Kentucky Preservation Plan

Number of Pages:  142
Approval Date:  February 12, 2004
Planning Cycle:  5 years

Contact Information:

Rachel Kennedy
Preservation Planner
Kentucky Heritage Council
300 Washington Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
(502) 564-7005; fax (502) 564-5820
E-mail: rachel.kennedy@ky.gov
Website: www.state.ky.us/agencies/khc/preservation_plan_files/presplan.pdf

Mission/Vision Statement:
Vision:  Kentuckians will value historic places as irreplaceable resources essential to our heritage, our economy, and the quality of life in our communities. Kentucky's unique cultural landscapes are integral to our identity and sense of place. Individuals, communities, and organizations will work in partnership to protect, preserve, and use historic resources to building thriving communities, provide affordable housing, conserve precious environmental resources, and gain a greater understanding and appreciation of this shared heritage. Kentuckians will be empowered with the knowledge, legal and financial tools, technical skills, and authority to decide how preservation and new development will compliment one another as communities plan for inevitable growth and change. Together, we will build a preservation culture that incorporates diversity, stewardship, and education as we plan for a better future.

Mission:  The mission of the Kentucky Heritage Council is to partner with Kentuckians to strengthen preservation networks, so that our historic places are valued, protected, and used to enhance the quality and economy of our communities.

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction from Secretary Host
Introduction
Trends
Kentucky's Historic and Prehistoric Resources
Introduction to Goals and Vision for Historic Preservation in Kentucky

Goal 1: Education
Goal 2: Identification, Evaluation, and Nomination
Goal 3: Planning and Protection
Goal 4: Advocacy and Incentives
Selected Bibliography
Appendix 1: Take Action in Your Community: Action Agendas
Appendix 2: Listing of State Statutes Relevant to Historic Preservation
Appendix 3: Listing of Federal Laws Relevant to Historic Preservation

PLAN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
Public Participation Strategies:

• Preservation Plan Advisory Committee comprised of representatives from KHC, Preservation Kentucky, the University of Kentucky, and the CLG program;
• A diverse group of over 300 persons was invited to 8 locally sponsored public meetings;
• Public meetings were announced through invitation, notices, press releases, and other publicity efforts;
• Small gatherings were held with the University of Kentucky's interdisciplinary Historic Preservation department to solicit advice from graduate students and faculty.
• An archaeological sub-committee was formed by the Kentucky Archaeological Survey in partnership with the University and the KHC;
• Draft plan reviewed by Plan Advisory Committee and comments provided.

• Experience as Strategic Plan team members for the Education, Arts and Humanities Cabinet allowed SHPO staff to align preservation goals with those of other agencies and organizations;
• SHPO served as key partner in Kentucky's Smart Growth Task Force, and conducted several public meetings;
• Examination of several state preservation plans, Kentucky planning documents, and public policy reports for relevant ideas and concepts.

ISSUES, THREATS, & OPPORTUNITIES

• Historic and prehistoric resources at risk include Kentucky's farming landscape and family farms;
• Lack of understanding and respect for the historic role of community landmark buildings, leading to their deterioration;
• Significance of African-American resources is not understood and appreciated;
• Need to combat the myths that preservation is costly, elitist, restrictive, and only deals with large estates and important historical figures;
• Need for easy-to-understand, widely disseminated preservation information;
• Need for multiple, easily understood incentives for preservation projects;
• Difficulties with getting affordable insurance for historic buildings;
• Sprawl and rapid growth near large urban centers as well as smaller communities;
• Need for affordable housing for senior citizens, Hispanic immigrants, single women, low-to-middle-income families, and other economically disadvantaged groups;
• Need to promote the benefits of preservation to elected officials and local communities;
• State and federal budget deficits, and increased funding to fight terrorism, have made public support for preservation tenuous;
• Capitalize on new federal programs support preservation, such as Save America's Treasures and Preserve America;
• Planning continues to be hit-or-miss, yet regional planning efforts are gaining in popularity;
• Need to understand the effects of increased security demands on historic civic buildings;
• Downturn in economy could benefit preservation by slowing sprawl, but it could also be detrimental in cutting preservation from donors; budgets;
• Need to link preservation with efforts of KY Office of the New Economy;
• Shift from tobacco cultivation to new crops and production techniques;
• Need to enhance existing and develop new incentives for preservation projects;
• Expansion of roads and highways can adversely effect cultural resources without effective planning and public engagement in the process;
• Federal Transportation Enhancement funds are important for local preservation and community redevelopment;
• Opportunity to incorporate preservation into the core curricula of K-12 schools;
• Need to establish funding for reuse and rehabilitation of aging school buildings;
• Heritage tourism provides diverse opportunities for economic development, volunteerism, and continued use of historic properties;
• Preservationists need to become more knowledgeable in the various practices, programs, and benefits of heritage tourism;
• Kentuckians beginning to recognize the connections among unplanned growth, decline of older neighborhoods, and destruction of natural environments;
• Potential for preservation to become important component in economic and environmental initiatives;
• Need to broaden the scope of easements to protect natural, historic, and cultural resources;
• Need to increase partnerships between preservationists and environmentalists.

