to bring on that response.

I'm just trying to think outside the box. 

Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA

<-----Original Message----->Does this suggest that individual buildings
can't be
>added to a LHD? or that 
>its not feasible in this case?
>Marcia Starkey, Greenfield
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: <slater at alum.rpi.edu>
>To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>Sent: Friday, December 14, 2007 11:33 AM
>Subject: [MassHistPres] Facade easments
>
>
>Can a façade easement be used to get a privately-owned property outside
>a local historic district under the control of a historical commission?
>
>I have done a little reading on this, and I remember that people were
>sour on these a few years ago because people within historic districts
>were claiming them on high-priced properties, and there was no
>theoretical benefit to anyone since the properties were already
>controlled.
>
>According to an article I read, the façade value is equal to 11 to 15%
>of the appraised value of the home. There are some requirements,
>including an appraisal of the property and documentation of the
>features.
>
>The article I read mentioned that the easement had to be granted to a
>non-profit organization in order to be tax deductible, and that there
>was some rigor involved with that non-profit because they had to be
>"qualified to administer" the easement.
>
>I found some language that stated that the easement can be granted to a
>governmental organization; Is that permissible in Massachusetts? If
not,
>and if only a 501(c)(3) corporation can be granted the restriction, can
>that corporation cede control to a local historical commission?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Ralph Slate
>Springfield, MA
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