Historic Preservation Plan

August 15, 2008 by Baker.

 The city has begun work on a new Salt Lake City Historic Preservation Plan!  This city-wide plan will document past preservation accomplishments and lay out a roadmap for historic preservation in the future. 

The planning process is underway and needs the input of residents, business-owners, neighborhood groups, and others.  A public workshop will be held on September 17, 2008 at 451 South State Street.  Bring your lunch and join us from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. OR from 6:00 pm — 9 p.m. 

One issue on many minds in Salt Lake City is sustainability, specifically economic and environmental sustainability.  The new preservation plan will focus in part on establishing clear linkages between sustainability and preservation.  Strange but true, preserving the past may be one of the most progressive actions Salt Lake City residents can take to achieve a sustainable future. 

Recent research from a variety of disciplines illustrates just how green preservation really is.  How is preservation “sustainable?”

A Smaller Carbon Footprint.  Old buildings have a great deal of embodied energy.  The extraction and processing of building materials (e.g., wood, stone, brick), the transportation of those materials, and labor represented in the final structure mean that demolition of an existing structure is less energy-efficient than rehabilitation or addition to the existing structure.    

Strengthen Local Economy. Restoration is better for the economy.  A million dollars spent in new construction generates 30.6 jobs. But that same million dollars in the rehabilitation of an historic building creates 35.4 jobs.

Storm Cunningham in his book The Restoration Economy: The Greatest New Growth Frontier claims that restorative development is the only development mode that “can fuel continual economic growth without limit.”  Infrastructure restoration accounts for an estimated trillion dollars worldwide with the heritage industry accounting for another trillion.  Preserving what we have is not only the future but part of the answer to current economic and environmental concerns.

Salt Lake City has been protecting its historic resources for more than 30 years.  Historic preservation works to preserve historically and architecturally significant districts, sites, and structures throughout the city.  It does this by applying a tailored set of rules and standards for how development and improvements should be done to retain the integrity of the original structure or site.  It is a valuable tool for guiding change.

These are just a few examples of ways that saving older buildings can help further sustainability goals.  What opportunities exist for Salt Lake City? We hope to see you at the September 17, 2008 public workshop.

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