I’m going to say a dirty, dirty, dirt word – Local Historic District (LHD.)

Wow, it’s as if we’ve been brainwashed in this town to think LHDs are evil.

A LHD in Newburyport MA has come to mean “I’m only allowed to paint my house a certain color of purple and the outside doorknob has to be brass surrounded with diamonds.”

Well, I’m exaggerating here, a purple house with a brass and diamond doorknob isn’t exactly New England historic (I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s not New England historic.)

But you get the idea, people in Newburyport MA have gotten the idea that a LHD means someone is going to dictate what they going to do and it is the equivalent of being in “property ownership jail,” plus they would never be able to sell their house and their property values would drop like crazy.

Well, let’s see. A Local Historic District is the only thing that would completely protect our historic assets. We can create incentives to do right, but given the example of let’s say threatening to turn the Wheelwright House into condominiums, “incentives” to do “right,” may not always work with people who have no intention of doing “right” by Newburyport, MA.

I’m a big advocate of “Local Historic District Light.” Basically creating a Local Historic District or a series of Local Historic Districts that have absolutely the minimum restrictions and see how we all deal with that. A little bit like having a demolition delay that starts with 6 months and seeing how it works.

You can write whatever you want a Local Historic District to be folks…it doesn’t have to be purple houses with diamond doorknockers.

And as for “Local Historic District Light” being a waste of time, well “nuts” to that, some protection is better than no protection at all.

And guess what, properties in Local Historic Districts usually appreciate at rates greater than your general housing market. Well, just look at Newburyport, MA, people want to live here because of our historic structures.

Historic heritage = money.

Worst-case scenario for houses in a Local Historic District is that they would appreciation at rates equivalent to the overall local market. Boy, that’s really bad.

And also for houses in a LHD, there is less volatility when the market goes south. Believe me folks, that’s really terrible.

Hey, this all of this works for me.

Our luck in Newburyport, MA has changed. It’s time to un-brainwash ourselves about LHDs. No, a Local Historic District is not the equivalent of having the Bubonic Plague.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport