Agenda & Initiatives

 

Federal Policy Agenda

The priority initiatives that make up the National Trust for Historic Preservation's preservation policy agenda in 2008 encompass issues at the Federal, State and local levels of government. At the federal level, the major priorities include:

Major Initiatives

  • Sustainability development issues as they relate to historic preservation, including the reuse of existing buildings, retrofitting older and historic buildings through the promotion of public policies that integrate "green" technologies, and revitalizing neighborhoods.
  • Increasing federal funding for historic preservation and the national preservation program, specifically the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) and the Save America's Treasures (SAT) program, as well as matching grants to state and tribal historic preservation offices.
  • Improving and expanding existing tax incentives for preserving and rehabilitating historic structures and laying the groundwork for the creation of an equivalent credit for historic homeowners; preventing Congress from terminating any portion of the historic rehab credit an any other tax incentives that help rehabilitate historic and older buildings -- including the New Markets Tax Credit.
  • The protection and stewardship of cultural resources located on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the National Park Service (NPS) and the passage of authorizing legislation that would make the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) permanent.
  • The reauthorization of surface transportation programs that provide funding and incentives for historic preservation, and encourage policies that foster sustainable public policies consistent with adaptive reuse, particularly in the following areas:

- Protections that are included in programs that safeguard historic resources against incompatible transportation actions and the retention of exsting programs that are critical for historic preservation, such as Section 4(f) protections for historic and cultural sites impacted by federally-funded transportation projects and the Transportation Enhancements Program.

- Funding for programs such as enhancements that benefit historic preservation projects; protect formulas that prioritize transportation spending on existing infrastructure located in older communities. Earmarks that engage in historic preservation projects.

- Encouraging the reuse of existing infrastructure, as embodied in efforts such as the Historic Bridge Program, and any amendments that improve these programs.

Other items:

State and Local Policy Agenda

To help preservationists and their supporters influence policy makers through coordinated and sustained efforts in their own communities, the National Trust created the Center for State and Local Policy.  The Center supports the following policy goals as part of the National Trust's State and Local policy agenda:

  • advocating for the continued development of rehabilitation tax credits and incentives at the state level;
  • broadening support and funding for historic preservation activities at the state and local level;
  • advocating for the continued use of older and historic schools;
  • promoting historic preservation as a sustainable development practice;
  • expanding and improving building codes that encourage renovation, rehabilitation and preservation of historic buildings;
  • developing policies that discourage the practice of “tear downs” that destroy community character and historic neighborhoods; and,
  • building statewide advocacy capacity through education and outreach.
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