Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) today announced the release of Pennsylvania’s official statewide historic preservation plan for 2018 through 2023.
“We encourage all stakeholders—citizens, planners, organizations, government officials—to use this document to guide the ongoing plans for community and economic development,” said PHMC Executive Director Andrea Lowery. “The character of our communities—their traditions, building patterns, historic features, and what is chosen to be preserved from the past—are what makes them unique and special places.”
This new plan, titled “#Preservationhappenshere - Community Connections: Planning for Preservation in Pennsylvania,” incorporates public input taken from online surveys, regional public forums, and focus groups. In addition, the plan benefits from a collaboration of many partners, including Preservation PA, heritage areas, other state agencies, and regional and statewide organizations, serving as Planning Partners throughout the plan’s development.
The plan is the result of a robust publicly driven process that accurately reflects the commonwealth’s current conditions regarding historic preservation and is responsive to the needs of the public, state agencies, municipalities, and preservation practitioners, as well as those of its historic and archaeological resources.
This comprehensive plan provides a framework of activities and goals that will help Pennsylvanians better understand historic preservation and its benefits, appreciate their own histories and their shared histories as told through historic places, and balance history and economic development to manage change within their communities.
The action agenda is the heart of the statewide historic preservation plan. It outlines guiding principles and goals for historic preservation activities in Pennsylvania over the next five years, from May 2018 through December 2023. Each goal also includes a set of actions and strategies that Pennsylvanians can take to implement the plan.
In Pennsylvania, PA SHPO, a bureau within the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, is responsible for guiding the development of the plan, securing its approval from the National Park Service, and distributing the plan as a resource for agencies, organizations, municipalities and the public.
The complete plan “#Preservationhappenshere - Community Connections: Planning for Preservation in Pennsylvania” is available online at https://phmc.info/PresPlan.
PA SHPO will use the website and social media to provide information, tools, and resources and to track Pennsylvania’s progress towards preservation successes over the next five years.
PA SHPO coordinates state and federal historic preservation programs including the National Register of Historic Places, state and federal tax credits, and review of state and federal projects for their impact on historic resources.
The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission is the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Find out more about the commission online at www.phmc.pa.gov.
MEDIA CONTACT: Howard Pollman, 717-705-8639
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