Skip to main contentThe National Park Service added the Eastmoreland neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 8, following multiple failed attempts and allegations of a deeply flawed process.
Eastmoreland, an upper-class neighborhood in Southeast Portland near Reed College, has been vying for a place on the register for years now. Since February 2017, the neighborhood has been considered for the National Register, but not without controversy. Buildings designated as historic in Oregon come with strict limitations on how much properties can be altered.
On its website, the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association cites its motivation as being historic preservation as well as environmental quality: The association wants to limit “oversized” mansions, which it implies are bad for the environment, but also lists as a benefit that being on the Register will limit “multifamily units with no parking on any lot in the neighborhood.” (Climate advocates point out that parking mandates contribute to carbon emissions.)
“What exactly would be the point of destroying and rebuilding the neighborhood to chalk up housing units while neighbors moved elsewhere, housing prices rose, and the environmental damage was permanent?” the neighborhood association website asks. “And where would dislocated neighbors find a place that provided similar amenities and a sense of history and place?”
The National Register is used by most states as an honor and a tax break, but the arguments against it in Oregon are that it comes with cumbersome limitations—and a complicated history.
On Nov. 7, the Nancy J. Brown Revocable Trust filed a lawsuit over attempts to put Eastmoreland on the National Register. Defendants named in the suit include the state of Oregon and the State Historic Preservation Office, alleging they violated the constitutional right to due process of neighborhood property owners.
Tom Brown, one of the plaintiffs involved with the trust, said in a statement to WW: “I have lived in Eastmoreland my whole life and am grateful to live here still. Eastmoreland needs to be part of the city and participate in our housing solutions. Most people aren’t willing to publicly oppose their neighbors and pay for lawsuits. But I feel strongly that this abuse of a government program is not what our public leaders intended historic nominations to be used for.”
According to Nathan Morales, the attorney representing the trust, his clients hope for one or all of three potential outcomes: first, that the Park Service decide on its own not to list Eastmoreland; second, that the courts declare the process in this case unconstitutional; and third, that the Oregon Legislature create clearer guidelines for the process.
The filing suggests the board of the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association may be using the National Historic Registry to maintain the neighborhood’s socioeconomic and racial status. Some deeds in Eastmoreland prohibited properties being sold to people of color until such restrictions were outlawed. Eastmoreland’s website says the neighborhood was intended for “a well-to-do clientele who valued education and the proximity to a college.”
A property or neighborhood cannot be placed on the National Register if more than half the owners object, but there has been pushback on how the state defines ”owner.” The State Historic Preservation Office used tax records, not deeds, to ascertain ownership.
Based on the different definitions, different figures about objections have been given by SHPO to the National Park Service. In June 2017, 1,059 out of 2,067 owners had submitted objections. In April 2018, SHPO said that 5,952 out of 7,188 owners submitted objections. In May 2019, SHPO claimed that only 956 out of 1,988 owners submitted objections, no longer a majority. Those requests to the National Park Service were sent back due to the uncertainty on the number of owners and objections.
On Sept. 30, SHPO submitted the nomination again, claiming that only 640 out of 2,151 owners (29.75%) had objections.
Attempts to contact the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association went unanswered.