Your Home is Your Castle, But Beware of Tearing it Down?

Legal Questions & AnswersCategory: Real Estate LawYour Home is Your Castle, But Beware of Tearing it Down?
Anonymous Staff asked 9 years ago
My parents own a home, they purchased the home over fifty years ago. Recently the city where the home is located enacted an ordinance which created a historic district. Now my parent''s home is located within this "historic district". My question is how can their home be in this "historic district" and subject to the no changes without approval law? They never signed any papers, and they were never personally informed. Is there any way to have their house excluded from this "historic district" since they didn''t "buy" into it?
23 Answers
jdjungle Staff answered 9 years ago
The first step, as always, is to read the ordinance creating the historic district very carefully. In addition, there may be implementing regulations issued by the City which clarify or further define the rquirements and limitations of the ordinance. Make sure that you and your parents have a clear idea as to how the ordinance will acutally affect the home (structure) and the lot. Second, either you or your parents should drop by the City''s Planning Department and have a conversation with the planner charged with enforcing the ordinance regarding the way in which the ordinance is being applied. What improvements are being permitted? How is the City dealing with structures that may be vulnerable or beyond their useful life? Often ordinances of this type restrict modifications only to the exterior or front of the structure. Total interior renovation and rear additions may be permitted. Many local ordinances also provide for exceptions and exemptions and you should determine whether your parents'' property would qualify under such rules. You may also wish to enquire of the Planning Department as to how the notice requirements of the City and State were met when the ordinance was adopted. It is often the case that ordinances of general application need only be noticed by publication in a local newspaper and no specific mailed notice to invidividual property owners is required. The Planning Department should be able to go over this with you. On the more general question of the legality of Historic Preservation ordinances, the law has been fairly well settled for some time. The most authoritative discussion of this question may be found in a 1978 US Supreme Court case: Penn Central Transportion Company v. City of New York (438 US 104) in which the owner of Grand Central Station in New York City objected to ordinance restrictions on the owner''s ability to demolish or change structures that had been designated as having historic importance. In that case, the Court fairly clearly upheld the right of cities to enact such ordinances. Although you may disagree with the concept of such laws, they are fairly widespread throughout the country and have generally been upheld - including some cases where there have been quite complicated claims (including, for example, churches claiming a first amendment right to replace or expand structures used for worship). There may be some particular limitations in Pennsylvania arising out of Pennsylvania law, and you should review the matter from that angle. Since it appears from your question that your parents (and any buyers to whom they might sell the property) have full control over access to the property and can still use the house for its present purpose, it is likely that the "takings" issue would come up primarily in the context of whether your local ordinance denied your parents substantially all of the economic value of the home and lot (as calculated prior to the adoption of the ordinance or as applied to a specific request for change that your parents would initiate). The standard here is fairly high and if you are convinced that your parents will no longer be able to use the property in a meaningful way, you may wish to seek local counsel to guide you on how to approach the City for relief or a remedy.
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