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Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development on Friday approved new protections for historic sites and structures.

Among the new regulations is a mandatory demolition review process for any of the 11,594 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Previously, the vast majority of such properties could be demolished without any public review, following a 120-day waiting period.

鈥淚 think the fact that demolition (proposals) of these designated properties will be reviewed is huge,鈥� said Peggy Moretti, executive director of Restore Oregon. 鈥淭hese irreplaceable assets can’t be lost without some thought about what they mean in the community.

鈥淲e think this is the biggest step forward in 20 years or more.鈥�

She said that as many as 11,000 structures in the state will be covered.

Another rule provides the option of creating a local historic district with the consent of a simple majority of property owners.

鈥淭his gives communities a lot of flexibility,鈥� Moretti said. 鈥淚t will facilitate more customization of those districts and provide more options.鈥�

Also, historic resource inventories can now be updated without property owners’ consent.

鈥淛ust to be able to inventory the historic places and not trigger something more with that is good,鈥� Moretti said.

Lastly, the public can participate in discussions about possibly further protecting properties and districts listed on the national register.

鈥淐ommunities can still add additional protections,鈥� Moretti said. 鈥淭his says there should be a public process around that.鈥