For nearly three years, the historic designation process has yielded a tremendous amount of information and prompted passionate discussion. These conversations have also revealed misconceptions and misinformation about the Munjoy Hill Historic District.
As the district heads to a city council vote, we’re here to clear things up with some of the most important facts about the proposed District.
1. The Munjoy Hill Historic District was initiated by Portland City Council and city staff in June 2018 in response to residents concerned about development pressure, and to fulfill preservation, sustainability, and affordable housing goals central to Portland’s Comprehensive Plan.
(Source: City of Portland Staff Memo July 1, 2020: While the zoning amendments, demolition delay ordinance and revised R6 design standards and design review process were adopted by the Council in June, the Council was not yet in a position to make a financial decision on staff's proposal to create a historic district on Munjoy Hill. As staff explained, Portland's historic preservation ordinance requires that detailed documentation and analysis be conducted in order to delineate district boundaries and make the case for designation. As of June 2018, staff was simply seeking the Council's general support for moving forward with consideration of a district. With the Council's support, the work got underway late last summer.)
2. More than 80% of public comments received by the city so far are IN FAVOR of the proposed District. (Source: Public Comment Received To Date)
3. The proposed district protects buildings that reflect the story of Portland’s most historically diverse neighborhood. Over the past 180 years, the Hill has been home to a robust Black community and immigrants from Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean – the District will preserve the stories of communities underrepresented in Portland’s other historic designations. (Source: Munjoy Hill Historic District Development & Context Statement April 2019)
The buildings on Munjoy Hill represent several major periods of significance (1850s-1930s) in Portland’s development and history:
Expansion of the Eastern Waterfront
Rebuilding after the Great Fire of 1866
Turn of the 20th century Immigration
Portland’s Black History
4. Historic designation is NOT a factor included in property valuation, and historic districts have no impact on property taxes. (Source: City of Portland Tax Assessor Chris Huff)
5. Portland’s Historic Preservation ordinance does NOT place costly or onerous requirements on homeowners. The regulations are much looser than in many other cities – nobody’s going to regulate your paint colors! Only exterior changes visible from the street are regulated, in-kind replacements of modern materials are allowed, and the ordinance doesn’t apply to interior changes or building use. Decks, garages, and solar panels have all been approved. (Source: Portland Historic Preservation Program FAQ)
Population Density in Portland’s Historic Districts
6. New housing and increased density is possible in historic districts - 46% of Portland’s new housing units added in the past five years were built in an area subject to Historic Preservation Board review. Accessory dwelling units, additions, new units within existing buildings, and new infill housing are allowed in local historic districts. Portland’s historic districts include some of the city’s densest neighborhoods. (Source: Portland, Maine Population Density, 2018 American Community Survey, US Census Bureau)
Click here to read the Standards for Review of New Construction in Portland’s Historic Preservation Ordinance.
Click here to learn more about housing and community development in Portland.
7. Historic Districts support affordable housing. Demolition and building new is expensive, and older housing stock is rarely replaced with affordable units.
8. Historic districts make buildings eligible for state and federal tax credits that make many affordable housing projects possible. Greater Portland Landmarks, along with other organizations across the country, are advocating for technical changes to tax credit programs that will make them easier to pair with low-income housing tax credits.
Click here to read the new Maine Historic Tax Credit Economic Impacts Report.
Click here to read 24 Reasons Historic Preservation is Good for Your Community from PlaceEconomics.
9. Building reuse fights climate change and supports local and state sustainability goals. Reuse is greener than demolition and new construction - it takes an average of 20-30 years for a new energy efficient building to compensate for the initial carbon impacts from construction. (Source: The Greenest Building: Qualifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse)
10. The Munjoy Hill Conservation Overlay District is a separate land use tool that was implemented in 2018 with the intention that it would work in conjunction with a future historic district. As with most new zoning, the city will audit the overlay and make adjustments, probably as part of the planned city-wide zoning re-write, known as ReCode Phase II. (Source: ReCode Portland)