Opponents create 1000s of trusts. What?

Throughout 2017, the historic district (HD) application was stuck in limbo because the state office (SHPO) was unsure how to count homeowners. The Eastmoreland nomination was passed back and forth between state amd federal agencies, but it was nevertheless lurching forward and the HD opponents were running out of options to combat the undemocratic HD process set forth by the National Park Service (NPS).

As you may remember, there is an odd (and certainly unique) federal law which allows anyone (even a non-resident) to nominate a historic district and have it established, all without one vote of approval from any homeowner.   The only way to derail the unfair process is for the majority of owners to submit notarized letters of objection.  The process is heavily weighted in favor of those seeking the historic district; all they need to do is file the nomination paperwork and wait for approval from the NPS.  Those opposing the historic district need to inform and educate the homeowners about the HD, have them fill out and sign objection forms, and which must be signed in the presence of a notary, who also attests to the signature.  

In March 2018, a few HD dissenters took advantage of ambiguous wording in the definition of a homeowner and more specifically, how a trust can be considered to be a homeowner.  Using this ambiguity, they launched a Hail Mary pass that surprised everyone with its long-term impact and effectiveness.

These homeowners assigned fractions of their home’s ownership to a thousand or more tiny trusts they set up for this purpose.  Under the federal rules, each trust was considered a separate homeowner and entitled to one objection to the historic district. 

With thousands of new objections, the homeowners opposed to the HD were clearly in the majority and the nomination process was stalled until the definition of a homeowner in regard to trusts could be clarified.

The questions and wording regarding trusts and ownership were hopefully clarified in June, 2021 with complicated new rules approved by the state of Oregon, but deviate from federal law. The state office (SHPO) announced in July that it will be resubmitting the Eastmoreland application to the NPS, sometime in the fall of 2021.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/editors-picks/eastmoreland-residents-who-split-homes-into-shares-successfully-halt-historic-district/283-545736598