Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 20, JUNE 15, 2009, THE ISLANDER
Preserving our
history... of respect
for property rights
By Paul Jacob
As politics pits a property owner in
Montgomery County, Maryland, and a
county councilman against the coun
ty's Historic Preservation Commission
and other do-gooders, Washington Post
reporter Ann E. Marimow asks, “Who
should decide what is historic?”
It's the wrong question.
Still, the answer is simple: Ameri
cans are free to individually decide
what they deem to be historic. So
are committees and commissions and
preservationist societies of all sorts.
They just shouldn't be able to control
someone else's property because of its
historical significance.
The more important question: Whose
property is it?
The plot of earth at the center of this
conflict — the locus of the focus, if you
will — belongs to Sherwood and Hazel
Duvall. In 1933, at the tender age of
14, Sherwood's father passed away and
Sherwood took over running the farm.
He worked the place for 60 years. Now,
at 90, he rents tracts of land to local
farmers to bring in income.
For five years, Duvall has been fight
ing the Montgomery County Historic
Preservation Commission’s determina
tion that his farm should be a “pro
tected” historic site. County regulators
say the set of farm buildings on his
property are historically and architec
turally significant.
“There’s nothing historical about it,”
Duvall counters. “It is just old.”
Duvall wants to tear down several
dilapidated buildings on his property.
The buildings are so old that to keep
them standing requires repairs and
maintenance costing thousands of dol
lars per year. Plus, Duvall planned to
replace one two-story farmhouse with a
newly built home for his grandson.
The county won’t let him.
Last year, it seemed that Duvall
had won. The county council decided
not to include his property on the list of
parcels to be “protected” by the county
for historical significance. But he later
found his property on a new list of
“potentially significant” sites. And still
under the thumb of similar land-use
regulations.
Montgomery County is chock full of
historic places. More than 400 sites and
21 neighborhoods have been “taken
over” by regulators due to the pro
claimed uniqueness of the site’s history
or architecture.
Currently, anyone can nominate a
historic site or district for inclusion in
the county’s Master Plan for Historic
Preservation. The property must then
meet only one of the following criteria:
1. Character, interest or value as
part of the development, heritage or
culture of the county, state or country.
2. Be of a significant historical
event.
3. Be identified with a person or
group who influenced society.
4. Exemplify the cultural, economic,
social, political or historic heritage of
the county and its communities.
5. The architecture of the historic
resource embodies the distinctive char
acteristic of a type, period or method of
construction.
6. The architecture represents the
work of a master, possesses high artis
tic values or represents a significant
and distinguishable entity whose com
ponents may lack individual distinc
tion.
7. The architecture represents an
established and familiar visual feature
of the neighborhood, community or
county.
These criteria are open to very broad
interpretation.
Landowners also complain that the
county fails to inform them when their
property is being considered for historic
designation and that, once so desig
nated, obtaining work permits from
the Historic Preservation Commission
in order to make alterations to their
homes or businesses is both slow and
expensive.
After listening to months of testimo
ny from residents upset with the power
(and resultant behavior) of county offi
cials, Montgomery County Councilman
Michael J. Knapp introduced the His
toric Preservation Amendment (HPA)
with the goal of making the preserva
tion process easier to understand. The
amendment will have a hearing this
week.
Knapp argues that his revision “will
force the Historic Preservation Com
mission to enter into dialogue with
the property owners. We had to have
four committee meetings because the
Historic Preservation Commission said
they sent a letter but never actually
spoke with people.”
Knapp’s legislation removes “high
artistic value” as a criterion. He says,
“There’s no good way to get a handle on
what makes it subjectively artistic.”
Under Knapp’s proposal, if the prop
erty owner does not consent to having
his property designated as part of the
so-called Master Plan for Historic Pres
ervation, a finding that the property
satisfies at least three of the historic
criteria is required and the designation
must be approved by no less than four
of the five Planning Board members.
Preservationists are fighting Knapp,
of course. They claim history will be
lost if they don’t have the power to grab
control of more and more property. The
recently deceased head of Montgomery
Preservation, Inc., said of Knapp’s bill,
“He’s basically working to eliminate
our historic preservation ordinance.”
Their big fear is that a win for
property owners in this one Maryland
county might spread elsewhere. We
can hope for both outcomes.
Property rights should trump this
hyper-nostalgic land-grabbing. But, in
addition to property rights, there’s a
SGHS Nurse Executive
comes to CCGA
Gary R. Colberg, FACHE, President
and CEO of Southeast Georgia Health
System and Dr. Valerie A. Hepburn,
President of the College of Coastal
Georgia have announced that Mrs.
Ellen K. Hamilton, RN, MSN, FACHE,
Vice President and Chief Nursing Offi
cer for Southeast Georgia Health Sys
tem, has accepted the position of Nurse
human element here, too. The stress
of this ordeal has meant a number of
sleepless nights for 90-year old Duvall
and a worsening of his high blood pres
sure.
I love history. And I support pres
ervation efforts. Just not preservation
by force.
If one wants to preserve what one
deems to be historic, the process is
really easy: buy it.
If. .. the owner is willing to sell. □
Executive in Residence at the College
beginning July 1. In her new role,
Hamilton will relocate to the College
campus and report to Colberg and Dr.
Jean Mistretta, the Southeast Georgia
Health System Distinguished Chair
of Nursing at the College of Coastal
Georgia.
“Mrs. Hamilton’s primary respon
sibility is to ensure that the College
and Health System continue to inte
grate educational opportunities not
only for Nursing but for the Health
and Science programs,” said Colberg.
Mrs. Hamilton’s responsibilities will
also include teaching leadership and
management classes as well as devel
opment of health services for students
and faculty.
This continued collaboration is a
unique opportunity for Mrs. Hamilton,
Southeast Georgia Health System, the
College of Coastal Georgia, and most
importantly for the surrounding com
munities. □
marketed by
FOX RUN REAL ESTATE
912.265.0147 *912.230.3236
