The city is moving to the next phase in establishing a comprehensive approach to historic and cultural preservation. Leaders of the Cultural Heritage Stewardship Plan — previously known as the Cultural Resources Management Plan — released a project outline that’s now open for public comment.
Background
The city-wide plan will guide how Richmond addresses historic and cultural preservation with practical strategies and goals, as well as a focus on equity and inclusion.
A primary focus of the CHSP is identifying those cultural and historic assets — literally. The umbrella term can be applied to tangible resources like buildings and archaeological artifacts, but also intangible ones like community identities and oral histories.
After identification, the plan will include ways to recognize, safeguard, and manage change surrounding these resources.
What’s in the outline
The project outline is an overview of what will be in the final plan — which means it’s a great time to highlight what might be missing, or what could use more attention.
The final plan will include overview of Richmond’s history and information about past and present preservation programs. Then it’ll go into how it will actually used by city leaders, preservation groups, residents, developers, and other stakeholders.
The outline also identifies some trends and challenges which will be addressed in the final plan, including Richmond’s population growth, housing affordability, deterioration and demolition, and natural disasters.
Get involved
Flip through the project outline and leave your thoughts. Pro tip: You can see what others have commented by clicking on the yellow speech bubbles in the document.
There will also be two informal, interactive open house events where you can hear from the project team and get a hands-on look at their work. Both are on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
- RPL Main Branch, 101 E. Franklin St. | 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Hickory Hill Community Center, 3000 E. Belt Blvd. | 5-7 p.m.