Bills Could Dismantle Historic Districts in Plymouth, Canton Township

LANSING, MI – Local historic districts could soon be a thing of the past in Michigan.

A proposed amendment Public Act 169, which allows Michigan communities to adopt local ordinances protecting their historic areas, would sunset historic districts after 10 years, requiring preservationists to not only reapply every 10 years.

Among other restrictions, preservationists would have to not only obtain the blessing of two-thirds vote of property owners in the district, but also receive majority vote by the entire city in the next scheduled general election, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The changes are proposed in HB 5232 and SB 720. Sponsors are Rep. Chris Afendoulis, R-Grand Rapids, and Sen. Peter MacGregor, R-Rockford.

“I always felt that was a little restrictive,” said Afendoulis, who described the provisions in the proposed legislation as a “common sense” way to handle property rights concerns. “If you live in an historic district, in some ways you don’t have control over your property…. If you’re not flexible, then a lot of people can’t afford to remodel their homes.”

The other side of the coin is that the 1970 law protects residents living in historic districts from the actions of neighbors that might alter the character of a district, Nancy Finegood, director of the nonprofit Michigan Historic Preservation Network, told Gallagher.

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• Do you think local historic districts create property rights concerns? Do you support the proposed changes?

“The value is that your neighbor can’t do something inappropriate,” Finegood said. “They can’t put up a chain link fence around their house and change the look of your block, which would affect your property value as well. There’s been research done that property values are higher in local historic districts.”

Preservation Detroit is urging residents of communities to contact their elected representatives to oppose the proposed legislation. Its list of concerns include:

• Local historic preservation ordinances are the only tool available to Michigan communities to protect their historic places.
• The “owner consent” provisions take away a constitutional power from Michigan municipalities and give it to property owners.
• It throws away the knowledge of our historic designation boards and district commissions. – The proposed legislation protects slumlords.
• The proposed legislation removes a neutral third party, the State Historic Preservation Review Board, in appeals decisions.
• The proposed legislation slows down an already lengthy process with its requirement that property owners in a proposed district be petitioned before a study is even undertaken.
• Other local laws don’t have to be re-approved after 10 years.

Some 78 Michigan communities have local historic district ordinances, including:

• Birmingham
• Canton Township
• Chelsea
• Farmington Hills
• Grosse Pointe Farms
• Huntington Woods
• New Baltimore
• Northville
• Northville Township
• Oakland Township
• Plymouth
• Pittsfield Township
• Rochester
• Rochester Hills
• Royal Oak
• Saline
• Troy
• Utica
• Washtenaw County

» Photo of Royal Alrich House in Farmington Hills via Wikimedia / Creative Commons