What if I told you that Worth Avenue was going to become a strip mall.
Now that I’ve got your attention — it’s my best “pie in the face” way to vividly describe what could happen if we don’t protect the soul of our town. The preservation of Palm Beach — our special gem by the sea — is in our hands. One of the reasons we love being here is our uniquely historic and beautiful architecture — not just the beach. Maintaining the magic, the toniness of Palm Beach is essential. It’s up to us to preserve it’s beauty.
Landmarking is not a dirty word. It’s a beautiful word.
Two things can be true at the same time. Landmarking does not prevent modernization. It’s not a barrier to change — but any modifications do require approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The landmark process provides a primary tool to ensure the town’s core identity is protected. It’s a delicate collaboration — finding a creative compromise between the commission and the owner — while maintaining the historic integrity of the building. It typically has a favorable outcome for both parties. The commission is grateful to owners who want to preserve and improve upon their landmarked home.
READ MORE: Palm Beach, Preservation Group, highlighting the advantages of seeking landmark designation
Landmarking is the fabric of our town that everything else revolves around. Think about it — the quintessence of Palm Beach is our landmarked properties. Mar-a-Lago. The Breakers. Bethesda by the Sea. The Flagler Museum. John Lennon’s El Solano. Jimmy Buffett’s house on Root Trail. Pan’s garden. The Playhouse. Worth Avenue. I could go on, but the reality is we only have 350+ landmarks in the town of Palm Beach.
There are a number of ways in which a building can become a landmark in town. Our favorite way is for a homeowner to bring it forward — and we’re beholden to Kit Pannill, Elizabeth Ailes and the residents of The President for doing just that. Commissioners can also suggest potential candidates — but the typical procedure is for Landmarks expert staff to bring to the commission properties they deem eligible. The commission then votes on which ones the experts will study to be sure they meet one of the 4 criteria to designate a landmark.
Sometimes we’re asked why it took so long to bring properties to be landmarked. The answer is we have limited resources for our town experts to vet these properties. It takes a season from commission approval and research — followed by the acceptance and willingness of the owners of those properties to embrace a landmark status. Make no mistake, we can landmark the building whether the owner wants it or not, but that’s not how we like to operate. If the owners loved a property enough to buy it then why wouldn’t they want to preserve it? Especially since we have proof — landmarked properties increase in value more rapidly than non landmarked properties. Let me repeat that: Landmarked properties increase in value more rapidly than non landmarked properties.
Part of a gifted study from the Preservation Foundation to the town of Palm Beach backs all of it up. Look over the 10 simple reasons why it’s a good thing to landmark your property. Financial and other benefits are available for property owners who embrace landmark status. Anyone can bring a potential landmark property to the town. It can be your house. It can be your friend’s house or your neighbors house, and it will have a chance to become a landmark or an historically significant building.
Helping people understand the many, many positives of landmarking is a worthy mission. Landmarking should be considered an award — an honor — rather than a misunderstood penance.
Let me go back to the beginning. The ocean will turn 50 different shades of blue every day. But Worth Avenue is never going to be a strip mall. One without the other is not Palm Beach.
Lucky us.
Sue Patterson is the former chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: LETTER: Landmarking maintains a home’s historic identity, and protects the town’s identity
Reporting by Sue Patterson / Palm Beach Daily News
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