On April 27, 2011, the A-Engrossed version of House Bill 3516 was published with a legislative recommendation to pass a bill that includes amendments for the protection of federally and locally designated historic properties and districts. Earlier posts on the progress of the bill and the HPLO’s concerns with the initial text…

Good infill, bad infill; surface lots, parking garages; condos, skinny houses. With 120 National Register historic districts across Oregon, new construction provides both opportunities and challenges to the continuity and health of our state’s most historic areas.  While some historic districts have seen almost no change in building stock since their periods of historic significance, others have seen drastic infilling of lots and wholesale replacement of contributing historic buildings in…

For those following the permit request to demolish the National Register listed Dr. Pierce Barn, the application was heard at the Cottage Grove Historic Landmark Commission on Monday, April 18. With a staff report urging the delay of demolition, the Landmark Commission followed suit by unanimously voting to stay the granting of a demolition permit for 90 days.…

This Monday, April 18, the Cottage Grove Historic Landmark Commission will be considering an application to demolish the Dr. Pierce’s Barn. Those of you who have seen the barn in person or in photograph know that it isn’t just a barn: it’s an advertising barn!

Since the beginning of the 2011 legislative season, the HPLO has been tracking House Bill 3516, a proposal to exempt photovoltaic installations from local design review. As originally written, the legislation would have allowed solar panels to pop up on historic resources around the state without the ability for local review boards to uphold the integrity of buildings and districts designated as historic on the National Register or local landmark/conservation lists. The efforts of the HPLO…

At their weekly Friday Forum last week, the City Club of Portland hosted an interesting panel discussion on disaster preparedness and seismic safety. Although historic buildings, per se, were not discussed in any great detail, the risk factors for individual homes and unreinforced masonry structures definitely were. With some emergent research and a question by yours truly, it made for an interesting conversation.…