MINNESOTA HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL GRANTS - Grants Manual

Historic Preservation Planning Guidelines

Preservation planning helps decision makers set priorities that will lead to the protection of historic and cultural resources. Guidance for planning can be found in the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Planning, the SHPO Manual for Archaeological Projects in Minnesota (2005), and the Minnesota SHPO's Guidelines for History/Architecture Projects in Minnesota (July 2009).

Eligible Projects

Develop a planning framework through analysis of the community's history and definition of historic contexts.
Prepare a preservation plan for an archaeological historic district.
Develop architectural guidelines for a designated area.
Create or revise a local preservation ordinance.
Develop a preservation plan for a community or write a historic preservation chapter for a city’s comprehensive plan.

Completing the Application

The following advice on how to complete the application will help you shape your project; suggestions, numbered to correspond to sections of the application form, augment the instructions on the form.

1. Project Description

Describe the product and its contents. Discuss who will use the product and how it fits into your current and future planning activities. Add sufficient references to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Planning to demonstrate that your project will conform.

2. Need and Rationale

Like any limited resource, historic properties need careful planning and management to ensure their survival. Discuss the need for your planning project and what led you to develop it.

3. Work Plan and Timetable

What planning have you undertaken to prepare for your project?
Provide a project timetable describing the work that will be accomplished and anticipated dates by which it will be completed.

4. Project Personnel

Much of the work for projects in this category is specialized and usually done by an outside professional. Explain how you will secure a qualified professional to complete the proposed work.
If a person from your organization will do some or all of the work, what work items will they complete and what are their qualifications and experience?
Who will oversee your project and what are their qualifications and experience?

5. Evaluation

What criteria will you use to evaluate the success of your project? What are its measurable outcomes?

6. Enduring Value

Preservation planning is key to establishing public policies and strategies that protect historic and cultural resources. How will your planning project set the stage for future activities and outcomes? In what ways will the project have a lasting impact and value for the community?

7. Sustainability

How will your project’s product(s) be used and implemented?

8. Budget

Provide a complete project budget on the budget worksheet, showing how each budget item was determined.