The Municipality of Anchorage is pleased to announce the release of the Public Review Draft Historic Preservation Plan for Anchorage’s Four Original Neighborhoods.

The document can be downloaded here: HPP_PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT-2012.05.11

Please focus your review on the message and content of this draft plan, which does not include any graphics. The consultant team is currently working on illustrations, which will be included in the Public Hearing Draft (anticipated to be completed in August 2012).  The consultant team will also work with a professional copy editor to ensure that any stylistic and grammatical inconsistencies that may have been overlooked are addressed before the publication of the next version.

Through the course of compiling this “Public Review Draft,” it became clear that many in the Anchorage community have additional information to share that may inform the various components of the HPP. The consultant team will be conducting interviews with interested residents to gather this information over the coming months.

Comments on this document? Useful information to share? Questions? Contact Kristine Bunnell at bunnellkr@muni.org or 907.343.7993 by June 30, 2012.  

Please continue to visit the project website or find us on Facebook for important updates and announcements!

This spring, the Public Review Draft of the HPP for Anchorage’s Four Original Neighborhoods will be released, and we’ll need your input. Please save the date(s) for HPP-related meetings and events. All the details are on the attached flyer. Hope you can join us!

SAVE THE DATE_SPRING 2012

The first part of the plan is ready! Please take a look at the “Issues & Opportunities Outline,” which synthesizes the comments received by the public to date, and identifies related goals and opportunities for preservation that will form the direction and content of the HPP.

Join us at the upcoming Public Workshop Series to learn more and let us know what you think! Don’t forget to tell your friends, too.

Download the document now: ISSUES & OPPORTUNITIES OUTLINE_2012.02.07

Check out our updated Frequently Asked Questions page–there’s lots of great info about what the plan is and how it affects your neighborhood! Or you can download some handy fact sheets.

Historic Preservation Plans vary widely in format and content, but all plans strive to identify historic resources in the local community, define current preservation regulations, and outline preservation opportunities. Click the links below for examples of preservation plans from other cities across Alaska and the U.S.

Alaskan governments with a historic preservation plan in place include: City / Borough of Fairbanks, City / Borough of Juneau, and City of Seward.

In 2008, Page & Turnbull worked with the City of Charleston, South Carolina, to prepare Vision | Community | Heritage, a comprehensive update to the city’s 1974 preservation plan. Over 600 recommendations are included in the Plan, covering a wide-range of issues from traffic concerns to expansion of the historic districts to the issue of affordable housing to the importance of cultural preservation.

The National Park Service (NPS) is an excellent resource for historic preservation planning, and provides a nationwide perspective. Visit the NPS website for examples of three types of preservation plans from communities across the country: stand-alone plans, elements of comprehensive plans, and district or neighborhood plans.

No two preservation plans are alike, but hopefully these examples will inspire you as we plan for preservation in Anchorage’s Four Original Neighborhoods!

A huge thanks to those who have already participated in our online survey. For those of you who haven’t, there’s still time to get involved! Help us by answering questions about Anchorage’s historic character by December 31, 2011.

Take the online survey now.

And stay tuned for more opportunities to contribute to the HPP in 2012!