Historic Preservation

The Pennsylvania Historic District Act authorizes municipalities to create local historic districts.

The purpose of the Delaware County Public History Feasibility Study and Implementation Plan is to improve the effectiveness and impact of the more than 80 historical organizations throughout the county. The goals of the year-long project are: Determine how best to remedy the underutilized nature of historic organizations throughout the county; address how the historical organizations can better cooperate and coordinate efforts to present a more inclusive interpretation of our history that reflects all periods, peoples, and geographic portions of the county; better preserve our irreplaceable public history resources; make history available to the public as an educational tool with better efficiency and success; help foster revitalization.

The Bureau for Historic Preservation guidance for Historic Preservation Planning provides a framework for what constitutes a comprehensive historic preservation plan. The Historic Preservation Plan should provide local units of government a working document to identify historic and cultural resources in the county or municipality; to consider the issues, problems and opportunities associated with those resources; to explore the possibility of county-wide and regional approaches to management of important resources; and to develop goals, policies, and strategies for their appropriate use, conservation, preservation and protection that are consistent with those established for other comprehensive plan elements.

This guide, intended for local government officials, historic preservation organizations, and citizens considering the establishment of historic districts under municipal authority, is a summary from the years of success and failure experienced by local governments in the process of initiating and administering historic district ordinances. It includes lessons learned and pitfalls to be avoided.

This is a menu of components to be used in preparation of local historic preservation ordinances. Each component is a model that can stand alone or be used in combination with one or all the other components. Each model component provides options for municipalities for administration.

Form to be submitted to PHMC to document the historic resources survey.

This document provides a comprehensive statewide inventory and analysis of historic preservation ordinances in Pennsylvania municipalities. The research considered municipal historic preservation ordinances that are authorized by the Historic District Act (HDA) of 1961 and the Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) of 1968.

Local municipal regulations can provide substantial protection to historic resources, preserving their contributions to cultural vitality and helping communities maintain quality of life.

This guide provides a general overview of historic preservation planning and regulation at the federal, state and local levels, with suggestions for integrating historic preservation into the comprehensive community planning process. The manual also discusses private preservation efforts and their relevance to local governments and includes an appendix summarizing historical architectural styles.

A summary of the evolution of historic preservation in Pennsylvania and the laws both authorizing and mandating consideration of the preservation of historic resources in the course of land use planning.

PHMC developed this resource to provide technical assistance with historical resource surveys.

A checklist for establishing a historic district ordinance and the Pennsylvania Historical and Musuem Commission’s policy for determining the historical significance of local historic districts and boundary justification pursuant to the PA Historic District Act.

The Historic Preservation Plan for Tredyffrin Township is intended to provide the community with a policy document to assist in long-term planning and decision-making with respect to historic preservation and community character. Chapter 1 of the plan outlines the background and purpose of the planning process, the benefits of having a preservation plan in place for the community, and the specific goals and objectives for Tredyffrin Township as they relate to preserving historic building and landscape resources within the community.

Historic preservation plan for Borough of West Chester (PA).