Erie City Council approves historic preservation plan. How it might help property owners

The city of Erie’s proposed new plan for maintaining and preserving historically or architecturally significant buildings now has Erie City Council’s OK.

Council, at its regular meeting on Wednesday morning, unanimously voted to approve a resolution that endorses the City of Erie Historic Preservation Plan, a nearly 200-page document which lays out city officials’ long-term preservation approach, priorities and suggested next steps.

Council approved the plan during Wednesday's meeting without discussion. City officials had previously met with council members to explain the plan.

Developed with the help of a Chicago-based consulting firm, The Lakota Group, the plan has already been endorsed by Erie’s Planning Commission and its Historic Review Commission, a seven-member group with five citizen appointees, that advises city officials on historic preservation issues.

The commission was also involved in the plan’s development. 

City Council’s approval was necessary before the plan could move forward. Renee Lamis, Mayor Joe Schember’s chief of staff, said the city can now apply for various state/federal historic preservation grants, and other funding, now that the plan has received City Council’s endorsement.

Councilwoman Kathy Schaaf explained later in the meeting why she supports the plan.

“This document is absolutely wonderful,” Schaaf said. “It’s very inclusive and diverse… It’s all about knowing your past. It becomes a part of the future as well, because you learn from the past."

Plan recommendations

The plan suggests that the city:

• Aim to tell diverse stories regarding Erie’s heritage, including the history of various ethnic and racial groups who helped shape the city and its neighborhoods.
• Make preserving buildings, sites, and neighborhood character a priority citywide, while also encouraging rehabilitation, adaptive use and reinvestment as alternatives to demolition.
• Adopt a “conscientious approach” to managing the heritage of neighborhoods and assist property owners with reinvestment and preservation.
• Pursue “historic preservation-based economic development” in downtown Erie and other neighborhoods/commercial areas of the city, to help encourage new uses for historic buildings and to provide attractive spaces for new businesses and social/cultural activities. 
• Create an ongoing outreach/education program that promotes preservation’s benefits and relationship to the city’s quality of life.
• Complete a comprehensive inventory of historic buildings and places within Erie as a basis for understanding their value and worthiness for future preservation. Lamis said the city has already received grant funding to conduct that inventory.
• Make information about Erie’s significant historic and cultural resources widely available and accessible. 
• Identify/preserve places representative of Erie’s diverse ethnic and racial history.
• Adopt new preservation tools and programs that help preserve/revitalize Erie’s traditional commercial areas and neighborhoods. 
• Create new partnerships/collaborations to leverage financial and other resources that can help preserve historic properties/areas.
• Use historic preservation and historic districts as a central strategy for mitigating housing loss and population decline. 
• Encourage “meaningful community participation” in the local historic preservation program through outreach, advocacy, and engagement efforts. 
• Ensure quality new development that complements and reinforces the authenticity and visual character of Erie’s historic places. 
• Build awareness of historic preservation’s social, economic, and environmental benefits. 
• Commit to the plan's long-term implementation.

The plan considered public input gathered through surveys and meetings with members of the community. It would also look at ways to help individual property owners who may own/live in a historic property that need upgrades/repairs, and examine whether additional city properties might be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service’s official list of places that are worthy of preservation.

The city's plan suggests that city officials pursue a number of potential funding sources for implementation of the plans recommendations.

Those sources could include including grants from the National Park Service and federal historic preservation tax credits; state grants/tax credits; and private-sector contributions. The city will also need to make financial commitments with its own money.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on X at @ETNflowers.