A Seaside historic district? The oldest buildings in

A Seaside historic district? The oldest buildings in the first new urbanist town are only 20 years old, but the idea is not as absurd as it sounds, according to attorney Doris Goldstein, who advises the Seaside Development Company. The earliest buildings in Seaside were cottages built on $15,000 and $20,000 lots. Now some lots in Seaside cost more than a million dollars, and houses are built with the maximum square footage. It now makes economic sense for people to buy older houses, tear them down, and build houses with triple the square footage. That actually happened last year, and some residents and homeowners who are fond of Seaside’s more modest streets think this is a shame. Goldstein called the National Historic Landmarks division of the National Parks Service, and discovered that a Seaside historic district is pretty much out of the question for the time being. “We tend to want the architect to have died or no longer be practicing,” responded an official. The urban designers of Seaside, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Andres Duany, are very much in their prime. “So the National Register ends up being a club we’d rather not join, for a long time,” Goldstein concludes.