We had a great time this week in Roanoke at #APAVirginia's Annual Conference! It was great to reconnect with colleagues and learn what's new. The highlight for us was accepting the Old Dominion Innovative Approaches Award on behalf of the City of Manassas for the Historic District Guidelines Update project.
Our project focused on updated guidelines that included tailored graphics for complex topics, matrices to allow for more transparent and equitable decision-making, and a sliding scale to allow a balance between historic preservation and economic viability. The most innovative and inclusive step was translating the adopted guidelines into Spanish as Hispanic and Latino residents comprise 42.9% of the City's population. The Spanish version includes the same terminology, graphics, tables, and charts.
Great job to the team led by Catherine Redfearn, who is our team's historic preservation expert!
