• National Trust submits recommendations to Philly task force

    December 13, 2018

    Specific Steps to Promote Historic Rehab and Reuse in Philadelphia

    In May 2017, The National Trust was tapped to serve as a Technical Advisor and member of the Mayor Kenney’s Historic Preservation Task Force. In this role, we were asked to provide recommendations on how the City could better protect its wealth of historic neighborhoods and incentivize building reuse and rehabilitation amid a population boom and persistent pockets of disinvestment.

    Drawing on six months of research and decades of expertise, our staff experts conveyed to the task force that there is no “silver bullet” policy or innovation for significantly improving historic preservation—an established public good—in Philadelphia. Rather, preservation of its rich heritage will be achieved through a combination of more robust community engagement and constituency building, improved historic resource survey information, and more effective incentive programs within a supportive, tailored regulatory environment.

    Our specific recommendations include:

    • Establishing a tailored approach to conserving and reusing Philadelphia’s historic assets. This would enable communities to adopt different types of protection strategies and incentives to preserve neighborhood character and support investment in building maintenance and reuse.
    • Strengthening incentives to support historic property owners. These could include establishing new funds, grants, technical assistance programs, and tax credits to draw more resources to the rehab and reuse of Philadelphia’s older and historic buildings.
    • Adopting a Demolition Review Ordinance. This is a tool designed to avoid the unnecessary loss of undesignated but valued historic buildings as identified by a historic resource survey and public input.
    • Launching and sustaining a strategic survey of historic resources. An efficient, low-cost inventory management system that compiles both existing survey data and new information into a comprehensive database is essential to Philadelphia’s preservation infrastructure.
    • Adequately funding the Philadelphia Historic Commission. The PHC has long suffered from insufficient funding and staff. The City must consider ways to rectify this, to enable PHC’s administration of existing historic resources, management of new nominations, execution of a tailored regulatory approach, and more effective public outreach.

    Our research and recommendations are reflected throughout the task force’s draft of its final recommendations report, as presented at its final public meeting on Thursday, December 13th. The public will now have until January 14th to provide comment on the report by emailing preservation@phila.gov.

    Once all of the public comments have been received, the final report and recommendations will be presented to the Mayor and City Council in early 2019.

  • The State of Preservation in Philadelphia: The Historic Preservation Task Force Releases its First Report

    March 14, 2018

    The Philadelphia Historic Preservation Task Force released their first report since the 33-member group of planners, developers, preservationists, elected officials, and community members was convened by Mayor Kenney last spring. The report serves as an overview of the current state of historic preservation in the city, focusing on the four major areas addressed by the subcommittees of the Task Force: regulation, survey, incentives, and outreach and education. Key findings are listed below.

    This undertaking stems from a recognition that Philadelphia’s population and economy is growing, making it an important time to evaluate the existing policies, operations, and laws that impact Philadelphia’s historic neighborhoods, buildings, and cultural fabric for the benefit of all present and future residents. Future reports will identify specific issues to be addressed, best practices in these areas, and propose specific recommendations.

    Senior Field Officer Seri Worden who serves as a Task Force member, had this to say about the report:

    "For Philadelphians, this initial report is a useful analysis of current preservation laws, resources, and tools available to the city today, serving to illuminate where strengths and opportunities exist. One of the most historic cities in our nation, Philadelphia enjoys a strong preservation law at its foundation and has a rich tapestry of historic neighborhoods. We look forward to continuing to work with Mayor Kenney’s taskforce and grassroots community members to ensure that preservation is helping to sustain and invigorate historic neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia while maintaining the city’s unique character.”

    Regulation Findings

    • Philadelphia has a fundamentally strong preservation ordinance
    • The Philadelphia Historical Commission (PHC) has appropriately broad authority
    • “Hardship” provisions offer property owners of historic places some flexibility

    Survey Findings

    • The permit application review workload for PHC staff has more than doubled since 2000
    • Recent staff additions will enable PHC to more proactively designate historic resources
    • Philadelphia has the second highest number of properties built before 1945 (of 49 other cities)
    • Compared to other cities, Philadelphia has fewer properties on the National Register of Historic Places and the Philadelphia Register (the ordinance regulates local register only)
    • A citywide survey of historic resources has never been completed, although some local surveys have been done

    Incentives Findings

    • Between 1999 and 2007 federal historic tax credit projects led to $244 million in investment, more than 1,000 jobs, and $2.44 million in local tax revenues
    • Local voluntary easement programs help maintain and preserve historic properties
    • PHC staff provide free technical assistance on how to repair or modify historic properties
    • City programs help homeowners remain in and maintain their homes and assist business owners who invest in historic commercial corridors
    • There are no financial, zoning, or process incentives at the local level specifically designed to support historic preservation

    Outreach and Education Findings

    • The Citizens Planning Institute and nonprofit organizations educate residents about historic preservation
    • PHC has limited capacity to engage and educate the public
    • The constituency for historic preservation must be expanded

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