Title:  The Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Plan: A Gift to Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Preservation Plan

Number of Pages:  33
Approval Date:  March 22, 2001
Planning Cycle:  5 years

Contact Information:
     Michel Lefevre
     Bureau for Historic Preservation
     Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
           Commission
     Commonwealth Keystone Building
     400 North Street
     Harrisburg, PA 17120-0093
     (717) 787-0771; fax (717) 772-0920
     E-mail: mlefevre@state.pa.us
     Web site: www.phmc.state.pa.us/BHP/presplan.htm

Mission/Vision Statement:
Not provided in the Plan.

Table of Contents:
          Executive Summary
          Creating This Plan
          Treasures to Preserve
          Success Stories
          An Agenda for Action
          Invitation to Become a Partner
          Appendix
               Summary of Questionnaire and Forum Results
               Forum Locations and Partners
               Preservation Directory
               Advisory Committee

PLAN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
Public Participation Strategies:

• Convocation of preservation professionals and advocates hosted by several state and local partners;
• 13 regional public forums;
• Interviews with state leaders;
• 5,000 questionnaires distributed at forums, in forum mailings, and circulated in organizational newsletters;

• Plan jointly developed by PHMC and Preservation Pennsylvania;
• PHMC appointed 14-member Historic Preservation Plan Advisory Committee, which included state legislators; leaders of local, state, and national non-profits; CEOs, representatives of governor's office; an archaeologist; and an architect.

ISSUES, THREATS, & OPPORTUNITIES

• Partnerships are critical in carrying out preservation activities;
• More information and financial assistance are needed for preservation efforts;
• Need to continue to raise awareness of preservation issues and benefits;
• State and local governments need to take stewardship responsibilities more seriously;
• Information on historic and archaeological resources is not readily accessible to state and local government agencies and the general public;
• Many historic context documents have been developed for use in evaluating resource significance, and in educational and interpretive activities;
• Sprawl and unchecked development threaten historic resources, archaeological sites, cultural landscapes, as well as communities;
• Farmland and urban vitality are being lost;
• Some state policy initiatives conflict with resource preservation needs;
• Need to promote the value of preservation to a wider audience;
• Although heritage education activities occur, there is no systematic coordination or common goals or values;
• Many cities have lost population in the last 20 years, resulting in distressed inner cities;
• Buying power of federal financial assistance is static or reduced;
• Annual preservation events include the Historic Preservation and Heritage Partnership Conference, Heritage Week, and Archaeology Month;
• Heritage tourism is thriving;
• Changes should be made in administrative policies, tax laws, and other areas of the legal and regulatory framework to level the playing field between preservation and new construction.

1. Educate Pennsylvanians about Our Heritage and Its Value.
        1. Bring Pennsylvania heritage alive for our children.
        2. Get the preservation message out.
        3. Reach out to elected officials and key professionals in the
            public and private sectors.
   
2. Build Better Communities Through Preservation.
        1. Strengthen and expand preservation planning at the local
            and regional levels.
        2. Expand the use of preservation as an economic
            development strategy.
        3. Make technical assistance more available and useful to
            citizens and local governments.
   
3. Provide Strong Leadership at the State Level.
        1. Seek increased financial support for historic preservation.
        2. Lead by example.
        3. Build strong partnerships.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
Strategies Implementing the Goals

1. Educate Pennsylvanians.
        1. Heritage Education.      
   • Expand school curriculum to include historic preservation and archaeology;
   • Provide heritage related educational materials and programming for classroom use;
   • Provide workshops and challenge grants for teachers;
   • Encourage interest in history and preservation at middle school, high school, and community college levels.
        2. Promotion.      
   • Develop clear message about importance of history and preservation to citizens, the economy, and quality of life;
   • Implement collaborative campaign to get preservation message out;
   • Maximize public benefits of federal- and state-mandated historic preservation and archaeological projects;
   • Develop interactive web site with links to other sources of information.
        3. Advocacy.      
   • Direct educational materials and events to state and local elected officials;
   • Tailor educational materials and events to public- and private-sector professionals involved in law, planning, real estate, and land development;
   • Develop a leadership institute for historic preservation.
   
   
2. Better Communities.
        1. Preservation Planning.      
   • Expand historical and archaeological resource inventorying, protection, and incorporation into local comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances;
   • Expand Certified Local Government Program, and increase financial and technical assistance;
   • Develop model ordinances and design guidelines;
   • Prepare case studies to support preservation and sound land use planning;
   • Strengthen local and regional planning legislation at state level.
        2. Economic Development.      
   • Maximize use of existing programs;
   • Develop state-wide heritage tourism potential;
   • Support state and local studies on economic impacts of preservation;
   • Expand Main Street program;
   • Promote flexible building code interpretation, and streamlined approval processes;
   • Promote use of federal tax credits, state and federal grants, and transportation enhancement funds.
        3. Access to Information.      
   • Develop user-friendly technical assistance, including clearinghouse of grant information;
   • Develop a technical assistance outreach program, especially into smaller and more rural communities;
   • Put resource data on GIS system available on the Internet.
   
   
3. State Leadership.
        1.Funding.      
   • Advocate for sustainable state funding for bricks-and-mortar projects;
   • Support state and federal legislation to provide incentives and tax relief for homeowners who restore historic properties;
   • Explore establishment of an Archaeology Trust Fund; *
   • Explore state incentives for owners of archaeological sites.
        2. Stewardship.      
   • Tie state funding for transportation and infrastructure improvements to local planning and zoning requirements, and encourage compact new development;
   • Integrate preservation into economic revitalization, affordable housing, transportation, and other initiatives;
   • Re-engineer state permitting and review processes to maximize resource protection;
   • Institute guidelines and regulations for managing state's historic properties inventory;
   • Support legislation to keep state offices and activities in established towns and cities.
        3. Partnerships.      
   • Strengthen preservation network;
   • Develop transportation projects that are sensitive to historic contexts;
   • Integrate preservation of historic and archaeological resources into all levels of state agency decision making;
   • Organize public-private coalitions to promote role of preservation in tourism;
   • Build partnerships with colleges and universities for heritage education;
   • Establish liaisons with those interested in sound land use planning and building strong communities;
   • Work with national preservation organizations and federal agencies on preservation initiatives.

FEATURES OF NOTE
The ambitious and innovative public participation program used in developing this Plan is explained in more detail in an article by Michel R. Lefevre, "Pennsylvania's Historic Preservation Plan: Partnerships and Public Outreach," CRM magazine, vol. 23, n.7, 2000. This article is available in pdf format on-line at http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/23-07/23-07-11.pdf. [Note: Viewing this file requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader.]