Preservationists often talk about the value of older buildings – their ability to convey a sense of place and a connection to the past, their link to economic development, and also their quality of construction. And, to be sure, the cost of actually finding original building materials means that such structures can simply not be replicated.

There’s a down side to this value, however, particularly in a market where the prices of certain commodities are going literally “through the roof.” With recent increases in the prices of some materials, including copper, bronze and aluminum, the result has been a corresponding rise in the level of thefts nationwide. According to this article in the most recent edition of US News & World Report, communities are combating rampant theft with measures such as scrap dealer registration, alert systems, and heftier fines and penalties.

This week, the epidemic hit in Elyria, where vandals took a substantial amount of copper, among other damage, at an unused historic train station. With total damage of some $70,000, law enforcement officials have decided to respond with increased video surveillance and increased lighting. In Cleveland Heights, law enforcement recently broke a copper theft ring that actually used foreclosure lists to pinpoint potential victims.

The Ohio Senate is now taking a look at legislation aimed at curbing the increasing problem, however some local officials say that the measure not only does not go far enough, but it also preempts their own prevention efforts.

Anyway you look at it, its an excellent time to “batten down the hatches” and maintain a vigilant watch over your historic building’s historic building elements.

Photo: Copper Dome, Clark County Courthouse, Springfield -- Cindy Funk/Creative Commons License

The recent severe flooding afflicting much of Ohio has been particularly acute in Tuscarawas County, where waters have threatened historic Zoar Village, one of Ohio’s most significant and intact historic sites. Zoar was founded by a group of religious dissidents calling themselves “the Society of Separatists of Zoar,” who had escaped from persecution in Germany. Several original Society buildings remain in Zoar, which was founded in 1818; nine of the buildings are restored and are operated by the Ohio Historical Society.

Because of the threat, “operation gravel blanket” involved an emergency water release from Dover Dam, as well as extensive buttressing of the Zoar Levee. Unfortunately, several homes in Dover were partially flooded as a result of the action taking, according to this article, a “hit to save Zoar.” And, despite these best efforts, several of the structures in Zoar have flooded basements and at least one has suffered structural damage, according to the Ohio Historical Society, which is maintaining a careful eye on the situation.

Click here to visit Historic Zoar Village.online, click here for a virtual tour of the community hosted by the Zoar Community Association, and click here for more coverage of the flood control efforts.

Photo:  House, Zoar Village -- wahig/Creative Commons License

There’s a real problem when it comes to the epidemic of Design Review Boards, Historic Preservation Commissions, Boards of Zoning Appeals and City Councils approving demolition of structures in historic districts because they aren’t individually “historic” enough. These decisions completely ignore the power of context – both its positive impact in maintaining and enhancing property values when present, and the waste of time and resources when context is allowed to disappear arbitrarily.

Case in point – the recent decision of the Olmstead Falls Architectural Board of Review to deny a Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of a 1920s era bungalow house in a local historic district, a decision then subsequently overturned by City Council (see this news story). The owner had petitioned for permission to demolish based on the simple reason that renovation was going to “…cost too much.”

According to at least one Council member, the vote to overturn was based in part on the fact that two ordinances apparently give the ABR two sets of powers – one allowing it only to delay demolition, and the other actually allowing the Board to disallow demolition. Apparently also at issue, however, was the fact that the house was not sufficiently “…historically significant.” The Board of Review was pleased that Council did place a moratorium on further demolitions in order that they might review the issue of competing ordinances.

As correctly pointed out by Board members, the real issue is not one of competing ordinances – it is the realization that allowing someone to demolish a structure in a historic district based on a subjective belief that renovation is deemed “too expensive” not only places the entire National Register Historic District at risk, but it rends the integrity of the design review process, and renders the endeavor a waste of time and money – and possible invalid as well. The value of each contributing building in a district is intertwined with that of its neighbors, and cannot be divorced from it.

Typically, under applicable Ohio law, the standard for legal actions based on “takings” – governmental regulatory overreach – is the deprivation of “…all reasonable economic use” of property, a standard which was clearly not met in Olmstead Falls.

MyHomesteadOhio will keep an eye on the progress of the Olmstead Falls Ordinance, and will report back in a future posting.

Photo:  Typical 1920s bungalow -- MGShelton/Creative Commons License

Yesterday, the Westcott House Foundation in Springfield announced its foray into the world of online social networking. Through a press release, the Foundation stated, “..our goal is to use these websites to expand our network of contacts and to hopefully spread the experience of The Westcott House to those who would not otherwise know its existence.”

The Westcott House, constructed in 1908, is noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s only Prairie Style commission built in Ohio and is, in fact, one of the most important of his designs. After years of neglect, and placement on Preservation Ohio’s List of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites, the house was the subject of a multi-year, multi-million dollar restoration project. The house now welcomes visitors from its perch overlooking Springfield’s amazing East High Street.

For its initial venture into online marketing, the Westcott House Foundation has established pages on both Flickr and YouTube. On the former, which can be accessed by clicking here, online visitors can view photo documentation from three different Foundation outreach and visitor experience programs. On the Foundation’s YouTube site, which can be accessed here, you can view a video documenting the story of the house and its restoration. Another video profiles a recent collaboration between the Foundation and two of Wright’s other masterpieces – Fallingwater and Unity Temple.

