Trouble by the Bay

It's always a challenge to read about preservation issues when they are covered by "main stream" media because the really critical questions seem never to get asked, much less answered. In this article in the New York Times, residents of stunning historic neighborhoods in San Francisco are reported to be rebelling against the requirements associated with repair and renovation work taking place in existing historic districts. So much so, that there is fear it will undermine politically an on-going effort to protect many more nearby neighborhoods and structures. As preservation efforts are almost always grass roots efforts of the local residents, one can only wonder what has happened to bring about this sort of rebellion. Gleaning what I can from the article, I note the following hints:

• There is a stated desire to ease the provisions of the Secretary of the Interiors Standards, with no indication those standards have been augmented with more stringent local provisions, or even that their interpretation or application has been especially narrow.
• Among the modifications mentioned as likely to encounter resistance from those reviewing and enforcing the preservation district restrictions are window replacement and extending new garages into the building setback line established by the original structures. Such issues are among the most common and familiar to those working with historic districts.
• The high cost of conformance is mentioned. One again, a concern voiced repeatedly by those working withing historic districts.

I am not there, but from this article I expect we have come across an example of:

The Preservation Generation Gap

It works something like this; an historic neighborhood sits in need of stabilization and investment. Urban Pioneer types come in using the stability and predictability of historic preservation provisions as an important tool to improve the neighborhood's apprearance, liveability and, of course, property values. This wave of residents seeks to reclaim the appeal that the neighborhood was once thought to have.

Judging from the article, this has been achieved. These neighborhoods are apparently successful by anyone's standards; architecturally engaging, well cared for and valuable. They are so nice that a new generation of residents seeks them out, residents who fully appreciate the beautiful neighborhood that has been created but who may not have a real feel for how it got that way. The value of the preservation component is substantially lost on them.  Specifically because the neighborhood is so successful and subsequently so expensive, this  new generation tends to be highly educated, financially successful, politically active and used to achieving success on their own terms. "Sure this is a beautiful neighborhood, and it will be even better when I .........."

In this way, a neighborhood might very well choke on its own success. A case that bears watching.