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Gaining Support for Historic District Designation n 2000, Denver created a new historic district complementing have to repay it. The Downtown Denver Partnership, the busi- Iits other commercial districts, Lower Do~mtown and Latimer ness association that typically opposed preservation regula- Square. By meeting individually with the affected property own- ers and responding to their concems about the proposed district, Historic Denver and its partners were able to tum potential skeptics and adversaries into supporters. Here is how they did it. The city convened a committee of preservationists, planners, and business leaders to chart along-term plan for downtown. While the preservationists urged the creation of a historic dis- trict with strong protections, property owners wanted nothing that would tie their hands or discourage future development. An informal group that included Historic Denver trustees and sup- porters and a staff member from the National Trust's Mountains/Plains Office began meeting one-on-one with own- ers of 45 significant downtown buildings. During these meetings, a fundamental complaint emerged. Owners who had chosen to retain and restore their historic buildings felt like "suckers," as one put it, because the sites were taxed at the rate of "highest and best use." In some cases, owners of small historic buildings were taxed as if their site held a 50-story luxury skyscraper! Members of Historic Denver and the Denver Planning Office crafted asolution-a 20-year tax rebate plan for prop- erty owners who maintained their historic buildings. This tax benefit would apply only to buildings that had been restored, and any future owner who later demolished the building would lions, warmed up to the idea. But concems remained. Owners of noncontributing proper- ties and unbuilt lots in the proposed district feared being put under the same landmark commission review that applied to the historic properties. At the same time, preservationists fret- ted that some of the city's icon buildings-the 1892 Brown Palace Hotel, the Italianate D.F. Tower, and the 1887 Trinity Church-would remain unprotected because they were each a few blocks outside the district's geographic borders. Then Denver's planning director proposed a unique approach-a historic district of noncontiguous buildings. Historic district protections would apply to 43 buildings deemed to be the most significant, including a few outside the district's borders. Owners of those buildings would need approval from the city's landmarks commission for exterior changes, and demolitions would be allowed only if the owner could prove financial hardship. But there would be no restric- tions for noncontributing properties beyond the city's required review for all new urban construction. With support from property owners, the Downtown Derrver Partnership, and the planning department, everything fell into place. The city council unanimously approved the district des- ignation in December 2000. - By Kerr! Rubmqu, editor ojnationa! Trasr Forum News. The ahooe sidebar first appeared in the MavOune 200] Forum News The need for property owner and resident awareness does not end once the historic desib Zation occurs. The most effective com- munit}- education programs are continuous. In fact, it is especially important to make sure that pur- chasers of property in a historic district after it is designated knov~ that their property is subject to restrictions. Recognising this, the Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CH.~P) conducted a nationwide survey of selective communities with preservation commissions in 1992 to deter- mine what methods are being used by other local preservation commissions to enhance property owner awareness of the meaning of historic designation. Survey responses indicated numerous methods including: working with real estate agents to inform and educate the real estate community about his- toric properties and what his- toricdistrict status means; including historic district status in real estate multiple listings; sending annual notices (list of addresses and maps) to title companies, real estate agen- cies, and relevant public agencies to advise of all desig- nated addresses; mailing notice of historic dis- trictdesignation and commis- sion information with annual tax bill, water bill or new water account bill; mailing annual commission newsletter to all historic neigh- borhood associations notif}~in~ reminding owners of record (and tenants if possible) of historic district designation, guidelines, and permit require- ments (through use of tax records data base); • forming neighborhood associ- ation "tt~elcome committees" to distribute commission guide- lines to new homeowners; and .................................................................................PR•E•SER\'AT•Ii~N•RC~•~~K