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Show City Council Bestows Blessing on Main Street Register Nomination Nomination of the Main Street historic district to the National Register of Historic Sites received the approval last week of the Park City council. According to Utah Historical Society historian Phil Notarianni, the nomination will be submitted for review to the State Cultural and Historic April 5 before joining the Coalition Mine building, Union Pacific Depot and Miner's Hospital as items under consideration consider-ation for placement on the Register by the U.S. Department of Interior. Notarianni, who has been researching Park City's history for nearly six months, said he will nominate the Main Street commercial com-mercial district, bounded by Heber Avenue on the north and the Young Apartments on the south. The historian said nomination of a Main Street residential district, farther south, is also under consideration. "The Park City commercial district, both in terms of architectural styles and promi-nents promi-nents names involved, on the local, state and national level, fit the criteria for the National Register," he said. "It is the best preserved metal mining district in the state." Outlining the advantages and disadvantages of National Register Regi-ster designation, Notarianni explained ex-plained that measures can be taken to insure preservation if a building is threatened and federal funds are involved. He emphasized that owners of buildings in the district can do what they please with their property, otherwise, however, although they would not receive a tax deduction for demolition, as they normally would. Notarianni said owners of buildings in the district would be allowed tax benefits for renovation renova-tion and would benefit from accelerated depreciation. Most of the "penalities and benefits" of the designation are already in effect, he added, since Park City has designated the area as a local historic district. Asking for the council's recommendation, recom-mendation, Notarianni said city approval is "important and very significant" to the nomination. According to regulations, the proposal is required to be presented to the local governing body for comment, he said. Asked by Mayor Jack Green if the designation would place any restrictions on property owners within the district, Notarianni repeated that only actions involving involv-ing federal funds would be affected. He added, however, that any property owner can request decertification from the historic designation if they wish. Notarianni also assured councilman coun-cilman Eleanor Bennett that the designation would not have any effect on business for local merchants. The council agreed to send a letter of recommendation to the state review committee prior to their April 5 meeting, subject to review and approval of the city attorney. |