MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ian Johnson, Associate Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer // ian.johnson@oregon.gov // Desk: (503) 986-0678
Chris Havel, Associate Director // chris.havel@oregon.gov // Desk: (503) 986-0722 Cell: (503) 931-2590
Salem OR – The Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has determined that the opponents of the proposed Eastmoreland Historic District (District) in Portland submitted enough objections to prevent listing the District in the National Register of Historic Places. According to federal rules for the program, if the majority of the private property owners within a district object to the listing the district cannot be listed in the National Register. Following federal guidelines, the SHPO resubmitted the nomination to the National Park Service (NPS) on April 25, 2018 for an official Determination of Eligibility. The official decision to list or not list rests with the NPS.
The nomination document is online at http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/HCD/NATREG/Pages/Eastmoreland-Historic-District.aspx .
The SHPO counted a total of 7,188 private property owners. Nearly 5,000 of these were recently-formed trusts that submitted objections. Federal rules provide that individuals and legal entities that submit notarized statements declaring their ownership of private property within the district are added to the list of property owners, and qualify to object. A total of 5,952 objections were received, or 82.8% of the total number of owners. According to federal rules, if more than 50% of the owners in a district submit objections, the property cannot be listed.
The original nomination for the District was received in February 2017 and was reviewed by the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation, a volunteer group of people with interest and skill in Oregon history. The committee recommended listing Eastmoreland in the National Register based on its historic qualities. Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Christine Curran agreed and the nomination was submitted to the NPS in May 2017, but Curran asked that the nomination be returned to the office due to unresolved problems determining the number of owners in the proposed district boundary. Without an accurate count of owners, the SHPO was unable to calculate the percentage of objections. The nomination was returned in June 2017. Federal rules did not clearly answer how to resolve complications arising from deceased owners and trusts, among other circumstances, so Oregon SHPO staff requested guidance from federal and state officials. The SHPO received guidance from the NPS in November 2017 and advice from the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) in January 2018.
In March and April 2018, the SHPO office reviewed previously-submitted objections using the guidance from the NPS and DOJ, providing owners an opportunity to correct errors. Objections received throughout the entire process were tallied and provided to the NPS for review. Federal rules allow for new objections any time until the NPS makes a final decision.
The National Park Service met its legal public notice requirements when the nomination was submitted in May 2017. Now that the State Historic Preservation Office has submitted the updated nomination, the NPS may take action at any time. NPS will accept additional public comment and new objections until the agency makes a final decision.
Send all correspondence to:
Attn: J. Paul Loether, Deputy Keeper
National Park Service National Register of Historic Places
1849 C St. NW, Mail Stop 7228
Washington, D.C. 20240
Send a copy to the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office at ORSHPO.NationalRegisterProgram@oregon.gov .
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