St. Petersburg is headed down a slippery path in the name of historic preservation. After a group of 10 property owners in the Old Northeast neighborhood won approval earlier this year to become a one-block historic district, two more groups of neighbors have come forward seeking the same designation. Preserving the character and architecture of the city's most distinct neighborhoods is a worthwhile pursuit, but it should not be done in a patchwork.
In April, neighbors in the 700 block of 18th Avenue NE sought historic district protections because they were concerned about old homes being torn down and replaced with modern structures that didn't fit the character of the block. Those concerns have resonated with homeowners in the 200 block of 10th Avenue NE, also in Old Northeast, and those surrounding Seminole Park in Historic Kenwood. Establishing a historic district requires property owners to go through an extra layer of city approval before demolishing, building or doing exterior work.
But as one neighbor on 18th Avenue complained last spring, "I don't have the same property rights as the people on the next block." That's the danger to the city of allowing piecemeal historic preservation, which is likely to draw interest in more neighborhoods. The council should rethink this approach before approving any more small districts. There are better ways to preserve the best of St. Petersburg than going block by block.