"Historic Preservation"
Length: 1.5 hours
Historic buildings define the character of cities, villages, and towns in New York and many other places. This course attempts to explain why, details what it means to preserve a place’s older and historic buildings, and distinguishes the difference between listing a property on the National Register of Historic Places and local landmark and historic district regulation. Other perspectives that most people don’t consider when they think “historic preservation” will also be discussed, such as the environmental and economic benefits of historic preservation.
NOTE: Online courses are not available for in-service credit for code enforcement officers, continuing legal education credit for attorneys, or certification maintenance credit for members of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Some courses will produce a certificate at the end, and others will only produce your quiz results. The quiz results page should be used as proof of your training.
Resources Provided by the Department of State:
Online Glossary of General Terms for Local Governments» Downloadable Glossary » (pdf)
Glossary of Preservation Terms»
Legal Aspects of Municipal Historic Preservation
The Department of State’s James A. Coon Technical Series publication on local historic district regulation.
Transfer of Development Rights
The Department of State’s James A. Coon Technical Series publication on the transfer of development rights, which is often associated with the protection of farmland but can also be used to protect historic resources.
Links to Other Resources:
The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse
A study that compares the relative environmental impacts of new construction to the reuse and adaptation of existing buildings.
The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
Federal standards for rehabilitation (as well as preservation, restoration, and reconstruction) of historic buildings, which projects receiving tax credits must follow. The Standards, along with numerous technical publications for the repair of historic building materials are available on the website of the United States Department of the Interior.
NYS Historic Preservation Office
NYS Historic Preservation Office, Tax Credit Programs
NYS Historic Preservation Office, Technical Assistance
Model Local Law for Historic Districts in NYS
New York State’s Certified Local Government Program
Handbook for New York State’s Certified Local Government Program
Preservation League of New York State
New York’s statewide not-for-profit preservation education and advocacy organization.
Local Preservation Organizations in New York State
National Alliance of Preservation Commissions
A national not-for-profit organization established in the early 1980s to provide training to members of local historic district review boards, education about the value of historic preservation to all local officials and the general public, and advocacy for public support of local historic preservation efforts and programming.