WBJ: "DC residents, wary of oversight, can give conservation districts a chance"

Click on the link to read the * entire * Washington Business Journal guest article by DC Preservation League's Rebecca Miller.  Unfortunately, I have to remove the majority of this subscriber-content article, so you don't see too much of the original post.  But hopefully, you get an idea here about conservation districts from the gutted post below.

The devil would be in the details of any legislation introduced and reviewed by the DC Council.

Text bolding in the article below is from me.

Thanks to the DC Preservation League's Rebecca Miller for her WBJ guest article.

                                                     

SUBSCRIBER CONTENT: May 2, 2014, 6:00am EDT

Past is Present

D.C. residents, wary of oversight, can give conservation districts a chance

Rebecca Miller 

           

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But appreciation for our historic building stock was not always as prevalent as it is today. 

So here’s a new — well, an old — idea to ensure more historic housing stock remains protected from development: conservation districts. The D.C. Comprehensive Plan defines a conservation district as “an area designated to recognize its particular design and architectural qualities and encourage their protection and maintenance for the benefit of the entire city.” Technically, the tool still involves regulations, but they’re dumbed down a bit. D.C. doesn’t hold any conservation districts now — if its residents wanted them, D.C. Council would have to come up with legislation and regulations to formalize a process of forming one.

...

Fear of the unknown has always been a leading issue for many residents in proposed historic districts: Will it cost more to maintain my house? Will I be able to build the addition I want without a hassle? Will my property value be affected? All the while, teardowns continue and incompatible alterations abound. Mid-block multistory pop-ups persist with no regulatory remedies for affected communities.

 If they were to devise a process for creating a conservation district instead, some things D.C. legislators must consider:  Would major alterations, such as rooftop decks and pop-up additions, still be reviewed? What about the pesky issue of replacement windows that raises everyone’s blood pressure, but is critical to the character of a building? Many questions would need to be answered.

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Rebecca Miller is executive director of the D.C. Preservation League and writes the Past is Present column for Breaking Ground Extra.