Public Interest Exceptions: The Future of Historic Preservation Law?

Christopher Linfante*

This Note is the first work to provide an in-depth examination of the public interest exception. I argue that the public interest exception is important to the future of local historic preservation laws as the provision allows municipalities to maximize historic preservation’s benefits while eliminating the risk that designations will forever freeze a community’s development. Part I surveys how municipalities currently navigate requests to alter or demolish historic sites and explains this system’s shortcomings. Part II examines the text of public interest exception provisions as enacted by three municipalities. Part III examines the provision’s application. Part IV responds to potential criticisms of the public interest exception and advocates for new adaptations of the exception. Finally, the Note concludes by summarizing and suggesting the public interest exception is important to the future of local historic preservation laws.

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*J.D., University of Notre Dame Law School, 2025; B.A. in History, Loyola University Maryland, 2022. I’d like to thank Professor Bruce Huber for his guidance, feedback, and encouragement on this Note, Professors J. Peter Byrne and Sara C. Bronin for their generous correspondence and valuable feedback, my friends and colleagues on the Notre Dame Law Review for their excellent edits, and my wonderful history professors at Loyola who first encouraged me to think about public history. All errors are my own.