This page describes what a historic district is, the listing process, and the benefits and responsibilities of owning a listed property. Use the links below to navigate to specific information. This page will be updated regularly.
What is the North Buckman Historic District?
The Historic Buckman Association, a non-profit advocacy group of Buckman neighborhood residents, nominated the North Buckman Historic District for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
The proposed district includes 94 acres in Portland, Multnomah County, east of the Willamette River and is generally bounded by SE Akeney St. to the north, SE 20th Ave. to the east, SE Morrison St. to the south, and SE 12th Ave. to the west, with portions of blocks outside these boundaries included.
The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation’s official list of buildings, districts, structures, sites, and objects important to local, state, or national history. The program is run by the National Park Service in Washington DC and administered locally by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SPHO), an office of the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department.
A historic district is an area or neighborhood that has a concentration of buildings and associated landscape and streetscape features that are at least 50 years old or older. To be eligible for the Register the majority of the buildings in the district must maintain their historic appearance, or be “contributing,” and the district must be associated with an important aspect of the area’s history or collectively and/or be notable for its architecture or design.
The nomination argues that the North Buckman Historic District is notable because it reflects working- and middle-class housing types and patterns and urban development trends common during the city’s rapid expansion east of the Willamette River in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. A full copy of the draft nomination is below.
The nomination is submitted as an addendum to an existing document called a Multiple Property Document, or MPD, named “Portland Oregon’s Eastside Historic & Architectural Resources, 1850 to 1930,” that describes the history of Portland’s east side and why it is historically significant. Historic Buckman recently submitted a revision of the 1989 document to the National Park Service allowing historic districts to be listed. The amendment was accepted in November 2012. The document is not a nomination, and properties within the study area are not regulated in any way or eligible for state or federal grant and tax programs unless placed in the Register through the nomination process described below.
***UPDATE***
The Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (OR SHPO) sent the proposed North Buckman Historic District to the National Park Service (NPS) for review on May 16, 2013. Using Multnomah County Tax Assessor data provided by the City of Portland, the OR SHPO determined that the majority of the property owners objected to listing the District in the National Register of Historic Places. Should the National Park Service agree, the North Buckman Historic District will not be listed in the Register. A copy of the nomination, a memo from the OR SHPO to the Park Service describing how the owner count was determined, and the spreadsheets used to tally the number of owners and objections are included below.
Written comments and notarized objections may be submitted to NPS' through the agency's 45 calendar-day review period, estimated to end around July 3, 2013. Send all objections and correspondence to:
Carol Shull
Keeper of the National Register
USDOI National Park Service - Cultural Resources
1201 "Eye" Street NW, 8th Floor
Washington DC, 20005
Please copy the OR SHPO on all correspondence at the following address:
ATTN: Ian P. Johnson, Historian
Oregon State Parks, Heritage Programs
725 Summer St, NE, Suite C.
Salem, OR 97301
See below for further information on the nomination process.
Paper copies are available upon request
What is the Process?
A nomination to the National Register of Historic Places begins with the submission of the nomination document to the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office. A complete nomination for a historic district includes the nomination form, property list, maps, photos, and exhibits. Once received, SHPO staff reviews the document for completeness, and then provides the preparer with a memo, if needed, outlining required changes to meet the minimum standards set by the National Park Service and making suggestions to improve the document.
Nominations that meet the minimum standards are forwarded to the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP), a nine member governor-appointed body of citizens with expertise in fields relating to historic preservation. The nomination document is also provided to the City of Portland for comment. The City will hold a separate public hearing on the nomination.
At its meeting, the SACHP considers comments by local officials, staff, and interested citizens and recommends to the SHPO and the National Park Service to accept or reject a property for listing in the Register, or defer the nomination for future consideration. Only the National Park Service can list a property in the Register. A project timeline is below. As part of the process, local officials and the general public are invited to participate. The flowchart below demonstrates the process.
Project Timeline
November 1, 2012 – North Buckman Historic District submitted for initial review.
December 13, 2012 – Public notice published in The Oregonian announcing upcoming February
15th meeting.
