In my historic district, the board would not even let me straighten the crooked lintels below the windows. The photo they had from 1939 had them crooked so they stay crooked.
But make sure you pay your property taxes. Because you own the place.
I remember Sacramento having a historic district and when some building or house could not be updated or etc. because of stupid rules it seemed the “homeless” people were always most timely in their willingness to burn the thing to the ground.
Maybe Ann Arbor needs some enterprising homeless people who like to play with matches?
My father lives in a legitimately historic house, but not in a “historic district”. The local historic preservation society invited him to register his house; apparently there were/are tax breaks involved. There was also a rulebook bigger than the NFL’s ... he told them to pound sand.
Then the historical district thing hit.
They were told they would have to remove the 3 pane windows and install historically accurate windows. Remember the heating bills prior to the window installation she promptly sold to some idiot who wanted a home with "character".
There is now an average of one abandon home per block in what used to be a very desirable neighborhood.
Once you put history in a bottle and petrify it with commissions and regulations, it becomes impossible to make history any more.
With the “historical”, just remember - just because it is old doesn’t make it worth a damn.