Press Release
Communities Urged to Take Action to Preserve Historic Homes, Neighborhoods from the 'Teardown Cancer'
Top Preservation Official Says Teardowns Have Become 'Orgy of Irrational Destruction'
San Francisco, June 28, 2006 - Characterizing the indiscriminate demolition of older and historic homes across America as the teardown "cancer," the leader of the nation's largest preservation organization today urged communities to use zoning, preservation and other planning tools to protect and preserve their neighborhood's character, livability and diversity from being devoured.
In an address before the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said "Teardowns spread through a community like a cancer. I believe they represent the biggest threat to America's older neighborhoods since the heyday of urban renewal and interstate highway construction. Communities must realize that they aren't helpless in the face of teardowns. They must develop a vision for the future of their community...and put in place mechanisms to ensure that their vision is not compromised."
Teardowns, the practice of demolishing an existing home to make way for an outsized one on the same lot, are rapidly increasing in communities across the U.S. - from California's Bay Area to the Chicago suburbs, from Palm Springs to the neighborhoods circling the nation's capital.
The destruction is so rampant, the National Trust put "Teardowns in Historic Neighborhoods" on its list of America's Most Endangered Historic Places in 2002. That year, the National Trust identified 100 communities in 20 states that were losing their historic character to teardowns. Today, more than 300 communities in 33 states are affected. The National Association of Home Builders says 75,000 houses are razed and replaced with larger homes annually. "The pace of teardowns has amounted to an orgy of irrational destruction," Moe charged.
Especially hard-hit is the community of Kenilworth, north of Chicago. Almost 50 of the town's early 20th century homes have been demolished, with most replaced by "hulking McMansions" up to twice the size of the demolished home, he said. In Dallas, more than 1,000 historic homes in the Highland Park and University Park communities have given way to 6,000- to 10,000-square-foot houses that "loom like mountains over the smaller, older homes that remain." The San Mateo County, CA communities of Palo Alto and Menlo Park also have seen a wave of teardowns. More than 450 older houses were torn down and replaced between 2000 and 2005.
Although Moe said communities may not be able to stop the "teardown cancer" entirely, many are successfully using planning and preservation tools to slow the pace and maintain their neighborhood's character and distinctiveness.
Effective planning tools include set-back requirements, open-space standards and local ordinances requiring owners to get permission before demolishing or altering older or historic buildings. "None of these is a one-size-fits-all solution," Moe said. "But they are working in communities all over the country."
Moe encouraged communities working to preserve their historic architecture not to be deterred from the fierce opposition that may surface. "America's older neighborhoods are important chapters in the story of who we are as a nation and people," he said.
"By working together, we can keep America's older neighborhoods intact so that generations to come can live in them, learn from them, be sheltered and inspired by them - just as we are today."
For more information on how to manage teardowns, visit the Teardowns Resource Guide.
Battling Teardowns, Saving Neighborhoods: An Address by Richard Moe, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, Calif., June 28, 2006