City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: OCTOBER 16, 2013
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: RASHAD M. YOUNG, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Grant Application For a Digital Architectural Field Survey of the Old and Historic Alexandria District.
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of a one-time grant application to refine the digital architectural field survey application for the Old and Historic Alexandria District.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1) Authorize the submission of the grant application to the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), not to exceed $40,000. This grant is due by November 19, 2013.
2) Authorize the City Manager to execute all the necessary documents that may be required.
DISCUSSION: With the completion of Phase 1 of the digital architectural field survey which included the development of a database and web application, the training of over 45 volunteers and the survey of 453 buildings, the Department of Planning and Zoning proposes to use the NCPTT grant to support Phase 2 of the Old and Historic Alexandria survey project. The scope of this phase includes enhancement of the prototype web application to provide its teams of trained volunteers a more user-friendly application.
This mobile application is a local, state and federal architectural survey pilot program spearheaded by the City of Alexandria, in cooperation with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) and the National Park Service (NPS). The grant is supported by the Department of Planning and Zoning, the Office of Historic Alexandria, and the Historic Alexandria Foundation (HAF). The need to identify architectural resources is stated in the Historic Preservation Chapter of the 1992 Master Plan and section 10-101(E) of the zoning ordinance.
Unlike the Parker-Gray District National Register survey and nomination completed in 2007, (1,200 buildings, $100,000 project), there has never been a comprehensive survey of the over 6,000 buildings within the Old and Historic Alexandria District. The utilization mobile handheld devices will enable City staff to continue utilizing trained volunteers for the survey work, with only City staff oversight and at no additional fiscal impact to the City.
Ultimately, property owners will benefit from the survey data which will be imported into an enhanced City web interface and made available for public viewing. City Staff will utilize the data for future preservation planning efforts, to improve the accuracy and reduce the time required to research BAR staff reports, and to manage and share the information about historic resources among multiple City departments. The information will also be shared with the National Register of Historic Places as well as the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. This data sharing among agencies will provide expanded public access to the information, expanded for use in post-disaster building condition assessments, and provide the City with new planning tools.
FISCAL IMPACT: The Department of Planning and Zoning is requesting grant awards not to exceed $40,000. The City will provide an in-kind match for the grant by leveraging $8,000 in volunteer hours.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 - Illustrative Map of the Phases Survey Areas
Attachment 2 - Letter of Support: National Park Service
Attachment 3 - Draft NCPTT Application
STAFF:
Faroll Hamer, Director of Planning and Zoning
Steve Chozick, Division Chief, Geographic Information Systems
Al Cox, FAIA, Historic Preservation Manager