City Implementing Historic Preservation Advisory Task Force Recommendations

As National Historic Preservation Month comes to a close, Louisville Metro Government reports significant progress in implementing recommendations from the Historic Preservation Advisory Task Force’s May 2017 report to Mayor Greg Fischer.

The Task Force, comprised of preservation advocates, architects, developers and neighborhood representatives from across the community, received technical support from National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Green Lab.

Through a yearlong process, they reviewed research and best practices and then crafted a set of recommendations, including incentive programs, program improvements, policies and public engagement strategies—with the goal of improving the community dialogue and outcomes around historic preservation.

In response, the city so far has:

• Hired a Survey Coordinator for the Historic Preservation team to identify priority survey areas and inventory historic resources as recommended by the Task Force;
• Successfully pursued an African-American Civil Rights grant from the National Parks Service to stabilize the historic Quinn Chapel in the Russell neighborhood;
• Advocated with the Building Industry Association and other stakeholders for protection and expansion of the State and Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit;
• Developed a preliminary priority survey of historic buildings in the Russell neighborhood, which is a National Register Historic District; and
• Incorporated the Task Force recommendations into the Comprehensive Plan update.

The Task Force also recommended amending local ordinances to enhance Metro’s preservation efforts. The Landmarks Commission formed a subcommittee in October 2017 to develop recommended changes to the Landmarks Ordinance, and a draft of those amendments was presented to full Landmarks Commission on May 17, 2018.

Those proposed changes include:

• Authorizing the Landmarks Commission or Metro Council to initiate a landmark designation in addition to current initiation methods, which are community petition and property owner request;
• Creating more opportunity for property owners to provide input on designation requests;
• Improving and clarifying designation criteria;
• Linking designations to community surveys and other planning processes; and
• Updating and defining language for Certificates of Appropriateness and design guidelines for the city’s seven local preservation districts

To view the proposed changes in their entirety and to comment on them, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/planning-design/historic-preservatio…

The Commission will review the amendments and public feedback at its June 21 and July 19 meetings. When the Landmarks Commission completes its review, recommended changes will be sent to the Metro Council for review and approval.