Title: Iowa Comprehensive Historic Preservation Plan

Number of Pages: 27
Approval Date: May 3, 1993
Planning Cycle: 3 years

Contact Information:
     Lowell Soike
     Chief, Community Programs Bureau
     State Historical Society of Iowa
     600 East Locust Street
     Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0290
     (515) 281-8824; fax (515) 282-0502
     E-mail:lowell.soike@dca.state.ia.us

Mission/Vision Statement:
SHPO planning is guided by the mission statement of its parent organization, the State Historical Society of Iowa - "The State of Iowa is obligated to assist its citizens in identifying themselves, individually and collectively, in place and time. To understand Iowa history is to understand how we are yet to become who we are and how we can shape who we are yet to become. Knowledge of Iowa history is essential to realize our potential as individuals and as a society. The State Historical Society of Iowa, the historical division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, is the state agency created and empowered by the General Assembly as the official trustee of Iowa's human heritage. The Society has the responsibility and authority to:

• Identify, record, collect, preserve, and manage the manifestations of Iowa's history;
• Interpret and disseminate Iowa history;
• Conduct, stimulate, produce, and share scholarly research on Iowa history;
• Promote and coordinate the teaching of Iowa history; and
• Advocate the preservation and stewardship of Iowa's historical resources."

Introduction
I.       Program Assumptions and Goals
II.      State and Federal Plan Linkages
III.     Planning Environment/Historic Property Overview
IV.     Program Areas and Priorities
V.      Planning Process Document
VI.     Plan Appendices
VII.    Bibliography

• Draft plan distributed to key partners for review and comment;
• Public comment solicited through the State Historical Society newsletter.

HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
Historic properties; historic resources; archaeological resources; farmsteads; mounds; historic landscape; historic and prehistoric treasures.

ISSUES, THREATS, & OPPORTUNITIES

• There is no state government master plan, but state agencies prepare strategic plans, several of which address preservation;
• A number of "megatrends" relate to preservation - increasingly middle aged society, reduced labor force, strengthening tourism industry, infrastructure investment, "mosaic society" of diverse subcultures and lifestyles, and increasing public environmental sensitivity;
• Preservation will be incorporated into state emergency plan;
• Office of the State Archaeologist strategic plan addresses archaeological needs;
• SHPO is overly dependent upon federal funding;
• Declining rural population and continuing trend toward fewer, larger farms results in abandonment of farmsteads and other rural properties, small town schools and township buildings;
• Decreasing insurance coverage for rural historic properties;
• Increasing suburban growth and abandonment of urban centers;
• Volunteerism is declining;
• Entire classes of properties are being lost through demolition (abandoned farmsteads, barns, outbuildings, railroad structures), plowing (mounds and other archaeological sites), insensitive alteration (artificial siding, additions, relocation), management by neglect (lack of maintenance);
• Consolidation proposals threaten historic courthouses, rural schools, and historic bridges;
• Historic properties and riverfront communities have neither benefited nor suffered from the new gambling industry;
• National Register listings do not represent the full range of Iowa's potentially eligible properties;
• Several state incentive programs can be linked with the federal tax credit to improve financial incentives;
• Funding is inadequate to support needed survey efforts;
• There is strong state support for local community preservation programs.

Assumption 1. Historic Preservation is at its heart a people
     movement, not a things movement.
Assumption 2. Historic properties will be protected through
     partnership, advocacy, education and the empowerment of
     individuals, communities, and agencies.
Assumption 3. Statewide preservation communication networks
     are vital to the success of the movement and must be
     established and maintained.
Assumption 4. Funds not allocated to Certified Local Governments
     will be targeted to the survey statewide themes and state
     lands; to develop historic contexts and property typologies so
     as to facilitate local preservation activities, and finally to test
     and refine new field techniques and models.
Assumption 5. Preservation "tools" such as incentive programs,
     strategies, and legislative authorizations require constant
     vigilance, maintenance and refinement.
Assumption 6. A stronger state financial commitment to historic
     preservation in Iowa is a high priority.
Assumption 7. A plan is most effective and meaningful when it is
     used broadly and frequently, and when it enables a program
     to act proactively.
Assumption 8. Historic Preservation as a movement, in order to be
     truly effective, must be mainstreamed into the political
     decision-making process on the state and local level, just as
     are public safety and environmental concerns.

1. Help people preserve.
   • Meet peoples' needs; hGather demographic information to identify needs;
   • Use "customer" critiques to improve public service;
   • Treat public contacts as "customers;"
   • Carry out proactive training program;
   • Meet legal obligations;
   • Monitor preservation activities.
2. Protect historic properties.
   • Monitor significant properties;
   • Develop and implement database to track properties;
   • Involve local commissions in monitoring properties.
3. Preservation networks.
   • Support the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance;
   • Establish a mail database;
   • Information will be disseminated by local and statewide groups;
   • Establish communication networks.
4. Priorities for non-CLG funds.
   • Improve public access to information;
   • Finalize master annotated context list; hDevelop master context file;
   • Maintain NADB database;
   • Develop "determined eligible" database;
   • Create historical/ architectural database that links property information to management information;
   • Seek increased funding such as grants and inter-agency joint funding;
   • Network with state counterparts.
5. Monitor legislative effectiveness.
   • Establish legislative priorities;
   • Defend preservation's legal tools;
   • Initiate legal action when appropriate;
   • Monitor grants and covenants;
   • Develop historic building code.
6. Strengthen state financial support.
   • Seek local matching funds for survey activities;
   • Work to increase state funding for preservation;
   • Emphasize increased efficiency and cost effectiveness;
   • Seek foundation and private sector funding.
7. Plan effectiveness.
   • Enhance public participation in the SHPO planning process;
   • Link SHPO activities to this plan and parent organization's strategic plan.
8. Mainstream preservation.
   • Integrate preservation into disaster planning, communications systems, and state and local planning;
   • Use CLG program to integrate preservation into local government decision-making.

Cooperating/Partnering Organizations:
Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance; Councils of Government; Office of the State Archaeologist; Main Street Iowa; Iowa Department of Transportation; Congress of Historical Organizations; local preservation commissions.