Historic Preservation Ordinance

A Historic Preservation Ordinance is a law enacted by a local government to protect buildings, sites, and districts of historical, architectural, or cultural significance. The ordinance typically outlines guidelines for preservation, renovation, and demolition of structures, ensuring that important historical features are maintained for future generations.

Communities adopt Historic Preservation Ordinances to protect the cultural and historical integrity of their neighborhoods, buildings, and landmarks. This ensures that important historical or architectural features are preserved, contributing to community pride, tourism, and maintaining the area's identity and character.

Changes to historic properties must generally preserve the character-defining features of the building. Exterior alterations such as changes to porches or anything that would result in the removal of historic features such as corbels, decorative trims, pillars, doors, as well as the addition of new structures will require approval from the historic preservation commission. Internal changes to the home are not subject to review. General maintenance and repairs with in-kind materials also do not require approval from a commission.

No. The historic districts in town are all registered at the state or federal level. A state or federal historic district is simply an honorary designation, and offers no protections against demolition, insensitive alteration, etc. In the United States, all preservation enforcement must occur at the local level. This ordinance would provide some of those protections.

Voluntary preservation is what Terre Haute has now. It is based on a hope and a prayer that an owner will do right by their historic building. Many would argue that it is not working— Farrington’s Grove, for example, is full of houses that have been poorly remodeled by landlords, and downtown has suffered from decades of heavy-handed demolition. This ordinance is designed to safeguard the resources we have left and encourage new development that fits in.

While the restrictions under an HPO may limit some property owner decisions, being in a historic district or owning a historic property can enhance property values. The unique character of historic areas often makes them attractive to buyers and tourists, and in many cases, historic properties are eligible for tax incentives and grants that can help offset renovation costs.

Yes, there are financial incentives to property owners who maintain or restore historic buildings. These can include tax credits, grants, or low-interest loans. Federal or state programs may also be available for property owners who undertake preservation work in accordance with preservation standards.

A property owner who rehabs a primary residence may qualify for the Indiana Residential Historic Rehabilitation Credit if the house is at least 50 years old and listed in the Indiana Register of Historic Places either individually or as part of a district. The program allows an owner-occupant to take a credit against state income tax liability equal to 20 percent of “qualified” preservation or rehab expenses. The amount spent must exceed $10,000 and can’t include such items as the cost of enlarging an existing structure, paving, or landscaping. To determine what expenses qualify, property owners must submit a preservation or rehabilitation plan to DHPA for approval prior to beginning work. If approved rehabilitation expenses total $20,000, for example, a homeowner would qualify for a $4,000 tax credit. Work must be completed within a specified period, ranging from two to five years. If the credit exceeds a homeowner’s state tax liability, the remainder may be carried over for up to 15 years. The residential credit is subject to recapture by the state within five years of the work’s completion—triggered if the homeowner sells the property or completes any additional work that doesn’t meet the DHPA’s standards. With this credit, too, it pays to contact DHPA—and your accountant or tax attorney— well in advance.

For information about requirements of the federal Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit, Indiana Residential Historic Rehabilitation Credit contact:

Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology

402 West Washington Street, Room 274 Indianapolis, IN 46204

317-232-1646

in.gov/dnr/historic

This ordinance simply enables the mayor to appoint a commission which will propose local historic districts (in some cases, a single structure) over which it has influence. Terre Haute city council (an elected body) has final approval over these. There are checks and balances built into the process.

The commission will create its own standards based on the ordinance. Commissions have leeway in determining which items they will restrict (e.g., many ordinances, including this one, have a provision for excluding paint color from review. Sec 10-194.4 c).

Commissions in practice tend to approve the vast majority of reviews they undertake. In many cities, the proportion approved is 95% or higher, and most applications are approved at the staff level and don’t even advance to a commission hearing.

(See: https://www.lafayette.in.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=133)

Also keep in mind, the commission only has jurisdiction over alterations visible from the public view. Interior modifications are not covered.

The ordinance has a built-in appeals process with judicial review for property owners who disagree with a commission decision.

The ordinance does not prohibit general maintenance— replacing existing infrastructure with in-kind materials is perfectly fine.

This ordinance is not coming from a community; it is taken directly from Indiana state code and matches ordinances in nearly 60 other Indiana communities word-for-word.

The template language is designed to make the ordinance legally defensible. Tinkering with it opens up the city to lawsuits. 

This ordinance does not implement restrictions overnight. Far from it. It only creates a commission, and the commission has to propose districts over which it has influence. City council has final approval over these.

If you look at other communities with similar ordinances, the areas protected are quite limited. According to our regional director for Indiana Landmarks, Tommy Kleckner, rarely will you see more than 5-7% of historic properties in a community protected with local designation. This is because the process for designating a district is intensive, providing for early public notice, public comment throughout the process, and final approval from city council. In other Indiana communities, local historic districts tend to be very small, or limited to single properties. Look at New Albany, Crawfordsville, Vincennes, or Evansville for examples of districting in practice.

Property maintenance is one issue, but it is far from the only issue. Preservationists are also concerned with the architectural integrity of a structure. A house can be well maintained and still detract from the historic district if its original features have been compromised through cheap or inappropriate remodeling.

It is true that a large percentage of housing stock in Terre Haute meets the age requirement to be designated under this ordinance. However, the process for creating local historic districts is complex, making designation on a large scale challenging. A preservation commission would have to prioritize, and neighborhoods already on the National Register of Historic Places (Farrington’s Grove, Collett Park, Ohio Boulevard) will be far stronger candidates for designation than unsurveyed ones. 

Many commissions designate single structures at a far higher rate than whole neighborhoods. In Terre Haute, for example, downtown landmarks like the courthouse or the Indiana Theater would be likely candidates for single-site historic districts. Landmark houses in residential areas could be protected similarly without necessarily designating the whole neighborhood.

Progress is subjective. This ordinance regulates development to encourage progress that is respectful of a historic area’s context. In practice, historic districts with local protection do not experience lower levels of development. 

In the context of downtown, it’s worth keeping in mind that historic structures represent a small minority of properties. If every historic building downtown were protected, there would still be a lot of land available for new development. 

Maintaining a stock of historic buildings contributes much to local vitality. “Buildings of diverse vintage and small scale provide flexible, affordable space for entrepreneurs launching new businesses and serve as attractive settings for new restaurants and locally owned shops. They offer diverse housing choices that attract younger residents and create human-scaled places for walking, shopping, and social interaction.” “Older, Smaller, Better”; National Trust

It is not like a HOA. This is a public commission, appointed by the mayor, which must follow city code as written and faces checks on its power via the city council. There are no dues involved.

Because accommodations like wheelchair ramps fall under exterior modifications, a commission would have the authority to review the design. However, in practice, commissions do not obstruct the installation of needed accommodations. Structures like wheelchair ramps rarely impact the historic integrity of buildings when added to exteriors, and they are approved in historic districts all the time.