Why Plan for Historic Preservation?

Like any limited resource, historic properties need careful planning and management to ensure their survival for current and future generations. They are subject to the complex pressures and issues of modern society, and often their preservation appears to be at odds with the immediate needs for affordable housing, economic revitalization, employment, education, and so on.

Remarkably, though, the preservation of our heritage is not a mere luxury. It actually helps combat the very problems that plague our communities by stabilizing neighborhoods, providing affordable housing, lowering crime, stimulating private investment, bringing people and businesses back downtown, attracting tourists, and strengthening community pride.

There are numerous ways a community can work to preserve its historic properties. A few include: a historic preservation ordinance or resolution, zoning, demolition moratoria, downtown revitalization programs, local economic incentives, promoting the federal rehabilitation tax credit (especially in combination with the low-income housing tax credit), and public education programs. The best approach is to use a combination of tools, specially chosen and integrated to suit local needs.

Again, this means planning.

What is a Historic Preservation Plan?

A historic preservation plan is a statement of the community’s goals for its historic properties and the actions it will take to reach those goals. It is most effective when it is a component of a community’s master plan and is coordinated with other policies for housing, economic development, transportation, et cetera. Communities that do not have a master plan, or that will not be revising it soon, can create a separate historic preservation plan to serve in the interim.

The plan at its best, however, is more than a written document. It should be a continuous process that brings together citizens and interest groups and helps them identify where their diverse goals complement historic preservation and how they can work together to preserve their local heritage.

Historic preservation planning should include these factors:

• The history and historic properties of the community. In order to plan for historic properties, a community must identify them first. A thorough and up-to-date survey of historic properties is critical. Keep in mind that your community’s history is found not only in architectural centerpieces, but in middle and working class neighborhoods, modest commercial rows, industrial structures, farm buildings, bridges, landscapes, and in the often-hidden archaeological value of unassuming structures and vacant land.
  
  
• A map and address list should be developed of known historic properties from surveys, local historic districts and landmarks, and the National Register of Historic Places.
  
  
• Rehabilitation Tax Credit computerized log: This log lists all the development projects in Ohio which successfully used the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit. It contains property names, addresses, developers, owners, project costs, and the use of the property before and after rehabilitation—all of which can be searched by county, region, or the entire state and used for marketing local historic properties.
  
  
• Agriculture Chronology and Bibliography: This is the first in a series of references the Ohio Historic Preservation Office is beginning to develop about broad themes in Ohio’s history. The chronology lists pertinent events, people, legislation, technologies, and other factors that contributed to Ohio’s agricultural development; the annotated bibliography provides sources for further research. They are meant to assist local governments, state agencies, Ohio Historic Preservation Office staff, and others in evaluating the historic significance of properties.
  
  
• Ohio’s Historic Preservation Plan: The Ohio Historic Preservation Office has created a state historic preservation plan, to help set a direction for historic preservation efforts throughout the state and to bring attention to the most urgent needs. The plan draws on the ideas and experience of as many citizens, preservation organizations, local governments, state agencies, and other interested parties as possible.
  
  

What Can I Do?

• Work with your local government to plan carefully for the future of the places which are evidence of your community’s heritage. If you have a historic preservation plan, make sure it is up-to-date and is being implemented.
  
  
• Establish local historic preservation legislation. Protect your historic resources through an ordinance or resolution, or make sure the existing legislation is adequate and that the properties that need protection have indeed been designated as historic.
  
  
• Examine local zoning. Make sure the zoning for historic areas encourages their survival, rather than their replacement with parking lots or commercial strips.
  
  
• Document your community’s historic properties. Work with your local historical society, preservation organization, or other citizen groups to conduct surveys or develop National Register nominations.
  
  
• Encourage your local government to participate in the Certified Local Government (CLG) program. As a Certified Local Government, your community will be eligible to apply for federal matching grant funds for planning and other preservation activities.
  
  
• Participate in and implementing Ohio’s Historic Preservation Plan. Ohioans can support historic preservation by putting the plan to use in their communities, organizations, and agencies.
  
  

For more information on preservation planning contact the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.