Historic Preservation Incentives

Bellingham is home to many historic buildings dating back to the 19th century. These buildings give our community a unique and authentic character and help preserve information from the past. To encourage historic preservation and conserve the embodied energy of existing buildings, the City offers Special Tax Valuation as well as permitting and building code flexibility.

Get a 10-Year Property-Tax Reduction

The Special Valuation program offers property owners a 10-year property tax reduction for eligible improvements to historic buildings.

Special Valuation is the revision of the assessed value of a historic property which subtracts, for up to 10 years, such rehabilitation costs as approved by the Bellingham Historic Preservation Commission.

To be eligible for Special Valuation a property must be:

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places; or
Listed in the City of Bellingham’s Local Register of Historic Places*; or
A contributing building in a National or Local Historic District; and
Work must have been completed no more than 24 months prior to the application to the Assessor’s Office; and
Rehabilitation costs must be equal to at least 25% of the assessed value of the building (excluding land value) prior to rehabilitation. The County Assessor’s Office sets the value of the property.

*If your property is listed in the Bellingham Local Register of Historic Places or is a contributing building in a Local Historic District, a Certificate of Alteration must be submitted and approved by the Historic Preservation Commission.

Do you think your building may qualify?

To find out if your building project qualifies for Special Valuation contact Emy Scherrer at erscherrer@cob.org or 1-360-778-8350, or Planning Staff at planning@cob.org or 1-360-778-8300.

You can also go to the City’s Historic Register Sites and Districts Interactive Map to see if your building is listed in a historic register, or is a contributing building in a historic district.  If your building is not listed in a historic register or contributing to a historic district, but you think it may be eligible, go to How to list a property in the National, State or Bellingham Historic Register. 

To learn more about Special Valuation visit the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation website.

Application materials

Other relevant materials

Examples of successful Special Valuation applications

Scroll through to see Special Valuation in action

A black and white historic photo of a building at 207 Prospect Street. — This historic photo of the building at 207 Prospect Street is courtesy of Whatcom Museum Photo Archives.

A photo of the building at 207 Prospect Street before rehabilitation. — 207 Prospect Street before rehabilitation.

A photo of the building at 207 Prospect Street after rehabilitation. — 207 Prospect Street after rehabilitation. Property owners applied for and received Special Tax Valuation for three different construction phases.

Flexible Building Code

City of Bellingham staff encourage adaptive reuse of historic buildings, and work with property owners to help them overcome code and zoning challenges that may arise in bringing their old buildings up to date.

Apply for Special Uses

Your historic building might qualify for an adaptive-use permit. This type of permit may allow you to get approval for a use not typically allowed in a particular area. To apply, download the Land Use Application now. For more information, see BMC 17.90.070.

For more information contact Emy Scherrer at erscherrer@cob.org or 360-778-8350, or Planning Staff at planning@cob.org or 360-778-8300.

Get a 20 percent Federal Tax Credit

The Federal Historic Tax Credit program offers a 20 percent tax credit for eligible income-producing projects listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Contact the State Historical Architect for more information: see Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation staff directory.

Contact Us

For more information about the City’s Historic Preservation Program, contact Emy Scherrer at erscherrer@cob.org, or Planning Staff at planning@cob.org or 1-360-778-8300.

Learn more about Historic Preservation

To learn more about historic preservation in Washington State, go to the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation website.