by Sadie Jo Smokey – Mar. 17, 2010 11:16 AM
The Arizona Republic
As the real-estate market continues to struggle, several hundred homeowners are expecting a boost in their property values when their historic neighborhoods are listed in the National Register.
On March 26 the Arizona Historic Sites Review Committee will review 11 nominations to determine if they should be listed in the Arizona and national registers of historic places.
The committee of citizens knowledgeable in Arizona history, archaeology or architecture, meets once or twice a year to help the State Historic Preservation Office nominate properties to the National Register.
“We are thrilled to pieces,” said Eileen Bailey, a longtime Campus Vista resident, one of the nominated districts. “My neighbor told me that when she moved in it was a dirt road, no mail delivery. She could hear the cows mooing at Central Dairy. Central Dairy is where Park Central is now.”
National designation boosts neighborhood pride and encourages better upkeep of homes and yards, experts say. It can also give homeowners financial incentives, such as tax credits and matching grant programs for home maintenance, if they’re available, they say.
In February Sen. Linda Gray, R-Phoenix, proposed eliminating the tax incentive for historic residences. The existing historic property tax classification cuts a homeowner’s property taxes in half.
Roughly 5,200 homes in Arizona are designated as historic. More than 2,400 central Phoenix homes benefit from the tax break. It’s unclear how many additional homes in the nominated districts would qualify for the tax break. But owners of historic homes in recognized historic districts dodged a bullet last week when state lawmakers passed a budget that did not include at change to the tax classification.
Nationwide, there were about 1,125 historic-district properties added to the national registry in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009, according to estimates by the National Parks Service.
Property owners don’t qualify for the historic property tax reduction until they’re on the National Registry.
“We’re trying to preserve historic Phoenix,” said Bailey of her neighborhood of red-brick homes. “I think we should be lauded for that.”
Historic neighborhood activists say even if the city had the staff to produce and process them, city-funded nominations this large are a thing of the past because of Proposition 207.
Under the voter-approved 2006 measure, property owners must be compensated for any changes in zoning and other land-use laws that hurt their property values.
Resistance from one property owner within the boundaries of a proposed historic district could derail the entire nomination application. Some property owners don’t care for the strict regulations on construction and home modifications that come with the historic district label. City approval is required for construction and demolition in historic districts. These 11 districts were all city designated prior to 2006.
Once the nominations are approved, the State Historic Preservation Office forwards the nominations to the National Parks Service offices in Washington, D.C., for review and processing.
If the process goes according to schedule, the districts could be listed on the National Register of Historic Places by May.
Neighborhoods nominated
Each of these 11 neighborhoods are listed in the Phoenix Historic Property Register, but are not on the National Register.
Once the neighborhoods are listed in the National Register, owners of qualifying properties can apply for the state’s historic-property tax reduction.
• Campus Vista, generally bounded by Osborn and Thomas roads, Seventh and 15th avenues
• East Evergreen, generally bounded by McDowell Road, Interstate 10, Third and Seventh streets
• Encanto Manor, generally bounded by Thomas Road, Windsor Avenue, Seventh and 15th avenues
• Encanto Vista, generally bounded by Windsor Avenue, Encanto Boulevard, Seventh and Eighth avenues
• Brentwood, generally bounded by McDowell Road, Interstate 10, and 16th and 20th streets
• Garfield, generally bounded by Roosevelt, Van Buren, Seventh and 16th streets
• North Garfield, generally bounded by Interstate 10, Roosevelt, Seventh and 16th streets
• Los Olivos, located along Monte Vista Road between Third and Seventh streets
• Villa Verde, generally bounded by Monte Vista and Granada roads, 19th and 20th avenues
• Woodlea, generally bounded by Glenrosa Avenue, Mackenzie Drive, Seventh and 15th avenues
• Yaple Park, generally bounded by the Grand Canal, Turney, Third and Seventh avenues.
Source: Phoenix Historic Preservation.
In for the long haul
The federal historic district recognition process is long, daunting and pricey, say historic district activists.
La Hacienda Neighborhoods, with 45 homes near Seventh Street and Thomas Road, was one of the last Phoenix historic districts to receive national recognition.
La Hacienda received its federal recognition last year. It was approved for city designation in 2002 with Earll Place, Medlock Place, Brentwood and Encanto Vista.
• In 2001, residents began the historical survey, cataloguing of properties and documenting resident support of the district, said Campus Vista neighborhood association founder Eileen Bailey.
• In 2003, Phoenix leaders gave historic designation to the neighborhood that wraps around Phoenix College, generally bounded by Seventh and 15th avenues and Thomas and Osborn roads.
• In March 2008, the City Council approved a contract with a private consulting firm to prepare the state nomination to list Campus Vista and 10 other neighborhoods on the National Register of Historic Places.
Source: Republic archives.
