Heritage Resource Survey 2023
First Public Meeting
Anyone interested in the City's upcoming 2023 Heritage Resource Survey, especially those notified via letter that you are within our study area, are welcome to attend our first public meeting!
When: Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at 6:00 pm
Where: Davis Library, located at 7501-B Independence Pkwy, Plano, TX 75025
Please join us in person or via ZOOM (Meeting ID: 885 8149 8252 | Password: 009586 | Join by phone: 1-346-248-7799)
What Is a Heritage Resource Survey?
A Heritage Resource Survey consists of the comprehensive identification, research, and documentation of buildings, sites, and structures of any historic, cultural, archaeological, or architectural importance. With rare exceptions, locations examined during Heritage Resource Surveys are observed from public right-of-way (ROW), primarily the adjacent street, without the need for survey personnel to enter anyone's private property. The City of Plano periodically commissions these surveys to evaluate sites or districts that are of known historical significance, such as Downtown, Haggard Park, and several Heritage Landmarks throughout the City. Additionally, these surveys help City staff evaluate the significance of properties and neighborhoods that have recently, or will soon, cross the 50-year age threshold, after which they may be considered "historic."
These surveys are also crucial to updating Plano's Heritage Preservation Plan, which serves as the guiding document for the city’s Heritage Preservation Program. The current Preservation Plan includes surveys of neighborhoods built up to 1969. For the 2023 update, the City is looking to survey neighborhoods and properties with structures built between 1970 and 1975. This evaluation is necessary to ensure that unique architecture and development patterns that characterize these locations are not overlooked as potential candidates for future heritage-related designations.
The project consultants, HHM & Associates, Inc. (HHM) will be surveying neighborhoods and properties that feature houses and buildings constructed between 1970 and 1975. Additionally, they will be surveying a number of older neighborhoods and properties that were recommended for more research during the las Preservation Plan update. If you received a notification letter from the City, it is because your property/neighborhood has been identified as meeting one of these criteria and will be included in the survey.
Click Here to see a map of locations that will be included in the survey.
What Is the Scope of the Survey?
Windshield Level Survey
For neighborhoods/properties built between 1970 and 1975, HHM will conduct a Windshield Level Survey (WLS). A WLS typically focuses on the neighborhood or district as a whole, rather than on individual buildings, noting streetscapes, the general character of its housing stock or commercial buildings, representative buildings and structures, and the layout of its spaces in general. Photography includes streetscape photographs rather than photographs of individual buildings. No historical research or analysis is included. The most common goal of the WLS is to recommend whether or not the area should be surveyed in greater detail in the future. The WLS will be conducted entirely from public ROW and no access to private property will be necessary. Click the image to the left to see a WLS sample form.
Reconnaissance Level Survey
During the 2018 survey, a number of neighborhoods and properties were identified as needing more research to determine their significance and potential for designation or inclusion as Potential Heritage Resources. Click Here to see maps of these locations, as shown in Chapter 5 of the current Preservation Plan. For these properties, HHM will conduct a Reconnaissance Level Survey (RLS). An RLS typically documents individual structures, including two photographs of each building, a map of the building location, and a form noting the building’s address, date of construction, use type, architectural style, physical integrity, and eligibility for local historic designation or National Register listing. Broad contextual research is conducted to guide eligibility determinations. While all of the properties within neighborhoods will be surveyed from public ROW, entry to the larger agricultural properties will need to be coordinated with the owners. Click the image to the left to see an RLS sample form.
How Will the Survey Information Be Used?
The information gathered during the surveys will be used to evaluate the historic significance of neighborhoods and properties and establish if they merit heritage resource designation or if they should be included in the Heritage Preservation Plan as a Potential Heritage Resource:
A Potential Heritage Resource means a structure, collection of structures, site, or landmark of historical, cultural, archaeological, or architectural importance listed in the Heritage Preservation Plan. A potential heritage resource has not received heritage resource designation, but has the potential to become designated with further historic research, restoration, or property owner interest. Please note, listing is informational only and does not subject the structure or site to any architectural review by the Heritage Commission or include any changes to existing zoning.
The surveys may also be used to identify neighborhoods that are ideal candidates to be rezoned as Neighborhood Conservation Districts (NCDs). An NCD protects the distinct architectural, physical, or visual character of Plano's older neighborhoods, and reduces the impact of customized building, lot, and zoning standards (setbacks, materials, roof slope, etc.) Only owners and neighborhood residents can request the creation of an NCD, but the 2018 Preservation Plan identified several neighborhoods as potentially eligible for NCD creation. For more information about NCDs, Click Here.