December 17, 2012 – Written notification of the upcoming meeting provided to the City of Portland
and preparers.
January 24, 2012 - Second public notice published in The Oregonian announcing the upcoming
February 15th meeting. Press release sent to local print, radio, and TV news outlets.
Press release rescheduled from December 17, 2012.
Public notice rescheduled from January 10, 2013.
January 28, 2012 - Portland Historic Landmarks Commission held a public meeting at 1900
SW 4th Avenue, room 2500A, Portland to discuss the nomination.
February - Notice published in the Southeast Examiner announcing the upcoming
February 15th meeting.
February 4, 2013 – Press release sent to local print, radio, and TV news outlets announcing
the upcoming February 15th meeting.
February 7, 2013 - Historic Buckman Association hosted public meeting to discuss the district
nomination at the Multnomah County Building, Board Room, 501 SE Hawthorne, PDX, at 7pm.
February 15, 2013 – SACHP Reviewed the nomination and recommended that the document be
forwarded to the National Park Service for nomination.
May 16, 2013 – The nomination document was sent to the National Park Service
July 10, 2013 – The National Park Service will determine if the nomination form is complete
and if there is sufficient support to list the district in the Register. Objections may be
submitted up until the day NPS renders its final decision. Notification of NPS' decision will
be posted on this website.
What Does Listing Mean?
The SHPO and the federal government do not regulate private property unless the owner chooses to take advantage of federal and state tax incentives or grants. Local county and city governments, however, are required by state law to protect properties listed in the National Register. Because local laws vary from place to place, property owners or those looking to purchase properties listed in the National Register should contact Liza Mickle at the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability Services at (503) 823-7666 or for more information:
how to list a property
--> Oregon Grants - SHPO webpage that describes grants available to owners of National Register
properties and other cultural resources and institutions
National Register properties
How Do I Object to or Support Listing in the Register?
Owners of private property may object to the listing by submitting a notarized statement certifying that the individual is the sole or partial owner of the property and that the object to the listing to the SHPO. The proposed district will not be listed if a majority of the property owners object. Supporters do not need to submit a notarized statement.
Each owner of private property in a district has one “vote” regardless of how many properties or what part of the one property that individual owns, and regardless of whether the property contributes to the significance of the proposed district. An owner is defined as an entity (individual, partnership, corporation) holding fee simple title to property. Divisions of government, including schools and fire districts, may not object to listing.
The right to object is described more fully in the federal regulations governing the National Register program, 36 CFR 60.6.
If you previously submitted a notarized letter of objection, you should have received a letter from our office noting that these objections are not valid, and must be signed and resubmitted during the comment period, beginning Sunday, December 16, 2012 through the approximately July 3rd when the National Park Service makes a formal decision on the nomination. Forms are available below.
Letters of support may be submitted by email or regular mail. Original signed and notarized objections must be mailed.
Objections and Letters Received by the Oregon SHPO:
Objections and letters of support are posted every 5 to 10 working days.
Subsequent postings do not include the previous week's correspondence.
January 15, 2013
--> Letters of Support - none received to date.
January 25, 2013
--> Letters of Support - none received to date.
February 1, 2013
--> Letters of Support - none recieved to date.
February 8, 2013
February 19, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
February 26, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
March 5, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
March 14, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
March 29, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
April 5, 2013
April 12, 2013
April 22, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
April 26, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
May 3, 2013
May 9, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
May 20, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
June 7, 2013
--> Letters of support - no new documents to post.
Who Supports or Opposes the Nomination?
As a courtesy, the Oregon SHPO has posted links and contact information for Historic Buckman, the nomination proponent, and Keep Buckman Free, an opposition group. Both are neighborhood-based organizations. The Oregon SHPO is not responsible for the content of either organization’s websites, mailings, or other communications.
Where Do I Get More Information?
Questions about the information on this page
Ian Johnson, Historian
Oregon State Historic Preservation Office
Questions about City of Portland land-use regulations and the local listing process
Liza Mickle, Planner
City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability Services