Certified Local Government

The National Historic Preservation Act established a nationwide program to encourage preservation and wise use of our historic resources. Among other things the Act established the National Register of Historic Places, created State Historic Preservation Officers, and created the Certified Local Government (CLG) program to support local governments' historic preservation programs.

The CLG Program's Purpose and Objectives:

• Encourage historic preservation at the local level through local governmental sponsorship;

• Encourage local governments to follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards & Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation in their historic preservation programs;

• Provide training and technical assistance through the State's historic preservation office;

• Provide funding to underwrite various historic preservation activities.

• Create a federal, state, and local governmental partnership in historic preservation

• Each state's historic preservation office administers a Certified Local Government Program on behalf of the National Park Service.

In Iowa, the Certified Local Government program is one of the historic preservation offerings of the Community Programs Bureau, State Historical Society of Iowa.

For More Information about Iowa's CLG Program, Contact :

Paula Mohr

CLG Program Coordinator

State Historical Society of Iowa

600 East Locust Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0290

515/281-6826

paula.mohr@iowa.gov

Local historic preservation programs deal with the built environment and encourage preservation of historic properties. Historic properties include buildings from homes to factories, structures from bridges to transmission towers, objects from gardens to statutes, archaeological sites from prehistoric to historic or districts (a concentration of buildings, structures, objects and/or archaeological sites). Historic properties have documented significance and a high degree of integrity.

Ideally, a local historic preservation program has a dual focus. First, it has an on-going process for identifying, evaluating, and recognizing historic properties within city/county limits. This is essential for determining what properties should be preserved and providing evidence of their significance.

Second, the program has an on-going process for managing and protecting historic properties. This means planning, considering historic preservation in land use, public improvement, and development decisions. It also involves reviewing and commenting on plans for projects that will affect historic properties, such as . The widening a road through a historic district, making a historic property accessible, rehabilitating a historic property, or placing a development on land containing significant archaeological sites. It involves providing technical assistance on appropriate ways to rehabilitate and use historic properties. Finally, it involves educating local offcal loca all parts of the city/county on historic preservation. It involves assisting the city/county in developing incentives and regulations to encourage and insure that historic properties are preserved.

CLG Program Purpose and Goals

Local historic preservation programs:

• Provide technical assistance through the State's historic preservation office to Certified Local Governments

• Provide participating Certified Local Governments with funding to underwrite various historic preservation activities in their communities.

Local government sets up a local preservation program and signs a CLG agreement with the State of Iowa, agreeing to develop and administer its local historic preservation program so that it complies with national and state preservation goals and standards.

What is the connection between the historic preservation program, the historic preservation commission, and city/county government? Your local historic preservation program was established by official action on the part of your local government. Through passage of local legislation, a historic preservation ordinance, mayors and city councils or county boards of supervisors commit to a policy of supporting historic preservation and establish a local historic preservation program.

The commission is part of local government, commissioners are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the mayor and city council or county board of supervisors. The commission is responsible for reporting regularly on their activities and projects to the mayor and city council or county board of supervisors. Any grants for which the commission applies must be approved by the mayor and city council or county board of supervisors. If the grant is awarded, the award is to the city/county and is administered by the city/county's financial officer, for example the city clerk or county auditor. Donations to the commission may be tax-deductible because they are given to the city/county.

Ideally, the mayor and city council or county board of supervisors should assist the historic preservation commission by providing an annual appropriation, by appointing a council member to serve as liaison between the commission and city council or county board of supervisors and by assigning a staff member to help implement commission directives and take care of commission correspondence and files. In addition, the city should provide a meeting space, filing space and technical support in terms of office supplies, copying services, postage, phone privileges.

Ideally, a local historic preservation program has a dual focus. First, the program has an on-going process for identifying, evaluating, and recognizing historic properties within city/county limits. This is essential for determining what properties should be preserved and providing evidence of their significance.

Second, the program has an on-going process for managing and protecting historic properties. This means planning, considering historic preservation in land use, public improvement, and development decisions. It also involves reviewing and commenting on plans for projects that will affect historic properties, such as widening a road through a historic district, making a historic property accessible, rehabilitating a historic property, or placing a development on land containing significant archaeological sites. Finally, there should be an educational component in the program so that local officials, city/county staff as well as residents are informed about the program, obtain technical assistance, and have an opportunity participate in activities which increase awareness of local historic properties.

In Iowa, there are two steps to establishing a local historic preservation program, first the local government must pass a historic preservation ordinance, if a city, or a local historic preservation resolution, if a county. Second, the Mayor or Chairman of the Board of Supervisors appoints a historic preservation commission to develop and administer the program.

To participate in the CLG program, a local government must have a local historic preservation program that complies with CLG program requirements. To qualify or obtain "certified status", the local government must demonstrate that its local historic preservation program meets certain standards. Briefly, these are as follows:

1. Operates under a historic preservation ordinance (city) or resolution (county.

2. There is a historic preservation commission to oversee the program.

3. Preservation commissioners must meet certain criteria to be appointed to commission.

4. There is a commitment to preserve the full range of properties from archaeological sites to districts.

5. Preservation activities include identifying, evaluating and registering historic properties.

6. Local government will maintain a file/inventory of properties.

7. Preservation program encourages nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.

8. Will conduct public review and comment on National Register of Historic places nominations of properties within jurisdiction.

9. Public is encouraged to participate in all aspects of the preservation program.

10. Local government will enforce all appropriate state and local ordinances for designating and protecting historic properties.

11. There is no discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, and/or national origin in any of the local government's activities in implementing its preservation program.

For the local government, its staff and Historic Preservation Commission, there are some direct benefits. There is free historic preservation training and technical assistance from the State's historic preservation staff. Participating cities and counties receive a start-up preservation reference library for use in developing and administering the program. Cities and Counties in the CLG program will qualify for REAP Historic Resource Development Program grants for rehabilitating city or county owned properties that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Finally, cities and counties qualify for a small, competitive, matching grant program that is open only CLG program participants. These grants can be used to underwrite all historic preservation activities except rehabilitation-that is supported by the REAP HRDP grant program.

In Iowa, cities and counties have used their local historic preservation programs as a tool to help promote downtown revitalization or to protect or stabilize and revive nineteen and early twentieth century neighborhoods. Good examples are Albia, Ames, Bloomfield, Bonaparte, Burlington, Clinton, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Hampton, Iowa City, Iowa Falls, Mount Vernon, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Sigourney, Sioux City and Waterloo.

A strong local historic preservation program provides an authentic foundation for heritage tourism. Visit Adams, Clinton, Crawford, Harrison, Henry, Jackson, Madison, Linn and Shelby Counties as well as the Amana Colonies, Keokuk, Kimballton, Lake City, Fort Madison, Perry to sample Iowa history in three dimensions. Often the local historic preservation program is used to leverage preservation of an outstanding community landmark such as the depots in Atlantic, Carroll, Cherokee, Creston, Council Bluffs or the Courthouses in Davis and Woodbury Counties. Preservation of natural and historic resources is a natural partnership as exemplified by the local historic preservation program focus in Allamakee, Dallas, Clayton, and Lyon Counties where archaeological site preservation has been a primary concern.

Paula Mohr

CLG Program Coordinator

State Historical Society of Iowa

600 East Locust Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0290

515/281-6826

paula.mohr@iowa.gov

For a list of historic preservation commission contact people in Iowa go to the

commissioner contact list.

See the CLG Manual for complete information about applying for and maintaining Certified Local Government status.