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Homeowners for voluntary preservation is currently circulating a petition to place the Homeowners Freedom of Choice Initiative on the ballot. The Initiative would prohibit the City from designating any home in an R1 District as a “landmark” or a “structure of merit” or placing any home within an “historic district” without the consent of the owner.

This Initiative is needed because, under the City’s current Landmarks Ordinance, the City has the power to make these designations over the owner’s objections, and it has done so in the past. If your home is so designated or included, you will be severely restricted in making changes to its exterior without the approval of the Landmarks Commission. We believe this is an unwarranted intrusion on the property rights of homeowners and an unreasonable impairment of a fundamental personal freedom: the right to have a home that you believe suitable for your family within the confines of general zoning restrictions.

While we support historic preservation, we believe it should
be voluntary and incentive-based. Supporters of the current ordinance are fond of telling us of the benefits of historic preservation— and they are right, there are benefits. However, we believe that the choice between remaining free of the restrictions imposed by the ordinance and accepting those restrictions while accepting the benefits should be made by the homeowner, not the City.

Recently, the Landmarks Commission received a consultant’s report recommending the establishment of six specific “historic districts” north of Montana and listed hundreds of homes that would be affected by suggested historic designations of various kinds. In addition, the report recommended an additional study of the entire “Gillette Regent Square” area, which consists of twenty or more blocks between 18th and 21st Place.

We can, and should, encourage preservation and perhaps create additional incentives for those wishing to preserve them. We should, not, however, allow our homes to be treated as community assets and turned into outdoor museums.

Allowing personal freedoms is always a little risky because people may make choices different than you would prefer— this is the risk one takes who is “pro-choice.” History has confirmed, however, that this risk is greatly outweighed by the risk of tyranny that accompanies government control. And we certainly have more than our share of that in Santa Monica.