Task Force Update By Renee Manes
Certificates of Appropriateness (CA) for September:
4700 Gaston Avenue—demolition of existing structure in compliance with court orders of 1/10/07 and 6/26/07
**Next month’s deadline for CA applications to Mark Doty is Thursday September 6th**
Often we refer to the “Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation” when we talk about historic preservation. These ten principles are the foundation upon which all historic preservation in the U.S. is based. Here are the first five:
- A property will be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimal changes to its distinctive materials, features, spaces and spatial relationships.
- The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, space, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided.
- Each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features of element from other historic properties, will not be undertaken.
- Changes to a property that have acquired historic significance in their own right will be retained and preserved.
- Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved.
In a nutshell, these tenets are saying stay true to the historic nature of your property. Do not add any “pretend” elements, nor take away or change any original elements just because it suits your fancy for the moment.
Hopefully you received a blue postcard from the City (if you live in Peak’s Suburban Addition Historic District) notifying you of a meeting about the proposed changes to the Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Program. READ: SAVE MONEY! Especially if you do not know anything about our tax incentives in Peak’s historic district, this meeting should prove most informative. For those of you who have already utilized the tax incentive, these changes may allow an extension to your original term. We shall find out at the meeting!
Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Program Community Meeting
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 – 6:30 p.m.
Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street
Council Chambers – 6th floor
Parking underground via Young & Field Streets