Phoenix plans to get 'gung ho' on historic preservation

• Phoenix%27s Historic Preservation Office needs to be more proactive and less reactive%2C officials said
• PreserveHistoricPHX%2C the office%27s first long-term plan%2C provides information on Phoenix and its historic-preservation history%2C then lists goals and recommended actions for the next 10 years
• Phoenix is %22well behind%22 other cities in terms of historic preservation%2C said Will Novak%2C president of the Phoenix Historic Neighborhoods Coalition

The David and Gladys Wright House and the State Fair Civic Building still stand because Phoenix historic preservationists refused to sit idly by and watch owners demolish history.

While those preservation efforts have prevailed so far, they have done so in a reactionary fashion and despite limited resources, said Michelle Dodds, Phoenix historic-preservation officer.

It is necessary to reposition the city's Historic Preservation Office as a more proactive force, Dodds said. City staff expects the office's first comprehensive plan, PreserveHistoricPHX, to accelerate that process.

Dodds said she wants to take the plan to the Planning Commission for initial approval on Tuesday, Nov. 18, then to the City Council on Jan. 21.

Created as a supplement to the city's developing PlanPHX General Plan update, PreserveHistoricPHX is both an educational and aspirational document, Dodds said.

It summarizes Phoenix and historic-preservation history and identifies goals for the next decade: preserve historical and archaeological resources, increase funding, develop community awareness and promote partnerships.

The plan also recommends policies and actions, such as hiring additional staff, designating World War II-era properties on the Phoenix Historic Property Register and supporting a bond election to increase historic-preservation funds.

Community input helped shape the plan. Staff held several public meetings in the spring and circulated surveys to determine community priorities.

"One of the things we heard from the community was that they really want us to get gung ho on these midcentury, postwar properties and architecture," Dodds said. "People are also very concerned about the streetscapes and our historic neighborhoods."

The community also expressed interest in preserving specific properties, including downtown's Westward Ho and Union Station buildings.

Phoenix faces certain challenges that make a long-term strategy important, said Will Novak, president of the Phoenix Historic Neighborhoods Coalition.

"The Historic Preservation Office is doing great work, but they don't get a lot of funding and our laws here for historic preservation are kind of weak," he said.

The office employs six staff members and has a $714,000 budget, Dodds said. It relies on providing grant incentives for property assessment and rehabilitation, funded with historic-preservation bond money, to dissuade demolition. Voters last approved historic-preservation bond funds in 2006.

The $13.1 million approved that year is nearly depleted and likely will not stretch beyond the next two years, Dodds said.

Phoenix's Historic Preservation Ordinance only allows stays on historic-property demolitions, not permanent bans.

These challenges place Phoenix "well behind" other cities in terms of historic preservation, Novak said.

While the PreserveHistoricPHX plan isn't binding, it does increase the office's power, Dodds said.

"This is a policy document, so there's nothing in it that gives us money or the ability to hire more staff," she said. "But hopefully City Council will approve it, and it will be on our website, so when it's time to make decisions, we can refer to it and say, 'This is what the community said was important.'"

The PreserveHistoricPHX draft can be found at phoenix.gov/pddsite under historic preservation.