51
BALMER, C. J.
This case concerns the interpretation of Oregons
historic property designation consent statute, ORS 197.772.
That statute provides that the owners of properties slated
for local historic designation have the right to refuse to consent to that designation. It also requires a local government
to allow a property owner to remove from the property a
historic property designation that was imposed on the property by the local government. ORS 197.772(3). The owners of the property at issue here sought to remove it from
the local governments list of historic landmarks, citing the
removal provision in ORS 197.772(3). The local government
concluded that it was required to grant the owners request,
but on appeal the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) disagreed, concluding that the right to remove imposed designations does not apply to successors-in-interest like the
owners in this case. Lake Oswego Preservation Society v.
City of Lake Oswego, 70 Or LUBA 103, 121 (2014). The property owners sought judicial review and the Court of Appeals
reversed, concluding that the legislature intended ORS
197.772 to confer on all property owners the right to remove
local historic designations that were imposed on the property without the owners consent. Lake Oswego Preservation
Society v. City of Lake Oswego, 268 Or App 811, 820-21, 344
P3d 26 (2015).
The issue presented on review is thus a narrow
one: If a local historic designation is imposed on a property and that property is then conveyed to another owner,
may the successor remove that designation under ORS
197.772(3)? For the reasons explained below, we conclude
that, although the legislature intended ORS 197.772(3)
to provide a statutory remedy for certain owners whose
property was designated as historic against their wishes,
the legislature also intended that owners who acquired
property after it had been designated would be bound
by that designation and by any resulting restrictions on
the use and development of that property. Accordingly,
we agree with LUBA that the right to remove an historic
designation under ORS 197.772(3) applies only to those
persons who owned their properties at the time that the
10
13
14
Because we conclude that the Trust does not qualify as a property owner
within the meaning of ORS 197.772(3), we do not reach the question of whether
the designation at issue in this case was imposed by the city.
17