A National Register Historic District Does NOT Come With "Federal Rules"

A quick post to clear up some mis-understandings . . .

Some people think a "National Register Historic District" means the neighborhood is subject to a raft of "Federal rules".

That is NOT true. Here is the word from the National Park Service:

"What are the restrictions, rules, regulations for historic property owners? From the Federal perspective (the National Register of Historic Places is part of the National Park Service), a property owner can do whatever they want with their property as long as there are no Federal monies attached to the property. You can find this on our website at: http://www.nps.gov/nr/national_register_fundamentals.htm" (underlines added)

When the National Park Service lists a neighborhood in the National Register of Historic Places, it evidences that the neighborhood is among America's most historic places.

"What is the National Register of Historic Places? The National Park Service administers the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is the official Federal list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. National Register properties have significance to the history of their community state, or the nation."

There are 2,300 neighborhoods listed in the National Register of Historic Places. If Laurelhurst joins them, all the protections from demolition and redevelopment will come from Oregon state law and Portland city rules - these are local protections, not Federal rules.

For more about those protections, see "City Confirms: No Historic Review Of Projects In A New Historic District Until Neighborhood Guidelines Developed".