What needs city approval in a Tacoma historic district?

Which Tacoma neighborhoods are historic districts

Tacoma has two kinds of historic districts, and they are easy to confuse. The ones that change what you can do with a house are the local districts on the Tacoma Register of Historic Places. These are the local districts buyers run into most often:

• North Slope. The big one for home buyers. Block after block of houses from the late 1800s and early 1900s in the North End: Victorians, foursquares and craftsman houses, some with glimpses of Commencement Bay between the rooftops.
• The Wedge. A smaller residential district near Sixth Avenue, with a surrounding conservation area where only demolition and new construction are reviewed.
• Old City Hall. Downtown, around the old city hall building and its neighbors. Mostly commercial, with some condos and apartments in older buildings.
• Union Depot/Warehouse. The brick warehouse blocks along Pacific Avenue near Union Station, where a number of buildings have become lofts and the University of Washington Tacoma campus now occupies many of the old warehouses.

Then there are districts listed on the Washington Heritage Register or the National Register of Historic Places. Stadium-Seminary, around Stadium High School, is one of them. On top of the districts, individual buildings can be listed on the Tacoma Register as landmarks, so a single house outside any district can carry the same review as one inside.

Lists and boundaries change over time. Treat the names above as a starting point and confirm any specific address with the city’s Historic Preservation Office.

Tacoma Register or National Register: why the difference matters to an owner

National Register listing is recognition. It tells the world a place matters to the country’s history, and it can open doors to certain incentives. For a private owner spending private money on a house, it generally brings no local design review. Federal review only enters when a project involves federal funding or permits, which rarely touches an ordinary remodel.

Local listing is regulation. Tacoma’s code gives the Landmarks Preservation Commission authority over exterior changes to buildings in local districts and to individual landmarks. A house can sit on both lists at once, and when it does, the local rules are the ones that shape your plans.

Inside a local district, each building is usually classed as contributing or non-contributing. A contributing house adds to the district’s historic character. A non-contributing one is newer, or has been altered so much that little of the original shows. Both are within the district, but the classification affects how a proposal is judged, and it matters most if you ever want to take something down. Ask the preservation office which category the house falls into.

Exterior work that goes before the Landmarks Preservation Commission

In a local district, exterior work generally needs a certificate of approval from the city before you start, and before a building permit is issued. The trigger varies by district. In the North Slope, the city reviews new construction, demolition and exterior changes that require a building permit, and a project that needs no permit or involves no exterior work is not reviewed. On an individual landmark, exterior work visible from the street generally needs review. Some smaller projects qualify for a quicker administrative review. Larger ones go to a Commission meeting, which adds weeks to a schedule and is worth planning for. The items that come up most on older houses:

• Replacing windows or doors, especially original wood sash
• Covering or replacing original wood siding
• Porches, railings, steps and columns
• Additions, dormers and second stories
• New garages, carports and backyard cottages
• Demolition of all or part of a building

Whether a particular item needs a permit, and so review, depends on the district and the scope, so ask before assuming something small is exempt. Interior work such as a new kitchen or bathroom is generally outside design review, though it still needs ordinary building permits where the code calls for them.

Like most preservation guidelines, Tacoma’s lean toward repairing original features before replacing them, and toward replacements that match the original in material and design when repair is not practical. That preference matters most for windows, which are often the first thing a new owner wants to change. Each district has written design guidelines, and reading them before you buy tells you a lot about what a future project will look like.

Old windows, old wiring, old foundations: inspecting a century-old house

Original windows are the classic North End case: wavy glass, trim that needs scraping and paint, a sash painted shut decades ago, and weights and cords hidden in the wall. Windows like that can often be rebuilt by a restoration specialist, and interior storm windows improve comfort without touching the exterior at all. If the windows bother you, get a restoration quote during your inspection period so you know the real cost.

Behind the walls, the questions are the ones every old house raises. Knob-and-tube wiring still turns up in houses of this age, and some insurance companies limit coverage when it is present, so bring in an electrician if the inspector sees any. Older supply pipes may be galvanized steel, and drains may be cast iron. Order a sewer scope for the side sewer, and ask about a heating-oil tank, since many older Tacoma houses were once heated with oil.

Foundations deserve a patient look. Houses from this era may sit on brick or early concrete, with later additions on posts. North Slope lots are often steep, and retaining walls and drainage are part of the inspection. An unreinforced brick chimney is worth a structural engineer’s opinion in earthquake country. For a house built before 1978, federal rules require the seller to disclose known lead-based paint, and contractors who disturb old paint have to follow lead-safe work rules. Asbestos can turn up in old pipe insulation and flooring. Price all of it into your budget, and call your insurance agent early. The buying page covers how the inspection contingency works on the standard forms.

How to check an address before you write an offer

This takes an afternoon, and it belongs before the offer or early in the inspection period.

Start with the listing broker. Ask directly whether the house sits in a local district or is an individual landmark, and whether the seller has ever applied for or received a certificate of approval. Then look the address up on the city’s online property and permitting maps, which show historic overlays.

Next, send the address to the Historic Preservation Office. Ask three things: whether the house is locally listed, whether it is contributing, and what review would apply to the specific work you have in mind, such as replacing the back windows or adding a dormer over the stairs.

Pull the permit history too. If a prior owner swapped windows or re-sided the house without approval, ask the office how that would be handled before it becomes your problem. Finally, write enough days into your inspection period to get the specialists out and your questions answered. Preservation staff and restoration contractors both keep calendars, and a tight contingency can expire before either one calls you back.

If the house is on the Tacoma Register and you plan a big exterior change, email preservation staff before you commit. It costs nothing, and the reply may change what you are willing to pay.

Is there a tax benefit for restoring a historic house?

Sometimes. Washington has a special valuation program for historic property. When a house listed on the Tacoma Register or the National Register, or a contributing house in a district on either register, goes through a substantial rehabilitation, the cost of that work can be subtracted from its taxable value for a set number of years. The spending has to clear a threshold tied to the building’s value and the work has to meet preservation standards. In exchange, you agree to keep the house maintained for the life of the benefit. Applications go through the city’s preservation office, and the rules are specific, so confirm them there and with the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer before you count on anything.

A special valuation on the seller’s account can also make a tax bill look lower than you might expect, which is one of several things I walk through in will my property taxes go up after I buy in Pierce County. The federal rehabilitation tax credit, which people often read about, is aimed at income-producing buildings, so it rarely helps someone buying a house to live in. A tax professional can tell you whether any of it applies to your situation.