Conservation Tools

The Bureau for Historic Preservation guidance for Historic Preservation Planning provides a framework for what constitutes a comprehensive historic preservation plan. The Historic Preservation Plan should provide local units of government a working document to identify historic and cultural resources in the county or municipality; to consider the issues, problems and opportunities associated with those resources; to explore the possibility of county-wide and regional approaches to management of important resources; and to develop goals, policies, and strategies for their appropriate use, conservation, preservation and protection that are consistent with those established for other comprehensive plan elements.

This guide, intended for local government officials, historic preservation organizations, and citizens considering the establishment of historic districts under municipal authority, is a summary from the years of success and failure experienced by local governments in the process of initiating and administering historic district ordinances. It includes lessons learned and pitfalls to be avoided.

This is a menu of components to be used in preparation of local historic preservation ordinances. Each component is a model that can stand alone or be used in combination with one or all the other components. Each model component provides options for municipalities for administration.

This guide provides a general overview of historic preservation planning and regulation at the federal, state and local levels, with suggestions for integrating historic preservation into the comprehensive community planning process. The manual also discusses private preservation efforts and their relevance to local governments and includes an appendix summarizing historical architectural styles.

PHMC developed this resource to provide technical assistance with historical resource surveys.

A checklist for establishing a historic district ordinance and the Pennsylvania Historical and Musuem Commission’s policy for determining the historical significance of local historic districts and boundary justification pursuant to the PA Historic District Act.