The National Register of Historic Places was created in 1966 to preserve historic sites. It’s also wielded as a weapon to block unwanted change.

In Deschutes County, the designation has been used at least twice by neighbors to stop Central Oregon Irrigation District from conserving water by piping an open canal near their homes. It worked in one location and did not in another.

In southeast Portland, the historical designation process has been turned into a farce, exposing the worst of its flaws. It should require majority support to move ahead.

Some neighbors in Eastmoreland proposed a historic designation to at least slow demolitions to build new homes and prevent increased density. Eastmoreland has a nice location, big lots and the average home price is $700,000, as The Oregonian reported. Some in the neighborhood have wanted the city to prohibit greater density. And when that didn’t work, they proposed forming a historic district.

The residents of the proposed district don’t need to consent. A designation requires a study to show why the area deserves the distinction. Someone has to pay for that and other application fees. But then the designation could occur without a majority vote of the property owners in the new historic district. That’s a flaw.

One way to block a designation is if a majority of the property owners object through a notarized letter. So what homeowner Patrick Cummings did is divide up “the ownership of his property between 1,000 trusts, giving Cummings — as trustee for each — 1,000 opportunities to object,” The Oregonian reported.

That didn’t go over well with supporters of the designation.

“This is a dangerous affront to the democratic process, and if allowed by state and federal agencies, these underhanded acts will give any single objector that forms enough trusts the ability to sink any historic district nomination,” Derek Blum, founder of a group supporting the district, said in a statement.

But the historic designation process is, itself, an affront. Supporters should have to get majority agreement for the district to go forward.