MORE DETAILS: At this public meeting, the Hammond Historic District Commission will officially introduce and discuss the details of a Hammond Central Historic Structures Survey. This survey will record data on approximately 1,400 structures in Hammond. Survey work will be done in conjunction with Kelly Calhoun of Calhoun Preservation. Information gathered will follow the Louisiana Historic Structures Inventory Form. To see a sample of this form, CLICK HERE.
The data collected will result in getting clarity on what Hammond's historic building stock looks like and will document historic structures for posterity that were previously undocumented. Ultimately, the intention for this survey data is to modify the boundaries of the current Hammond National Register Historic District and make it larger. This is to allow more income-earning properties in Hammond to be eligible for historic tax credits. National Register Historic Districts have no restrictions or guidelines. Check out THIS FACT SHEET if you're curious about how National Register Historic Districts differ from Local Historic Districts. To summarize though...
What the National Register DOES
- PROVIDES recognition of a property's significance in history, architecture, archaeology, or engineering.
- PROVIDES a moral obligation, although not a legal one, to preserve the property.
- PROVIDES limited protection when a property is endangered by a federally funded or licensed action. The following web site provides more information about this process: http://www.achp.gov/usersguide.html.
- PROVIDES the owner of an income producing property (commercial or rental residential) the opportunity to apply for Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits for a "Certified Rehabilitation."
- PROVIDES the owner of a private residence with the opportunity to apply for a State Residential Tax Credit, if a rehabilitation is certified.
- PROVIDES the owner the opportunity to apply for the Louisiana Department of Economic Development's Restoration Tax Abatement Program.
- PROVIDES the owner the opportunity to apply for matching grants-in-aid for restoration/rehabilitation (when funding is available).
What the National Register DOES NOT do
- DOES NOT restrict the use of the property. (For example, an owner can continue to live in a listed house, convert a listed property to another use, continue to farm ground where a listed archaeological site may be located, conduct new construction on the site, etc.)
- DOES NOT restrict the sale of a property; unless under the jurisdiction of a federal agency.
- DOES NOT require continued maintenance of private property.
- DOES NOT require that any specific guidelines be followed in a rehabilitation (unless the owner is using federal funds or rehabilitation tax credits). For example, the owner of a listed property may paint his building any color he chooses.
- DOES NOT require the owner to give tours of the property or open it to the public.
- DOES NOT guarantee funds for restoration.
- DOES NOT require or guarantee perpetual maintenance of the property.
- DOES NOT provide a National Register plaque or a state historic marker for the property (although property owners are eligible to acquire such markers at their own expense).
Please attend the meeting if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the survey parameters! Check out an approximate map of intended area HERE.
The meeting will be held in City Council Chambers, 312 E. Charles St., at 5:30 pm on Wednesday September 27th.