1. Education: Educate Kentuckians about the importance of our diverse historic and prehistoric places and promote their continued use.
2. Identification, Evaluation, and Nomination: Identify, evaluate, nominate, and list significant historic and archaeological properties.
3. Planning and Protection: Integrate historic preservation and smart growth into planning efforts across Kentucky and ensure protection of significant historic and prehistoric resources.
4. Advocacy and Incentives: Expand financial, legal and technical assistance and build effective coalitions to preserve historic and prehistoric resources.

1. Education.
   • Educate the public about myths associated with preservation through a highly publicized public relations campaign;
   • Develop print and web materials to demonstrate economic benefits of preservation;
   • Provide preservation "how-to" training to diverse audiences;
   • Provide vocational training and certification in historic rehabilitation skills;
   • Incorporate diverse historic places as teaching resources to students in print and on the web;
   • Publicize preservation to diverse audiences;
   • Include preservation programs and courses in college and university curricula.
2. Identification, evaluation, and nomination.
   • Update resource surveys, ensuring that inventories reflect diversity of state's resources and people who produced them;
   • Evaluate and nominate diverse properties for National Register listing;
   • Maintain a local inventory of significant resources;
   • Strengthen the understanding and use of historic contexts as the foundation for good preservation decision-making;
   • Improve the quality and consistency of survey, evaluation, and National Register data;
   • Improve accessibility to the archaeology sites inventory and historic resources databases;
   • Widely disseminate information about resources;
   • Develop a plan to deal with at-risk historic and archaeological resources.
3. Planning and protection.
   • Work on smart growth initiatives;
   • Update the State Preservation Plan every five years;
   • Establish CLG programs in cities and counties;
   • Develop historic preservation plans for rural areas and for cities and towns;
   • Strengthen coordination among state and federal agencies to ensure preservation is a priority;
   • Promote good stewardship practices at significant resources and NHLs;
   • Use preservation and other tools to protect resources;
   • Evaluate and protect properties using the environmental review and 4(f) processes;
   • Develop historic contexts and strategies to plan for the future of Kentucky's resources.
4. Advocacy and incentives.
   • " Increase funding for preservation initiatives and resource protection;
   • Fund preservation projects through new and innovative means;
   • Retain existing laws and develop new legislation to protect threatened resources;
   • Strengthen partnerships among diverse groups.

Cooperating/Partnering Organizations:
Kentucky Commerce Cabinet; Preservation Kentucky; Maysville Downtown; Paducah Main Street, Inc.; the Prestonsburg Tourism Commission; the Louisville Historical League; the Landmark Association of Bowling Green-Warren County; Cumberland National Bank in London; Clark County/Winchester Heritage Commission; Winchester Historic Preservation Commission; the Clark County Historical Society; Bluegrass Heritage Museum; Winchester First; Pine Mountain School for Practical Preservation; National Trust for Historic Preservation; the Underground Railroad Institute at Georgetown College; University of Kentucky Historic Preservation Department; University of Louisville's Urban Planning program; Morehead State University's Public History program; Center for the Excellence in the Study of Kentucky African Americans and Kentucky State University; Northern Kentucky University; Western Kentucky University; Murray State University; Native American Heritage Commission; African American Heritage Commission; Kentucky Military Heritage Commission; Kentucky Archaeological Survey; Renaissance Kentucky; Smart Growth Progress Commission; National Park Service; local government officials; neighborhood groups; real estate developers; tourism associations; museum and art groups; non-profit preservation organizations; ethnic heritage organizations; primary and secondary educators; Area Development Districts; realtors; Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center; Federal Highway Administration; Kentucky Smart Growth Task Force; Kentucky Office for the New Economy; Cabinet for Economic Development; Council on Post-Secondary Education; Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation; Kentucky Community and Technical College System; Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy; Kentucky Transportation Cabinet; Kentucky Department of Education; Kentucky Virtual University; State Historic Properties Task Force; Kentucky Department of Travel; Tourism Cabinet; Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission; Bluegrass Conservancy; U.S. Department of Agriculture; Kentucky chapter of The Nature Conservancy; Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission; Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund; Kentucky Forest Legacy Program; Bluegrass Tomorrow; Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation.