integrating historic preservation into local planning...

Integrating Historic Preservation

into Local Planning (S529)

SurveyLA – The Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey

Ken Bernstein and Janet Hansen City of Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources

Christy McAvoy Historic Resources Group

American Planning Association April 2012

This session, S529 Integrating Historic Preservation

into Local Planning, has been approved to provide 1.25

LU/HSW/SD by the American Institute of Architects

• Sign-in sheets to claim learning units will be available at the

session

Cinerama Dome - Hollywood

Continued Education Learning Units

• Understand current perspectives on the relationship

between historic preservation and local planning and

specifically how historic resources surveys serve as

the foundation for preservation planning

• Develop a strategy for public engagement in historic

preservation programs using a variety of public

participation tools, including social media


Key Learning Objectives

• Participate in planning historic resources surveys to

take advantage of up-to-date methodologies and

practices as demonstrated though SurveyLA

• Identify important resources in your own community

through an understanding of historic contexts and

context-based surveys


Key Learning Objectives

• Misconceptions about Los

Angeles

• “City of the future”

• 1962 Cultural Heritage Ordinance

• Bifurcated preservation program –

not comprehensive

Cultural Affairs Department

Planning Department

Los Angeles Theater on S. Broadway, Downtown LA

Historic Preservation… in Los Angeles?

• Growing understanding of role of preservation among City officials

• Legacy of grass-roots activity

• City commitment to SurveyLA: Citywide survey

• Decision to put preservation within Planning Department – tie to land-use decisions

Cinerama Dome in Hollywood

The Office of Historic Resources

Sears Building in Boyle

Heights

• Create a state-of-the-art, comprehensive

program

• Hire professional staff

• Make preservation relevant & feasible

Education & outreach

Multi-lingual approach

Importance of attitude

• Certified Local Government

• Conduct Citywide Survey

Developing Goals and Objectives

• Citywide Historic Resources Survey

• Product of a multi-year study by the

Getty Conservation Institute

• Funded by a $2.5 million matching

grant agreement with the Getty

• Managed by the Office of Historic

Resources

SurveyLA

• First-ever systematic program to identify historic resources in Los Angeles

• Use survey results as an important planning tool

• One of largest, most ambitious surveys in the nation

St. Vincent de Paul Church

SurveyLA

• We don’t know what we have

• 11th Hour, reactive process

• Lack protection for important

resources

• Missing critical information to

guide planning and zoning

decisions

• Piecemeal decision making

Marquez Filling Station – Santa Monica Canyon

Without a Survey…

• Not opposing values

• Need to plan for growth

• Protect distinctive character of

communities

• Survey can identify where growth

can proceed more unimpeded

Accommodating Preservation and Growth

Harvard Heights

Historic Preservation Overlay Zone

Survey Work and Historic Districts

• LA’s HPOZs = Historic

Preservation Overlay Zones

= Historic Districts

• 29 HPOZs

• Tremendous diversity

• Neighborhoods see HPOZs

as revitalization tool

• Review of exteriors, new

construction

• More HPOZs proposed-

many still awaiting surveys

Meeting the Challenges

• Size of Los Angeles

466 square miles

880,000 legal parcels

• Range and Complexity of

Resources

• 15% of City Surveyed

• Community Plan Updates

• Adaptive Reuse Projects

• Cultural Tourism

• Economic Development

• Filming Activity

• Disaster Response

• Academic/Community

• Research

• Identify a Sense of Place Hollywood Community Plan Area

How Will the Survey Data Be Used?

Eastern Columbia Adaptive Reuse on South Broadway

in Downtown LA

Uses of Survey Data

• Greater certainty for applicants

• Single location for information on potential historic resources

• Information at all public counters

• No more single-purpose surveys!

