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Provide for adequate public participation in the local preservation program, including the process of recommending properties to the National Register of Historic Places.
The commission should actively engage the public in the local preservation program. For example, the commission could delegate responsibility for conducting survey and evaluation projects to residents and property owners in distinct parts of the city or county or the commission could train volunteers or local government staff to answer questions about historic preservation and provide technical assistance.
When properties within the local government’s jurisdiction are nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, the Commission, Mayor of Chairman, and Preservation Professional (if applicable) will read the nomination and determine if there are factual errors and determine if the nomination satisfactorily explains how the property meets the integrity, age, and significance criteria. Moreover, it is the historic preservation commission’s responsibility to make sure the city/county officials and staff understand their obligation under this Standard.
It is expected that the CLG program will encourage nomination of eligible public buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts within its jurisdiction. This would include parks, sculpture, school buildings, city halls, courthouses, fire and police stations, bridges, roads, etc. National Register significance is based on historical and integrity considerations, not on factors such as economic impact or future uses of the building.
This standard also encourages the Commission to involve the public, officials, and staff in the local preservation program as volunteers in Commission sponsored projects; as initiators of historic preservation activities and projects; and as participants in Commission sponsored programs, workshops, conferences, tours, training sessions or other historic preservation related activities.
The commission will encourage the public and local governments to utilize State incentives for historic preservation. Yearly, the CLG should undertake at least one project in at least one of the following areas: planning, survey and evaluation, registration to the National Register or local designation, public education, or pre-development/rehabilitation.
The historic preservation commission should maintain effective communication with the mayor and city council or the board of supervisors. This involves making sure these elected officials are familiar with the local historic preservation ordinance or resolution, the CLG Agreement, and understand what these mean in terms of city or county actions. Effective communication also involves keeping elected officials informed of historic preservation commission plans, actions, and activities. At a minimum, the preservation commission should meet with their elected officials once each year; however, more frequent informal communication should also occur throughout the year.
Historic preservation commissions are discouraged from assuming long-term involvement with a single property, property stewardship, or establishing a museum. These activities are time-consuming and require substantial amounts of capital. In addition, they are narrow in focus and will impede the preservation commission from fulfilling its commitment to locate historic properties throughout the community and facilitate their preservation, protection, maintenance, and use.