historically designated Property Question (Sacramento: credit, to buy, maintenance)

[nanimo]

I think this one is for Wburg, what does it mean when a property is listed as historically designated? Are there restrictions with such properties?

p.s. Loved your book on South Side park it was very interesting. You have a way of telling a good story with short captions on the photos. I bet it was fun researching it and hearing the stories in more detail.

Thanks, Beth

[kettlepot]

When a property is historically listed, it can either be on the city/county, state, or national register of historic properties. The higher the registration the greater the protection, and the more significant the structure is.

When a property is historic there is an extra level of review if an owner seeks to demolish, remodel or rehabilitate the property. Usually, demolition is forbidden, and remodel/rehabilitation must be done in accordance with the Secretary of Interiors standards for historic properties. That means the property can not be radically or substantially changed, such as converting it from a Spanish Revival to a California Contemporary. If an addition is added, it should be done in a way so as not to radically alter the public facade. For example, an addition to the back end can be done if it is compatible. In return, historic properties can be eligible for the Mills Act, if you live in a participating county. The Mills Act offers historic property owners a discount on their property taxes of about 20% to 70% provided the funds saved are used to fund the preservation and maintenance of the structure.

[Jimbo15]

You might want to read over this as well.

Project Review

[wburg]

Designation as a historic building can mean several things, depending on whether the designation is local, state or national. The local level is actually the strictest and strongest level of protection, since cities have control over zoning and the issuing of demolition permits.

The state and federal registers actually limit the state or federal government's ability to affect a property, but not necessarily the individual. So while the owner of a building on the National Register could theoretically demolish the building, it would be harder for the federal government to demolish the building to make way for a freeway. The main exception is if the property owner signs up for some kind of federal tax credit or grant to preserve the building: after receiving assistance to do a preservation project, you're not supposed to turn around and demolish the building.

The Mills Act is implemented by cities. Unfortunately Sacramento does not have an implementation program for the Mills Act, so that benefit isn't available currently. Generally there are not big grants available for historic preservation, especially in tough times like these, but there are some tax-credit programs.

Information about Sacramento's historic preservation program, including some potential incentives, can be found here:

Historic Preservation

Generally, buildings in historic districts or identified as individual landmarks are reviewed by the Preservation Department instead of the regular planning staff. Generally, as long as planned changes are consistent with the building, this isn't a big problem: if you're repairing a wooden double-hung window, replacing it with an in-kind wooden window is fine, but replacing it with a vinyl slider would not. Demolition is generally forbidden unless the building is in imminent danger of collapse.

[nanimo]

We haven't confirmed with the City of Sacramento if this a actually a true historically designated home, we are waiting to hear back from them. But from what I understand it would be under the City of Sacramento's preservation committee. We have no problem with running things by a committee and preserving the structure and era of the home, we just weren't sure if they could force you to fix things that have already been done to restore it back to the original. Mainly the interior has been remodeled that is not consistent with the era and style of the home. We don't want to buy it and then be forced to remedy past owners non-compliance.

[wburg]

The city of Sacramento doesn't include interiors in its historic-buildings regulations: your 1910 bungalow could look like an IKEA on the inside and it wouldn't matter much to the city.

If you were to fix "remuddled" exterior changes you would probably have to fix them in a more appropriate manner (if the last owner installed vinyl sliders you would probably have to replace them with the appropriate wooden window, etc) but they wouldn't make you fix it. Most changes don't have to go to the Preservation Commission, they are reviewed by city staff.

This document contains the Sacramento register, as well as some other buildings that are not on the register but have been assessed, and maps of all the city's current historic districts. If your building is in one of the districts, it is handled by Preservation even if it is not individually listed.

http://www.cityofsacramento.org/dsd/...c-Reg-2007.pdf

One caveat: Check to see if there are existing liens or code enforcement cases against the property. If the city has tagged the building for code violations (like, for example, doing work without permits) you might be saddled with resolving those liens if you purchase the house. Of course, you could always try to beat down the price by the expected cost of resolving the liens...