• SurveyLA is “The Mother Ship”

• Various uses of survey data

• Public Sector Advisory Committee

Community Redevelopment Agency

Bureau of Engineering

L.A. Housing Department

Community Development Department

L.A. Unified School District

Coordination with other Departments and

Agencies

SurveyLA: Two-Phased Project

• Initiation Phase Citywide Context Statement

Public Participation Program

Custom Field Survey Database

Pilot Surveys

• Implementation Phase

Multi-Year Field Surveys St. Vincent de Paul Church

• Pilot Surveys to test methodology

• Organized by Community Plan Area (35) Land Use Element of the General Plan

• Completed in nine survey groups over multi-year period

• Bid letter to on-call consultants

Phasing Plan for Survey Implementation

• Designing the Survey as a planning tool

• Data collection for multiple purposes

• Survey identification not equal to designation

• Developing streamlined & cost effective methodologies

• Context-based approach

Angelino Heights Historic Preservation Overlay Zone

A 21st-Century Approach to Surveys

• Historic Context Statement (HCS)

Technical document that provides the framework and foundation for the citywide survey

Identifies themes representing the history and development of the city and links those themes to extant property types

• Field Guide Survey System (FiGSS)

Custom computerized GIS field application

Hard copy user manual

Designed for use in the field with a tablet PC

Developed by Systems and GIS Division of DCP

SurveyLA Field Methodology

• Citywide in scope

• Nine Contexts (over 200

themes and sub-themes)

• Addresses resources dating

from 1850 to 1980

• Uses Multiple Property

Documentation Approach

• Designed for use in the field

with the survey database

SurveyLA’s Historic Context Statement

//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Lovell_House%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_California.JPG

•Developed by the National Park

Service (NPS)

•Streamlines the identification of

properties related by theme

•Provides a consistent

framework for evaluation by

diverse teams

•Ensure compliance with best

practices established by the

NPS and California OHP

Multiple Property Documentation Approach

• Spanish & Mexican Colonial Era Settlement, 1781-1849

• Pre-Consolidated Communities of Los Angeles, 1850-1932

• Residential Development & Suburbanization, 1875-1980

• Commercial Development, 1850-1980

• Government & Private Institutional Development, 1850-1980

• Industrial Development, 1850-1980

• Entertainment Industry, 1908-1980

• Architecture & Engineering, 1850-1980

• Cultural Landscapes,1850-1980

SurveyLA’s Contexts

• Commercial Development and the Automobile

• Post WWII Suburbanization

• Religion and Spirituality

• Air Raid Sirens and Civil Defense

• Chicano Civil Rights Movement

• Arts and Crafts Movement

• LA Modernism

• Japanese Style Gardens

• Aviation and Aerospace

• Writers and Residency in Los Angeles

•

SurveyLA’s Themes and Subthemes

Contexts

Theme(s)

Property Types (Sub-types) • Description

• Significance

Eligibility Standards (Registration Requirements) • Associative qualities

• Character-defining features

• Integrity

Evaluation Criteria

• National Register

• California Register

• City Criteria

Significance: CHR Status Code

• Geographic Area

• Period of Significance

• Area of Significance

Developing Contexts Using the MPD Approach

LOS ANGELES CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT

• Focus on recording resources that are significant

• Pre-Field Research

• FiGSS Preloaded Data

• GIS Layers

CTPs

State HRI

Assessor Data

Previous Surveys

Public Participation Data

Surveyors Using the FiGSS Application

Field Survey Methodology and the

FiGSS

• FiGSS Resource Types

Individual Resources

Historic Districts

Planning Districts

Non-Parcel Resources

• No narrative architectural

descriptions

• No State Survey Forms

• Reports and forms

generated from survey data

Field Surveyor with the FiGSS Application

Field Survey Methodology and the

FiGSS

Group 1

• Hollywood (43,369)

• Sunland-Tujunga-Shadow Hills-Lakeview Terrace-East La Tuna Canyon (23,945)

• West Adams-Baldwin Hills-Leimert Park (37,509)

Group 2

• South Los Angeles (50,722)

• Southeast Los Angeles (46,198)

Group 3

• San Pedro (17,803)

• Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey (22,015)

• West Los Angeles (16,107)

• Harbor Gateway (7,790)

• Wilmington-Harbor City (13,628)

• Central City North (2,920)

Phase 1 – 2010-2011

OHR Volunteers & Interns Department of City Planning

(Systems & GIS Division)

Sub-Consultant Sub-Consultant Sub-Consultant

Interns

Department of City Planning

(Office of Historic Resources)

Interns Interns

Lead Field Survey Consultant

SurveyLA Field Survey Flow Chart

Field Methodology: Individual Resource

Field Methodology: Non-Parcel

Resource

LOS ANGELES CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT

Field Methodology: Historic District

Field Methodology: Historic District

• Consistent in terms of style,

massing, scale and

appearance

• Majority of buildings have

endured alterations which

have compromised the

overall integrity of the district

Filed Methodology: Planning District

Standardized Reporting Procedures

• Professionals in the fields of

Historic Preservation, History,

Architectural History + local experts

• Representation from the State

Office of Historic Preservation

• Meetings facilitated by OHR and

consultants

• Draft findings reviewed by

Community Plan Area

• Public meetings to follow

SurveyLA Review Committee & Process

• Survey methodology has national applicability

• Data management huge task

• Use of historic context statement critical to

consistency of evaluations

• Public participation strategies need to be varied and

evaluated regularly

• Survey methodology will be certified – findings not

adopted

Lessons Learned

Public Participation and Outreach

• Critical to success of project

• Address misconceptions about survey work

• Address multi-lingual needs

• Encourage public participation and input

• Recruit volunteers and interns

• Provide information to inform the field surveys SurveyLA Project Kickoff Celebration, Los Angeles Central Library

• Advisory & Peer Review

Committees

• Build support for the project

• Include various stakeholders

• Reflect various interests

• Review survey findings

SurveyLA Advisory Committee Meeting

Public Participation and Outreach

• Produced by City Cable

Channel – LA Cityview 35

• Streaming video on

SurveyLA website

• 30- and 10-minute versions

• English & Spanish Language

• Winner of a local Emmy

Award

Anthea Hartig

National Trust for Historic Preservation

at the Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis House

SurveyLA Video

• Solicit and train volunteers

• Serve as SurveyLA

ambassadors

• Deploy throughout Los Angeles

• Funded with Certified Local

Government Grants

Speakers Bureau Training - Hollywood

Speakers Bureau Program

MyHistoricLA Program

Group 1:

• Hollywood

• Sunland-Tujunga-Shadow Hills-Lakeview Terrace-East La Tuna Canyon

• West Adams-Baldwin Hills-Leimert Park

Phase 1 Field Surveys – Sample

Results

ARCHITECT-DESIGNED MODERN RESIDENCES

John Lautner, 1961 R M Schindler, 1952

Richard Neutra, 1935 Lloyd Wright, 1967 Richard Neutra, 1950

Findings – Hollywood CPA

HILLSIDE INFRASTRUCTURE

Retaining walls High Tower Elevator Public stairways


BUNGALOW COURTS


MID-CENTURY MODERN RESIDENTIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT


ARROYO STONE RESIDENCES

Findings – Sunland-Tujunga CPA

RANCHES & HORSE

TRAINING PROPERTIES

GOOGIE COMMERCIAL

PROPERTIES


CINDERELLA RANCH RESIDENTIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT


SPANISH COLONIAL REVIVAL RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT

Findings – West Adams – Baldwin Hills –

Leimert Park CPA


Leimert Park CPA

CRENSHAW JAPANESE-AMERICAN HISTORIC

DISTRICT

MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS


Leimert Park CPA

The City’s ZIMAS Geographic Information System

Database

Next Steps: Survey Results to the

Public

• ZIMAS Geographic

Information System:

• Integrate historic

resource and property

information

• Single, centralized

database

• Link ZIMAS to clear

historic resource web

information

• Getty Conservation

Institute: Mega Jordan.com

and ArchesLA

• Custom-designed open

source cultural resources

management database

• Worldwide applicability

• SurveyLA to have

customized version

Next Steps: Survey Results to the Public

Other Planning Implications of Survey

• Survey assessment NOT

tantamount to historic

designation

• SurveyLA is a planning tool,

NOT a designation tool – no

intent to designate

• Day-to-day permits to be

issued as today

• Environmental review on

larger requests must take

survey into account (but

review would occur without

survey)

South Carthay Historic Preservation Overlay Zone

Benefits to Development Community

Hancock Park Historic Preservation Overlay Zone

• Greater certainty

• Resource for CEQA

• Minimize time and cost of

separate historic resource

consultant studies

• Single location for

information on potential

historic resources

• Information at all public

counters and in ZIMAS

• Encourages adaptive

reuse, use of preservation

incentives

For more information about SurveyLA:

Office of Historic Resources 200 N. Spring Street, Room 620

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Janet Hansen, Deputy Manager

(213) 978-1191

[email protected]

SurveyLA.org

MyHistoricLA.org

Facebook.com/SurveyLA

Twitter.com/SurveyLA

SurveyLA.wordpress.com

SurveyLA Contact Information

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