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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSection IX - RecommendationsCity of Arcadia Recommendations OM-, RECOMMENDATIONS As stipulated by the Department of the Interior and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), a comprehensive historic preservation plan has three elements: identification, evaluation, and protection. The evaluation stage details the historic significance of a site. The protection element incorporates a range of strategies for keeping historic properties in place and maintaining their architectural integrity. This report fulfills the identification element. In order to fully promote the recognition and preservation of these historic community resources, we recommend that the city pursue the next two elements of the historic preservation plan. 1. Evaluation Phase Documenting the significance of resources is the final step in the intensive survey. The significance of any one resource cannot be fully evaluated until the historic contexts for the survey area have been developed and a comparable level of documentation on other resources in the survey has been gathered. National and State guidelines require compiling Building, Structure and Object Records (BSO), as well as District Records. Records identify the historic contexts to which the property could relate and discuss resource types within those contexts. Finally, they show how the resources in question do or do not qualify within a specific context. The SHPO has stipulated many categories to be considered when evaluating the significance of historic properties. The City of Arcadia should seek qualified consultants to complete the necessary records according to State and National regulations. 2. Preservation Ordinance Our initial survey has indicated pockets of properties within Arcadia that represent the changing standards and values affecting residential architecture. The Mapping documents reveal that a significant number of streets possess an identity of place. This suggests the presence of multiple districts representing different phases and aspects of Arcadian and Californian history. We recommend that the City of Arcadia establish a City Preservation Ordinance. A preservation ordinance allows for conservation goals to become part of the thinking of the city government. Part of this ordinance may involve nominating significant properties to the National Register of Historic Places, thereby promoting recognition of Arcadia's history within a national context. A city -appointed review team enforces Historic Preservation Ordinances. In Arcadia, where the buildings represent a rich collection of designs and architectural styles, an architectural historian would be an appropriate member of such a review team. Furthermore, because the visual qualities of the streetscapes are so valuable, a program that reviews demolition and alterations of buildings should be developed.