USING HISTORIC PRESERVATION PUBLIC POLICY TOOLS TO FACILITATE THE RECOGNITION OF MEXICAN-LATINX RESOURCES IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Abstract

Mexican-Latinx historic resources are under-represented in local, state, and federal historic preservation programs. This treatise focuses on how municipal governments in Los Angeles County can utilize their land-use authority to implement preservation planning policies, tools, and activities to increase the inclusion of Mexican-Latinx resources resulting in better recognition and preservation of these assets. When land-use controls for historic preservation serve a legitimate government interest, public policies can be effectively incorporated into a city’s general plan and zoning code to the lay foundation for a comprehensive citywide historic preservation program to facilitate the recognition, designation, and protection of Mexican-Latinx resources. Diligent implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act also provides the ability for cities to preserve and protect these resources. There are several historic preservation planning tools and strategies available to local government to facilitate Mexican-Latinx resource recognition. They range from leveraging state and federal context statements to conducting local historic resource surveys to adopting a traditional cultural property ordinance like the city of Tarpon Springs, Florida. Collaboration with local preservation organizations and participation in state preservation programs like those offered by the California State Historic Preservation Office and the California Arts Council offer other opportunities for resource identification and designation. Public history is another preservation planning approach to recognize Mexican-Latinx resources. There are various public policy methodologies to make public history creation possible and sustainable. The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan’s Downtown Historical Street Exhibit Program is presented as a case study of a public history program that Los Angeles County cities can replicate.