When must a historic subdivision or neighborhood possess “exceptional importance” as a requirement for National Register listing?
Specific dates for the overall site design and the construction of component resources are needed to determine when a case for exceptional importance is necessary to support eligibility or listing. Such a case must be made for subdivisions which were platted and laid out and where the majority of homes were constructed within the last 50 years. It is also required for neighborhoods importantly associated with events that occurred within the past 50 years even though the homes were built during an earlier period, for example an older neighborhood importantly associated with the Civil Rights movement. Is “exceptional importance” a requirement for a neighborhood whose construction began more than 50 years ago but was completed within the past 50 years? Because subdivisions were typically constructed over a period of many years, it is not uncommon to encounter a subdivision where streets and utilities were laid out and home construction begun more than 50 years ago, but where construction
