Post #303885 by Dr.TikiMojo on Thu, May 3, 2007 7:03 PM

On 2007-05-03 13:03, Swanky wrote:
What you are talking about is a property rights issue. Historical protection means that the owner of a property no longer has the free right to change that property. This is good if you want to see a building remain looking as it has for historical and or sentimental reasons. But it sucks if you own the property and you really feel like the way it looks is a negative and you'd like to change it. It also stinks if you simply want to replace the old windows with something modern and then find out you don't get to pick, someone else decides what windows you can replace them with.

It would also prevent the owners of the Mai Kai, the original family still, from ever remodeling the place they built. It would mean someone else decided how the building should look.

There are a lot of good reasons to do this. Maintaining the character of a neighborhood is important. But it is a tricky balancing act. And putting a place on a historic register against the wishes of the owner is obviously a conflict.

I am for it in most regards. Regrettably, most conservancies don't recognize anything under 100 years old as valuable around here.

Swanky....you are 100% correct!
In most cases after 50 plus years the property is no longer owned by the original builder/designer/owner usually a descendant if it is still "in the family". And living in a Historically Registered neighborhood I am completely FOR the idea that after a certain period of time, or historical significance that a property SHOULD be under the protection of a government agency for future generations...isn't this exactly what all the bitchin' here is about?

And please, let's not bring up "WINDOWS"....unless anyone else here LIVES IN A HISTORICALLY REGISTERED HOME I don't know if you understand just how much I understand the pros and cons of this!

I've wanted to replace my windows for years....They average 60"x75" (this was before most people even had electricity), and NO TWO WINDOWS ARE THE EXACT SAME MEASUREMENT.....this was a time when people were building everything CUSTOM on the job site....for me as a historical property owner I can't use vinyl windows, (wouldn't want to), no aluminum, steel, or fiberglass...they have to be custom wood framed, double hung windows.....and the VERY THING I WANT TO REPLACE THEM FOR .....DOUBLE PANE GLASS....the city fights me for.....regardless of the fact that I get no tax benefits for up keeping a historical property and it would cost me over $1,000 PER WINDOW X 22 PLUS WINDOWS FOR A TOTAL OVER $22,000 FOR FREAKIN' WINDOWS....while a new home can replace every window in the house and a sliding glass door for around $6,500....still I have doubled my money in 3 years and I CAN ALWAYS MOVE if I want to.

After 50 plus years and an income generating business please do not try to tell me that the owners of the Mai Kai or any other established business that's a Historical Landmark is unable to sell their business for a profit!

The very reason why there is a National Trust for Historic Preservation in this country and all over the UK when I traveled there was because cities, property owners, and developers all called historic properties just "old buildings" and felt it was time for a change.....if you want to side with the land owners who want to make a quick buck well I can think of a lot of historically significant sites "sitting" on valuable property that we should start tearing down.

Wow! I'm sorry! Suddenly I feel like I'm arguing against the property owners of the Hilton/Trader Vic's.

Maybe we should start a splinter group...instead of the "Urban Archaeologist" looking at what's now past we should start a group of 'URBAN PRESERVATIONISTS'!