A project documenting the existence and analyzing the content of American local preservation law.
The Legal Constructs Lab has completed the first-ever investigation of where local preservation laws have been adopted, why they have been adopted, and what they say - with findings that will inform preservation policy at the local, state, and federal levels.
All fifty states enable local government regulation of historic properties. Pursuant to this authority, localities across the country have chosen to enact historic preservation ordinances that regulate one or more designated historic districts within their jurisdiction. With the proliferation of these ordinances, people interact with preservation law predominantly at the local level, through historic commissions that opine on proposed rehab projects.
"Regulating History," an article accepted for publication by the Minnesota Law Review, peels back the curtain, revealing for the first time the broad reach and deep control of local historic preservation regulation over private property and by extension our built heritage. It offers a meticulous census of over 3,500 local ordinances, comprehensively analyzes enabling authorities across all fifty states, explores the extent to which demographic and political factors correlate with local adoption, and delves deeply into the content of over 300 local ordinances. Just as importantly as this comprehensive analysis, the article fills a gap in the sparse literature on local administrative law, using new empirical data to illuminate the commonality of particular procedural and substantive regulatory levers; the complicated dynamics between federal, state, and local governments; and the ambition and motives of local regulators.
The article provides the first nationwide empirical basis for current debates about local historic district commissions, proving that these commissions are both surprisingly common and surprisingly influential over private property. It also offers insights with practical implications for the preservation field and theoretical implications for administrative legal theory.