Consideration of a Local Historical District for Pemberton
Heights
Pemberton Heights is a beautiful traditional neighborhood full
of traditional residential architecture, beautiful open lawns,
and shade from established hardwood trees. Residents truly
cherish the neighborhood, and the Neighborhood Association
fields many anxious queries about changes to the distinctive
character of the neighborhood that could occur with the real
estate boom. The concern we hear most often is that new
construction will degrade the historical fabric of the
neighborhood, and rob it of its distinctive character.
On the other hand, we are homeowners ourselves and we recognize
the difficult issues involved in trying to preserve a
neighborhood while also respecting the rights of the property
owners within it. We value our freedom, and the long-term
value of our property is important to us.
For much of 2005, the Neighborhood Association has been closely
tracking the progress of an ordinance through the City that
would enable the establishment of Local Historical Districts.
There is much in an LHD that is appealing to us: it is a new
tool that we can use to introduce new guidelines for regulating
development and preserving the older traditional homes in
Pemberton, but LHD's are intended to be flexible and to conform
to the desires of the individual neighborhood. LHD's also
offer significant property tax abatements to owners of older
homes who wish to renovate them. Essentially, a
neighborhood volunteers itself to be an LHD, develops its own
guidelines for historic preservation and new development, and
requests this designation from the Historic Landmarks Commission
and then the City Council. (More on the process
here.)
Before the final request is made, however, 60% of the property
owners in Pemberton Heights would have to approve of the final
plan.
Since last spring, we have worked hard to try to understand the
pro's and con's of a Pemberton Heights LHD. We have
debated what features we think are appropriate for our
neighborhood and which aren't. We have agreed to an
important set of guiding principals for what we feel we should
have in an LHD.
What we need to do now is to start the neighborhood dialog.
Please take the time to review the materials we have for you
here, and please make sure you complete our LHD opinion survey
either here on the web site, from the Pemberton Journal, or at
the picnic November 6. We won't know what is important to
you unless you tell us.
Noah Kennedy
2005/2006 President
Pemberton Heights Neighborhood Association |
