Res 2026-017 Approving the City of San Marcos Historic Preservation Plan

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PRESERVATION PROCESS HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEYS Surveys are a common tool used to identify and evaluate a property's significance before a property is awarded a national, state, or local historic designation. Surveys are generally completed to support proposed projects in compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA or as an NPS THC grant - funded preservation planning project, while other specialty surveys may be developed in support of economic development and cultural arts and natural resources initiatives promoted by agencies and groups such as the NTHP, TCA, and conservation groups. Once designated, properties become eligible for a variety of national, state, and/or sometimes local incentives depending on the property's use and locality. A preliminary review of readily available and accessible information about a defined Desktop Survey area, including municipal parcel data and historical maps and aerial photographs in preparation for on -site investigations. Ad riving survey through a community that does not comprehensively document Windshield Survey every property within a boundary. This type of survey allows coverage of a broad geographic region in a short amount of time and the identification and documentation of a survey area's most important resources. A detailed inventory of all historic -age and if for a historic district nomination Reconnaissance nonhistoric-age properties within a defined area. This involves taking exterior Survey photographs and making preliminary recommendations regarding the historic significance and eligibility of a resource for historic designation. Atype of historic survey that focuses on a specific theme, rather than a geographic Thematic Survey area. It identifies and evaluates historic properties that share a common historical, architectural, or cultural significance. A detailed examination of a property, which involves taking exterior and interior photographs, preparing a resource -specific historic context, and other intensive Intensive Survey research like tracing ownership over time through deed records. The goal of an intensive survey is to arrive at a conclusive recommendation of eligibility for historic designation. Migrant worker's windshield by Dorothea Lange, 1936 (Courtesy of LOC, Office of War, FSA). SAN MARCOS HISTORIC PRESERVATION PLAN (2026)