ECONOMICS UNIQUENESS

112 ■ THE ECONOMICS OF UNIQUENESS
multiple levels, including master plans, zoning ordinances, and protected sector
designation. Additionally, buff er zones are established around heritage districts
to enhance their protection.
In the United States, at the national level there is the National Register
of Historic Places. This listing includes buildings and groups of buildings
that have national significance but also those whose significance is only
regional or local. However, there is virtually no legal protection for properties
listed on the National Register except from actions of the federal
government itself. Nearly all significant protection applied to historic properties
is found at the local level when a community has adopted a historic
preservation ordinance. Like zoning, these ordinances are part of planning
and land-use laws.
While there are obviously diff erences among the examples above, there are
some common denominators:
• Historic structures can be listed individually (oft en called “landmarking”) and
as a group of buildings (oft en called a historic district, conservation area, or
heritage zone).
• Oft en, but not always, heritage designation is accompanied by statutory protections
of the building.
• Typically, these protections provide:
º Prohibitions against demolition or a deferral of issuing a demolition
permit.
º Approval requirements for any exterior changes.
º Approval requirements for any additions.
• In addition, some ordinances include:
º Approval requirements for changes to signifi cant interior features.
º Standards for repairs and routine maintenance.
º Prohibition against “demolition by neglect” precluding the owner from
simply allowing a property to deteriorate to the point that it is no longer
repairable.
• Many heritage protection agencies also provide design guidelines so that
the property owner understands the grounds upon which approvals will be
granted or denied.
How Do Researchers Measure Value Change
in the Marketplace?
Among the reasons noted above for designating and protecting heritage resources,
“increasing property values” is not a driving motivation. It is for aesthetic,