For information on the Westcott House and events taking place there, their excellent website is a must-see; click here to visit.

Photo:  Westcott House, Springfield -- Doug Miller/Creative Commons License

Its time again for the annual get-together of aficionados of Ohio’s outstanding collection of historic barns, as the Ohio Barn Conference takes place from March 28 through March 30.

Sponsored by the group “Friends of Ohio Barns,” the conference will feature workshops and sessions on a wide variety of topics, including adaptive re-use and wood identification. Also included will be a tour of barns in Clark and Champaign Counties, a panel discussion on hands-on barn repair, a silent auction and much more.

For details on the event, and for online registration (though the early-bird discount has already passed), click here.

Photo:  Former Mail Pouch barn, Meigs County -- jimmywayne22/Creative Commons License

As previously covered by MyHometownOhio, the pilot program of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit was thrown into some question late last year when a press release from the Ohio Department of Development referred to it a “120 million dollar program.” When that happened, several individuals involved in the effort, including legislators, began to discuss the meaning of that phrase, and openly questioned whether or not an announced second round of applications would actually be accepted this Summer.  As it turns out, not only will there not be a Round Two, but several pending Round One applications will not be approved.

An overview of state historic preservation tax credits prepared by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (click here, and then click on “state-by-state list of tax incentives”) shows that most states do have tax credit caps. These are either placed on the size of the credit per taxpayer (Colorado, for instance, has a credit limit of $30,000) or on the total state outlay (Kentucky, for instance, limits the total awards to $3 million annually). Several states have both types.

The challenge in Ohio is that the program was that when the program was announced, no cap on individual credits or the total program was included. As a result, projects have been submitted in the first year of applications that, if successful, exceed that $120 million limit – and the second year of applications has not yet begun.

Today, in a press release announcing the award of several more credits, the Ohio Department of Development announced that, in essence, the pilot program was now officially closed. In part, it states:

“The tax credits for applications approved to date total approximately $123 million, exceeding the amount budgeted for the program. When the program was designed by the legislature, the Legislative Service Commission prepared a fiscal analysis estimating its total cost would be between $42 million and $94 million for all projects approved over a two-year period. At the same time, the Ohio Department of Taxation estimated that the total cost of the program could be as much as $150 million over two years. Using these estimates as a guide, Ohio's Office of Budget and Management assumed for budgeting purposes that the total two-year program cost would be $120 million.

The tax credits for applications approved to date approximate the $120 million budgeted for the program. Following a review of four pending applications for low value projects to satisfy the statutory requirement that a mix of high and low value projects be approved, no other applications will be approved for the remainder of the two-year program. If all pending applications were approved, the total cost of the program to the State would be $214,804,261, exceeding the $120 million budgeted for the program by approximately $90,967,788.”

The application itself has been removed from the ODOD website.

Somewhat ironically, this comes the same week as news came that the National Trust has received a $100,000 Gund Foundation grant to evaluate the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit and to “…determine its economic impact.”

Photo: Ohio Statehouse -- fusionpanda/Creative Commons License

Three months into 2008, and here’s a quick look at items making news in Ohio preservation and revitalization circles.

According to the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, a one-room schoolhouse (pictured here) constructed in 1910 is slated for demolition in Avon (in metro Cleveland). The location is part of the site for a planned shopping center complex; local officials are shrugging their collective shoulders and saying that they cannot assist in preservation efforts.

Also in Cleveland, the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine Building in the University Circle area is now headed for demolition, after the University Circle Design Review Committee granted demolition permission to the Cleveland Clinic. The multi-story piece of local history will be replaced by a 206-car parking lot, according to the Plain Dealer.

While we shared recently that it is hard to say anything new about the unfolding Seneca County Courthouse tragedy in Tiffin – however, we stand corrected. In a masterfully-written editorial entitled “2 minutes to midnight,” the Toledo Blade has called on Governor Strickland to intervene and make a positive difference in the situation. It’s a great read.

Merion Village, a neighborhood on Columbus’ near South side, is contemplating applying to become one of the city’s new conservation neighborhood districts. Columbus City Council passed legislation recently creating the program, and authorizing three pilot neighborhoods. Click here to access our previous story on this initiative – and here to learn about Merion Village.

In an interesting move, the City of Solon is considering plans to dismantle its Architectural Board of Review. Properties will still be subject to the ordinance, however it would be administered by a more informal committee composed of Planning Department workers and other city staff.

No one can say that Upper Arlington is rushing into a historic preservation ordinance. The final reading of the proposed legislation has been delayed until August 25, so that a task force can have ample time to review the measure.

The City of Massillon has applied for a Certified Local Government grant to fund a structural report on the 1894 Five Oaks Historic Home.

The trial in the lawsuit concerning demolition of the former Galion High School in Galion is now set for early April, with the Judge encouraging the parties to come to a "win-win" solution.

Photo: Former Galion High School, Galion - Preservation Ohio File Photo