The Downtown Plan: Are Historic Incentives Enough?

If you haven't read the latest update of the Historic Resources part of Burlingame's Downtown Plan, take a look.

On November 2, there was a significant update to the section covering Historic Resources.  It's interesting to note that this section was updated the day before the election.  A couple of other things happened on that same day:

• The San Mateo County Times reported that 1540 Newlands had no historical significance, per Page & Turnbull.
• The Daily Post reported that the San Mateo County Association of Realtors had rescinded their endorsement of Cathy Baylock based on her actions regarding 1540 Newlands and Burlingame Park.

What were the November 2 updates to the Historic Resources section of the Downtown Plan?  The major updates were in the area of incentives for owners of historic properties.  The message is getting through that using CEQA alone to force the historic issue, without broad-based community support, is a bad idea.  That's a good thing.

Now, let's take a closer look at what the proposals might mean for property owners in Burlingame.  The incentives mentioned are:

• Voluntary Local Register
• State Historical Building Code
• Mills Act
  
• Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits
• Reduced Permit Fees for Historic Renovation
• Reduced Parking Requirements for Adaptive Reuse
• Design Exceptions
• Facade Restoration Grants
  

These are all admirable concepts, but there are major limitations that owners should be aware of before signing up for the proposed local register. 

The Voluntary Local Register will automatically trigger CEQA requirements for properties on the list, and if the proposed incentives aren't implemented before the register is established, that exposure will come at no benefit to property owners.

The State Historical Building Code may or may not be of benefit to property owners.  While it eases some restrictions; it imposes different restrictions.  Individual property owners should read the building codes carefully to decide whether this is an advantage or disadvantage for their specific situation.

The Mills Act, which is probably one of the most attractive incentives for owners who want to maintain and rehabilitate a historic property, is a contract process which Burlingame is currently not offering.   As noted in a previous post, San Francisco only has two active Mills contracts, though it has thousands of historic properties.  San Diego has hundreds of Mills contracts, but it also charges thousands of dollars in fees to initiate and administer the contracts.  It remains to be seen whether the Mills Act will be of benefit to Burlingame property owners, since so much hinges on the way it is set up by the local agency.


Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits:  Only ten projects in the entire state of California were certified to receive these tax credits in fiscal year 2008.  These are not easy to get.  To qualify for these tax credits,  at a minimum properties must be income-producing and must conform to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.  The Office of Historic Preservation reviews and audits proposed projects before approving them for preservation tax credits.  The review may include site visits, recommendations for alternative designs, construction solutions, or preservation techniques to ensure compliance.  The National Park Service also reviews such projects.  For the vast majority of properties, this is not an achievable incentive.


Local Incentives:  As for the rest of the proposed incentives (reduced permit fees for historic renovation, reduced parking requirements for adaptive reuse, design exceptions, and facade restoration grants),  they're a laudable concept -- and the devil is in the details.  You can bet that a city that is already strapped for cash will be reluctant to implement anything that may reduce the city coffers.  The incentives are far from guaranteed if implemented as stated. They will be decided on a case-by-case basis, and some carry the provision that owners must conform to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.  Take a look at these guidelines for interior spaces or windows to gain an idea of the types of restrictions and reviews you can expect.  Again, property owners considering volunteering for designation should carefully weigh any benefits of local incentives against their exposure to CEQA or federal regulations.


Finally, while incentives for historic preservation are a great idea and should be encouraged, Burlingame still has none of the best practices that other cities have implemented as part of their historic preservation process.