PROGRAM PRESENTATIONS

On June 24th, 2006, The City of St. Petersburg sponsored the Mayor’s Summit on Historic Preservation. Below is an overview of each speaker and topic. Some of these presentations are also available for viewing in .pdf format.

All presentation files are in pdf format, if you do not already have Adobe Reader, you must download it to your computer before you will be able to view the files. Click the Adobe icon to the right for a free download.

Caution: Some presentation files are large. As a result, download time may be slow and is dependent upon your connection speed.

Rick Baker, Mayor of the City of St. Petersburg, officially opened the Summit by extending a warm welcome and providing an overview of St. Petersburg’s history. Mayor Baker described the evolution of the city from its beginnings as a pre-historic Native American settlement to a thriving railroad town. He also discussed the city’s growth cycles from the roaring twenties, the Great Depression and post-World War land booms to the present day.
Click here to read about the history of St. Petersburg.

Kimberly Hinder, Historic Preservation Planner with the City of St. Petersburg, presented St. Petersburg’s Historic Preservation Ordinance; an overview of the regulations. While this presentation provided background on the history of preservation ordinances in the United States, the primary focus was on St. Petersburg’s ordinance. Ms. Hinder discussed the evolution of the ordinance, what it covers and how it is administered.

Recently, the Board of County Commissioners for Pinellas County adopted the creation of the Historic Preservation Task Force . Jan Luth, Director of the Pinellas County Heritage Village and member of the task force spoke about the group's goals and objectives. The task force will review, analyze and facilitate the implementation of preservation policies for historically significant structure, neighborhoods, districts and improvements throughout the County. In addition, they will look at those places that constitute the "fabric of the county" such as structures, buildings, places and communities for historical significance and preservation.
The topic for the Summit’s lunch panel discussion focused on Defining St. Petersburg’s Historic Character. A group of residents active in historic preservation formed a Character Study Group and were asked to photograph aspects of St. Petersburg that set it apart from other places and contribute to its unique character. Mayor Baker introduced the presentation by discussing context and identity in the City and why it is important from a municipal perspective. Christine Page and Robin Reed, members of the character study group, presented the group’s results.  They concluded that elements critical to St. Petersburg’s unique character include not only buildings but also neighborhoods, the waterfront, parks, bridges, water towers, its small town scale, tourism and perhaps most importantly - its people.

The keynote speech was given by Timothy McLendon, Staff Attorney for the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the University of Florida. Mr. McLendon presented the results from a study conducted on the Economic Impacts of Historic Preservation in Florida. The study focused on preservation efforts, such as historic rehabilitation, state grants, the Main Street Program, historic museums, heritage tourism, federal tax credits, and local property values which have had fiscal impacts on the state.

Philip Wisley, architect for the Florida Department of State, Office of Cultural and Historical Programs spoke on the Federal Tax Credit and State Grants. In his dialogue, Mr. Wisely detailed the application processes and provided tips on how to meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

Local incentives for historic preservation were covered in a presentation by Bob Jeffrey, Assistant Director of the Development Services Department with the City of St. Petersburg. This presentation focused on the various financial tools available to residents and developers that help level the economic playing field and included the Ad Valorem Tax Exemption, Adaptive Reuse, Transfer of Development Rights, and Conservation (Façade) Easements.
The Florida Building Code was discussed in a presentation by Rick Dunn, Building Official for the City of St. Petersburg. Mr. Dunn talked in depth about the purpose and intent of "Chapter 10: Historic Properties" and how the provisions set forth in this section of the code can be interpreted when dealing with historic resources.

Bob Jeffrey, Assistant Director of the Development Services Department with     the City of St. Petersburg wrapped up the afternoon by presenting three Case Studies: The Pennsylvania Hotel, the Emerson Apartments, and the Domestic Science & Manual Training School (City Hall Annex). Each case study demonstrated how various preservation projects could utilize the tools presented at The Summit to improve financial numbers.

The Summit concluded with a public input exercise designed to help identify priorities for future preservation efforts. Click here for more information and results.
Back to Summit Main