Friday, January 30, 2009

Is your property within a local historical district in Cedar Rapids?

As a member of the Cedar Rapids Association of Realtors®, Tommy Tucker Realty Co. received the following communication today:

A Realtor® member is a member of the Historic Preservation
Commission (an advisory commission to the City of Cedar Rapids). They have
been discussing the fact that many homeowners and Realtors® are not aware that certain homes are part of a designated historic district with design standards
in place (which are primarily in place to help homes in the area retain value).

Essentially, because there are design standards in
place, this means that before work can begin on certain types of exterior
improvements, the homeowner must first submit a one page form located at
http://cedar-rapids.org/development/documents/preservation/Hist%20Dist%20Application.pdf
explaining the scope of work to be completed, to the commission for
approval.

In an effort to provide improved communication to the
public, the City of Cedar Rapids and the Historic Preservation Commission have
now included information on the city assessor site (
http://www.cedar-rapids.org/assessor/pmc/)
as to whether or not a home is part of a designated historic district. In
other words, when searching for a home on the assessor’s site, if it is in a
historic district, it will be noted on the screen near the address of the
property. Below is an example.

1815 RIDGEWOOD TER SE Cedar Rapids, IA
WITHIN LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT

Class: Residential
Tax District: 286 CR-COE/MT VER C TIF
PDF: Res Permit Region 7
Neighborhood: SE 217
Plat Map: 2222

Deed Holder: (and other information on the property)

*** ***
As Realtors, we hope you find this information useful.

As a homeowner or as a prospective buyer in the City of Cedar Rapids, we want to bring to your attention this issue of a Local Historic District. If you have any questions about your real estate or properties in the City of Cedar Rapids or elsewhere in our area, feel free to contact Tommy Tucker Realty Co. at 1-319-365-6956 or by e-mail.

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